How British Social Realism themes are used

Racism:

This clip is from the film 'This is England'. In this clip we see a little white boy, assisted by an older white man being racist to a Muslim man. Thus, the key theme in this clip, as well as the rest of the film is racism. This theme is established through the dialogue when we hear the little boy say the words 'paki bastard'. When the shop owner asks him what he days, he repeats his words, showing no remorse or any guilt what so ever. This shows that racism is portrayed to be very common as nobody reacts to it badly when those words are said. this scene portrays the white people as being bullies, as they feel they have authority in England over Asians, just because this it is their country and regard Asians as inequal.

 

Violence:

 

This clip is from 'Nil by Mouth.' The theme of violence is established through this clip, when we see the man physically beating up his wife. When we see the man beating up his wife, we do not see the end result of this, we just see him beating her. This has a bigger impact than if we were to see her face afterwards as it creates a sense of mystery for the  audience. I think the way the violence is portrayed in this clip, by not allowing us to see the outcome of the actions, is a very effective way to explore violence, which is what I might think to include in my opening sequence.

Drug Abuse:

 

This clip is from 'Trainspotting.' The key theme established in this clip is drug abuse. In this clip, we see a cross cut between a scene on a football pitch and another of the main character by himself smoking drugs in a room. When he is smoking the drug, we see the impact it has on him as we see him fall to the ground. When he is playing football, we also see him fall to the ground the same way in which he is taking drugs which shows a link. The cross cutting at this point almost seems like a montage which begins to speed up. this looks very effective, so I might also try to include a montage effect in my opening sequence, showing all the themes outlined in a BSR film.

 

 Terrorism:

 

This clip is from Four Lions which establishes the theme of terrorism. In this clip, the theme of terrorism is established through all the main characters being Muslim, and someone getting blown up on the field whilst carrying a bomb. Although terrorism is a very serious issue, it is mocked throughout the whole film. This film also includes the theme of racism and stereotypes because Muslims are stereotypically associated with terrorism. The dark comedy used in this clip however reduces the harshness of the topic.

 

Poverty:

This clip from Brick Lane establishes the theme of poverty. Poverty is shown through the locations where the young children are playing, the dirty lake that the kids jump in, and also, by the way the characters are dressed. The way that poverty is shown here makes the audience feel sorry for the characters and sympathise with them which is what the aim of these films are, as well as showing the reality of peoples life in some cases.