Social realism has gone through numerous changes over the last fifty years not alone in television but in other forms of production too. In order to give a deep analysis of these changes, we must look at it with regard to both British television as well as its part in British cinema. Social realism is a genre of TV and film that focuses on topical and relevant issues in a modern society which are represented by different teachings and theories. Common themes such as money, sex, prostitution and drugs are regularly occurring in contemporary social realism programmes and films. Other themes that appear include social class, religion and politics.
The use of unknown actors is a common aspect of social realism in television and film that has
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‘Passport to Pimlico’ uses old fashion music which reflects the period when it was produced. Both films use a voice over. ‘Passport to Pimlico’ uses it throughout where as ‘This is England’ uses sound bites from the film. The dress sense again is apparent. ‘This is England’s’ storyline focuses on skinhead fashion and style. ‘Passport to Pimlico’ are very well and traditionally dressed. Suits and ties are what most of the male actors are in and dresses are what the females are in. This also reflects the time period in which it was shot. The are political views portrayed in ‘This is England’ are based around Margaret Thatcher and unemployment epidemic which occurred in 1980’s Britain. There aren’t strong references in ‘Passport to Pimlico’ but there are mild political themes throughout the trailer. The two trailers are starkly different which perfectly depict the evolution of televion trailers and the advancement in production over the last fifty years.
Televisoin dramas of the 1950s were dominated by middle class based storylines. Social realist drama were often derived from the lives of working class. This originated from the “social problem” documentaries of the 1930’s. They deal with the lives of the working class and of the classes most visible to them, such as shopkeepers and
This essay will discuss how national attitudes towards the working-class and the impoverished are represented in American Television. The purpose of this paper is to comprehend that television shows are not solely designed to entertain consumers but also contain a hidden agenda whose task is to protect certain ideological perspectives and therefore constant framing strategies take place. The paper will commence the analysis by discussing how males and females are represented in the television show Friday Night Lights, secondly it will look at the
Beginning the mid 1920s, Hollywood’s ostensibly all-powerful film studios controlled the American film industry, creating a period of film history now recognized as “Classical Hollywood”. Distinguished by a practical, workmanlike, “invisible” method of filmmaking- whose purpose was to demand as little attention to the camera as possible, Classical Hollywood cinema supported undeviating storylines (with the occasional flashback being an exception), an observance of a the three act structure, frontality, and visibly identified goals for the “hero” to work toward and well-defined conflict/story resolution, most commonly illustrated with the employment of the “happy ending”. Studios understood precisely what an audience desired, and accommodated their wants and needs, resulting in films that were generally all the same, starring similar (sometimes the same) actors, crafted in a similar manner. It became the principal style throughout the western world against which all other styles were judged. While there have been some deviations and experiments with the format in the past 50 plus ye...
Movies in the Great Depression were outlets that the American people used to escape the daily hardships and struggles of their lives. Three genres emerged and flourished during this time period: comedy, musicals, and gangster films. Each genre depicted life in the Great Depression in different yet similar ways. While watching the movies, you can see that money played a large part in the plot. Justice and the law are also reoccurring themes. The treatment and depiction of women in these films is one aspect that is interesting to study and look at, as well. Women’s rights was still a hot button issue, and it is plain to see that by viewing such films as “Room Service”, “The Public Enemy”, and “Gold Diggers of 1937”.
Nelson, R. (2009). Modernism and Postmodernism in Television Drama. In: Creeber, G Televisions: An Introduction to Studying Televsion. 2nd ed. London: British Film Institute . p.90.
With nearly global use of the television; it has become a preferred method with which to influence and regulate people’s thinking, creating an unreal and idealistic, hypothetical reality which people strive to emulate. This is accomplished through shows and movies; the majority of which emphasize a perfect world, entirely free of corruption and poverty; where everyone is physically attractive, emotionally stable, and economically wealthy; a distorted reflection of our own world. This leads real people to attempt to create this imaginary world, only to fail; thus generating in themselves a sense of unworthiness, which in turn prompts them to try harder, to stop being individuals and become uniform.
Engelstad, Audun. "Watching Politics: The Representation of Politics in Primetime Television Drama." NORDICOM Review 29.2 (2008): 309-324. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.
Whether it’s through its overly upbeat and positive conflict resolving themes or inclusivity of customary morals and values, each show has seen its fair share of critique in terms of it’s realism to society.
During the course of this essay it is my intention to discuss the differences between Classical Hollywood and post-Classical Hollywood. Although these terms refer to theoretical movements of which they are not definitive it is my goal to show that they are applicable in a broad way to a cinema tradition that dominated Hollywood production between 1916 and 1960 and which also pervaded Western Mainstream Cinema (Classical Hollywood or Classic Narrative Cinema) and to the movement and changes that came about following this time period (Post-Classical or New Hollywood). I intend to do this by first analysing and defining aspects of Classical Hollywood and having done that, examining post classical at which time the relationship between them will become evident. It is my intention to reference films from both movements and also published texts relative to the subject matter. In order to illustrate the structures involved I will be writing about the subjects of genre and genre transformation, the representation of gender, postmodernism and the relationship between style, form and content.
One could easily dismiss movies as superficial, unnecessarily violent spectacles, although such a viewpoint is distressingly pessimistic and myopic. In a given year, several films are released which have long-lasting effects on large numbers of individuals. These pictures speak
Therefore the solutions offered were to use the cinema’s characterizations and plots (the stereotypes), to reject fictional
However, as degrading the stereotypes may be, some directors use these stereotypes to communicate the reality of the situation. For example, when the premise of the plot relates to history of Asian Americans, the inclusion of culture-specific attitudes and accents transforms the movie or TV show in an unidealized perspective of the world. Rather than shying away from what is considered racist, the directors stays true to what is part of society. Therefore, the ethical responsibility is to display these negative stereotypes.
Exploitation is central to Marxist analysis, 1 which makes it an ideal angle through which to view The Truman Show; the extras, main cast and members of the studio are unlike Truman, in that they have a choice. They are handsomely compensated for their hours2, but they sacrifice their daily lives to live a 'fake” life under strict control of perfectionist director Christof.3 Thus in essence they sell their life experience for financial gain. The ultimate exploitation, of course, is ...
Mittell’s argument for the examination of genre within a cultural context is useful, particularly when applied to post-network telev...
Gauntlett, D. Hill, A. BFI (1999) TV Living: Television, Culture, and Everyday Life, p. 263 London: Routledge.
We know everything about them and we know nothing about them; it is this conflicting concept that leaves audiences thirsty for a drink of insight into the lifestyles of the icons that dominate movie theater screens across the nation. This fascination and desire for connection with celebrities whom we have never met stems from a concept elaborated on by Richard Dyer. He speculates about stardom in terms of appearances; those that are representations of reality, and those that are manufactured constructs. Stardom is a result of these appearances—we actually know nothing about them beyond what we see and hear from the information presented to us. The media’s construction of stars encourages us to question these appearances in terms of “really”—what is that actor really like (Dyer, 2)?