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Period: to
Sociar Realism Timeline
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Spare Time
This film revolves around the working class after the First World War, and in particular how industrial workers spend their time when not in work. -
This Happy Breed
This is a British social realism film with aspects of drama and comedy. The film is set between the two world wars, and examines peoples' lives in this period, including their hardships in terms of love and marriage, death, the general strike of 1926 and death in the family. The references to real historical events represent the 'realism' in society at the time. -
The Titfield Thunderbolt
When British Rail abandons the village's train service, the villagers decide to band together and run it themselves, despite opposition from the bus company, in this 'comedy classic'. -
Kes
The film focuses on 15 year old Billy Casper, who has little hope in life and is bullied. His fear is that he will end up working in a coal mine (coal miners were also amongst the worst paid workers in the developed world). But he finds a way out of his difficulties by finding and taking a kestrel from a nest, which he trains, and his life begins to turn around. That is until his evil half-brother gets revenge for failing to put on a winning bet for him. -
High Hopes
This film revolves around an extended working class family in London, who battle against each other in terms of family planning, as well as other clashes of culture, such as the elderly and the young 'yuppies' neighbouring the working class, and different belief systems, politically and otherwise. -
Trainspotting
This film follows a group of heroin addicts in the 1980s, in an economically depressed area of Edinburgh, and depicts their journeys through life. It is a black comedy, in which the characters battle against the addiction as well as attempt to make clean starts in their lives with money earned from drug deals. -
Brassed Off
Set in Yorkshire in the Thatcher years, this film tells of a number of peoples' struggles as they are made redundant from their workplace: the coal pit. They are, however, also in a colliery brass band, which earns mass publicity and gets the chance to enter a nationwide competition, amidst the difficulties they all face. Themes include unemployment and the working class culture while the film appears to make a poltical statement about the traditional state of mining communities in Britain. -
The Full Monty
This comedy drama set in Sheffield depicts the struggles of several middle aged men who cannot earn a job after the closure of the steel-works. They therefore become a strip-tease act to earn a short term amount of money. There are many realism based themes included such as unemployment, depression, suicide, obesity, fathers' rights, homosexuality and working class culture. -
Billy Elliot
11 year old Billy is an aspiring dancer during the time of the miners' strike. He does not have the approval of the activity from his father, until after Billy continues lessons secretly, when he realises he has talent, and does whatever he can to help him acheive his dream. Billy manages to earn a place in the Royal Ballet School, and succesffully becomes a dancer, despite his family's numerous difficulties in their work. -
Dirty Pretty Things
This film set in London, is themed on the struggles of foreign immigrants to earn enough money through employment to 'stay afloat'. They are also threatened by immigration authorities throughout the film. Meanwhile, a the main protagonists find secrets of their employment leading to the criminal underworld, which is another huge theme in the film. -
Kidulthood
Basedon the contemporary issue of gang and youth culture, this film is set in West London, and over the course of 48 hourse, the themes of drugs, violence, sex and teenage pregnancy, bullying and underage drinking and alcohol are all exhibited. -
Adulthood
With familiar themes to its predecessor, 'Kidulthood', the sequel focuses on the same characters with some new ones as Sam, the villain from the last film, attempts to get used to life outside of prison after his release, despite many attempts of others to gain revenge for the life he took.