Genre

Social Realism draws attention to the everyday conditions of the working classes and the poor, and who are critical of the social structures that maintain these conditions. Although the movements artistic styles vary from nation to nation, it almost always utilises a form of descriptive or critical realism. Typical conventions: Location shooting not in a studio. This makes the film look more realistic to the audience as it features everyday scenes. Fish Tank uses an actual Council Estate. Use of wide shots. These type of shots allow the audience to make more sense of what is actually going on within the scene. Bullet Boy makes use of several wide shots. Tends not to have many well known actors. This is because most social realism films dont have a big budget. Katie Jarvis in Fish Tank. Semi improvised scripts. Its not always that they are semi-improvised, however it can add to the realism of the film by having natural conversations etc. Ken Loach used them in Kes. Humour as well as seriousness. Serious issues have to be given justice in order for it to look realistic, but humour can also be shown to make the film more light-hearted. Wider social issues explored through individual stories which heavily focus on emotion and drama. The Full Monty focuses on real issues such as unemployment and recession. Triumph over adversity

Audience
There isn't a specific target audience for social realism films due to the different issues that the films explore and the time period in which they are set in. The target audience varies in terms of gender, age and demographic and psychographic variables, depending on the film. The typical audience for recent social realism films tends to be teenagers/young adults. This may be because a lot of these films use young actors and therefore the audience would be more interested to see them as it makes it more relatable. Films such as Kidulthood would attract a younger audience because of the people featured in it and the fact that it is set in modern times. People who might be interested in these films are those that like to go out and hang around in the street. In terms of what they wear, you could consider them to wear tracksuits a lot and be quite rebellious. Other social realism films have a different target audience such as those around the age of 50. This might be because these are the early social realism films like This Happy Breed which was released in 1944. Those around the age of 50 or older may be able to relate to the film more and find it more interesting than the younger generation would.

Representation
Typical representations: Social realism films represent a variety of people/groups but are realistic in the way which they go about it as they reflect real life issues and people. Typically, they represent working class people and the issues that they struggle with. They tend to represent them in a good way as they work hard but also have a lot of stress in their life. Social realism films also represent those of the lower class and they tend not to be reflected well they are stereotypically reflected. A lot of these films will represent the lower class as those who like to doss around and struggle with money, despite spending it all on drugs and alcohol. They tend to be dressed in tracksuits and not do much with their life apart from cause trouble. They also tend to look quite rough and are often involved in breaking the law.

Narrative
Typical narratives: Each social realism film is different and therefore there is no specific typical plot line for the genre. However, all social realism films tend to have realistic day to day events featured in the film. Economic hardship is a common topic for this genre to feature due to it being such a heavy realistic issue. Working class people tend to be represented and often they can be portrayed as the hero in the film. Drug use is another common storyline for this genre to feature, especially as they are becoming more well known and are considered less of a taboo topic.

Genre Evolution Social Realism

1. The form finds itself: A reservist before and after the war (1902) By James Williamson An ex-soldier is arrested for stealing bread but is released when a starving child begs for mercy. It was a silent film shown in black and white. 2. The Classic: Kes (1969) By Ken Loach A young, English working-class boy spends his free time caring for and training his pet falcon. 3. Stretching the boundaries: The full Monty (1997) By Peter Cattaneo Six unemployed steel workers form a male striptease act. The women cheer them on to go for "the full monty" - total nudity. 4. The parody: Realism is NO joke!!!!!!!!! 5. The homage: This is England (2006) By Shane Meadows A story about a troubled boy growing up in England, set in 1983. He comes across a few skinheads on his way home from school, after a fight. They become his new best friends even like family. Based on experiences of director Shane Meadows.

Rick Altman
Rick Altman Genre Theory: Rick Altman believed that genre is defined by two elements: Semantic elements - these are signs that make it easier for the audience to recognise and identify the genre. Syntactic elements includes themes and plots which makes the theme more subtle and harder to recognise. Semantic Kidulthood This is England Shifty Syntactic