Social Realism in British Film
What is Social Realism?
Social Realism is a term used that refers to the work of visual artists, such as painters, photographers and filmmakers, which draw attention to the everyday conditions of working class citizens and the poor. However these media artists usually are critical of the systems within these social structures and their art usually portrays these opinions. The term ‘Social Realism’ first seemed to originate and dates back to the realism movement in French art during the mid 1800’s. However within film, the main examples of social realism texts given are substantially of British origin. Early films within this genre would typically look at the day-to-day issues of the working class such as ‘Look Back in Anger’ by Tony Richardson in the 1958 (start of the British New Wave Movement). This presented and represented issues of pregnancy, relationship problems, class divides and poverty. Nowadays, these Social Realism Films present very similar issues and themes but the demographic represented differs. Looking at ‘This is England’ (Shane Meadows, 2006) and ‘Fish Tank’ (Andrea Arnold, 2009) we see that the issues of relationships and financial situations arise, but the protagonist has changed. Before we saw a married man be the lead of the film; this has changed to a teenage and youth demographic as presented in both the 20th century texts.
Social Realism is a term used that refers to the work of visual artists, such as painters, photographers and filmmakers, which draw attention to the everyday conditions of working class citizens and the poor. However these media artists usually are critical of the systems within these social structures and their art usually portrays these opinions. The term ‘Social Realism’ first seemed to originate and dates back to the realism movement in French art during the mid 1800’s. However within film, the main examples of social realism texts given are substantially of British origin. Early films within this genre would typically look at the day-to-day issues of the working class such as ‘Look Back in Anger’ by Tony Richardson in the 1958 (start of the British New Wave Movement). This presented and represented issues of pregnancy, relationship problems, class divides and poverty. Nowadays, these Social Realism Films present very similar issues and themes but the demographic represented differs. Looking at ‘This is England’ (Shane Meadows, 2006) and ‘Fish Tank’ (Andrea Arnold, 2009) we see that the issues of relationships and financial situations arise, but the protagonist has changed. Before we saw a married man be the lead of the film; this has changed to a teenage and youth demographic as presented in both the 20th century texts.
When did Social Realistic films first appear?
One of the very first films that were within the social realism bracket would be ‘A Reservist Before the War, and After the War’ (1902). This film was a revolution to British cinema and commented on the issue of unemployment that faced a Boer serviceman. It was produced by the Williamson Kinematograph Company, which produced many short films on the social realistic topic and genre.
From the release of Social Realism in Britain, a specific audience formed that were interested in the ideas and themes that were raised from the shorts very few features that were being produced from this genre. This meant that Social Realism continued and spread during the following years and had its real place in British cinema in the 30’s and 40’s. Within the 1930’s the British documentary movement had grown majorly and this influenced the filmography produced at the time. The minimalism and realism of these documentaries had very similar micro techniques, which attracted the same audience almost instantly, helping the social realism genre grow. However, the social realism movement went into full throw within Britain during the 1950’s. This was the British New Wave.
Social Realism and the Hindi Film Industry
Social Realism was adapted within the Hindi Films in the 1940’s and 1950’s. Some of the main titles that appeared with this theme of social realism are ‘Neecha Nagar’ by Chetan Anand (1946) and Bimal Roy’s ‘Do Bigha Zamin’ (Two Acres of Land) (1953). Although both these films are within the social realistic genre they differ in a great deal to the British films. The issues raised are different in some aspects due to the context and place these texts are written in and influenced in, however due to the nature of the genre we expect to see some similar issues raised such as relationships and class divide. These same issues are raised within the Indian films due to their universal significance. They affect people worldwide.
In ‘Do Bigha Zamin’ this contrast and similarity between the two industries is clearly presented. The film revolves around a farmer who lives with his wife and son, who are faced with a drought. When rain finally falls, it is seen that the farmer owes two ‘bighas’ (a unit of land) and is left with insufficient food. Also due to this poverty there is an illegal sale of land where the bighas that the farmer owes sit.
Within this film we see the social realistic themes of poverty, drought and criminality. The issue of drought is location specific and we would not see this in British texts, as this is not an issue that affects the country. However, the issue of poverty is universal. People of both regions experience this meaning it is an issue represented in both industries.
Overall the two industries and the way they present social realism are similar when they represent universal issues, but they both have regional specific issues that would not be raised in their form of the social realism genre. This would mean then that the British social realism audience might be enticed to watch an Hindi social realism film if universal issues were raised and vice versa, as they will be able to relate and even contrast to the way the two industries represent the same issue.
Social Realism and British Film
Social Realism in British film peaked during the late 1950’s and early 1960’s in what was known as the British New Wave. The start of the ‘New Wave’ dealt with mainly with the issue of unemployment (such as The Full Monty and Billy Elliot). This said there were many films that were produced just after World War I where it was widely felt that the key to national cinema laid in ‘realism and restraint’. These films were based upon the ever-changing wartime society. Films like ‘Target for Tonight’ (1941), ‘In Which We Serve’ (1942), ‘Millions Like Us’ (1943) and ‘This Happy Breed’ (1944) smoothed away the tension between the class barrier by depicting factory, suburban and war life to the public.
