How are regional identity and sexuality represented in the opening sequence

of Shameless episode 1?

The range of characters in the opening sequence of Shameless is used to show

regional identity and sexuality. The first thing we see when we are introduced
to the story is that most of the characters are gathered around a vandalised car
that has been set on fire. People are throwing beer cans towards the flames,
they are smoking, swearing, drinking and are generally being anti-social. This
follows stereotypical northern behaviour, which immediately gives us an idea
of where the story is based.

The first character we really see is Lip, who goes round a female friend’s
house to help her with her homework. During his stay, he experiences a sexual
encounter, when he originally planned to help out with homework. For this
character, we can see that he represents heterosexuals, due to the encounter
with his friend. When he returns home we see from the mise en scene that his
bedroom is quite small and compact, which is stereotypically northern again,
especially due to the fact that he shares the room with his brother. Lip tells his
brother about his sexual encounter in an almost boastful manner, in an
attempt to make his brother jealous. This is very like something a stereotypical
teenage boy would do, as they always like to be competitive with their
relatives and friends.

Ian, Lip’s brother, is hiding a stash of homosexual porn magazines

behind his chest of drawers, and has a poster of Kylie Minogue on his wall.
When Lip finds this stash, he confronts Ian about this, who immediately bursts
into tears. In the story, Ian clearly represents homosexuals, due to the stash
that is found, the poster on his wall, and the fact that he cries without much
pressure. This is quite unlike the stereotypical northerner, but a lot of times,
sexuality can depend on the upbringing, so this could be the reason as for why
Ian has chosen this form of sexuality.

The next couple of characters that we see are Steve and Fiona. Steve,
who isn’t part of the actual family, is admiring Fiona in a night club when we
first see him. Fiona is robbed of her purse in the night club, and so Steve
attempts to be the hero and chases after the thief. He fails in his attempts but
in doing so he becomes friends with Fiona and her friend. When they try to get
back into the club after chasing the thief outside, they’re not allowed back in
due to state of how they look. Due to this, Steve punches the bouncer and runs
away. This is stereotypically northern, as Northerners are renowned for getting
into fights and for drinking. This again tells us that these characters are from
the north, suggesting their regional identity.

When they return home, the family meets Steve before they all leave for
home. He stays with Fiona in an attempt to have his own sexual encounter
with her. When he starts to come on to her, he produces a romantic speech to
help woo her. In the background, there are birds tweeting, and romantic music
is played to set the scene to show how this scene is supposed to be romantic.
We can see at this point how these two also represent heterosexuals,
especially when we see them having sex in the following scene. During the
sexual intercourse, Fiona repeated shouts the sound ‘ni’. This is a piece of
intertextuality, as this sound is also used in a famous ‘Monty Python’ sketch.

In conclusion, throughout the opening sequence, we get several

stereotypical references which suggest that the whole story is based in the
north of England. Also, the range of characters shows the differences of
sexuality during the opening sequence of Shameless episode 1.