Identifying Codes and Conventions of the Social Realism Genre

Despite the varied and mixed diverse range of films contained within the Social Realism Genre, many of them all share common attributes that classify them into the category of the Social Realism Genre. These are known as the Codes and Conventions of the genre and are explored in more depth and detailed analysis in my blog post entitled: "What defines a film opening into a particular genre?" However, the main point which I will refer to again is the fact that what makes films like Trainspotting and This is England   so fantastic is the fact that they conform extremely effectively to the Codes and Conventions that the viewer naturally expects to find in films of this nature. The aims of the Social Realism genre, perhaps already assumed through the self asserting title of the genre, is to effectively replicate and reproduce on screen the many social issues  and encounters commonly encountered and experienced in life. The Codes and Conventions of the Social Realism Genre are listed below along with a brief description of how our film aims to fit the codes and conventions of the social realism genre :

·         Location Shooting (not studio or constructed sets.)
      Conforming to the codes and conventions of the social realism genre all of our shooting for our film opening will where possible be done on location in natural, undressed locations to reflect the real life everyday settings that can be grim and visually hard hitting by nature. We aim to transfer this effectively onto the screen for the viewer and fits with the example of Social Realism film "Fish Tank" that was in fact shot on a real council estate in England.

·         Non- Professional Actors or newcomers to the acting ‘scene.’
Our film opening will easily conform to this code and convention of the Social Realism genre as both of our actors are in fact amateurs in the acting trade with no professional acting work having been undertaken by either actor. However, both actors do have experience in performing in amateur films and productions so we can still be confident and assured that they know their craft and are competent and confident performers and will not be daunted or overwhelmed by what is asked of them from our film opening.

·         Semi- improvised scripts.
We will allow both actors the freedom, where they feel it may be necessary, to partly improvise portions of the script where they, in their judgement, feel it may be necessary to add a more authentic portrayal of the character within our film opening that is not dictated in the script. In addition, we do not want the script to become a binding force or creative limitation for the actors in expressing their performances and so with this in mind, will duly not be offended or alarmed if they break away from the script and give rise to the opportunity for the story to move in a new direction that has not already been suggested or hinted at. 

·         Both humour and seriousness
As we wish our film opening to be hard hitting and gripping for the viewer in the opening moments of our film opening, we will probably aim to keep humour and comic relief to a minimum as I personally feel that were we to include humour it may in fact offer up an unwanted detrimental negative impact of detracting from the serious tone of the piece. However, were the film to be made into feature length, comedy would perhaps feature in a similar way as to how it is portrayed in the film Trainspotting, in small portions throughout, as without a small amount of comic relief and respite I feel that the audiences viewing experience of our film may suffer in a negative way due to he hard hitting and serious nature of the material explored.

·         The erosion of regional identities, breaking down of social stereotypes.
This is a code and convention we will be aiming to stick to during our film opening as we do not wish to bring social stereotyping into any form of dispute. We also wish our audience to remain fully focussed and attached to the action of our film opening and as such do not wish for them to become sidetracked in any way due to our unfortunate representation of regional identities and social stereotyping.

·         Wider Social issues explored by emotional and dramatic individual stories.
       Given the short length of time that is provided for our our film opening, it is highly unlikely that our film opening will have time to explore in any way wider social issues as the purpose of a film opening is firstly to set up a story for the continuation of the film and then to engage the viewer. However, were our film to be of feature length, we would most probably focus upon the idea of Toby's social awkwardness and how that has shaped and transformed him into the despondent and isolated character that we aim to show within our film opening.

·         Triumph over adversity.
       This is a prevalent theme within our film opening as we aim to portray the character of Toby as a caring, if slightly shy, individual who is aiming to rid himself of his addiction to drugs whilst in stark and obvious contrast, the antagonist Creegan will be represented as his polar opposite; volatile, cunning, aggressive, devious and malicious who in effect embodies the sinister nature of the drugs trade and the problems that are associated and subsequently caused by the taking of drugs, that will hopefully provide a stark contrast to the caring nature of Toby even if he has been dealt a detrimental blow to his mental stability and well-being as a result of his continued drug taking. Were the film to be of feature length, we would aim to explore Toby's personal battles and his quest to overcome his addiction to drugs and regain control of his life once more which would involve in him taking some drastic measures which would involve the murder of Creegan, demonstrating just how far Toby is prepared to go to rid himself of his strenuous  and troubling addiction.