Themes and issues matrix of a few films from 60s-00s

1. THEMES AND ISSUES
MATRIX
SOCIAL REALISM RESEARCH 2
- Katie Ranns

2. 
Director: Ken Loach

Writer: Barry Hines (Book), Ken Loach (Adaption), Tony Garnett (Adaption)

Producer:

A young, English working-class boy spends his free time caring for and training his pet
falcon. His connection with the falcon sparks new hope and happiness.

Themes: Neglect, coming of age, hope, social class

Issues: Bullying, sibling-rivalry, loneliness, child abuse
KES (1969)

3. 
Director: Bill Douglas

Writer: Bill Douglas

Producer: British Film Institute (BFI)

The first part of Bill Douglas' influential trilogy harks back to his
impoverished upbringing in early-'40s Scotland. Cinema was his only
escape - he paid for it with the money he made from returning empty
jam jars - and this escape is reflected most closely at this time of his life
as an eight-year-old living on the breadline with his half-brother and sick
grandmother in a poor mining village.

Themes: responsibility, neglect

Issues: Poverty, Illness
IN MY CHILDHOOD (1972)

4. 
Director: Alan Clarke

Writer: David Leland

Producer: Central Independent Television

Trevor is a 16 year old, sometimes-violent skinhead with no
regard for authority, and would rather spend his time stealing
cars than sitting in the detention centre. The authorities within
the centre try to make Trevor conform to the norms of society,
but he takes no notice, and would rather speak in a torrent of
four-letter words and racial abuse

Themes: Conformity, moral behaviour, authority, society roles,
rebellion

Issues: Crime, violence, abuse,
MADE IN BRITAIN (1982)

5. 
Director: Shane Meadows

Writer: Shane Meadows

Producer: Mark Herbert

A story about a troubled boy growing up in England, set in 1983. He
comes across a few skinheads on his way home from school, after a
fight. They become his new best friends even like family. Based on
experiences of director Shane Meadows.

Themes: social status/role, culture, bonds,

Issues: violence, abuse, Thatcherism, racism
THIS IS ENGLAND (2006)

6. 
Director: Stephen Frears

Writer: Hanif Kureishi

Producer: Tim Bevan, Sarah Radclyffe

An ambitious Asian Briton and his white lover strive for success
and hope, when they open up a glamorous laundromat

Themes: Culture, community, diversity

Issues: Poverty, alcoholism, racism, abuse, immigration
MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE (1985)

7. 
Director: Ken Loach

Writer: Rona Munro

Producer: Sally Hibbin

Maggie has a history of bouncing from one abusive relationship to
another. She was found to be an “unfit” mother who took her four
children away when injured in a fire. The man of her dreams, a
Paraguayan expatriate, start a family together. Social Services
seems unwilling to accept that her life has changed and rends them
from their new children. She and Jorge fight a desperate battle to
make their family whole again

Themes: love, compatibility, responsibility

Issues: social services, immigration
LADYBIRD LADYBIRD (1994)

8. 
Director: Peter Cattaneo

Writer: Simon Beaufoy

Producer: Uberto Pasolini

Six unemployed steel workers form a male striptease act.
The women cheer them on to go for "the full monty" - total
nudity.

Themes: social status, responsibility

Issues: unemployment, indecency
THE FULL MONTY (1997)

9. 
Director: Saul Dibb

Writer: Saul Dibb, Catherine Johnson

Producer:

In one of East London's most volatile neighbourhoods, pride,
rivalry and revenge are the only codes on the street. Fresh out of
jail, 18-year-old Ricky and his 12-year-old brother, Curtis, struggle
to walk the straight and narrow when a minor street clash
escalates into an all-out neighbourhood war.

Themes: moral behaviour, authority, respect, social status

Issues: gang violence, abuse, death
BULLET BOY (2004)

10. 
Director: Joe Lawlor, Christine Molloy

Writer: Joe Lawlor, Christine Molloy, Ben Slator

Producer: Desperate Optimists

Helen is a teenage girl who, when asked by the police to play
the stand-in for a reconstruction, realizes it gives her a chance to
confront her own troubled past

Themes: identity

Issues: crime, murder, suicide, abduction, mental health
HELEN (2008)

11. 
Director: Andrea Arnold

Writer: Andrea Arnold

Producer: Nick Laws, Kees Kasander. Executive: Christine Langan,
David M. Thompson

Everything changes for 15-year-old Mia when her mum brings
home a new boyfriend

Themes: responsibility, reformation, hope

Issues: underage, family relationships, commitment
FISH TANK (2009)

12. 60S/
70S
Themes
Issues
Coming of
age
Poverty
Neglect
Child abuse
Responsibility
loneliness

13. 80S
Themes
Issues
Thatcherism
Authority
Culture
Violence/abuse
Moral
behaviour
Racism

14. 90S
Themes
Issues
compatibility
Government
policies
responsibility
unemployment
love
immigration

15. 00S
Themes
Issues
Moral
Behaviour
Gang
violence
Hope
Death
Identity
Family

16. THE THEMES AND ISSUES WITHIN
EACH FILM CORRELATE WITH
THE PROBLEMS WITHIN SOCIETY
AT THE POINT IT WAS MADE.
Common themes were definitely moral behaviour and
responsibility – they generally go hand in hand. It is clear that a
major part of social realism films are to teach their audience
that every action has its consequence.
Common issues include racism, abuse/violence and the
problems with authority – these issues have been circling
society for centuries on end and social realism films feel like its
their duty to tackle these problems.

17. THEMES AND ISSUES HAVE PROGRESSED FROM COMMENTING
ON NEGLECT AND THE TREATMENT OF CHILDREN, TO MAJOR
CRITICISM ON THE GOVERNMENT REGIME AND THE IMMENSE
REBELLION OF VIOLENCE THAT FOLLOWED. THEN IN THE 90S
THERE WERE MULTIPLE REFERENCES TO IMMIGRATION AND THE
POLICIES/PROBLEMS SURROUNDING THAT. FINALLY, THEMES
AND ISSUES PROGRESSED TO MORAL BEHAVIOUR/GANG
VIOLENCE, HOPE/DEATH AND FAMILY/IDENTITY; THESE ARE
PRETTY SERIOUS ISSUES THAT AFFECT THE MAJORITY OF THE
YOUNGER GENERATIONS.