Defining British Social Realism

Social Realism through the decades. 

Decade: 1950's

Film: Look Back In Anger

In this clip, it is established that Jimmy is a jazz musician, who plays in a jazz club. So one of the themes is aspiration because his wife wasn't in the club after he finished playing, and we know this because the next scene was Jimmy walking into their bedroom and his wife was in bed. He also checks in her bag, which could be seen as a paranoid husband, who is very controlling, this could arouse suspicion of a domestic abuse storyline. He also starts kissing Alison while she's asleep, which could connote Jimmy is a dominating man, and sexually abuses his wife. The characters in this clip, Jimmy, Alison and Cliff all seem of an upper class and religious background, hence all the neighbours coming out and going to church on Sunday and the old lady saying 'A little read before church'. The posh, upper class British accents of the husband and wife establish this, and Cliff, their lodger, seems to be a working class Welshman. The broadsheet newspapers are something man upper class people read, even today. The location of the film is set in 3 storey houses, which connotes wealth of the main characters. The houses look like inner city houses, which connote a London vibe. The rooms in the house look very dark and cluttered but also very homely and lived in. The juxtaposition between Jimmy and Alison at 8:02 connotes they do not have a very good relationship and that Cliff is a peacemaker between the pair. The jazz club Jimmy played at looked very dark and the paint on the walls looked chipped and scruffy, this could connote this is Jimmy's haven even if his peers do not fully approve, and he will do anything to play music. Most of the sound in the clip is diagetic, and the audience can fully hear the footsteps, and every breath and sigh Jimmy makes. Non Diagetic sound follows Jimmy out of the jazz club and is played to the audience until Jimmy starts playing again. There are many close ups in this clip, especially of characters faces, which is good for showing facial expression. The editing was mostly cuts, and i spotted a cross dissolve between the bedroom scene and on to the raining street. This would not be used in modern day BSR, as it looks unprofessional. The films is shot in Black and White and I feel this makes the film more realistic, as you can capture more than just footage in this colour palette. The lighting was natural throughout, and a clear example of this is Alison laying in bed with light shadows on her face (4:05).


Decade: 1960's
Film: Kes
The theme running through this clip is bullying. The audience can see this because everyone in the class laughing at Billy. The teacher is not remaining one bit professional and saying, 'and so did you, Casper, just come out from under a stone'. The fact the teacher makes Billy stand up is also a form of punishment. Billy could be a troubled child from a troubled and broken home, which is why he is so un-attentive to the class. I think the teacher is of an upper class background and Billy and the rest of the class are from Working / Under class backgrounds, so there is the social class barrier between the class. The teacher is very strict and disciplined who has a posh yet northern twang to his accent. He has a clean cut suit, and prim and proper hair and glasses whereas Billy has an uneven haircut, grubby looking skin and a shabby looking jumper. This film is set in the North of England, as every character that speaks dons a thick Yorkshire accent. 'Guv' says he can't go nesting with the rest of the boys as he's 'taking girlfriend t'Sheffield', which is said with shortened words and Sheffield is in Yorkshire. Also, all the boys seem to have nicknames, which is a very common northern thing to do. There is no music or non-diagetic sound in this film, and all of the sound the audience hear is dialogue. The editing used in this film is very simple, and contains lots of cuts. I have noticed that in this classroom scene there is no reaction shots (0:29-0:54) is just Billy standing up and all the audience can hear is the teacher and class mates laughing. 


Decade: 1970's
Film: Quadrophenia

In this film the main theme is a culture clash between the Mods and the Rockers. The clash between the two 'minority' groups is a brutal one. Jim is a typical mod, with his vespa with lots of mirrors and his shabby hair cut, whereas Kevin drives a 'proper' motorbike with all his leather jacket and boots and is a rocker with his quiff-ed hair. On Jim's bedroom wall there is a The Who poster, who were idols for the mods in the 60's. The culture clash is seen when Jim can barely sit next to Kevin in the cafe while he eats pie and mash, and quickly goes back home. The film is set in London, as all of the characters have cockney accents, connoting the East London area, and the fact that Jim is eating pie and mash, is common 'cockney grub'. Also, the other area the film is set in is Brighton. This was a common place for the Mods to go and be who they are every weekend. This location is established before the film is even in Brighton, when Jim puts a cut out magazine article on his wall which says 'RIOT POLICE FLY TO SEASIDE'. On the radio, it also talks about 'shopkeepers in the Brighton area are putting down shutters...' which 'foreshadows' in a way that Jim and his mod friends are going to be going down to Brighton later on in the film. As soon a Jim enters his room, non-diegetic music can be heard, and the majority of the film is diagetic, containing dialogue and the radio speaking. The shot types in the film vary, and when there is the pan of Jim's bedroom wall, the music increases in volume and there is a close up of Jim's face which connotes his excitedness for Brighton and how he loves his lifestyle and culture. The props and costumes for this film are very realistic for both minority groups, the parka jackets, suit and ties and slick hair connotes the mods perfectly. The leather jackets, quiffs and skin tight army jeans connote the rockers perfectly too. The lighting for this film is a mixture of artificial, like the woman and her UV tanning light, and natural, the majority of the film

