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“The realistic depiction in art of contemporary life, as a
means of social or political comment.”
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In relation to film, this genre tends to focus on the lives of
ordinary individuals, who may be in a similar situation to the
viewer, on in contrast may be in a situation more drastic than
the viewers due to their lives circumstances.
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“A film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development
of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes.”
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. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug
addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial
prejudice, religious intolerance, sexuality, poverty, class
divisions, violence against women and corruption put the
characters in conflict with themselves, others, and society.
Drama is one of the broadest movie genres and includes
subgenres such as romantic drama, sport films, period
drama, courtroom drama and crime.
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For the purpose of exploring this genre in greater depth, I
have decided to analyse the following examples of film to
see elements of this genre, put into practise.
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.Kidulthood
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Trainspotting
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Submarine
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Slumdog Millionaire
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Plot synopsis: The story of a group of
troubled teens facing the difficulties of youth
in West London. The antagonist, Sam Peel, is
wrapped up in a world of violence, drugs and
sex and must find a way to fight the odds.
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Director: Menhaj Huda
Writer: Noel Clarke
Stars: Aml Ameen, Red Madrell, Noel Clarke |
Music by: The Angel
Cinematography: Brian Tufano
Edited by: Victoria Boydell
Distributed by: Revolver Entertainment
Release dates: 3 March 2006
Running time:91 minutes
Country: United Kingdom
Language: English
Budget:£600,000
Box office:£453,876
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Kidulthood is a key example in representing
social realism through numerous methods.
Firstly, the setting of London has proved very
effective in producing stories with social realism
elements due to the fact that cities and rural
areas are where these stories originate.
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Youth in modern times are presented with
opportunities or situations in which they are
pressured to be involved in drugs, sex or alcohol,
and this feature is clearly emphasised in
Kidulthood.
The protagonists presented in Kidulthood are all of
a school age and so we see examples of bullying,
common from this genre as well as the difficulties
of addressing these issues to parents due to
conflicting relationships. The film also goes to
drastic measures to emphasise the effect of
bullying with the death of a character by suicide.
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Director Menhaj Huda had the intention of
creating a realistic portrayal of London in Kidult
hood with the use of cinematography. The
scope and scale is clearly established whilst the
common trends with teenagers are also present.
Examples including, school life, peer pressure
and the threat of gangs.
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It was clear immediately that the director was trying to represent the youth in
modern society, more specifically however, youth in England. These characters
all come from disadvantaged backgrounds in one way or another. Whether it be
poverty, disability, or a form of family disruption, Kidulthood has a strong idea
about how these characters should respond and act towards these disadvantages
whilst also allowing the viewer to sympathise with these teens.
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Of course this is not a clear representation of teenagers in general but rather of a
minority who perhaps feel angry towards society for their circumstances in which
they have against them.
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It is also arguable that the intended audience
of kidulthood is the same as those who the
film focuses on. I believe this to be true, due
to the fact that these characters are intended
to be relatable, and the situations and
relationships they may be involved in are
examples of exaggerated scenarios that most
teenagers in today's society will experience.
Kidulthood gains success from the fact that it uses an all
British cast to represent its characters, as well as being set
in the iconic city of London.
 The Director, Menhaj Huda, attempts to deliver a realistic
portrayal of the lives of citizens, scope of the city and the
dangers that come with it. It was interesting to see the
success of his representation as he is a Bangladeshi
director, stepping into a city and type of film he is not
usually associated with.
 Perhaps the success of achieving this scope of London was
due to the British film company's association with the film,
focusing on elements such as lighting, setting, camera
shots and costumers. All in the attempt to give the viewer
a realistic look into one aspect of life in London.
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Plot synopsis: Renton, deeply immersed in
the Edinburgh drug scene, tries to clean up
and get out, despite the allure of the drugs
and influence of friends. A story of drugs, sex
and all the wrong choices.
