How British Social Realism themes are used.

This Happy Breed 1944 (3:22-4:00)



Theme: Social class clashes

This theme of social class clashes is identified through the situation, as the five main characters in this scene are seated having a meal and discussion and as the men are about to leave, a woman pulls up a shutter and loudly shouts 'alright to clear away?'. This connotes that she is not of the same social class as the other characters, because she was not able to have a meal with them and join in the discussion, but instead has to tidy up after them. This also connotes that she is perhaps working for the owner/s of the house as a maid, which signified that she is maybe of working class and the other characters are upper class because they can afford a maid. The mise-en-scene also connotes that the woman poking her head through the shutter is not of the same social class because she is located in the kitchen which is a place where she'd be cleaning, whilst the others are socialising. She is also wearing dark brown clothing, in comparison to all of the other female characters who wear bright, elaborate clothing. This also supports my connotation that the woman in he kitchen is likely to be of working class because her clothes reflect her poverty and lack of money. The sequence portrays this theme of a social class clash through the diegetic sound; the dialogue, as the 5 wealthier characters have a very posh tone and they talk well spoken English and use a lot of complex phrases, where as the maid doesn't speak with such a posh tone and uses a more informal tone. Also the composition and framing of the shot which introduces the maid like character, consists of her being deep in the background, just about noticeable connoting that she isn't as important as the other characters. Leading to a further connotation that working class citizens are not as important as those of upper class. In the opening sequence of my British social realist film, I might explore this theme by perhaps using a more recent friction between working class and middle class citizens. I would do this by maybe having a character from a rough family living on a council estate and maybe a character who lives in a house with a stable family, I would do this to contrast the two social class'. 


Bullet Boy - Part 1 (05:45-07:00)



Theme: Aspiration & Escape

This theme is established through the situation that occurs. For example, the main male character is released from jail at the beginning of the film. He is picked up by his friend who starts asking him if it feels good to be home and telling him that there is money to be made and that they can 'clean up the whole of road'. The main character replies saying that his friends way of making money is not the way that he wants to be making money. He then goes on to say in so many words that he has just been released from jail and is not going back. This connotes that the main character doesn't want to go back to jail by repeating the same mistakes he made in the past which got him there in the first place. Instead he aspires to make money legally and is therefore trying to escape his past and escape this working class lifestyle that seems to have nothing to offer him. The sequence as a whole portrays this theme of aspiration and escape through the camera language and the mise-en-scene shown. For example, from 05:39 - 05:49 a shot reverse shot is used to show the main character looking at the council estates he is driving past, this edit is used to show his disappointed facial expressions to connote that he aspires to escape from this mundane scenery and mover on to greater things and that he doesn't himself want to live on a council estate for the rest of his life. In my own opening sequence, I might explore this theme of aspiration and escape by using similar situations. For example, I could cast a teenage girl from a rough urban area, going to college to try and get the grades she needs in hope of being able to get a good job with them.


East Is East



Theme: Religion

This theme is established through the consistent use of language used by people of the Islamic faith. For example, an Asian man that comes out of a car greets another Asian man saying, 'Salaam Alaikum', the other then replies with, 'Alaikum Salaam', whilst kissing each other on each cheek as a way of greeting one another. This language and behaviour is used frequently within this scene. The sequence also portrays the theme of religion, because from 0:08 - 0:15 the camera language used is a point of view shot panning left, the Asian, Muslim child is sitting alone on his doorstep watching all of the of the other white children play and have fun. This connotes that he may be or feel excluded because of his religion or culture. In my British social realist film, I could use this theme by creating a divide between two different religions, to explore cultural differences that exist within society today.


 The Football Factory



Theme: Violence

The theme of violence is established through the explicit situations that happen. The first glimpse of violence we see is at 0:55 when two men punch a man sitting on a wall. But from 1:16 - 2:46 we see two groups of men who are fans of two rivalry football clubs gruesomely fighting, for a long duration of time. The sequence portrays the theme of violence like its done for entertainment because the voiceover says, 'what else are you gonna do on a Saturday?', whilst the action of the fighting has been slowed down and one character is looking around him. In the opening sequence of my film, I would explore the theme of violence through gang related violence or potentially domestic violence because they are common sources of violence within this generation.


kidulthood



Theme: Petty crime

The theme of petty crime is established in the beginning of this scene, up until 0:30. This theme is established through the situation that happens. The shopkeeper wouldn't let the boy but beers because he thought he was 'too young' to buy them. The boy then tells him to shut up and casually walks away with the beers as the shop keeper says 'come back', the boy then turns and throws something at the shop keeper as he says 'come back for what man, shut your mouth'. The shop keeper then chases him out of the shop with a bat and the boy pushes over a stand and then leaves the shop. The boy stole the beers and therefore committed a petty crime as it is not that major because the shop keeper did know he was taking it. The language used by the boy towards the shopkeeper shows that youngsters have little respect for their elders. This sequence portrays the theme of petty crime like its done by youth and done because they have little respect for the older generations. In my film I could use petty crime but make older people be committing these crimes. For example, I could have a single mum stealing nappies because she cant afford them. Working class women who have little money have been known to commit these petty crimes in the real world to provide for their children, so it would be relatable to society today.