Aahana Swrup
The drama film ‘Steve’ follows the story of a tense day in the life of the titular character, who is a head teacher at a reform school for troubled teenage boys. The school, Stanton Wood Manor, is an underfunded institution, run by a handful of staff members whose passion keeps them attached to their jobs more than the low income. Naturally, Steve’s role in the establishment comes with more than its fair share of challenges. Therefore, a visit from a television crew who are eager to film a documentary-style segment on the school adds a new layer of complications into the mix. Throughout the story, the folks from Points West, including the inquisitive host Kamila, present an unusual addition to the already eccentric social environment of Stanton Wood. However, their presence and professional interactions with the educators and the students add a vibrant and grounded texture to the film.
Steve Employs BBC’s Real News Programme, Points West, to Chart a Fictional Narrative
Despite its overwhelming sense of reality, a majority of ‘Steve’ remains a work of fiction, penned by Max Porter, whose 2023 novella ‘Shy’ serves as the source material for the film. Yet, even though the narrative itself remains steeped in fabrication, the project still includes a few realistic elements to add authenticity to its storylines. The plot line involving the Points West programme and its film crew is one such addition. In real life, Points West is a real TV news programme, local to the West of England. With a legacy that spans decades, starting all the way back in 1957, the title, native to the BBC One West network, is a regional news programme covering areas including Bristol, Somerset, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and North Dorset. By incorporating this well-known programme into the on-screen narrative’s otherwise fictitious world-building, the film adds a realistic and recognizable element to the story. This, in turn, grounds the rest of the storylines in a sense of realism by proxy.
Yet, despite the programme’s basis in reality, the way that the show equips Points West itself remains rooted in fictionality. This is most evident in the portrayal of Kamila, the program’s host. Points West has an extensive list of presenters and reporters who have previously helmed and continue to present the programme for the network. Notably, Kamila, the host depicted in the film, isn’t one such host. Instead, she’s an original, fictional creation of the story, developed for a particular and specific role in Steve’s narrative. Through Kamila and her filming crew, the story showcases the invasive and oftentimes exploitative nature of media, especially in connection to socially othered groups like the troubled teens at Stanton. On more than one instance, the film crew is eager to invade the young students’ privacy, viewing them more through the lens of new content rather than individual personalities. As a result, the fictionalization of the real-life programme serves its thematic resonance, underlining society’s mistreatment of delinquent juveniles.
Read More: Where Was Netflix’s Steve Filmed? All Shooting Locations
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