Social Realism in Media

Social realism is a genre of film that focuses on topical issues which occur in a modern society which is represented by different ideologies. Themes such as money, drugs, prostitution + sex are quite usual in modern contemporary social realism films as well as class, religion + political views.

Typical conventions in a social realism film are the use of unknown actors. This supports the social realism genre because the actors could be anyone which makes the films more realistic. Another convention is a lot of social realism films deal with working class such as the film 'Billy Elliot'. The locations of social realism films are usually set around council estates or run down areas, but also can be a nice neighbourhood.

Examples of social realism films are...

• This is England
• Kidulthood
• Billy Elliot

Below is a clip of a social realism film called 'KiDULTHOOD'. This film shows very clearly the typical conventions of the social realism genre. It includes, money, drugs, crime, gun crime, sex + is set in a run down area of London. It typically shows teenagers being involved in these controversial issues that occur in the modern society today.