Social Realism - A Genre deconstruction

What is a social realist film?

• A social realist film is conventionally made in Britain and represents Britain
• The representation of Britain is generally negative 
• The films act as a message to their respective audience for example, for the film 'Fish Tank' the message is a cry to the inability to move up the social class ladder of society.  
• These representations of characters are not a collective 'British' identity, but a more niche regional identity, like areas in the north of England. 
• The films focus on the working classes showing a mix of ethnicities, however these characters are often seen as teenagers, gang members and unsuccessful people. 
• These films generally have a low budget and focus on British actors and unknown new actors.
• These films are generally about the inability to move up the social class ladder, however, can be about other things to do with society, like society's pressures, bullying and the divide between age (adults vs teens).

 Examples of social realist films

• Fish Tank - A film that follows the life of a fifteen year old aspiring dancer growing up in an estate with little social mobility.
• London to Brighton - A film following the escape of Joanne and Kelly from their pimp.
• This is England - Following a young boy who become friends with a gang of skinheads.
• Billy Elliot - A film following a young boy living in 1980's County Durham, and his dream to dance.
  

Reasons for social realist films throughout the decades

• 40's/50's - teenagers were given their own identity for the first time because of the increasing of the school leaving age to 15. Adults believed that the children would go wild with their freedom and audience wanted to identify with films rather then use as a tool to escape.
• 60's/70's - immigrants were arriving to Britain in the thousands which lead to a change in the ethnic makeup of the of the country. Britain was scared what impact it would create on their community.
• 80's/90's - Margaret Thatcher and the strikes and recession made Britain unemployed. The changing in gender roles in society made Britain scared of what this meant to life in Britain. 
• 2000's/2010's - the recession continued unemployment across Britain, the divide between social classes and the moral panics of violent youth became apparent. 
• 2010's/present - audiences were bored of seeing the working class in a negative way.