British Social Realsim Themes

The bullet Boy trailer conveys many themes but the one that stands out the most to me is the theme of Violence. This is denoted by the graphics as they say "There are many guns on our street" and this connotes that the area they live in is not safe and the people know there are guns but are not doing anything to change it. Another graphic denotes "This is the story of one" and this connotes that there will be a lot of shooting and killing in the film. The mid shot at 1:14 denotes a boy smashing the window of a car door and this connotes the theme of violence as it is very dangerous. The graphics represent the theme negatively as it makes the audience think bad about the area that the film is set in. However this is a good way to represent British Social Realism as Violence seems to appear in this genre and it relates to other themes as well. I will defiantly try to explore the theme of Violence when I produce my own work as I feel that Violence is a good way to show everyday problems are everyday grind. One of the ideas I have to convey the theme of Violence is through the props. For example I will try and use a knife and a fake gun in my opening to show violence. This will be a good idea by starting my production with a Smash Mouth opening.

Part 1 of the British Social Realism film called Yasmin conveys many themes such as Poverty, Racism and Religion. The main one I will be talking about is Religion. The clip denotes a man and his son walking on the streets. The dad is wearing his cultural Muslim clothes whereas the son is wearing jeans and a thick winter jacket with layers of tops under. This connotes that the father takes his religion proudly. We also see at 0:33, the father lifting up shutters and in the background you can see Arabic writing which connotes that they live in an area that the Muslim community have space in. In the extreme close up of the man and his son taking off their shoes, this reveals later on that they are entering a Mosque. This connotes a major sign of respect for the Religion. The high angle at 0:50 denotes the father and son walking across the mosque and you can see prayer mats laid down and this connotes that they are going to pray. The clip also denotes the boy announcing the Call to Pray and this connotes the theme of Religion as he is spreading the word in the area that it is time to pray. At 1:16, the shot denotes 3 woman standing on the street wearing head scarves and also in cultural clothing and this connotes that as well as the males, the females also take their religion seriously. Whilst this is all connoting Religion in a positive way, there are also ways that Religion is conveyed in a negative way. For example you see a close up of the shutter going up, you can see the words "Paki Go Home" written on it, which connotes that racism links to the religion in this film in a negative way. Another way religion is shown in a negative way is at 1:43 and this shot denotes the girl changing out of her cultural clothes into English clothes. You see her putting jeans on and pulling her long top off to reveal a small top. She also takes off her head scarf and this connotes that she is rejecting her religion. I would like to explore this theme into my own production as, as a Muslim myself, I know there are people who find it hard to follow their religion and I think I can show this theme really well. One way I can show the theme of Religion is by focusing my own British Social Realism film around a Muslim household. I think this  is a good Idea as I can easily incorporate other themes inside this like Domestic Abuse.

The theme I will be talking about with "This is England" is Racism. This scene denotes a young boy walking into the shop and demanding the shop keeper for a few items that is not suitable for his age such as 'whiskey and wine'. The man replies saying he should not even be in the shop and the boy ends up arguing calling him a 'Paki B*stard'. This connotes that throughout the film, racist remarks are used in everyday language. In response, the man chases the boy around the shop until an older man walks in encounters the shop keeper with a large knife. The clip denotes the man telling the boy and his friends to take whatever they want from the shop and calls the shop keeper racist names. He walks out the shop saying "Fu*king sinks of curry" which some people would argue to being racist. This clip connotes that the film conveys racism as something not serious as the young boy also is racist which connotes that he was under the influence that racism is okay. I will try to include the theme of racism as it is something that everyone goes through at least once in their lives, whether it be casual or offensive. The idea I had was to show children in a school and show how hard it is for a particular child who is the victim of racism everyday as his part of the daily grind. With this idea, I can connote many other themes such as corruption of youth and Aspiration and escape.

The theme I will be talking about with "Fish Tank" is Aspiration and Escape. This trailer denotes Mia running up the stairs screaming "You're whats wrong with me!" and slamming the door shut. This connotes that she is fed up. Also the clip denotes her getting into a fight with a few people and this connotes that in her life, she is isolated and feels alone. At 0:57, the clip denotes Mia gently stroking a horse and this connotes that it has an important significance in her life if she is handling it with care. This also foreshadows the film. The clip denotes Mia saying to the other group of dancers "You're terrible dancing is my problem" and later on you see behind doors that Mia is dancing herself. The trailer reveals that she is entering a dance competition and the fact that it is one thing she enjoys connotes that she is doing it to escape her life and all the problems she has. The clip denotes at 1:44 an extreme close up of Mia's face and you can see tear stains on her cheek and then this shot contrasts with the next mid shot of her taking a deep breath after dancing and walking towards the window and this connotes that dancing is her goal to keep going and to escape. The trailer conveys the theme of Aspiration and escape really well and represents it in a way that makes the audience feel like they can find an escape to all the struggles they have in life. I think I will try to include the theme of Aspiration and escape in my own production as it is a good contrast to other themes and also it represents a way to get out of the everyday daily grind that British Social Realism films all tend to show. I have an idea of showing a lost child, not physically but emotionally, trying to find their way back into life. For example, they may want to commit suicide as they are fed up of life but meet someone that finds a hobby that keeps them going. Just like the dancing did for Mia.

The theme I will be talking about that is shown in "My brother the devil" is Success and Failure. This clip denotes a girl in a head scarf wearing headphones and the diagetic sound is music from a rap artist. The boy asks what she is listening to and she gives the headphones to him. You can then hear what the lyrics are of the song. The lyrics denotes: "But I'ma stay strong till the day that its over" and this connotes that the boy is going through struggles in his life. The song also denotes "They're hating cause' I'm elevating, Dedication is what I'm demonstrating." and this connotes that the boy is making something of his life and is trying his best to achieve something. The mise-en-scene also relates to the theme as with the music playing, the shot denotes the girl playing with sparks and this connotes that either she is the one that is helping the boy succeed or it connotes that this is the turning point in his life and anchoring the music, it connotes that the feeling of failure in him is ending and is motivating him to succeed. I think this shot represents the theme well as it gives the feeling of hope and not a lot of music and mise-en-scene work well together to do so. I will try and incorporate the theme of Success and Failure in my own production as either one, I feel that they are the basis of a British social realism. The failure connotes that someone is going through struggles whereas the success connotes that they are trying to do something of their life. The idea I had for this theme was to denote someone who is failing in school and because so, they are receiving a lot of pressure from peers and family aswell as teachers. I think this is a good idea for my work as it shows the everyday grind of a student and includes other themes such as Childhood and Parenthood.