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Directed by: Danny Boyle
Release dates:23 February 1996 (United Kingdom)
Main Actors: Ewan McGregor/Ewen Bremner/Jonny Lee Miller
Cinematography: Brian Tufano
Edited by: Masahiro Hirakubo
Production company: Channel Four Films
Distributed by: PolyGram Filmed Entertainment (UK)Miramax Films
Running time: 93 minutes
Country: United Kingdom
Language: English
Budget: £1,550,000
Box office: $72,000,000
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Much like Kidulthood, Trainspotting makes a fantastic use of its setting
and time period to clearly emphasise life for these characters. The film is
riddled with graphic drug use, frequent strong language, sex, nudity and
violence. All with the focus on the character Mark Renton and his group
of friends, each with controversial personality traits. I suppose you could
argue that the story of Mark is redemption story as he tries to rid himself
of drug use, but ultimately, it is a story of highs and lows for Mark and the
group who can never quite achieve their goal when they are the ones
haltering one another's progress.
The tone of the film though differs from most social realism examples in
the fact that although the film addresses numerous adult themes, its use
of humour prevents the plot from becoming to morbid and allows for
sympathy to be formed towards some of the characters.
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Although the characters are older than those shown in Kidulthood, it
could be argued that with the way they act and speak to one another
they are perhaps much more immature. The film also plays to the
stereotype of Scotland, so violence, alcohol and drug abuse are never too
far away.
The narration from the character of Mark Renton also allows elements of
social realism to come through, as the viewer gets frequent insights into
the mind of a character who faces many issues, and as such we learn his
state of mind and his methods of processing.
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As previously analysed, Trainspotting’s
setting and social world in which the story is
formed allows the use of many characters to
show different aspects of personalities,
including, greed,agression and jealousy.
These characters and the use of narrative
allow the viewer to establish the world in
which the film is set by accordingly
representing these characters correctly.
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I believe director Danny Boyle had the same
task in representing youth in his film but
those of an older age with perhaps more
experience in life behind them. More
specifically, I believe Boyle tries to represent
the minority who struggle with drug abuse
and those who are unsure of where their life
is heading.
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Due to the humour of Trainspotting, the
audience is not particularly limited for this
film, and by the analysis of the success of the
film, its clear to see it was a fan favourite
upon its release. However with the majority
of characters being males who play to male
stereotypes, the expected audience would be
primarily male, over the age of 18 due to the
rating.
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In contrast, Danny Boyle is a British director with a vast
degree of experience in British films and so the
representation of Scotland is impressively represented.
The cast has also been specifically chosen to represent the
typical young adult in Scotland with examples such as Ewan
McGregor who allows narrative and increased psychological
aspects of personalities to be shown. The film does not rely
to heavily on its budget for its success, but in contrast to
Kidulthood, the budget was almost triple the amount and
perhaps the box office success shows the higher degree of
quality that Trainspotting has due to its increased budget.
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Plot synopsis: “Precocious Oliver struggles with being
popular in school but when a dark-haired beauty takes
interest in him, he's determined to become the best
boyfriend in the world. Meanwhile, his parents' already rocky
relationship is threatened when his mother's ex-boyfriend
moves in next door. Oliver makes some unorthodox plans to
ensure that his parents stay together and that Jordana still
likes him.”- Source: IMDB
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Directed by: Richard Ayoade
Produced by: Mary Burke/ Mark Herbert/Andy Stebbing
Screenplay by: Richard Ayoade
Based on: Submarine by Joe Dunthorne
Starring: Noah Taylor/Paddy Considine/Craig Roberts/Yasmin Paige/Sally
Hawkins
Music by: Andrew Hewitt/Alex Turner
Cinematography: Erik Wilson
Edited by: Chris Dickens/Nick Fenton
Production company: Warp Films/ Film4 Productions/UK Film
Distributed by: Optimum Releasing (United Kingdom)/The Weinstein Company
(United States)
Release dates:12 September 2010 (TIFF)/18 March 2011 (United Kingdom)
3 June 2011 (United States: limited)
Running time/97 minutes
Country/United Kingdom/United States
Language: English
Box office:$864,659
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Some may argue that submarine is not an
example of social realism, however it contains
elements of it that I believe are noteworthy.
Firstly the story focuses on a boy and his
relationship with a girlfriend. As such we see the
positives and negatives of love and how
individuals deal with it at a young age. It also
looks at the psychological issues of the boy due
to him dealing with issues such as lack of
motivation, insecurities of the unknown and the
realisation of his parents affair.
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The narrative for submarine is much harder to
interoperate in my opinion due to the way in
which in it is shot and acted. We have
common theme such as romance and
difficulties at school as well the example of
conflicting parents staying together for the
sake of the child.
