Social realism is a subgenre of film, based on capturing the British working class honestly whilst critiquing those in power. Many famous films have submerged from this genre, including Trainspotting, I Daniel Blake and Kes.
Mike Leigh is famous for his Social Realism films, he aims to present "emotional, subjective, intuitive, instinctive, vulnerable films." One of his most notable pieces of social realism is his 2002 film "All or Nothing", which follows follows a disrupted family on a council estate in South London and how they are brought together through a tragedy. His most famous film "naked", starring David Thewlis follows an unemployed man in Britain and follows his spiral.
In the 1960s, when the subgenre of social realism first emerged, a new type of film stock became widely available, called Eastmen colour. This revolutionised the film industry, pioneering the change from black and white to colour film. Despite this, social realism is a genre still firmly associated with monochrome film, perhaps explaining the genres tendency to use a dark, gritty and dull colour scheme within modern times. Social realism films are also recognisable for their use of close up angles, extreme long shots to showcase society and natural lighting. Additionally, a stylistic choice some directors choose to include is casting non-professional actors to give the characters a more jaggered, awkward yet realistic personality. Some films also use no music, just dialogue.
Social Realism that carries ideologies about poverty, class and the different ways people struggle and how they cope. It aims to highlight the ugly of working class life and sympathises particularly to those in poverty.
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