Conventions of Social Realism

Riley Wright

General Conventions• Diegetic Sounds and Diegetic Music.• Realistic Themes.• Social Problems that affect society.• Dramatic Silence.• Protagonist has direct link with social problem.• Gritty visuals and themes.• Strong Language

Sweet Sixteen• UK Social Realistic film by Ken Loach• This film is very gritty and almost if not all locations are real locations

rather than filmed in studios, this not only makes the film more realistic but also makes it cheaper for the film makers.• The film has mainly diegetic sound and hardly any music, the dramatic

silence makes the audience feel like this is real and not a dolled up Hollywood film adding to the Grittiness.

This is England• UK Social Realistic film by Shane Meadows (Released in 2007)• This film tackles racism in the 1980’s and shows real controversies and

views of racial diversity in England during this time. • The film shows the difference in views of racial diversity. The younger

generation being more liberal and the dominant view being a traditional view which is slightly forced upon the younger characters.

Half Nelson• US Social Realistic film by Ryan Fleck• A Genre not really explored by American Film makers and a genre

associated with British film, Half Nelson tackles the theme of Drugs and a Dysfunctional students. • The film uses diegetic sound in the same way Sweet Sixteen does

however sometimes uses diegetic music to give a realistic way to make a scene more emotional.

The Shawshank Redemption • Award Winning US Social Realistic film by Frank Darabont and

Stephen King.• This film tackles prison life in a bluntly realistic way following the

conventions of social realistic films but adding a more emotional take on the genre. The film uses narration and non-diegetic sound something not many social realism films do.

Sweet Sixteen Cliphttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ld9A4QfP6C4

The diegetic sound of the people being visited in the prison gives the scene a sense of normality and as if this criminal life is something regular among the working class Scottish society and plenty of people are in the same situation as they are.

The language and the accents used show both regional identity as well as class as the characters talk with a common tone emphasising the social realistic themes within the scene as working class people are associated with crime. The costume also shows status as they are wearing leather jackets and tracksuits connotes that they aren’t well off money wise especially the teenager.

This is England Clip (Trailer)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0jkv2bRFgQ

The ska music initially establishes a 80’s theme and also connotes a lower class atmosphere as this music was very popular around this time. The music gives the clip an upbeat feeling as a boy finds somewhere he belongs and shows him being raised with potentially dangerous people labelled ‘skinheads’. The montage of him experiencing new things such as love, violence, fun and acceptance at such a young age shows the inevitability of these experiences as he is living in a lower class society.The music and tone of the clip changes when the boy meets the leader of the group who has a tattooed face and takes the boy under his wing dragging him into a life of crime and extreme ideological views that influence their actions. The music is more sped up and shows not just the crime and violence but also the loyalty and family that the group shows.

Half Nelson Cliphttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGZzWyt-YG0This clip has virtually no music or non diegetic sound apart from the end of the clip as the music provides as a transition between 2 scenes. This gives the atmosphere of realism and simplicity as he is a teacher looking out for one of his students who is being tied into the wrong society and crowd. Once the teacher confronts her brother who is influencing her towards drug dealing they find common ground and sort things out diplomatically this adds to the simplicity and the loneliness as there are no major catastrophes in the small town only individual problems like petty crime and drugs.The camera shakes looking as if someone is holding it, making the audience feel as if this is a documented piece of film and that it is real; this reflects lower class society in the United States. Towards the end of the clip you see the young girl riding her bike (by the looks of it on her way home) to quite slow and empty music, this followed with the tracking shot from afar showing her surroundings and showing how simple and slow life is and enhancing that sense of loneliness especially when this atmosphere is associated with the girl. The teacher feels she is lost and is being exploited by her brother and does not want her to take the same route as he is going through (drugs) that is why the scene with him and her brother discussing is so seamless with her riding home. This scene by itself shows not only how lonely she and the teacher are but how lonely everyone else is and it seems that everyone is disconnected and is just having a casual day, spending time at familiar places in the same routine everyday.

The Shawshank Redemptionhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1iVdTVYUEUDuring this clip you see the escape of an inmate the sense of restriction and limitation really is exaggerated throughout the clip as you see him forcing his way through drainage pipes, tight spaces and holes in walls. This idea itself emphasises the point of prison and how tough it is, however by the scene having very dark lighting and close ups exaggerating the claustrophobic feeling and sense of danger as he is escaping prison. There is a lot of diegetic sound but also non-diegetic, such as the narration and the music. I believe this adds a realistic feeling as the narrator is telling the story of a friend of his escaping prison as if he is telling others his story. The film tackles social realism in a way that is very commercialised and focuses more on thrills and action rather than the conventions of social realism.

However this clip does show that it is possible for a white male to be in the same circumstance as a black male especially in the 1940’s where racism was taken lightly and was not seen as a huge controversy by the media and western power. Not only does it show they can be in the same circumstance but they can break free from their past and social inevitabilities whether that'd be crime, violence and general morally wrong decisions.