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Once again representation is also hard to
establish for the characters in this film as they
are very conflicting and have numerous
character traits. For example, Oliver at times
seems secluded, quite and in a world of his
own, yet at times we see a side to him which
tries to please and entertain others by
bullying others. One example shows the
danger of Oliver's personality as he could be
described as an arsonist.
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The film appeals to the masses in the sense of
its comedic elements and interesting story,
although with the focus being on two central
young characters, the audience may be more
young adult based, those individuals who can
relate to some of the issues presented.
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Submarine is Richard Ayoade first major film
and as such was not reviewed positively by all
critics. This may be due to the tone and
complex story presented by the director that
in my opinion does not appeal to the majority
of film fans. However it was supported by
experienced British Production company's
including Film 4 and so the shooting, setting
and acting are all adequately achieved.
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Plot synopsis: A Mumbai teen who grew up in the
slums, becomes a contestant on the Indian version
of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" He is arrested
under suspicion of cheating, and while being
interrogated, events from his life history are shown
which explain why he knows the answers.
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Directed by: Danny Boyle
Produced by: Christian Colson
Screenplay by: Simon Beaufoy
Based on: Q & A by Vikas Swarup
Starring:Dev Patel/Freida Pinto/Madhur Mittal/Anil Kapoor/Irrfan Khan
Music by:A.R. Rahman
Cinematography: Anthony Dod Mantle
Edited by: Chris Dickens
Production company:Celador Films/Film4 Productions
Distributed by:Pathé Eros Entertainment(United Kingdom)/Fox Searchlight
Pictures/Warner Bros. Pictures
(United States & Canada)
Release dates: 30 August 2008(Telluride Film Festival)9 January 2009(United
Kingdom)/23 January 2009 (India)
Running time: 120 minutes
Country: United Kingdom
Language: English
Budget:$15 million
Box office:$377.9 million
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Unlike previous films of analysis, Slumdog Millionaire has a
greater focus on poverty, more specially, poverty
surrounding Mumbai. We follow the story of Jamal Malik, a
poor boy who faces the harsh reality of growing up alongside
his brother in India after the death of his mother leaves him
orphaned and against the odds. As well as having a focus on
poverty, SDM addresses numerous mature and sometimes
morbid issues including, prostitution, racism, and slavery.
And yet the film still stands in time as one of the greatest
feel good films of all time.
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The story alone of SDM is a powerful and
appealing one to many viewers due to the
underdog story. Viewers are rooting for their
characters to succeed due to the struggle we
have seen them endure, and so when they over
come the odds, its inspiring and entertaining.
Several stereotypes are also seen throughout
SDM that are used as either fillers or used to
stimulate the story. Examples including a
romantic interest for Jamal as well as a
conflicting relationship with his brother.
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It is not particularly apparent which group or
individual SDM is trying to represent. Many
may argue that is used to represent poverty
ridden countries and how this effects the lives
of those living in these countries. It also does
not represent one age group but rather all
ages as it shows the characters as the grow
and gain experience as they get older.
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When promoting SDM, the sale line used was
‘The feel good film of the year’, and with that
title, the director had the intention of appealing
to the masses with this film. Although the film
contains many adult themes, the use of humour,
a compelling story, and relatable characters
allows SDM to appeal to the majority of viewers
as an underdog story has always been popular in
film. It also appeals to those who wish to gain a
better understand of the country and the issues
that are realistic portrayed in the film.
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I have previously analysed the success
Danny Boyle has had when trying to
represent social realism in his films, and
SDM is arguably his most popular and
accurate attempt yet. The scope of India
is clearly represented and the
cinematography is highly impressive as
the film recreates the beautiful Indian
scenery with bright and vibrant colours,
but in contrast realistic captures the
poverty ridden slums of Mumbai. SDM
received a staggering turnover at the
box office regardless of a limited 15
million dollar budget, proving that the
films expenses were spread affectively
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To conclude, I believe that social realism is
one of the most successful genres when
creating memorable and iconic films. The
genre presents characters the viewer can
relate to, issues that present drama and
entertainment on an entertaining level, and
ultimately creates stories that keep the
viewer enticed to the very end.
By Harry Andrew Clarke