- Themes and Situations
- Characters
- Locations and Setting
- Sound (Music and Dialogue)
- Camerawork/Editing
- Other mise-en-scene (Lighting, Costumes, Props etc)
1950's
Look Back In Anger
Themes and Situations: From this scene in the movie I found three themes which were connoted several different ways. Aspiration and escape is a main theme in this movie as the main male character plays a trumpet with many other people; this is connoted from the beginning of the clip and as he goes back to a bare home it suggests that playing the trumpet is his escape from his mundane, normal working life, his concentrated and passionate expression whilst playing the instrument is denoted below which connotes he is desperate to escape from his boring life.
Characters: A character archetype which I denoted at 6:57 was 'The Lost Boy' who is shot next to a man using a mid-shot to capture both of their expressions. I connoted that this is his archetype because of his dialogue which told us he has been caught by a girl's mum with the girl; he is also the only teenage boy we seen and The Lost Boy stereotypically is a teenager and mischievous/lost his way.
The second archetype I spotted was 'The downtrodden woman'; currently in BSR films the downtrodden woman would be a lot more noticable but I think that this female character is her as the close up denotes a worried expression on her face which connotes that she is worried about either her partner or children which is typical for this archetype. She is also at home ironing which is a very feminine chore and suggests she is always at home doing the domestic work.
Locations and Setting: The film is obviously set in the 1950's as they have the old iron which is shown in the gif above, it is located mostly in a standard working class family house for the 1950's as not many people lived with luxuries in that time. The bedrooms are basic and their belongings are basic, the location has no expensive items and they hang the clothes and everything all in one room which could connote a theme of poverty. The whole film is based in England and this is connoted from their accents. The gif below also shows how their home is basic as they do not have curtains and I can denote a very basic dressing table which connotes that they are reasonably poor.
Sound (music and dialogue): There is no non-diegetic music throughout the whole scene but there is diegetic music at the start of music playing, (trumpets). The music sounds upbeat and happy and continues into another shot which is called a sound bridge. This happy music suggests that the film is not going to be sad which is unusual for a British Social Realism. I made the YouTube video below to show the happy music that is played at the beginning of the scene. I also think that the dialogue in this film is scripted as it does not seem very natural.
Camerawork/Editing: The camera work in this film uses a range of shots but I found that they did not cut to different shots a lot, I did not see a lot of shot reverse shot the camera would follow the actor for a while but there would be no editing.
Other mise-en-scene (lighting, costumes, props etc): From the sequence I can see that their clothing is very casual and basic, the men are wearing flannel shirts and smart trousers but they are not too smart and the woman is shown in a dressing gown, their clothing connotes that they are not of upper class as they are wearing normal, everyday working clothes. Also, I can denote that the male actor's shirt is not buttoned right to the top and he is not wearing his blazer, this connotes that he is not someone of high importance as he looks scruffy.
1960's
Poor Cow
Themes and Situations: I think that the main themes of this film are childhood and poverty. I chose childhood as a theme as the couple have a child and are bringing it up throughout the movie; I can denote from the midshot that the father is feeding the child from the image below and throughout they care for their child;this shows that there is a positive aspect to the film which is unusual for BSR as when childhood is a theme it is usually about the absence of a childhood; however another theme portrayed is poverty which could at a later stage affect the child. They live in a very built up area in England as this is shown as when they are on the ceilings the mass of all the houses around them is exposed and there are a huge amount; the shot of all the houses almost acts as an establishing shot to show the audience their location and how built up it is.
Characters: I only really noticed one strongly shown archetype in this section of the film-'The Female with a Conscience' who I believe is the mother of the child, as she is denoted at the end holding the child and calmly talking to her husband as she also hangs the washing outside; although she is seen doing woman's jobs this does not make her weak as she is not a failing mother as her child is happy and her relationship is fine too. She also looks happy as if she does not have any major problems; even though it is clear that they are not well off and that they are poor she does not break down and cry at any point in the sequence.
