Social realism is, basically a representation of a 'life as it really is' often portrayed using the working class and comments on political and social issues current to the setting of the film. It’s usually low budget and aimed at an art circuit, they a more documentary.
The term ‘social realism’ represents both a high point in British film history and crippling cliché. Social realism films strive for an accurate representation of the ‘real’ but with surprisingly different aesthetic styles and political perspectives.
Social Realism, also known as Socio-Realism, is an artistic movement, expressed in the visual and other realist arts, which depicts social and racial injustice, economic hardship, through raw pictures of life's struggles; often depicting working class activities as heroic.
Many films use social realism, one of which is Billy Elliot. This film is set during the miners strike, it uses a working class family and shows how life is like both politically, in two terms, one the miners strike and its political position and two the stigmatism attached to ballet and dancing. It shows how life is really like for all the family. It is a perfect example of social realism, even if it’s slightly over-exaggerated.
The genre of social realism is the main genre for British films; this is why most homegrown British films depict the working class as heroes. A recent film to use social realism is ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ this film is made by British writers, directors, Danny Boyle, producers and actors. The use of a rise from working class depicts the hero within the slums, a genre that Britain falls for. Some social realism films use a writer’s real life story. Some social realism films are versions of biographies. The genre uses biographies and also completely made up stories, which battle against political, social or popular views and movements.
Social realism is a more emotive genre than many as it is produced in such a way that the audience feel that it is ‘real’ making the audience engrossed in raises and falls of the characters. The genre is often filmed in a rough style, as if it is through the character’s or through an on-lookers eyes. This further creates the ‘real’ feel to the film.
Social realism is life as it really is, the taking off of rose-tinted glasses, the battle of life’s struggles and triumphs.
Film Intro Analysis
Twenty Four Seven Shane Meadows
The use of black and white in the intro causes the audience to feel that the film is going to be one of a dark nature. The black and white is not simply old-fashioned although it is set in the past.
The black screen to start with the counting up white numbers causes the reader to feel suspense, the suspense collected is held up all the way until the man is found in the shack. The tramp-like man in the shack has been dressed in such a way that the audience automatically assume that the man is a lowlife and a deadbeat, this fits into the theme of stereotyping. The film is deeply about bettering yourself and so the view of the tramp shows the starting point of the protagonist and the transitions he undertakes. Using the non-diegetic sound of the ticking sound for the counting numbers further collects the suspense. The director rationale in this instance is to make the audience feel immanence. The seeming off screen sound of the crow helps to fit in with the genre of horror but this is only to fool us into not yet knowing that the film is a social realism film. The mise-en-scene in this intro allows the audience to further believe that the man is a tramp and has lost his way. In the opening two minutes the film really tackles the issue of preconception, we do not know any of the circumstances of why the protagonist lives this way. The director’s rationale for the use of the character, mise-en-scene and camera all highlight the public’s views and illustrates the problems with preconception leading to misconception. The long shot the man and the dog is used to show the audience the area that the tramp is living in and how close it is to the railway line, a very dangerous place for both the man and his dog and the tramp, causing the audience to feel that both of the characters live in the area and are deprived and most probably lower class. The extreme close-up of the tramp with a bottle in his hand illustrates the issue with stereotyping, as not all tramps will drink. The extreme close-up also shows the dirtiness of the tramp another key part of the mise-en-scene highlighted by the close-up.
This Is England Shane Meadows
The intro to this film fights a key theme of stereotyping. The use of council flats and riots show how England is not the civilised country that everyone assumes, the used of the video from the weeding of Princess Diana and Prince Charles shows our apparent patriotism. The use of camera is very interesting as the intro is like a montage of video from amateurs; the use of a wobbling camera causes the audience to feel thrusted into the scene and the riot. The use of music, non-diegetic sound, also tackles stereotyping, because the music is not old fashion it is in the style of mo-town. The use of the royal wedding works in two ways one to cause the audience to feel that the English really are patriotic and also it is ironic and is an attack at the stereotype. The director rationale is to have a deeper second meaning, much like the other video clips. The mise-en-scene in this intro is much more different to normal as no costumes are used because all the film is taken from external already shot sources. This makes the editing crucial to making these images feel amateur but convey the intended meaning as well.
