2. The Conventions
• Location shooting (not shot in a studio).
• Social issues explored within dramatic and emotional
stories usually of one individual. Social issues such as drugs,
crime, prostitution, homosexuality, poverty, alcoholism and
sex.
• Non professional actors.
• Wide shots.
• Economic hardship.
• Urban locations.
• Social class.
• Hand held shots.
• Minimal Editing.
• Establishing shots.
3. Characters in Social Realism
In Social Realism the characters are usually lower class or working
class, this links into the typical narratives of social realism films. The
majority of social realism films have characters which are young
teenagers between the ages of 13 – 20. The characters in social
realism films usually go through hardships and deal with social issues.
The actors that are used in social realism films are usually non
professional this adds to the realism of this genre as the usually
unknown actors appear more realistic
and relatable for the audience. For
example in KiDULTHOOD the main
characters were sixteen and non
professional actors.
4. Cinematography
In social realism there are usually of lot of establishing shots to establish the
setting of the film and enables the film to be more realistic and accurate to
real life as the locations where they shoot the film are real life locations such
as council estates and parks. There are also many wide shots in social realism
as it allows the audience to see the character and the surrounding they are in
or what is going on in the background. Basic shots are also used in social
realism, this allows characters to convey their raw emotions again adding to
making the film more realistic. Usually shots are captured as if they the
audience are a fly on a wall. For example in Kidulthood a wide shot is used so
that we can see what is going on in the
room and the fly on the wall effect is
present.
5. Sound, Prop & Costume in Social Realism
Normally there is minimal non diegetic sound in social realism, to
make the film more realistic, however if there is non diegetic sound it
will be placed there for a certain effect, and based on things such as
the subcultures and era included in the narrative, it can also be based
on characters personality. The props and costume that is used depends
on the stereotype and subculture of the characters in the narrative.
Here we see in Kidulthood that the teenagers have scruffy uniform as
their costume which is stereotypical for teenagers also the prop that
the character is using which is a knife is a stereotypical of teenagers
that dress as they have , live in a rough area and their subculture.
6. Editing
• Normally there is minimal editing in social
realism as the less editing give it a more
realistic effect and will have more continuity
this is effective for social realism film as the
narrative of the film usually consists character
everyday life and following the story.