Locations and Setting: The location of the shots help to tell me that they are poor as their house is very bare and the rooms are basic;the last shot especially shows this, but the long shot where the mother is hanging the washing out is the most suitable location to connote their poverty; I can denote her hanging washing outside of the window on a string which was an old fashioned way for working class/under class people to dry their clothing as their homes were too small to hang clothing. I think that they did not film on a set and that they just used a basic building which normal working class people would have lived in during the 1960s. All of the houses together suggests that it is in urban England so the location could possibly be London.
Sound (music and dialogue): There is no dialogue throughout the whole sequence apart from at the end where the female partner tells her partner that his singing was good and he says its improving. His singing and guitar playing is what we hear throughout the whole sequence-here they have used a sound bridge. The sound of the music is quite dull and not very interesting and this represents what life is like for the actors; mundane and dragging on but with small sparks of positive emotion.
Camerawork/Editing: They have used many different types of shots throughout and keep on changing and using camera movements to keep the audience interested in the film. The use of close ups are made to show expression and at 1:02 of this link the close up of the male actor has been used to emphasize his happiness; there are not any dull or sad moments in the sequence but if there were any I think they would have been highlighted in the same way as it is very effective to portray to the audience the character's mood.
Other mise-en-scene (lighting, costumes, props etc): The lighting in this film is mostly natural lighting which I can connote from all of the scenes; this has been done to increase the 'realism' aspect of the genre. There are also minimal props in the bedrooms/house to connote to the audience that the family do not have many belongings which again relates to them being poor. Their costume is not very smart and they wear casual clothing; at 1:11 the long shot allows the audience to see their full costume and I can denote jeans and big baggy jumpers which connote that they are not people of high class who care about appearance and they wear whatever they can afford.
1970's
Bronco Bullfrog
Themes and Situations: The themes and situations which are explored within Bronco Bullfrog are: corruption of youth, violence and first love. The corruption of youth is denoted from a scene where two male characters break into a locked compartment and intend to steal what I think is something from the 'Phillips' brand. This is corruption of youth as it represents how the younger generation are rebelling.
The second theme that is being explored within this film is violence, there is a mid shot at 2:08 (on this link) where one teenager is pushed to the ground in a subway, this represents violence as there is a fight occurring, this is a common theme in BSR as this genre especially shows the grittyness of daily life and all of its hassles-including fights that happen between teenagers very commonly. The last theme is first love which I chose as there is a mid shot of two male teen actors at a woman's door asking if her daughter is at home, this connotes that he wishes to take her out on a date and this is one of the first acts which occur during young love-but as this is of the BSR genre he does not ask nicely and there is no kindness from anyone-not even the mother of the girl, this is shown in the screen grab below;
Characters: The main archetype that I can see from the sequence is 'The Lost Boy' as he is rebelling and going against the law, finding his first love and growing up into an adult which are all of the stereotypical aspects of this archetype. There is a long shot at 2:14 from which I can denote a group of kids kicking down a door-and I can denote 'The Lost Boy' at the front of the group of boys which connotes that he is the leader and main character in the film-this is what the archetype of the lost boy is usually represented as.
Locations and Settings: The location at 2:07 is a dirty urban subway which is a very typical location for BSR as it represents real life and nothing is hidden to improve the appearance of the location-it adds to the 'realism' of the film. The long shot of the subway is shown for a split section but this is vital to set the scene and allow the audience to see where the film is being set, I think the film is set in London as the subway and busy road with cars suggest. The olden cars also tell me that the film was set in the 1970's.
Sound (music and dialogue): There is an upbeat song playing throughout the clip which is a tune of happy non-diegetic music, this is peculiar for BSR as it usually looks at deprived and negative topics so you would not expect cheery music. When there is the rare piece of dialogue the non-diegetic music fades out. I also think that the dialogue is scripted as it seems very rehearsed, the language used is very clean and there are no curse or swear words from any of the characters. I also cannot hear any SFX.
