How can you apply key theories of Althusser and Adorno to Harry Brown

• Althusser, a French Marxist, constructed the theory of Ideological State Apparatus and Interpellation - ISA. Through all forms of networks of communication the communications ISA communicates the dominant Ideology about Capitalism and our roles in relation to the division of labour, in order to enable Capitalism to work: good and bad rich and poor and old and young. The products of the communications ISA can be seen to fundamentally entertain or inform - to provide the public with pleasure, whilst all the time, still reinforcing their ideas - this can be through film, television drama, theatre productions etc.

- Althusser's theory is demonstrated in Harry Brown as this film uses a form of entertainment to reinforce the misconstrued idea held by the dominant ideology that teenagers are deviant, uncontrollable and something to be feared, into the minds of the wider public audience. Harry Brown demonstrates a real conflict between the old and the young, and shows the young people as constantly using unnecessary violence (like at the very beginning of the film shooting at, and eventually shooting dead an innocent mother int he park with her child) and showing the up-most disrespect to authority from the onset. It presents them as murderers who cause havoc throughout the estate to innocent bystanders and others in the neighborhood. The film also shows Harry Brown using violence, however his use of violence is represented in a completely different way - due to his age, and how he is represented within the movie, his level of violence is justified despite it being just as horrific and extreme as the violence used by the young people.

• Adorno's stated that producers guideline is for the illusion that the outside world is the straightforward continuation of the presented on screen - that real life is becoming indistinguishable. He stated how producers are products of 'cultural commodities' and their goal is to make money: the products are used to entertain the masses, pure entertainment and reinforcement of the dominant viewpoint. The products are formulaic and repeat the same ideas and values regardless of their form.

-     Adorno's theory is also demonstrated in Harry Brown in a similar way to Althusser's, as through the form of entertainment that is film, the dominant viewpoint if reinforced that young people are disrespectful, rude, dangerous and deviant. The idea of prodcers creating an illusion that the outside world is a straightforward continuation of what is presented on screen can also be seen demonstrated in Harry Brown as the creators of the film havr constructed the film in a certain way that indirectly but effectively blurs the distinction between  the fictional and non-fictional. The film uses 'normal' looking characters as opposed to glamourised film stars, all the characters you see within the film look like people you may ordinarily see on  the street which adds the realistic and feeling of continuation of whats presented on screen into real life.