Character Profile - John

Character Name: John
Actor Name: Sol Goss
Character Type: Antagonist

John is an adolescent who has been caught up in dodgy dealings with an organisation. He is simply the messenger; his only purpose being to deliver the black bag that contains unknown items to an ambiguous young woman that goes by the name of Hanna. The bag that John wears acts an enigma, creating a sense of mystery amongst the audience as the events that take place within the opening revolve around the contents of the bag.

John is the antagonist as the audience follow him through the labyrinth of the deserted car park; therefore the audience are able to begin to engage with the character. John appears confident but is also portrayed as vulnerable due to the inexperience of being in this kind of situation as well as being the youngest out of the three characters. His vulnerability can be shown by the insignificance he poses when compared to the massive structure of the car park, being a claustrophobic location and a generic convention it also creates the impression that the character is going into a place that he may well never come back out of. The body language that John shows could be interpreted to connote that he is street smart and is independent, although his isolation adds to the vulnerability.

When thinking about the character of John we looked at several British Dramas that depicted the lives of youths living in similar locations to that of Anglia Square. We found that the character of 'Sam' from 'KiDULTHOOD' and 'AdULTHOOD' had a similar personality and appearance to John. This is because he does what he can (including crime, which applies directly to John as he is involved in shady dealings) in order to make a name for himself and to get enough money to live comfortably, but in doing so gets himself into trouble and realises that he is way in over his head. The UK TV drama Top Boy was also another link for John, as each of the characters are dressed similarly to John. Some of the characters also end up in trouble with higher up organisations/gangs and have to fight their way out of trouble, this could be linked with the trouble that John ends up in with the larger powers of Bill and whoever Hanna is linked to.

'Sam' from "Kidulthood" and "AdULTHOOD", shown wearing a similar hoody to John"

An image from "Top Boy"