Camerawork/Editing: The camera work in this Bronco Bullfrog is similar to the pieces before as it switches from shot to shot and these are also some camera movements-but again I also found that at times the camera was stationary for too long-for example when the mother answered the door the camera was stationary between 0:35 and 0:52. I think that some shot-reverse-shot or some closeups would have been useful to keep the audience more interested and able to see the two characters facial expression who had their backs to the camera. Below is the gif of this scene and as you can tell it runs for a very long period that it was even too long for a gif so I have only used part of it.
Other mise-en-scene (lighting, costumes, props etc): The costume in Bronco Bullfrog is often quite smart compared to what costume current BSR actors would wear, they are seen in clean clothes-sometimes even shirts; however in the 1970s people generally dressed a lot smarter than now so this could be the reason. Although they are dressed smart they do not appear to be rich so I think their dress sense purely connotes the era.
1890's
Rita, Sue and Bob Too
Themes and Situations: The themes I found in this piece were childhood, violence, poverty, broken relationships, parenthood, success and failure and racism. Racism is shown when the male character calls an asian guy a 'black bastard' which is racist as he is discriminating him because of his skin color. The closeup of the asian man's facial reaction connotes to the audience that he is used to racial abuse as he laughs to himself and says he can't help being a 'paki'.
Another theme which is explored is poverty as the teenage girl asks for money for baking class but they are unable to give her the money, this however is told to her in a very harsh way;they do not sugar coat it and the exact dialogue is "What f*****g cookery money? No you can't" and "If that teacher wants you to make f*****g buns tell her to give you the money!". This connotes that their poverty has reached such a stage where they don't bother to hide it from the children and it has become a huge problem to the extent that they cannot afford basic baking goods.
Characters: The main character which I think was clearly highlighted was the archetype of 'The Failing Man', he is shown as always drunk and abusive and everybody knows that he does nothing. In the clip he is also accused of always telling people what to do but not doing anything himself. He has no career and appears to be a mess as I can denote his messy clothes, messy hair and I can hear his slurred speech which connotes that he is a complete failure and has been like this for a long time as the people around him do not act very shocked towards his appearance or slurred speech. He is not even able to walk properly, this also shows the theme of alcohol abuse or addiction.
Locations and Setting: A common location for BSR films to be set are in estate's and run down flats, this is where most of the scene takes part from this clip (outside an estate). This represents how there is the theme of poverty and shows the hard life many people live in British Social Realism; the gritty urban areas also add to the realism aspect of the genre. This location has been shown at the start of the clip with the camera on a horizontal track following the characters walking around the outside of the estate. This has been done to show the audience the location and give them an idea of the type of people who may live here.
Sound (music and dialogue): During the credits there is non-diegtic music which sounds like quite a cheery song, with instruments such as guitars, the song sounds like it is from that era but once the credits are over the music fades out and there is no more non-diegetic music throughout. The absence of the music afterwards creates a realistic feel and makes the film more real as there is no fake music that the actors cannot hear. There are also no SFX. The dialogue is very abusive and there is a lot of swearing from almost all of the actors. Some of the speech is "Not till two'o'clock in the f*****g morning you haven't" and "I'll wrap this round your fucking neck". This abusive language and the swear words represent British people as people who swear a lot and makes the film much more stronger and upsetting-it emphasizes the situations the people are in.
Camerawork/Editing: The camerawork in 'Rita, Sue and Bob Too' switches from shots and uses a range of camera movements; this keeps the audience hooked and the camera is constantly changing shots, the close ups are used to emphasize facial expression for example the image below at 4:15 which is used to show the anger in the man's face.
Another shot type that is frequently used is a long shot, this is used to show the actors' full body as there is a lot of physical movement in these shots, this was used a lot when the motorbikes came and circled the group of people as there was a lot of movement, from this shot I can denote people hugging each other and screaming which connotes they are scared and panicked.
Other mise-en-scene (lighting, costumes, props etc): The lighting of most of this film is natural lighting and there is no artifical lighting, this helps the realism aspect of the film to become more realistic. Also, the costumes are very casual and some even grotty which is typical for characters in BSR. From the long shot below I can denote that the man's suit is too big, his buttons are un done and it looked grotty; this connotes that he is 'The Failed Man' archetype as his presentation represents a failed business man who no longer cares.
