Genre Deconstruction- Social Realism

Genre Deconstruction- Social Realism

Fish Tank (2009)

 

Typography

I have already discussed the typography of this film here

Location
The locations for this film opening are all local to each other but range between an empty flat and the surrounding area of the council estate. This is conventional to urban drama and social realism films as the character are often seen as struggling and this is a representation of a family struggling with money. By using an empty flat you question whether the character had broken into the area, as it is an empty room, this would lead to more conflict as the protagonist may have issues later in the film because of this act. The use of the estate is also effective as stereotypically there is conflict between neighbours, this can lead to character development, as social realism films are character driven.

Plot
The film opening begins with the character alone breathing heavily in a room, although the activity she had been doing is not given, as an audience we can assume that the character was doing some form of exercise.

The character moves over to the window at the edge of the room using her phone to leave a voicemail to her friends. The protagonist, Mia, is assumed to have had an argument with Keeley, her friend. The diegetic dialogue ‘You know what I’m like, I was pissed off. Ring me back you bitch’ suggests familiarity between the characters. 

A cross cut changes the scene as we see Mia pacing along a stretch of grass towards the flats, as she reaches them you see her crouching down and grabbing some of the shingle that lines the edge of the building. Walking back until she’s at a more suitable distance Mia throws the shingle at a window until one of the three tweens sunbathing beside her in the shot her catches her attention. The question ‘Tyler what are you doing?’ shows familiarity between the characters and a sharp reply is the response.

Mia turns back to the window as a man comes out onto the terrace and shouts that Keeley isn’t there. By the man saying ‘fuck off Mia’ the audience learns the protagonists name and also gain more of an understanding of the community where the film is located. It is also conforming to the conventions of urban drama and social realism films as it has further conflict between two characters and the stereotypically lesser-educated characters would swear more for an intimidation tactic.

Mia responds by throwing more shingle and shouting back up at him to give Keeley a message, insulting her father (the man who had sworn down at Mia) before storming off around the building shouting back that he would be so ‘fucking lucky’ when he threatened her.

Mia walks past a park and crosses a road, the streets surrounding the flats seemingly empty. We hear singing and laughter in the background as we follow the protagonist to a car park where she sits on the low metal railing surrounding the area.

The shot changes to a group of boys also standing and sitting by the railing on the adjacent side to Mia, there is a group of girls dancing in the blurred background of one of the shots. Mia is seen looking in disbelief as the group dance whilst singing along to the track playing. The girls seem to be dressed scantily and be attempting to dance provocatively for the boys at the edge of the car park.

One of the girls stops, noticing Mia and questions her ‘what the fucks your problem?’ Mia responds, claiming that there ‘terrible dancing’ is her problem. Insults are thrown and Mia head-butts one of the girls in the nose, causing it to bleed.

Mia pushes a few of the girls asking them what they’re going to do about it before walking away, the group shouting and swearing at her.

Conventions
Social realism films focus on topical issues that often surround younger characters in the film. ‘Fish Tank’ does this by looking at a working class protagonist that is having conflict with her friends, the film often depicts her being alone and pushes the image that the title introduces.

The amount of swearing in the first opening scene is typical for the location the film is set. The idea that more run down areas have rougher communities is supported by the antagonist lines spoken by the characters. The swearing is also subtly hinting at the social classes in the film, by having the protagonist purposely provoking an older character you can see the respect she has for the character is low.
Also included in the opening scenes are two dogs, these dogs are both Staffordshire terriers, a breed known for often being involved with blood sports (bear baiting, cock fighting etc.) this also means that people automatically associate them with gangs and other violent groups. The use of these dogs is another representation of how run down the area seems to be, also pushing more subtle ideas of social issues into the film even if they’re not tackled like the idea of money or relationships.

The men that are standing with the dogs are also very stereotypical for this type of film, as tattoo are generally seen as a gang culture the characters are similar to those seen in films like ‘Trainspotting’ and ‘This is England’.
Lighting
All the lighting in this film is natural lighting, there are no artificial lights used. This could be to increase the more realistic feel that they want from this film. Social realism films often use natural lighting so that the scenes that occur are more realistic for the viewer. They may also have done this to make the film seem more lifelike and relatable, by making the film seem darker it also helps it seem grittier.

Camera Angles
By starting the opening sequence with a mid-shot the audience gets an uninterrupted view of the protagonist and get to see the character. This can be quite important for an establishing shot as it allows for the audience to get their own grasp on the environment.

As she moves over to the window the cameras focus is on scenery and view whilst she is leaving a voicemail for her friend. This change of depth of the image can be a way to also establish the environment that the character is currently living and locating in. by blurring the protagonists the camera deliberately points towards the other flats and roads in the area further establishing the urban environment. It also confirms the time of year to be summer as there is strong lighting in the shots.

By dominantly using tracking shots the focus clearly becomes Mia and she is further cemented as the main character of the film. The use of tracking shots also increases urgency as she walks quickly around the estate and has certain locations in mind. There is also a tracking shot used in the conflict between Mia and the group of girls that each insult each other. By using this angle the scene has renewed urgency and tension as she assaults one of the girls in the group.
Mise-en-scene
The clothing worn by the characters is also another example of the stereotypically working class council estate image that the characters make. By having Mia wearing a tracksuit she is further and further into the common conventions of a ‘pikey’ as one of the girls calls her. She is also wearing large hoop earrings that are often associated with lower class girls.

By having the character introduced in an empty flat the first scene of the opening sequence amplifies and supports the main concept of the film introduced by the title ‘Fish Tank’. By immediately having the character in an empty flat and seemingly isolated from her friends it relays the topical issue that relationships can often cause. It can also symbolise how much Mia actually has keeping her in the estate as she leaves it at the end of the film.
Sound
There is no score in this film opening, this could be due to the realistic approach that the director hopes and succeeds to take, the use of diegetic sounds make the film more lifelike and relatable, it also means that the audience heavily rely on the acting to provoke an emotional response as there will be no music to amplify the emotion on screen. This can be an advantage or a disadvantage but it’s mainly dependent on the choice of actors and storyline. It also means that the music will not distract the audience from the gritty film as the raw state will lead to a more relatable approach.