This is England: To what extent is This is England typical of it's genre?

This is England is most definitely suitable for the Social Realism genre. The term 'social realism' means taking issues in society and raising them through a text with an added sense of realism. This is exactly what Shane Meadows does in This is England and is apparent through several of his other movies as he raises the main issue of kids growing up far too fast.

We first notice that This is England could be classed as a Social Realist movie by the opening sequence which consists of real life events such as the Fawklands war and Margaret Thatcher as well as additional iconic moments of the era to give the movie a sense of realism. The Fawklands war and Margaret Thatcher are referenced several times throughout This is England to give the audience an idea of what issues troubled locals back in the 1980's era. The fact that This is England was filmed on location and used non actors for the movie created a huge sense of realism for me personally. Filming on location was able to give a gritty and naturalistic tone to the movie without the help of low/high key lighting for better effect. The raw tone of the setting allowed the realism to be emphasised just by other elements such as the accents of characters, iconography, camera/editing etc, without the help of adjusting the lighting. The use of non actors allows the audience to empathise with the characters more as they wouldn't have known the cast, in comparison to if a character was played by an actor/actress such as Angelina Jolie or Matt Damon, it would have been less effective.
If a character was played by a known actor/actress such as Jolie or Damon, it would minus the chances of the audience believing the role as they are well-known American actors which may throw the audience off on the believability. The use of accents emphasises the realism for the non-actors as each cast member has their own sense of vocabulary and accent which allows the audience to believe the role more and gain a minor cultural background from the characters and where they grew up in based in England.

As for camera and editing, personally I believe the most believable moment for this element is one of the last few scenes when Milky is beaten up by Combo. The fast paced editing, big close-up shots and hand-held camera boosts the realism to such a high level as the events unfold before your eyes and provides the illusion that the audience are in the situation/room with them. It connotes that the scene was not scripted and that the scene was happening then and there at that very moment.

On a final note, Shane Meadows, I personally do not believe that Shane Meadows can be considered as an Auteur. In my opinion, I believe this is because his body of work is not distinct enough. The themes and visual style may reoccur throughout his movies but is it as distinct as the likes of directors such as Tim Burton or Danny Boyle? I believe that Shane Meadows can not be considered an auteur is purely because his movies are based on a specific subject and the use of a person in a working class background is not dynamic enough.