1990's
Trainspotting
This is the link for the scene from Trainspotting that I am going to be analyzing.
Themes and Situations: The main theme which I have seen from this clip of the BSR film is violence as there is a pub fight towards the end, this fight is triggered as a glass has fallen on a ladies head and caused it to bleed, the fight is emphasized by using a birds eye view shot to show just how many people are really involved. Also, the amount of people getting involved over one small situation represents British people as very violent people who are prepared to fight for small reasons.
Characters: I think that one strong character which is shown in the clip is 'The weak but aggressive man' who is also known as 'The Bully'; this archetype is the cause of conflict and the opposing force for which the audience has no sympathy, I think the bully is shown at 2:07 as he beats up an innocent nerdy stereotype looking guy in the pub for eating his crisps loudly;automatically the audience feel sorry for the nerd and the other guy becomes an antagonist, this low angle shot of him connotes that he has power and is strong too which makes the audience fear him.
Locations and Setting: There are two main locations in the part of the film I watched; a pub and a home. The pub is very typical for BSR as it involves alcohol and sometimes smoking which are habits many of the characters possess. Also the home looks scarce and as if it belongs to someone who is working class or even under class. The lack of expensive items in the home connote that the owner is not rich. Also I can denote many VHS tapes along the wall in the home which connote that the film is not modern and hints to me the time it was made. The pub is also old fashioned itself with the lights and the whole aurora of it which would be different nowadays. I think that both these locations were not filmed on a set as they look very realistic and BSR films try to film off a set to get a more realistic feel and because it is cheaper.
Sound (music and dialogue): This film uses sound very effectively in the short clip that I have watched, they have incorporated a voice over to speak over some moments which happened in the past; this creates mini flash backs when characters are telling stories and are very effective to keep thr audience hooked. There is also a lot of swearing in the dialogue which makes the text very harsh and hard hitting for some people. Lastly, I can hear some SFX during the last scene where the glasses are being thrown around and causing them to break, these sounds in an odd way add to the realism although they are fake as they imitate what people would hear if they were in the situation-but on set the sound probably wasn't loud enough.
Camerawork/Editing: The camera work is very interesting as the shots change frequently to keep it interesting and there are no transitions other than normal cut's in the editing to keep it simple and make it look realistic.
Other mise-en-scene (lighting, costumes, props etc): In the bedroom there is not much mise-en-scene which relates to the genre as the room is meant to look purposely scare because it is owned by people who do not have a lot of money, some props in the bar however are alcohol and cigarettes which are seen stereo typically as rebellious things. Their costume is very casual and nobody looks incredibly smart or posh which is important in BSR as people need to look like how they would every day of their normal lives.
Nil by Mouth
Themes and Situations: The themes which I have noticed from the clip are mental illness, domestic abuse, violence and childhood. I think that mental illness is a theme as at the start of the clip the male partner is shouting at his female partner to remember something and her agitated voice and panicked expression connotes to me that she suffers from either anxiety or a memory disorder as she also clutches her head in order to help her remember. This close up of her also connotes to us her stress and worry in this moment.
The other theme which is strongly put forward in this short clip from the film is domestic violence, the man brutally stamps on his wife/partner and injures her so badly-the audience cannot see her but we can hear her screams and can denote his foot repeatedly stamping on her from the mid shot. I think that this is very effective as it allows the audiences' imagination to take lead and think the worst-this scene is very disruptive and heavy in emotion.
Characters: Their is one character who makes it clear what archetype she is and this is the woman who gets beaten up-she is the 'Downtrodden Woman';she is given this archetype as she has a mental illness, and we can denote her with messy, greasy hair and in a grotty gown which connote that she is not having the best life and we can tell that she has been knocked down many times. This archetype is meant to make the audience feel sympathy for her. Her archetype is shown by having close ups of her worried expression to show how confused she is and to increase the sympathy felt by the viewer.
