A2 Media Blog

Social Realism Conventions

Realistic portrayal of British society

Use of unknown actors

Working Class setting

Realistic/gritty location

Controversial themes: drugs, crime, sex, prostitution, poverty, alcoholism, homosexuality

Themes of political or religious views

Social or racial injustice

Economic hardship

Age: typically for teenagers or young adults (15 - 30)

Believable storyline and filming techniques

Through our previous research into social realism, we began to realise how important location is within this genre to build a realistic image, as well as highlighting social class and economic status. Stereotypical examples of this are 'The Full Monty' made in 1997, directed by Peter Cattaneo, and is set in Sheffield, England about 6 unemployed men after the steel mills have been shut down, showing their low economic state and working class culture. Another is 'Trainspotting' created in 1996 and directed by Danny Boyle, set in a poor working class area of Edinburgh, reflects in the characters. This is shown through their attitudes, night life, social interaction and ways of earning money.

We are lucky enough to live in a wealthy part of the country where the majority of families would consider themselves middle class. This is great for our storyline as it goes against the social norms, and hopefully making it more unique. As main character, Cally, has also come from a wealthy background, with horses and private school etc, so our geographical location could not be more key. We have both also noticed that due to the fact the location plays such a role in these films the trailers often have many establishing shots so the audience can relate to the event in a more realistic way. So we decided that we should also follow this theme in our trailer. Therefore we will need to shoot some scenes of the wealthiest areas in our society, conforming to the stereotypes.