British social realism is a representation of the lower or working class of Britain who usually don't have much in terms of wealth. These usually contain many corrupt themes such as drugs, violence and pursuit of money. This is usually built up around and urban, run down area such as an estate.
Kes (1960's)
Themes and Situations - the opening takes place in a school, a classroom full of children and a boy getting in trouble with a teacher. It shows the themes of authority and the undermining of youth.
Characters - the protagonist is an argumentative, cheeky character who doesn't realise the consequences of things after he's done it.
Locations and setting - set in Yorkshire in a school, it is easily recognisable as being in Yorkshire because of the strong accent.
Sound/music - idle chatting and the background noise in the classroom.
Camera work/ editing - for a long period of time there is not a change in shot and the camera angle stayed the same. Very few transitions are used.
Mise-en-scene - natural lighting through out, all characters dressed appropriately according to their era.
Quadrophenia (1970's)
Themes and Situations - the clip shows domestic violence, this is shown from the dad slaping his son. The theme of alcohol is portrayed as the boy comes home drunk.
Characters - protagonist is a teenager who is argumentative, angry carefree. The dad is an angry and strict character.
Locations and settings - London, due to the strong cockney accent, the location is a small house showing they are of working class.
Sound/music - fast paced non-diegetic music at the beginning gives the impression that there is a problem. The music fades into the sound of the motorbike which shows that the problem was resolved because of the bike.
Camera work - not a variety of types of shots, starts with and establishing shot then through out the majority of the rest of the clip it is a mid shot.
Mise-en-scene - Artificial lighting which means certain parts of the shots were highlighted bringing the viewers attention to it, the clothing is typical for the working man.
Scum (1980's)
Themes and Situations- there is a portrayal of violence, authority, friendship, fear all shown by the protagonist beating up a guy and getting in trouble with a higher authority figure.
Characters - A young adult who is violent ignorant, brave and a bully. The teacher is disrespectful, violent and tries to show his superior authority.
Settings and locations - set in London because of the cockney accent in a boarding school.
Sound/music - no music in the clip, this gives a raw gritty feel to it.
Camera work/edit - from 1.27 to 2.04 there are no edits and just a straight long take following the protagonist.
Mise-en-scene - filtered lighting used to give a dull and depressing feel to the scene.
Nil by mouth (1990's)
Situations and themes - portrays domestic violence, sex, parenting and neglect.
Characters - the adult male is an angry, violent person who is typical of the stereotype. Woman plays the victim in the scene trying to show innocence.
Locations and settings - working class house which shows BSR and relate able to a lot of viewers.
Camera work - there is a long take but does use a few transitions throughout as well.
Mise-en-scene - the dim lighting gives and sets the tone for the clip, dull and dim.
Kidulthood (2000's)
Situations and themes - petty revenge, sex, drugs, teenage life, friendship and violence all from the three boys robbing the apartment.
Characters - the 3 teenage boys all stereotyped of what they are seen to be by society
Location and setting - London, estate of the lower class people.
Sound/music - explicit language and also slang is used a lot, music at the beginning builds tension then stops then starts again as they leave the apartment.
Camera work - basic, limited variety of types of shots but more cuts and transitions between shots, also fast paced.
Mise-en-scene - all natural lighting to give the gritty and dull feel to the shots also characters wearing very causal baggy clothes.
Ill manors (2010's)
Situations and themes - corruption of youth, neglect, sex, drugs, racism and theft.
Characters - shows the boy's life path as he grows older portraying a stereotypical representation of how a boys life will be if he is to grow up in a lower class society.
Location and setting - drug dealers basement, this shows where the corruption is happening.
Sound/music - music all the way through explain the story without dialogue from the characters.
Camera work - many cuts and fast paced edits to show a transition in time.
Mise-en-scene - ambient lighting for a realistic feel in the basement.
Over the last 50 years British Social Realism has changed dramatically in terms of how everything is portrayed, though the ideology of the narrative and themes are very similar. 50 years ago the ways characters were portrayed; such as being working class people who have normal lives and dress in a much different way to today's characters These characters are more urbanised and stereotypical portray what happens in today's society. In terms of camera work and edits there are certainly a much more wider variety of transitions being used such as cuts more often. While 50 years ago there was a tenancy to use long takes and not to break the shot up with edits. Also music is also a big factor where 50 years ago and up to quite recently music was mostly used to build tension but now music is used to tell the story of what's going on without actors having to speak.
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