Locations and Setting: The part of the film that I watched was set in a flat which I can denote has no curtains and instead has rags up, has little decoration and furnishings and most of the furniture is grey and dull, this connotes that the people living here are poor and obviously not the happiest people, the grey colours make the audience feel empty and make the flat look less like a home and more like a prison cell or a punishment, the lack of curtains also empahsize the poverty the people are living in. These locations are typical for BSR as it focuses on the real lives of people who are at the bottom end of the scale in British Society and this shot emphasizes that side of the scale.
Sound (music and dialogue): Throughout the whole part of the film I watched there was no non-diegetic music or any SFX-this is to stick to the realism aspect of the genre and they only wanted the audience to hear what they would hear if they were there-they didn't want to add anything else, I think that this is important as it sticks to some of the important rules of the genre about realism. The dialogue was also very shocking and there was a lot of verbal abuse and swearing, the lack of music had a negative affect and after this scene the audience are left astounded and the quiet ending allows them to think about it all.
Camerawork/Editing: Here many shots have been used and the shots are changed very regularly-each shot stays on screen for a very short period of time and the editing is very precise, the shots vary from long shots to close ups depending on what is happening in each shot. For example, to emphasize the female's worry a close up has been used and when she is being beaten up the long shot is used as there is a lot of physical movement to capture.
Other mise-en-scene (lighting, costume, props etc): The costume in this film is so minimal, the man is only wearing boxers which connote that he stays at home only and doesn't even have a job and the female is in a gown which also connotes that she stays at home-this also means they neither have jobs and so are under class citizens. Their lack of clothing emphasizes how their is such a huge struggle for money and nice clothing. The lighting is very low key and there is no artificial lighting; the natural lighting is scarce but this adds to the realism and creates a grey tone to make it more negative. There has also been a blue colour palette to the film to make it seem glum; this is done in BSR to highlight the mood.
2000's
Kidulthood
Themes and situations: The themes in this clip of the movie that I found were corruption of youth, petty crime, sex and violence. The petty crime was seen when the male actor stole beers of can and Rizla from a corner shop and ran off with it, petty crimes are common in BSR as they happen all the time and therefore are realistic.
Another theme which was explored was sex when the character has sex with a girl who he found in a room he barged into, this is very casual and he does it with no feeling or emotion in front of his friends, I feel like BSR has many events like this and makes sex look very meaningless.
Characters: I think that the boy who came into the scene into his bedroom is 'The weak but aggressive man' aka 'the bully' as the character he is after is seen as the protagonist and he is the opposing force who the audience are made to dislike, he also has a negative and mysterious aurora about him which makes the audience become weary of him. From the mid shot of him below I can connote that he is holding a bat and his facial expression is all scrunched up which connotes that he is annoyed and about to attempt to hurt the protagonist.
Locations and setting: The main locations in the part of the film I watched were inside a sweet shop and the outside location which was busy London and a bedroom. All of these are typically seen in BSR movies, the shop is typically seen as they are common on corner streets and the busy outdoor road is very common as it represents to the audience where the story line is taking place. Also the bedroom was very simple and had only a single bed, this emphasizes how it is just a simple, small box room as they do not have a lot of money.
Sound (music and dialogue): There is no non-diegetic sound at the beginning of the clip but there begins to be some upbeat urban music towards the end when they have commit a crime and need to run to safety-this suggests that every time a big event happens the music begins to get the audience's adrenaline going and to excite them. The lack of non-diegetic music before was on purpose to create realism. There are no SFX or voiceovers in this clip and the dialogue contains a lot of slang which ten years ago would have made no sense at all. An example of the slang is "blud". The dialogue also seems less scripted and more natural which makes it look real.
Camerawork/Editing: The camera has used a range of shots and keeps on changing very quickly-they do not leave one shot on for a long period of time and this means a lot of action can take place in such a short amount of time.
Other mise-en-scene (lighting, costumes, props etc): The costume is very casual and recent, all of the characters are wearing mostly joggers and hoodies which would be associated which people who are thugs or people who commit crimes. I can denote the hoodies and jogging bottoms in almost all of the scenes. The lighting is mostly natural lighting to emphasize the realism of it all and the artifical is avoided to stop it from looking too fake. The props are alcohol bottles and a condom which are both things linked to corruption of youth which is a theme that is explored, these props are relevant to the genre and allow the story to develop.