Decade: 1980's
Film: My Beautiful Laundrette

In this film, the main themes are culture clash, sexuality and ethnicity. The film is set in the era of Margaret Thatcher's hold over England, and there was a lot of prejudice around minority groups. Johnny is a working class, white man who runs Powder's Launderette with Hussein's son Omar. Omar and Johnny met years before and re-kindled their love affair. Hussein is of Pakistani decent and is of a rich, upper class background. Johnny gets asked if he's still a fascist by Hussein connoting Johnny was once a racist and believed in nationalism. Hussein makes fun of Johnny's profession, and is prejudice against his class and the fact that Johnny is rather uneducated and he's dating his son who he's basically saying 'could do so much better if he wasn't with you'. Johnny has a cockney accent which connotes the film is set in London, and also Hussein mentions the launderette feels like a hair salon in Pinner, which is in North West London, also areas with launderettes connote poverty, because upper class people can wash their clothes in their own home as they can afford a washing machine, unlike less fortunate working class people. The sound in this film is diegetic, the sounds from the washing machines, the opera music and all the noises made, the actors can hear. The shots are varied, and over the shoulder shots really make the scene act like one big conversation, which it pretty much is. The juxtaposition of Hussein and Johnny is quite far apart, connoting tension between the two characters. The props on the set are good, and they make the launderette feel like a real one, with lots of washing baskets and bags dotted around. The lighting is artificial, as they are inside the shop at night, and this makes the scene really feel like 3am, with the man sleeping while he waits for his washing, connoting homelessness, in the poverty stricken area of London.

Decade: 1990's
Film: Trainspotting

The main themes in Trainspotting are Violence and Drug Abuse and possibly Alcoholism. The scene is set in a busy pub and all the lads upstairs in the pub have a pint of beer. At one point, Begbie takes a knife out of his pocket, connoting a violent character. Most of the scene is violent, an Begbie seems like a violent man, who goes around starting fights with everyone. The characters look like working class people, who are regulars in the pub, which is their meeting and hang out place. Begbie is probably the character who exaggerates his story, as there is a cut to a scene where Tommy tells how the story actually went, connoting Begbie as a compulsive liar. Begbie's violence comes out when he hits an innocent boy with his snooker cue and accuses him of putting him off taking his shot, in which he then gets out a knife. The film is set in Scotland, and you can tell this because of the strong Scottish accents and all the swearing both Tommy and Begbie do. Also, Renton picks up a '100 greatest goals' VHS tape, which is about Cetlic football club, also Scottish. After establishing the fact that the film is Scottish, this could back up some of the reasons why Begbie is so angry. The sound is mostly diegetic, with dialogue being the main sound the audience hears, apart from Renton's voice over as the talks about Tommy telling the truth and being innocent. The shots in this scene vary, and there is a flashback where the scene is a still and Renton's voice over plays, which is very affective. The lighting in this scene is mostly artificial as all the locations established are inside


Decade: 2000's
Film: This Is England

The themes in This Is England consist of racism and violence, Combo is a white, nationalist man, who dressed like a mod, with his white shirt, braces, white socks and rolled up jeans. Combo's forehead tattoos, a cross on the center of his forehead, and the tear drop next to his right eye suggest he's served time in prison (the cross) and he has been in prison for manslaughter (the teardrop).  The fact that Combo has red and bloodshot eyes suggests he is involved in drug culture and takes illegal substances. Combo is of a nationalist, British background, and Milky is of West Indian decent. The accents suggest that the film is set in Northern England, in Nottingham. Most of the sound in this clip is diegetic with lots of dialogue, a piece of classical music starts (1:08) and creates emotion as Milky is telling his story. The music reflects the mood and atmosphere. As Combo starts a fight, there is an increase in the sound of the music is at its loudest when Combo is beating Milky and the other men in the shot. The low angle at 5:17 connotes that Milky is vulnerable and the camera view is like Combo is looking down at him, making him look vulnerable and small. The blood on his face looks realistic, and the fact that there is a piece of fabric covering his face makes it look realistic and the fight was real. The fact that Combo goes over to see if Milky's OK, connotes the spur of the moment anger which Combo holds in.

Decade: 2010's
Film: ill Manors

ill Manors explores lots of different themes and situations. Drug culture and supply is explored as the 'drug den' is underground and the audience see the drugs being bagged/rolled up by the drug suppliers and given to dealers. The establishing shot of this clip is the main drug dealer, who is surrounded by prison walls, on his release from prison. Another theme explored is motherhood, as one of the drug users is a pregnant, expecting mother who never thought to give up her heroin addiction when she found out she was having the baby, because she said it wasn't planned. Another theme is violence, as the skin head ties up the child (1:22) and then there is a close up of a bloody razor blade (1:28), and the skin around the child's face is all bloody and cut open. Death is explored briefly when the skinhead's mother dies of a heroin overdose (2:05). The skinhead is connoted as a racist man, he injures and possibly kills the little Asian boy, and holds an England flag above his head. The attic where the drug den is set is messy, dirty and full of junk, which connotes the drug business may be a very messy and dirty job. The film is set in London, and you can tell this because of the cockney accent, when the main dealer says 'f**king little c**t, what do you think you are doing?', this connotes an angry, on edge drug dealer.  The song is based on the storyline of the film, and as the song sings about the issue occurs, there is a visual for the audience to see. The prison alarms at the beginning show the audience that the drug dealer has just come out of prison. Close ups in this film are very powerful, having close ups of weapons re-establish the violent themes explored. The long shot pan of the room helps the audience see the characters and gives a basic view of the drug den. The lighting of the den is artificial, but the death of the mother is in a dark, naturally lighted room.