Codes and conventions of a Social realist film

By Lana Hawiz

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.

Non professional actorsThis 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.

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.

Regional identities Regional 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.

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