2010's
Sightseers
Themes and situations: The themes which are explored in the clip I watched are: mental illness and social class clashes. The mental illness theme is explored as I think that the woman character has some sort of anxiety disorder as when she is approached about the dog poo she becomes worried and seeks help from her partner; the fact that she doesn't have the correct tools to get rid of it also agitate her quite a lot which suggest it is anxiety. From the close up below I can denote her fiddling with her fingers and her worried expression which connote that she is troubled.
The social class clashes theme is explored as the man who is telling them that they have to pick up the dog poo says that if they don't pick it up he will have to tell the authorities; this is suggesting that he is of a higher class than the couple and puts them lower than him and makes them more vulnerable to him.
Characters: I think that the female represents the archetype of 'The Downtrodden Woman' as she has the facial expression of a worried female in the screen grab below(close up), she also suffers from a mental illness which is typical for this archetype and constantly is asking for her partners help which connotes that alone she is weak.
Locations and setting: The location of this film is in a rural area in a field at a nature reserve which in fact is quite unusual for a BSR film as they are usually in urban areas, I know this as the gif below denotes field and greenery.
Sound (music and dialogue): Throughout the beginning of the clip there is a light piano playing which slowly fades out, this is a piece of non-diegetic music which is played very quietly, I think this has been done to set the scene of the rural area and it fades out which a drone which may foreshadow a negative event which is about to follow. There is a lot of dialogue which sounds unscripted to me and very casual.
Camerawork/Editing: The film uses a lot of long shots and still camera movements for close ups too to show facial expression, an extreme long shot is used at first and almost acts as an establishing shot to show the audience that they are in a rural area which is completely empty.
Other mise-en-scene (lighting, costumes, props etc): The part of the film I watched was all outdoors and therefore used natural lighting to make it realistic and as the light was already there there was no need for them to alter or add anything, their costume is nothing fancy at all and they are purely wearing normal jackets that stereotypical people in their 40's would wear to National Parks and Woodland Reserves. Also, the main prop is most probably their dog which is an animal that most British families have, this is just a prop for the story. Their costume connotes that they are not rich and that they are normal, everyday people. There is also a blue color palette to create an eerie, negative mood.
In what ways has British Social Realism evolved over the last sixty years?
In the last 60 year BSR has evolved hugely, the same ideas and aims have remained and the stencil has remained the same but the story lines and the way messages are portrayed has changed hugely, over the years the tone of movies has increased and become a lot heavier and emotionally tragic, the issues that are being spoken about have also become a lot more shocking and are less hidden as in the last 60 years past taboo subjects are now being spoken about a lot more. As time as passed more graphical images are being shown and it has become more acceptable. The themes and situations of the characters used to be very small subjects such as little problems like family disputes but over the years have evolved to much larger and emotional subjects such as abuse to partners or even children. Sometimes murder is even involved or stabbings from young teenagers. The characters have become alot more troubled; in the past an alcoholic was seen as very bad but now someone who has a serious mental illness and many problems and isn't attractive is shown in BSR to get the message across of the deprived side of Britain. The locations have become more adverse and in some ways more real-now they are in either urban areas which show the london gritty life or in rural area's which show how people in those area's live their lives, I think that location is one convention which has not changed much at all. The sound has changed greatly as in the past non-diegetic music was very popular but now there is barely any and things such as voice overs are left out in BSR to increase the realism. The dialogue has also become a lot more aggressive and swearing is very common whereas in the 1950's and 60's it was never heard of. The editing is much more quicker and the shots change very frequently instead of having a stationary camera for a long period of time. Lastly the costume has become more casual and the director's pay more attention to presenting each character in clothing which represents their social class, the lighting has also changed as the blue and grey color palette has been introduced recently to create a much more negative effect instead of just having natural lighting; the props have also become more related to BSR such as knives, cigarettes and alcohol which are related to the troublesome teenagers. Overall BSR has evolved a lot over the last sixty years but mainly has become more graphic and the content has adopted a more upsetting tone.
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