Abstract
This chapter assesses a range of highly diverse examples of 'social realism' — each offers new ways of expressing 'how things really are'. It considers social realism in the films of Shane Meadows, Clio Barnard, Andrea Arnold, and Steve McQueen. The chapter then explores the social realism in Larry Clark's Kids (1995). An altogether more iconoclastic, youth-centric social realism emerged in the mid-1990s in America with the work of Clark, a new wave asserting itself against the calcified norms of mainstream Hollywood. Kids charted its own distinctive realist territory when it exposed the precocious amoral sexual habits of urban American youth towards the end of the century. The chapter also looks at social realism in La Haine (Mathieu Kassovitz, 1995), City of God (Fernando Mereilles, 2002), and Elephant (Gus Van Sant, 2003). Common to all three is a spirit of stylistic innovation intended to roll back accreted convention and reveal a heightened, rediscovered realism.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
