“How does the aesthetic quality of Trainspotting depict ideological issues of youth and addiction” you must refer to at least 2 scenes.

“How does the aesthetic quality of Trainspotting depict ideological issues of youth and addiction” you must refer to at least 2 scenes.



Cinematography is a vital part of Trainspotting and it’s ideology. The cinematography and Mise-en-scene of Boyles 1992 film are key parts of relaying the narrative and showing people the effects of heroin and how one person’s addiction can affect so many people. Trainspotting’s aesthetic is so raw and through surrealism Boyle shows us a harsh reality.



For example in the detox scene where Renton is forced to go cold turkey after his final hit the cinematography and aesthetics convey the intensity of how Renton is feeling and makes the audience realise just how dependant on drugs he is. The reverse tracking dolly used at the start of the scene makes the room narrower and makes the rest of the scene feel very claustrophobic and adds to the intensity, along with the pulsating non-diegetic club music which is representative of how Renton is feeling in his detox and the Scottish night club scene which was where the drug scene of the 90’s thrived. The tones of the scene are green and brown which is much like the rest of the film, these colours can mean a lot of things. Green could be representative of Scotland but also could relate to the idea of spring and youth and the brown juxtaposes this by being representative of tainting someone’s (Renton’s) youth with addiction. The use of low angles in this scene represent how renton is at rock bottom and there is no room for him to go even lower. Boyle uses a distorted po and uses a wide angle for most of this scene is used to show how Renton is experiencing all these things that are happening, these techniques along with the use of a handheld camera (a common trope of social realism) give the impression that this is a social realism film showing the harsh realities of addiction and what it does to those around us through the use of surrealism.



Another scene where the ideology is shown through cinematography is the one last hit scene. Already the concept of the scene will make the audience feel for Renton as they are aware that when Junkies say their last hit is their last hit it usually is not. The use of extreme close ups is used to make the audience uncomfortable as they cannot look away and they are forced to see what heroin really does to you, this is reinforced by the difference of the internal and external shots. the external shots show Renton enjoying the intake of heroin but the internal shots show what is happening to his body. Throughout the film we don’t see what happens to the body in a physical sense we just see the effects on the individuals life and everyone around them until this moment and after when Renton goes to the hospital. The jump cuts show a parallel timeline so the audience are aware this is real and happens to people, bringing n the idea of social realism. When Renton is injecting the heroin there is again the use of non diegetic sound which when compared to the diegetic sound of the flat and Renton’s gasps it makes the scene very tense and leaves the audience very uncomfortable as it just a raw piece of imagery and sound. The bright red light associated with the flat also contrasts the rest of the locations in the film as they tend to be duller and this shows how this is where they can escape their dull lives via heroin.



A third key scene that uses aesthetics and cinematography to show the ideology of addiction and youth is the worst toilet in Scotland scene. When Renton enters the bookies there is a distorted POV shot of all the men sneering at him which is another example of realism through surrealism as it once again allows the audience to see the world through Renton’s eyes and fee; the judgment put unto addicts by people who see themselves as morally superior but are still morally corrupt, this is a common motif throughout the film and is especially seen in the character of Bigby who demonises other characters in the film such as sick boy, spud and Renton and puts himself on a pedestal when in reality he is a violent drunk and arguably just as bad as the other characters. The stigma around addiction is probably what spurs on Renton’s addiction and we see the stigma throughout the whole film, especially when it is revealed Renton’s mother has a more “acceptable” addiction.  

The use of the realistic mise-en-scene could have been used to represent that issues of crippling addiction to someone so young. The realism of the bookies contrasts the over exaggerated ‘worst toilet in Scotland’ which is used as a metaphor for Renton’s internal and external state. The brown and gross toilet is representative of what Renton is doing to his body and the fact he’s there because drugs have brought him there in a literal sense drugs are bringing him to that point in a metaphorical sense is very ideological and vital when discussing youth and addiction in relation to Trainspotting. The dull and grimness of the scene overall is descriptive of Renton feels without drugs and this shows the audience just how reliant he is even at such a young age. The aesthetics of the underwater world are very calming and fluid and it shows that drugs are his only way of being calm and this would make the audience empathetic as they are beginning to understand this is a young mans only peace but it is so destructive to him and the people around him. The aesthetics in this scene overall are very representative and significant in understand addiction in young people like Renton who at the time were all across the country so it probably allowed some alignment with audience members during the 90’s drug epidemic.



Overall aesthetics are a vital part of Trainspotting and the understanding the ideology of addiction and youth in Scotland and the UK in the drug epidemic of the 90’s, the aesthetics indicate many things about characters and their personal situations and relationships to addiction.