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Top Boy: An analysis

‘Top Boy’ concluded on Thursday. The four-part drama centred on the fictitious Summerhouse Estate in Hackney was the most bold and relevant piece of television in years. Dushane (Ashley Walters) and Sully (Kane Robinson) are ambitious street dealers whom the younger residents are magnetically drawn towards. Ra’Nell (Malcolm Kamulete) is the schoolboy who remains reluctant to associate with them, fending for himself after his mentally ill mother Lisa (Sharon Duncan Brewster) is hospitalised.

The consensus is that ‘The Wire’, to which ‘Top Boy’ will inevitably be compared, is probably the greatest television drama ever written. The sheer depth of its analysis of Baltimore and how the various layers of society affect the grass roots is unprecedented. The Atlantic Ocean separates ‘The Wire’ from the critics in Britain who laud it. When confronted with an equally troubling reality, but one that exists in our own cities, then how do we respond?

I live in Hackney, I’m from Edmonton, and I spent my teenage years on the periphery of an environment not dissimilar to Summerhouse. My experiences provide the inspiration for the majority of my writing. At university I had written a semi-autobiographical short story about Edmonton and the lure of gangs. I felt confident when showing it to my tutor.

‘Rob, the problem is this is not believable, these things don’t really happen’, she said.

Her comment highlights middle class ignorance and naivety. The things I had written about did really happen, they still do, and they seem inconceivable to those who live on the other side of the invisible divide. Further evidence of this ignorance and naivety is the sweeping generalisations that were made post-riots in August, labelling urban youth as ‘feral’ and concluding that they are all part of gangs who organised the disorder. Insight to the realities of life as a young person living in a deprived inner-city area is needed, ‘Top Boy’ provides audiences with that insight.

There is a misconception that being a criminal and being a good person are mutually exclusive. ‘Top Boy’ challenges this idea. Crime is part of the fabric of Summerhouse. The characters are products of the environment in which they are trapped. They want out. In order to get out, they need money. To make money, they deal drugs. Does that make them bad people? Do we blame them for wanting a better life? Dushane is a loving son and a loyal friend. In order to be successful, he is pragmatic and ruthless. These are typical qualities of a businessman and they manifest themselves in a way that is appropriate to his environment. The behaviour of the characters doesn’t occur in a vacuum and therefore we can’t pass simplistic judgement. With an understanding of the deep-rooted causes behind the behaviour, we are able to emphasise with them.

The casual nature of the violence in ‘Top Boy’ is shocking and often has tragic consequences. For the characters violence is another method of communicating, sending a message that words cannot. While it is impossible to justify the actions, it makes sense that if violence is the language, then it is safer to be fluent. When we are young, we often fail to grasp the consequences before we do something; place that idea into the context of Summerhouse and then consider what we see.

There is a particular moment in ‘Top Boy’ that brilliantly captures the mentality of urban youth. Ra’Nell is at the police station. He has just witnessed Sully fatally shoot family friend Leon (Nicholas Pinnock). He doesn’t tell the police anything. Instead, he chooses to avenge Leon’s death, attacking Dushane with a knife. Ra’Nell is from a place that is excluded from mainstream society, why would he follow the expected conventions? Fraternising with the police and being dirtied with the label of ‘snitch’ is unacceptable in the environment in which he lives.

While ‘The Wire’ is slow-burning and methodical, ‘Top Boy’ skilfully establishes character relationships and allows us to connect with them quickly. This is a credit to writer Ronan Bennett. The interactions between Ra’Nell and Lisa are moving and tender. Equally affecting is his friend Gem’s (Giacomo Mancini) devotion and love for his pet dog. The lack of positive male role models is telling. Leon appears to be the only male character with a genuine sense of responsibility. The fathers are not around and their absence is not dwelled on by their offspring. Relationships with mothers, friends and dogs are what matter.

Bennett doesn’t patronise us by ‘dumbing down’ the dialogue. This would’ve arguably made ‘Top Boy’ more accessible to a wider audience. Much like ‘The Wire’, language is authentic and at times alienating for those who are unfamiliar, highlighting the separation between mainstream society and Summerhouse. None the less, the plot remains clear and is carried towards its powerful conclusion by a fresh young cast of local talent.

‘Top Boy’ is beautifully presented. Yann Demange has done has an incredible job on the direction; handsomely composed shots juxtapose Hackney with the financial centre of London that looks down upon it. The towering high-rises of Summerhouse are ever present in the background as the characters interact, a constant point of reference to the trap in which they are caught. Brian Eno’s electronic score is brilliantly effective, building emotion and tension when words take a back seat.

The importance of ‘Top Boy’ should not be underestimated. It is a brave and honest portrayal of young lives lived on the edge, the kind of lives that people read about in newspapers and quickly judge. The drama doesn’t glamorise the criminality and violence. It presents them as realities of the environment in which the characters exist. Now the surface has been scratched I would like to see the analysis go deeper.