Defining British Social Realism

My definition for British Social Realism is: It is a portrayal of real life of the underclass, everyday people. It displays the daily life struggles from people living in the gritty urban areas of Britain. There is a range of characters from drug dealers to criminals to pregnant teens.

In this weeks lesson we discussed the social realism timeline. We watched six different films from different times and picked out the conventions.

The first film we watched was 'Kes -1960'

The themes that I saw while watching Kes were corruption of youth as the children are not behaving or are sensible. Also themes of underclass, poverty as the children are not dressed clean or professional especially the main character who is wearing a completely different uniform to his peers. The setting says a lot about the people and time. They are in a classroom which is very gritty. basic and plain with nothing fancy. The people could be suffering from financial problems or it is just not a wealthy part of Britain. The dialogue of these children is bad with their use of slang. There is no music just dialogue. The camera work is very basic and there is long takes of many shots so their is not a vary of camera shot types. Also there is not a lot of editing either, the media side of this film is very basic however this is understandable as it is a rather old film. All the lighting is natural which makes the film more realistic.

The second film we watched was: Quadrophenia -1979

The themes portrayed in this film were: Violence, domestic violence between the dad and son, gangs and street crime. The location and setting of the film is  the street alleyway and the character's house. The street is gritty and unappealing displaying that this is in the urban side of Britain. Also the house has poor conditions, it is very plain with basic necessities.The costumes of the characters portrayal the underclass less wealthy people. The dad is bald wearing a plain white vest and shorts which is basic clothing displaying that these people do not have a lot of money. The character is a young boy living a life at hard times. He is obviously involved with a gang and around drug taking. It has very basic camera and editing work.

The third film we watched was 'Scum  -1980'

The main character is very aggressive and violent. The dialogue used by all characters including teachers is very bad. There is a high use of both slang ad swear words. The fact that even teachers are swearing and are aggressive to their students in this school displays that this is a school for unwealthy people. The young peoples clothes are a basic clothes with unappealing colors portraying they are underclass.There are themes of violence, power and hierarchy. The setting of the school is very plain and basic. It is not too flashy with gadgets but has a pool table. This again shows the gritty side of Britain.

The fourth film we watched was 'Nil By Mouth -1990'

Out of all the films I had watched in the week this one was the most shocking and horrific. The lighting is dark, which emphasizes the harshness of the situation and creates suspense. The themes displayed are violence, domestic abuse through the man beating up his wife, jealousy and power. The dialogue of the characters is bad as there is a lot of swearing. They have horrible basic living condition and are wearing basic, plain clothes and tattoos which displays they are underclass people who are not too wealthy. 

The fifth film we watched was 'Kidulthood -2000'

I believe that 2000 was when the films that fit into British social realism started to change. There was music being played which was urban grime which fits in well with the setting. It includes natural lighting which makes the film more realistic and dark lighting at times which create suspense and emphasizes the harsh conditions..There is a lot of swearing and slang used throughout. The themes of drugs, violence, thieving and teenage romance. The location of the film is very gritty and urban run down street which portrays the underclass people as rather unwealthy. 

The last film we watched was 'Ill Manors -2010'

There is music which is urban and current which will appeal to the youthful audience. The music is very good because it tells the story instead of dialogue from the characters. The camera work and editing is good and a vast improvement compared to the 1960's. There is a major evident theme of drug use, violence, corruption of youth and poverty. Also power between the gangs and the police is evidently shown. The setting of the basement where the drug creating takes place is at a horrible state. It is plain and very dirty. The fact there is a child their emphasizes the poverty of these people as they can not accommodate a child. The dialogue from the characters and the song is very harsh with slang and swear words throughout.The costumes of these people are very basic casual clothes usually consisting of a tracksuit or baggy jeans.

In what way had British Social Realism evolved over the last fifty years?

There is a major evolve from the 1960's to the present time. British social realism has changed in many ways. More people of the Black race are included and have more major roles now compared to the 1960/70/80/90's. Also music was never plays in the 1900 British social realism films, it was all dialogue however now in both Kidulthood and Ill Manors a major part of the films is the urban music. In the earlier days Older men had more of the power over the young people for example in Scum when the teacher is slapping the student, yet now the youngsters are at the top. For example in Ill manors the 'older' man is making the drugs and when the young guy wants the drugs the old man gives in as he is portrayed as weak. However I believe that the concept and themes throughout all the years have stayed the same as they all represent British social realism. As the years increase the British social realism changes according to the current lives of the time.