THEMES AND ISSUES MATRIXSOCIAL REALISM RESEARCH 2

- Katie Ranns

KES (1969)

Director: Ken Loach

Writer: Barry Hines (Book), Ken Loach (Adaption), Tony Garnett (Adaption)

Producer:

A young, English working-class boy spends his free time caring for and training his pet falcon. His connection with the falcon sparks new hope and happiness.

Themes: Neglect, coming of age, hope, social class

Issues: Bullying, sibling-rivalry, loneliness, child abuse

IN MY CHILDHOOD (1972)

Director: Bill Douglas

Writer: Bill Douglas

Producer: British Film Institute (BFI)

The first part of Bill Douglas' influential trilogy harks back to his impoverished upbringing in early-'40s Scotland. Cinema was his only escape - he paid for it with the money he made from returning empty jam jars - and this escape is reflected most closely at this time of his life as an eight-year-old living on the breadline with his half-brother and sick grandmother in a poor mining village.

Themes: responsibility, neglect

Issues: Poverty, Illness

MADE IN BRITAIN (1982)

Director: Alan Clarke

Writer: David Leland

Producer: Central Independent Television

Trevor is a 16 year old, sometimes-violent skinhead with no regard for authority, and would rather spend his time stealing cars than sitting in the detention centre. The authorities within the centre try to make Trevor conform to the norms of society, but he takes no notice, and would rather speak in a torrent of four-letter words and racial abuse

Themes: Conformity, moral behaviour, authority, society roles, rebellion

Issues: Crime, violence, abuse,

THIS IS ENGLAND (2006)

Director: Shane Meadows

Writer: Shane Meadows

Producer: Mark Herbert

A story about a troubled boy growing up in England, set in 1983. He comes across a few skinheads on his way home from school, after a fight. They become his new best friends even like family. Based on experiences of director Shane Meadows.

Themes: social status/role, culture, bonds,

Issues: violence, abuse, Thatcherism, racism

MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE (1985)

Director: Stephen Frears

Writer: Hanif Kureishi

Producer: Tim Bevan, Sarah Radclyffe

An ambitious Asian Briton and his white lover strive for success and hope, when they open up a glamorous laundromat

Themes: Culture, community, diversity

Issues: Poverty, alcoholism, racism, abuse, immigration

LADYBIRD LADYBIRD (1994)

Director: Ken Loach

Writer: Rona Munro

Producer: Sally Hibbin

Maggie has a history of bouncing from one abusive relationship to another. She was found to be an “unfit” mother who took her four children away when injured in a fire. The man of her dreams, a Paraguayan expatriate, start a family together. Social Services seems unwilling to accept that her life has changed and rends them from their new children. She and Jorge fight a desperate battle to make their family whole again

Themes: love, compatibility, responsibility

Issues: social services, immigration

THE FULL MONTY (1997)

Director: Peter Cattaneo

Writer: Simon Beaufoy

Producer: Uberto Pasolini

Six unemployed steel workers form a male striptease act. The women cheer them on to go for "the full monty" - total nudity.

Themes: social status, responsibility

Issues: unemployment, indecency

BULLET BOY (2004)

Director: Saul Dibb

Writer: Saul Dibb, Catherine Johnson

Producer:

In one of East London's most volatile neighbourhoods, pride, rivalry and revenge are the only codes on the street. Fresh out of jail, 18-year-old Ricky and his 12-year-old brother, Curtis, struggle to walk the straight and narrow when a minor street clash escalates into an all-out neighbourhood war.

Themes: moral behaviour, authority, respect, social status

Issues: gang violence, abuse, death

HELEN (2008)

Director: Joe Lawlor, Christine Molloy

Writer: Joe Lawlor, Christine Molloy, Ben Slator

Producer: Desperate Optimists

Helen is a teenage girl who, when asked by the police to play the stand-in for a reconstruction, realizes it gives her a chance to confront her own troubled past

Themes: identity

Issues: crime, murder, suicide, abduction, mental health

FISH TANK (2009)

Director: Andrea Arnold

Writer: Andrea Arnold

Producer: Nick Laws, Kees Kasander. Executive: Christine Langan, David M. Thompson

Everything changes for 15-year-old Mia when her mum brings home a new boyfriend

Themes: responsibility, reformation, hope

Issues: underage, family relationships, commitment

Themes

Coming of age

Neglect

Responsibility

Issues

Poverty

Child abuse

loneliness

60S/70S

80S Themes

Thatcherism

Culture

Moral behaviour

Issues

Authority

Violence/abuse

Racism

90S Themes

compatibility

responsibility

love

Issues

Government policies

unemployment

immigration

00S ThemesMoral

Behaviour

Hope

Identity

Issues

Gang violence

Death

Family

THE THEMES AND ISSUES WITHIN EACH FILM CORRELATE WITH THE PROBLEMS WITHIN SOCIETY AT THE POINT IT WAS MADE.

Common themes were definitely moral behaviour and responsibility – they generally go hand in hand. It is clear that a major part of social realism films are to teach their audience that every action has its consequence.

Common issues include racism, abuse/violence and the problems with authority – these issues have been circling society for centuries on end and social realism films feel like its their duty to tackle these problems.

THEMES AND ISSUES HAVE PROGRESSED FROM COMMENTING ON NEGLECT AND THE TREATMENT OF CHILDREN, TO MAJOR CRITICISM ON THE GOVERNMENT REGIME AND THE IMMENSE REBELLION OF VIOLENCE THAT FOLLOWED. THEN IN THE 90S THERE WERE MULTIPLE REFERENCES TO IMMIGRATION AND THE POLICIES/PROBLEMS SURROUNDING THAT. FINALLY, THEMES AND ISSUES PROGRESSED TO MORAL BEHAVIOUR/GANG VIOLENCE, HOPE/DEATH AND FAMILY/IDENTITY; THESE ARE PRETTY SERIOUS ISSUES THAT AFFECT THE MAJORITY OF THE YOUNGER GENERATIONS.