Social realist genre

1. Codes and conventions of a
Social realist film
By Lana Hawiz

2. Establishing shot
An establishing shot is usually used right at the beginning.
Location is shown and usually a wide shot is used for this. Above is an
example
of what an establishing shot looks like.

3. Non professional actors
This is to give a
more realistic look to
the film. Usually this
is also due to their
low budget and thus
cannot afford to get
popular ones such
as Hollywood actors.
An example of this is
the film ‘Fish Tank’
where Katie Jarvis
was playing the main
character.

4. Dramatic/emotional scenes and
humourBritish social realist films tend
to use a lot of seriousness in
their films as well as humour
throughout conversations
between actors. This tends to
make the audience laugh as
well as empathise with the
characters at the same time,
or some time later in the film.
Dramatic scenes usually
involve topics including
unemployment, gang crime
and relationships. An example
of this is Kidulthood and This
Is England.

5. Regional identitiesRegional identities of social realist films depends on
what the film is based on and the settings within it.
For example, This Is England portrays some
individuals views in England. The film includes
skinheads which some show English nationalist and
racist views. Appropriate language and accents
must be used in order to denote the correct and
most realistic lives of the characters. At one part, an
Asian man was playing a stereotypical role being
the owner of a corner shop. Young Muslim boys
were shown playing football in an area; wearing
white religious clothing to connote their identity to
the viewers as well as to pick out the division
between the two demographics.

6. Social issuesBritish Social Realist films always cover wide issues
that Britsh individuals and families tend to cope
with.
Issues involve factors such as poverty,
unemployment and gang crime. Below are
examples of British Social Realist films where they
cover topics as mentioned.The Full Monty focuses
on issues such as
unemployment
Adulthood covers the
issue of gang crime
Fish tank focuses on issues
such as gang crime and
relationships