This is England Genre

Genre, Influences & Shane Meadows

Through discussion, I believe that the film's genre is social realism. From its Aesthetics, Functions and themes I had no choice but to choose this genre. I view ‘This Is England’ as an issue based film about a past era. However from watching it, you must see the aesthetics as incontrovertibly real. The mise en scene of the film shows us high-rise flats and a gritty look. The gritty look is born from the saturated colours and the naturalistic lighting. In combos flat the scene feels as grim as the grey sky outside because no extra lighting has been used. A social realist film commonly uses people with little or no acting experience. Their performances seem more realistic and deliberate than professionals. The actors in ‘This is England’ challenge us because they are unknown. Thomas Turgoose is the main character and had no acting experience until this film. Each actor has a regional accent defining the setting of the movie in Nottingham. This is England discusses themes and issues that occurred during this era. Themes such as the national front and the Falkland’s war also convey the social realist genre. Social realist film commonly has an allegory within its narrative. The allegory of ‘This is England’ makes us challenge ourselves as the actors portray the English people of reality. An allegory is common in the social realist genre. The issues used include the social and political views of the working class people of Britain during the 1980's. The film starts taking a turn in genre in some parts. It moves towards a film about a certain character’s emotions, conveyed in Lol and Combo's car scene. There are other ways in which this film can challenge the social realist genre. In ‘This is England’ we see a montage, which keeps us aware that we are watching a film. This film could be considered a Shane meadows film. Meadows likes to reflect his personal creative visions and you see this creative style in other Shane Meadows film. Shane Meadows likes to use the same motifs, themes and actors in his films. This is England includes actors such as Vicky McClure and Andrew Shim from his other films.