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Sexism
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Racism
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Prison life
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Depending on benefits
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Unemployment
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Education
Non-Diegetic​
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Music: Grime or Hiphop.
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Voice
Location and Setting
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Council estate
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Terraced housing
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Grafitti alleyways
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Big, industrial cities - United Kingdom
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Parks
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The streets
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Flats
The reason behind the conventional urban style setting is the fact that most working class families live in these areas and that's where the majority of today's issues take place in terms of gang crime and drug abuse.
Narratives
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A journey through someones life
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A journey through a gang's lives
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Paying off debt
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Attempting to escape their life
These are typical narratives of Social Realisms because they portray hour ordinary people also have dreams and goals that they're aspiring towards. Often, in Social Realism, the endings aren't always happy which demonstrates how life doesn't always end happily either.
Characters
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Teenagers or young adults
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Gang members
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Robbers or those who commit petty crimes
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Underprivileged families
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Single parents
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'Gangsters'
These types of people are of those who belong to the lower class or working class - due to the fact that they have less options, they look for immoral, and possibly illegal, ways to survive.
Costume
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Either too much makeup or no makeup
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Bandanas
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Caps
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Track suits
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Hoodies
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Trainers
This is the typical outfit for a gang member or someone who essentially lives their life on the street.
Props
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Mobile phones
Multiple phones for one person -
Knives
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Drugs
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Guns
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Aggressive dogs
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These props are items that would suit a young person living in an urban area to fit in with the crowd, protect themselves and follow their "way of life."
Themes
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Poverty
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Gang and Knife crime
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Drug and Alcohol abuse
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Domestic or Child abuse
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Teenaged pregnancy
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Islamophobia
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These are conventional themes of modern Social Realism films as they are the issues that society suffer and deal with today. As directors of the Social Realism drama tend to focus on members of the lower and working class who are more prone to these problems.
Editing
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Fast pace editing
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Colour grading - darkened
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Straight cuts
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Editing is used to speed the film up and make the audience feel as though they're standing within the frame. The genre is social realism, which means it's purpose is to make the audience understand the issues within society, as if it were happening to them and it was their life. It gives them the opportunity to acknowledge social issues from a first person perspective, rather than third person.
Sound
​Diegetic
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Dialogue: Slang and/or Cockney.
Swearing.
"Street language"
Arguments and shouting -
Gun shots
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Sirens
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Doors slamming
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These sounds relate to the council estate environment. They are gritty and realistic, they immerse the audience into the setting and make them place themselves in one of the character's shoes - making them feel unsafe and on-edge.
Iconography
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Knives
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Guns
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Drugs
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Phones
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Money
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Grafitti
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Lamp Posts
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Police Cars
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Ambulances
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Dogs (for fighting)
CONVENTIONS AND ICONOGRAPHY
We researched into the conventions and iconography of the Social Realism genre. We learnt a lot about the different aspects of making a film and how the director must think about every part of the film: camerawork, editing, mise-en-scene and sound. This has taught us about what we need to include in our film production. For example, we found that the most conventional outfits for young men is dark clothing, track suits and bodywarmers. We also advanced our knowledge of camera work and editing and what the different shot types or editing techniques symbolise and how it impacts the audience.