Textual Analysis: Social Realism

Trainspotting



Trainspotting is a film directed by British film maker Danny Boyle following the life of heroin addict Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor). This film is an example of the social realism genre prominent in the UK. The aim of a social realist film is to show an audience the real world, typically from the perspective of an urban setting.

In this specific scene from Trainspotting, you find typical generic conventions associated with the Social Realist genre. The setting of this scene is a typical pub/bar, the dark 80's looking interior deemed with the smokey fumes seen tinting the shot suggests a lower class british setting, this is backed by the shot of the group sitting around tables accompanied by an abundance of beer glasses. This gives an initial idea that the group are not conserved also seen by there fascination of Francis Begbies story, a closeness between groups is a typical trait of Social Realism and usually see each other as family figures.
Francis Begbies language