Analysis of scenes from Social Realism Films

Max Ardron

A Kind Of Loving (1962)• Characters

– This scene shows kids playing. – These kids are obviously from the working class

families that live in these houses. They don’t appear to have a real area to play so have to settle for the street outside their homes.

• Camerawork/ editing– The film starts with an establishing shot of the street

where the kids are playing, then the kids run down the street to the left and towards the church, the camera pans with them with the houses in the background.

• Settings and locations:– The film opens with an establishing shot of a

neighbourhood in 1960’s Lancashire.– The setting is very dark and dingy and although the

entire film is shot in black and white you can imagine the real colours of this location are still very dull.

– This is a typical working class neighbourhood and these houses are typical working class houses. They are all cramped together and all look exactly the same.

– Below we see a large cathedral, looking slightly rundown right next to where all the houses are.

• In this scene Shifty and his friend bump into a criminal dealing electronics.• Characters

– The dealer is represented as someone who does not dress smart, wearing very casual clothes.– He is quite young which shows the viewer that he may be inexperienced.– He is also not presented as very intelligent because he opens up a massive bag of stolen goods in broad daylight.– Shifty and his friend also dress casual, this indicates that these characters might not have a real job and may make

their money with dodgy dealings.

Shifty (2009)

ShiftyShifty’s friend The Dealer

Shifty (2009)• Camerawork/ editing

– The camera is very much handheld, this indicates that this is not a very formal meeting between businessmen, more a run-in between friends.

– The camera constantly switches between characters, Shifty and Shifty’s friend facing the dealer. We get a perspective shot of Shifty and his friends shoulders so it gives the viewer the impression that we are there with them.

– The screen gives the viewer the view that if there was a third person there this is probably what they would be seeing through their eyes.

– This use of camerawork is very effective because it makes the whole scene that bit more tense. We get the idea that we are one of these guys, doing something illegal. We are not observing from a distance so we manage to feel the danger of getting caught.

The viewer

ShiftyShifty’s friend

The Dealer

• Settings/ Location– The settings/location is a quite rundown

council estate. In the background of the first image we see a few garages that have been vandalised.

– There are plants growing out of the buildings which indicate this area has been deprived from funding.

– There are very few people about, indicating that this might be an area where dodgy drug dealings go on. In the eyes of the criminals, the more deserted these areas are the better.

– Perhaps if these areas were less deprived criminals would not have been able to thrive.

Shifty (2009)

Kes (1969)• In this scene Billy and his classmates play football on a freezing pitch in

PE.• Characters

– The kids all speak in northern accents, they all appear to be wearing shorts despite how cold it is.

– No one appears to be wearing any sort of uniform which indicates that perhaps the school is underfunded and might not have the money to afford a school uniform.

– The teacher is incredibly obnoxious and fails to act like a real teacher, instead of letting the kids play the game themselves he hogs the ball.

– When Billy misses a save the teacher gets angry with him and kicks the ball at him, this is completely unprofessional and if a school lets a teacher get away with this then the school has most likely got massive problems of its own.

• Camerawork/ editing– The camera often shows wide shots to highlight what the location is like. In

the background we can see working class houses. This shows us what type of people live in the area and what type of families these kids have.

• Settings/ location– The location is a football pitch, but less a pitch and more a field. The goal has

no net and there are no markings on the ground to indicate where the pitch is. This is another indication of what state the school is in.

– In the background we see small working class houses that may belong to the families of the kids who go to this school.

– We also see factories which are probably where many of the people who live in the working class houses go to work.