Codes and Conventions of British Social Realism

1. Codes and Conventions of
British Social Realism
By Hannah Burgess

2. The codes and conventions of British
Social Realism are;
•Location shooting (not studio)
•Wide shots
•Non-professional actors
•Semi improvised scripts
•Humour and seriousness
•The erosion of regional identities
•Wider social issues explored via emotional and
dramatic individual stories
•Triumph over adversity

3. Location Shooting
By using locations rather than
the studio, it makes the film
seem more true to real life for
the audience to watch.
An example of this is in Fish
Tank as it uses an actual
council estate within the film.
British Social Realism films are filmed on actual, real life
locations such as parks and council estates and not in made
up sets in studios like big Hollywood films use.

4. Wide Shots
British Social Realism films use a range of camera shots but
use a lot of wide shots within their films. This is for the
audience to get a good understanding of what's going on, or
where the setting is.
This is an example of
a wide shot used in
the British Social
Realism film, Bullet
Boy.

5. Non-professional Actors
British Social Realism films use non-professional or
unknown actors as it adds to the realistic look. Also, many
British Social Realism films cannot afford popular,
Hollywood actors to be in their films as the budget is
usually quite low.
For example, Katie Jarvis
(main character in Fish Tank)
was spotted in a train station
arguing with her boyfriend.

6. Semi-Improvised Scripts
Semi-improvised scripts are sometimes used in British
Social Realism in order to achieve ‘realistic’ dialogue and
true to life-like conversations.
For example, Ken Loach used
semi-improvised scripts in his
British Social Realism film – Kes.

7. Humour and Seriousness
British Social Realism films deal with a lot of everyday
issues people go through such as unemployment and
gang culture. It does this with a good level of seriousness
but also incorporates humour within the film.

8. Regional Identities
The regional identity of a British Social Realism film depends
on where the film is set and based around. The film would use
the appropriate accents/language, correct settings and the
local issues in the region. For example, in Yasmin, the issue of
Racism was used, which was evident in the area
as the focal point in the film. Yasmin
also used the appropriate accent for
the town it was set in, and because it
featured the Muslim community, it
made sure the Muslim characters were
wearing precisely the right clothing and
going by their religious views.

9. Wider social issues explored via
emotional and dramatic individual
stories
This is used in British Social Realism films
as a wide issue that affects many people is
told through an individual and their life.
For example, in The Full Monty,
unemployment and the recession is shown
through the main character as he has lost
his job as a coalminer.