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Themes and issues matrix of a few films from 60s-00s
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THEMES AND ISSUES MATRIXSOCIAL REALISM RESEARCH 2
- Katie Ranns
KES (1969)
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
IN MY CHILDHOOD (1972)
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
MADE IN BRITAIN (1982)
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,
THIS IS ENGLAND (2006)
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
MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE (1985)
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
LADYBIRD LADYBIRD (1994)
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
THE FULL MONTY (1997)
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
BULLET BOY (2004)
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
HELEN (2008)
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
FISH TANK (2009)
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
Themes
Coming of age
Neglect
Responsibility
Issues
Poverty
Child abuse
loneliness
60S/70S
80S Themes
Thatcherism
Culture
Moral behaviour
Issues
Authority
Violence/abuse
Racism
90S Themes
compatibility
responsibility
love
Issues
Government policies
unemployment
immigration
00S ThemesMoral
Behaviour
Hope
Identity
Issues
Gang violence
Death
Family
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.
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.