One of the strongest images of post-war British cinema is that of a factory worker downing a pint at the end of another week in ‘Saturday Night and Sunday Morning’ (1960). This film presented social problems after the war and is one of the images to bring about the ‘British New Wave’ of social realistic films. Within this period, due to the new relaxation of censorship, characters were able to have sex lives, money worries and social problems letting the industry depict the reality of the 60’s era.
Who are the Key Directors and Organisations
One of the leading directors of ‘New Wave’ cinema was Tony Richardson.
Tony Richardson had directed the plays of John Osborne and together they set up one of the major production companies behind British New Wave cinema, Woodfall films. They were one of the first to take the cameras out of the studio confines and engage in large amounts of location shooting; again another first for the industry but was welcome under the word eyes of the new filmmakers within the social realism genre. This is all seen within his films ‘A Taste of Hunny’ (1961) and ‘The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner’ (1961).
The social realism fostered by New Wave Cinema made a lasting impression on British filmmakers and cinema for years after the new wave ended. Major directors that were descendants of this movement and that were influenced by the presentation of reality within this period were Mike Leigh and Ken Loach.
Within Mike Leigh’s films ‘Life is Sweet’ (1990), ‘Naked’ (1993) and ‘Secrets and Lies’ (1996), he examined the ever greater cracks in domestic and social life brought by Thatcherite policies in an increasing multi-cultural Britain. When filming Leigh would start out without a script, letting actors improvise and become more n touch with the characters they were playing to clearly portray the realism within his films.
Loach’s work reflects the shift from the collective views of the war age to the independent mood of the post-war years. Loach’s films went from improvised long take naturalism of ‘Poor Cow’ and ‘Kes’ (both 1969) to the exploration of emotional and dramatic individuals within ‘Raining Stones’ (1993) and ‘Ladybird Ladybird’ (1994).
Social Realism can still be seen within films such as the international hit by Pater Cattaneo, ‘The Full Monty’ (1997) as well as Lynne Ramsay’s success ‘Ratcatcher’ (1999) which came after the ‘British New Wave’. In short, the new wave and the social realism it adopted extended way beyond its own period and flourishes in British Cinema today.
Modern Social Realism
Films such as ‘Trainspotting’ (1996), ‘The Full Monty’ (1997), Billy Elliot (2000), This is England’ (2006), ‘London to Brighton’ (2006) and ‘Fish Tank” (2009) all still include the theme of social realism however due to the period of writing, issues that are raised and the way in which they are raised differ slightly. The film “The Full Monty’ shows a happier, more comical side to the issues involved with social realism. Similarly, Billy Elliot and Trainspotting express the feeling of hope toward the ends of each film, which is seen to be rare in the early social realism style. These ‘new’ social realism films also largely represent a much younger demographic. Within both the films ‘Billy Elliot’ and ‘Trainspotting’ teenagers are represented. More modern social realism films go against the convention of only using diegetic sounds by including atmospheric and ambient non-diegetic sounds to enhance a scene by representing atmosphere, tension, and emotions through the non-diegetic music. Also by using a soundtrack (a form of non-diegetic sound) the film was instantly given an identity, which the audience could recognise and relate to the specific film, and also at times, may be used to foreshadow issues and characters that may be raised within the film.
Conventions of Social Realistic Films
There are few main conventions of social realistic films due to the director having there own style and rationale for the films they produce. Some of the main features are:
· Little use of artificial editing techniques: Due to the nature and main rationale of the genre, to create a realistic representation of reality, directors usually chose not to use editing techniques such as sound effects and CGI (seen explicitly within Science Fiction) as it distracts from the reality.
· Hand Held Cameras: This is used to almost give a documentary type feel to the film but also to portray the feelings characters have within the films clearly to the audience.
· Only Diegetic Sound: Once more this helps to give the realistic effect to the film.
Target Audiences
Traditionally, social realism films were about the middle or working class audience, However as these films only attracted a niche audience, they were not screened in mainstream cinemas as their profit margins were very small, and at times non existent. These films were made as art, not as moneymaking schemes. This meant that when these texts were distributed they would only be to smaller, art house cinemas. These would be expensive and meaning the working class that was represented wouldn’t be able to afford to see these films. Due to this situation, the mandatory audience would be the upper class. This said, the upper class might be a primary audience for this genre anyways. As this class were better educated, and therefore seemed more intellectual they would be able to understand and depict the issues raised more than the working class as they have the knowledge to do this. This also meant that they would only be able to sympathise with the issues that were raised; ‘if not experienced, the reality is not known’.
Nowadays, we see these films depict a younger teenage demographic (Bullet Boy). Although they are usually about the less financially stable of people (Fish Tank), which is similar to the previous social realism films, this social group represented are usually able to afford to see these films. So the social group represented may be seen as one of the primary audiences. The niche intelligent audience that was seen in the previous social realism films, would still be present, however they would not be interested in the hybrids forming from the genre (The Full Monty), to attract a much wider mainstream audience, but the specific, ‘pure’, social realism films that share similar micro techniques and macro meanings to films such as ‘Poor Cow’ and ‘Kes’.
