Social Realism Timeline

Social Realism Timeline

 Look Back In Anger (1950's)

People in this movie are working class as Jimmy goes through his wife's handbag to see if there is any money in it, but in those times as women did not work as frequently as the present day she most likely would not have much money and all the income would come from a man. The dialogue is also quite posh this shows that the actors and actresses are trained as it does not really match genuine social realism. The train going past at the time connotes that it is quite an urban city, the factories also connote that it is quite industrialized and there is a lot of pollution. The woman is also oppressed by the man as she is scared of him as when she notices that he went through her handbag she does not say anything.

 Poor Cow (1967)

In this movie the man is having bath in the tub in his living room which connotes that they are quite poor. The house is near an alley also connoting that they are working class as someone who is richer would not live near an alley. The man punches woman this connotes that one of the themes of this movie are abuse. The man from the window is also laughing as if it was funny and acceptable , and the language throughout the whole movie is not as posh meaning most likely that these people are real genuine working class people and not trained actors and actresses.

 Bronco Bullfrog (1970) 



The language used throughout the film is not as posh showing that the actors and actresses are most likely genuine and they originally talked in the way that they do. The men are doing a lot of labour showing that they are working class and have to earn a living. The houses shown throughout the scene are also quite simplistic showing that they do not really earn much money. There is also a lot of crime as people are believing the labour they are doing is too much so they go out and steal things, it is located in Stratford where the docks were.

My Beautiful Launderette (1985)

This movie deals with themes such as racism and issues with homosexuality. It is evident that the Asian man is working class as he lives near a train station, as there are trains you can tell it is quite urban. He is also running out of money he also used to do a job which included labor ( Worked in a car wash), he then falls in to alcoholism and he very quickly loses his money this movie helps to show usual struggles within British Social Realism. Also as they are Pakistani in the UK they were beaten up also connoting the racism.
Trainspotting (1996)

This film deals with themes such as hardcore drug abuse such as cocaine, it is quite serious as he is addicted and it portrays the struggles of British Social Realism as he keeps having withdraws and becomes dependent on the drugs and everything keeps getting worse as he then receives a STI. The house that the 15 year old lives in is quite average connoting that most likely she is working class and it signifies that most people in the movie are working class as well. The accents seem quite genuine connoting that these are most likely not trained actors.

Kidulthood(2006)

This film deals with themes such as drug abuse, crime, violence and adolescent life in West London for a teen. The teens are portrayed as antisocial and reckless. The clothes that the teens are wearing connotes that they are working class and also the council flats that they live in also connotes they most likely don't have a lot of money as they can't afford to live in  a house. Another theme is teen pregnancy as the girl is pregnant at 15 years old, this deals with British Social Realism as this is quite common in Britain. The actors are also quite young and there language and accent does not seemed forced this connotes that they were most likely working class before they started filming as they could play a roll which is similar to them or which is portrayed around them in everyday life. Girls are also fighting girls showing there is less stigma of being like the outdated common housewife. 

Ill Manners (2012) 



Throughout this film there is a vast amount of drug abuse as in the start the woman is doing crack cocaine. The skinhead Nazi also confirms that this film includes themes such as racism, also as he abuses the young boy because he is black. Young children are also selling drugs to get money this shows that they are working class, it connotes that the drug life is hard to escape as he is an adult and still selling drugs. The language used is quite explicit and the language is not as posh connoting that they are not trained. The music is also quite upbeat making the film seem urban.

British social realism in the past 60 years has changed dramatically as it has been updated with modern themes, as time went on the themes changed, for example in the film Bronco Bullfrog people had to do a lot of manual labor, they were not happy so they started stealing things, compared to the film Ill manners where they did not have to do much but sell drugs for money, better money than if they were to get a normal job, there is not really a big amount of work. Some of the themes remain the same such as abuse but they are represented in a different way to match the time period. Also before women were quite oppressed but in the more modern films they are not as oppressed as over time things have changed for women and this is portrayed in these films. Although some people are still living in a backwards society and fail to accept the fact that women can do more than just clean, cook and look after the children.