Social Realism in the British Context

Practice and Politics

The meaning of

practice is the method

of making a film.

In British social realism, practice usually means the creation of an independent film, conducted in a skilful way, with real locations and less known actors.

Politics- the purpose and intent of the artist- influences practice because it alters the ideas demonstrated about the social world.

Ken Loach said that the practice influences the validation of the ideas in the text.

‘Practice and politics’ refers to things that aren’t in the film itself that still influence the form, structure, content and style.

Filmmakers that want to depict

‘life as it is really is’ are reacting

to the world as constructed by large mainstream films and

their practices in doing so in order to create the most realistic film they

can.William Eadie, who is not a professional actor, was cast as James in Lynne Ramsay’s ‘Ratcatcher’ to make it feel more authentic.

Practice and Politics Social realist texts comment on parts of present day social life. They also comment on

old

conventions and practices usually associated with

‘realism’.

Samantha Lay says that British social realism movements have been informed by changes made to the practice in film making, or because of a ‘revolutionary political spirit’.

Andrew Higson explains that ‘moral realism’ is

when the ideals or goals of the filmmaker are for a good cause, such as to inform the audience

of an issue.

Practice and politics are inextricable because many movements meant that it was difficult to have one without the other. The politics of the filmmaker also influence their ways of making a film.

John Grierson’s mission is to use his

experience in documentary making to

educate and inform his audience. He

uses non actors to explore his ideas

to make it more ‘truthful’ than

mainstream films produced by large companies in the

film industry.

Practice and Politics

Documentary production styles usually consisted of the use of real places as opposed to studios and ordinary people instead of actors due to low amounts of money. The result of this was the effect of a team effort, as many people helped out to tackle the issue of low funds.

Lay said that filmmakers’ commitment to documentary

‘truth’ is more of a commitment to sociological

issues rather than a commitment making it look

as good as a mainstream film.

British New Wave filmmakers broke away from traditional practice. Stephen Lacey quoted Lindsay Anderson to explain how filmmakers’ political and critical views were connected with their practice. He said: “the rejection of the studio system was tied closely to a rejection of a particular view of the world”

The Free Cinema Group was created by Tony Richardson,

Karel Reisz, Lindsay Anderson and Lorenza Mazzetti. Their

principles and objectives were to make independent films that

were creative and ‘visually exciting’. They didn’t use

studios and didn’t want to produce films for the profit but could choose whatever subject

matter they wanted to study.

British New Wave filmmakers aimed to better represent the working class outside of London, specifically industrial towns and cities to the North of England. To create these representations, they used lesser known actors from other parts of the country.

Practice and PoliticsThe issues and themes explored

in the text is what Lay defines as ‘content’, as well as the

representations created. Content issues are important because

they connect the issues explored in the film to the moment in

which the film was created. This helps to show contrast between the issues of different moments,

movements and cycles.

New Wave Directors claimed that realism was linked to character and place. They believed that when the character was in their rightful place, it set the scene and made it more realistic.

They also believed that character and place were connected and that factors in the characters environment have an impact on what happens to them.

Ken Loach is a committed socialist who wanted to portray that in his films. Some of his documentaries were censored because of the nature of them. He refrained from using famous actors and used natural locations as opposed to studios.

Issues and themesContent is usually linked to the filmmaker’s intent, as they are the ones who get choose the subject matter The filmmakers’

intent is usually to provide something educationally or socially beneficial. Their choice of issue is usually linked to a message they want to send to the audience.

Understanding how and why specific issues were more prominent at different points in time reveals a great deal about the attitudes towards them at the point in time in which that text was made.

It is important to study central themes from older texts to help answer questions about why they are no longer used as main themes, but have been left in the background of more contemporary texts.

We can compare ‘Ratcatcher’ (set in the 70s), with ‘Last Resort’ (set in the 00s) to compare the main issues in both. Clearly poverty has become a less central issue, as it is suggested in ‘Last Resort’ that people have found better living conditions since the 70s, as an abandoned block of flats is portrayed in the film, which could imply that people of Britain were now living in nicer places by the 21st century, and there was enough, although worse, housing for refugees.

Issues and Themes The phrase ‘a slice of life’ suggests that the text is showingdetails from a part of ordinary life.

Understanding the socio-historical context is important so that we can know whether or not past social realist texts were really showing life as it really was when the text was made.

‘Constructs’ are significant because they show which reality is being created, and who’s point of view it is coming from.

Lay explains issues as being clear, social problems within the text,

whereas themes are less so, and can just be implied without being mentioned.

Issues in ‘Last Resort’ explore immigration, yet the themes in the film look at this on a much deeper level, and therefore include those of freedom and incarceration.

Issues in ‘Ratcatcher’ include poverty, whilst the themes include weak relationships and family breakdown.