History of Social Realism

Social Realism Genre

Social Realism is a film genre which focuses on giving the audience a true indication of what life is like, particularly written about certain collectives i.e. the working class.

Social realistic films portray attitudes and life factors occurring during a period of time. They often represent working class characters living through a struggle and generally exhibit them as a protagonist. Often, the directors of social realistic films want to depict a type of social injustice, such as: economic hardship, discrimination or political injustice. In Fish Tank (2009), the director, Andrea Arnold, chose to display Mia, a working class teenage girl in a positive light, even through her journey of abuse from her mother, social isolation and exploitation by an older man.

History Of Genre

One of the first British films to emphasise the value of the social realism genre as a type of social protest was James Williamson's ‘A Reservist Before the War, and After the War’ released in 1902. The film was about servicemen from the Boer War coming home to unemployment. Harsh censorship during the 1940’s to 50’s prevented British films from emphasising more social issues.

After World War I, the British middle-class enjoyed the social realism genre in cinema while the working-class favoured Hollywood movies. These social class distinctions have continued into today’s society. For example, social realism films are more often shown in theatres and ‘art houses’ (more expensive, decorative buildings that the middle and upper classes would visit during the 1940’s), whereas mainstream Hollywood films are shown in cinemas (cheaper, less ‘royal’ buildings that the lower classes would visit in the 40’s).

A ‘British New Wave’ movement emerged in the 1950s and 1960s. British auteur directors including Karel Reisz, Tony Richardson, and John Schlesinger created films from stories of ordinary Britons struggling with post-war social structures. British New Wave films include Room at the Top (1958), Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960), The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962), and A Kind of Loving (1962).  The relaxation of censorship enabled film makers to portray issues such as prostitution, abortion, homosexuality, and isolation, which wouldn’t have been discussed before the new war time social structure.

Filmmakers such as Ken Loach, Shane Meadows and Mike Leigh are well known for their role in directing social realism films and TV series.

Ken Loach

Loach is an English film and TV director. He is known for encoding socialist beliefs into his films usually of social realism genre. Some of the many social issues that Loach raises include homelessness (which is seen in his film Cathy Come Home) and labour rights (seen in his films Riff-Raff and The Navigators).

Loach once said, after witnessing the beginning of the social realism genre (when films including ‘Bicycle Thieves’ and ‘Love of Blonde’ were released) that it made him realise that “cinema could be about ordinary people and their dilemmas. A film doesn’t have to be about stars, or riches or absurd adventures.”

Loach has written over 30 films, his most recent, released in 2014, Jimmy’s Hall is about the deportation to the United States in 1933 of Jimmy Gralton, who led the Revolutionary Workers' Group, a precursor of the Irish Communist Party. It touches on social and political issues during the 1930’s as well as touching on the political views of Loach.