How British Social Realism themes are used

Violence

Tyrannosaur:

The theme of violence is established through the actions and props used in the mis-en-scene. For example we see the protagonist using weapons such as a bat, and a hammer this clearly shows the audience that the character has violent outbursts. The sequence shows the theme of violence also through the characters faces, for example we see a close up of the mans face which is covered in blood, and we also see the female character with bruises and a swollen eye and this emphasises the theme that they are trying to portray to the audience. This is done successfully as we can tell that the male character is abusive and often takes hes anger out on other characters in the film, this makes the audience feel uncomfortable and quite often scared. I think this theme would be good if i used it in my opening sequence as it can be shown in many ways without actually showing the audience the content of violence. This is also a typical theme of British social realism and would be a good theme to show as it is seen alot in the British culture.

Drugs/Alcohol abuse

Trainspotting:

The theme of drug abuse is established through the use of props in the mis-en-scene. For example we see the protagonist smoke drugs regularly through out the opening sequence. This theme is portrayed by nearly all the characters included in the film as they all have some sort of connection to drugs. For example we often are shown close ups of the substance(e.g. pills).This tells the audience that drugs are a casual thing in British culture as the film is based upon drug addicts in Scotland. This is also gives a negative view and makes the audience feel quite on edge as drugs can be quite dangerous when used. In my opening sequence i think i could show the themes of drugs quite successfully as it would be an easy thing to show and would be clear to the audience what they are. I would explore this theme as it would inform the audience of how much drugs can affect a person and how reliant they become to the substance and this is also typical of most people in Britain.

Racism:

This is England:

This theme is established through the language and the actions that are done against the Asian character in the film. For example we see the protagonist call the shop keeper a "paki bastard", this reference to hes race shows he has a hatred towards them. The theme is portrayed through their actions by most of the characters seen in the film. For example the older man threatens the shop keeper with a machete and also refers to him as a "paki". This shows to the audience what British culture is like, even though there are several different religions and cultures in the region there are certain people who take a dislike to other races. This makes the audience feel quite uncomfortable due to the language used and could even offend some of the viewers. This would be a good theme to use in my opening sequence as it shows us reoccurring situations that occur in British culture, even though Britain is seen as very multi cultural.

Corruption of youth:

Kidulthood:

This theme is established through the dialogue,actions and situations the characters. For example one boy steals from a corner shop, but when the shop keeper see's him the boy chucks the glass bottle at him. The theme is portrayed to the audience in a way that seems like all British teenagers act exactly the same and are misbehaved. For example we also see the boys beating up an older boy to get revenge on him and situations like this are repeated throughout the film. This makes the audience feel on edge and intimidated by the characters. I think this would be a good theme if i was to use it in my opening sequence as it would be an easy theme to show, and would create a good atmosphere for the audience. This would also be a good theme as we could included different situations which would be classed under this theme of corruption of youth(e.g. stealing,sex,swearing,drugs,violence).

 

Petty Crime
Looking for Eric:

The theme is established through the actions that are shown in the film, mainly at the end as this is what the film builds up to. For example we see a group of men go to the mans house in masks with weapons. The theme is protrayed to the audience in quite a humourous way as they are not commiting a serious crime. For example the men that go to the house with weapons actually turn out to vandalise and trash the mans house, this is funny for the audience as the men who own the house end up covered in red paint. I think this would be a good theme to explore as petty crime can be shown in many situations (e.g. stealing,vandalising), this also shows typical things that hapeen in British culture and makes the audience feel like British people are not all serious and bad but they can still commit small crimes.