British Social Realism: Fish Tank Case Study.

Themes and Situations:
The themes and situations of the movie Fish Tank conform to the conventions of British Social Realism as the issues that are portrayed are realistic, and really happen. For example; Binge drinking, Bullying/Sexual harassment and adultery.

• Bullying/Sexual harassment is shown in the movie when Mia returns to release the horse, and is challenged by two older males, they begin to violate her, and she breaks free and escapes leaving all of her belongings behind. This is British social realism as it has verisimilitude, and actually happens in our modern society, where women are taken advantage of, and sometimes don't escape, and this shows Mia's struggle as she it getting herself into situations; for instance when she had broken another girls nose.
• Adultery is one of the main factors in this movie. As Connor O'Reily, is married with a  young daughter, in a relationship with Joanne, and also has feelings for Mia(a 15 year old girl). Mia may have felt feelings towards Connor as she is treated very badly by her mother and is constantly called a "Cunt", and physically abused by her mother, and Connor treats her with respect, but also shows hints that he likes her, eventually leading to Connor raping Mia. This is a convention of British social realism as rape is a very serious action and is shown in reality, as we are shown this, and this is a convention of British social realism.
• In the movie we see Mia, getting one of her friends to buy her alcohol, throughout the movie we see this, when she is training, at home, and at any opportunity she has. This links to British social realism as this is a big problem with teenagers. In Mia's situation, she may drink to drink away her problems at home, with her mother, not treating her adequately. The drinks that she has are very cheap drinks, this is realistic, as Britain has some of the lowest alcohol prices in Europe. 

The issues that are shown in the movie are serious and realistic, I could use a strategy like this so that we can have realistic problems/issues people face, to add to show the "unvarnished pictures of life's struggles".

Representation:

• The representation of the characters in the movie Fish Tank are working class or below working class, as they live on a estate block in Barking, near the A13. This is not a ideal place to live as they're living on the edge of an A road, where it is noisy and generally more "run down". This shows British Social Realism as they do not have a choice of where they can live, and shows the places where people actually live with absolutely nothing. 
• Also we see Mia and Billy playing in a Wickes car park on a trolley, where they come to get money from Connor for alcoholic drinks, this is shocking as most teenagers at this age would go to the park, and maybe play sports/social activities, but Billy and Mia go into scrap heaps to find engine parts, and drink medicine and cheap beers/cider. This shows British social realism as they have not have better facilities in their area, so they must entertain themselves somehow, and this is through drinking.

The film is mainly shot in urban locations, such as areas that would usually be avoided, and are usually out of commission for a reason, I would use a strategy like this because it would show hardship in the characters lives and having to entertain themselves, in places that they shouldn't be.

Mise-en-Scene:

• The props in Fish Tank are cigarettes, and alcohol. Throughout the film we see Mia, Joanne, Connor, Billy, and even Mia's little sister and friend drinking and smoking. This shows us that they are not cared for adequately as they're getting into bad habits at such a young age, and this is how they entertain themselves, we even see Mia and Billy drinking medicine for a 'buzz'. This has used the stereotype of british social realism to be rough and 'hard hitting' as when we see people of such a young age smoking or drinking, it shocks us- making the audience think. 
• The costume in Fish Tank is very informal, as most characters wear tracksuits. This matches the setting and locations, as people living on the estate block wouldn't have money to spend on more expensive, nicer clothing, Mia's mother, Joanne, wears very revealing clothing, and this doesn't set a good example for the kids that are living with her. This is a convention of british social realism as, we are looking at her through her kids eyes, and shows us the "unvarnished" truth. 

In my composition I would try to match the mise-en-scene to the financial status of my characters, to add verisimilitude to my opening sequence.

Music and Sound Editing:

• The type of music that is shown in Fish Tank is a mixture of old and new music, as we see Mia listening to artists such as Ja Rule and Nas - They both black/american rappers, and rap about drugs, alcohol, gangs and crime, that would all relate to many of the situations and issues that the characters in Fish Tank would face, in Fish Tank we mainly see alcohol and smoking consistently throughout the movie.
• The sound in Fish Tank is mostly diagetic, as every sound matches the corresponding scene, such as when we see Mia walking near Billy's caravans, we hear crs crossing on the A13.

I would use diagetic sound in my opening sequence as it is a convention of british social realism, by showing only what should be in the scene.

Camerawork and Editing:

• The camerawork uses a wide range of shots, such as close up's, mid shots and longshots, but i would pay attention to the use of point of view shots throughout the film as each time this shot is used we are looking through the characters eyes, and we become the character, putting us, the audience, in the current situation. The continuity in the film is very smooth, and time passes like a normal day.
• The lighting used in the movie is natural lighting, as the british social realism stryle is minimalistic, as they try to keep it as naural as possible so that it is more realistic and we can feel more grounded and pay more attention to detail, as this is aimed at at an active audience.

I would use this strategy of natural lighting and point of view shots, and minimalistic style in my compostion, so that I can make it as believable as possible for the audience.

Dialogue:

• The dialogue used in Fish Tank is very rude, and not suitable for a young certificate, yet in saying this Mia's younger sister, Tyler, is very shocking, as she is swearing calling her mother a "tramp", constantly cursing using the word "cunt", this shows that she hasn't been cared for as she has learnt this from somewhere, or someone, such as her mother, as we repeatedly see Joanne curse Mia. The accents that the characters have are all cockney, as they all maybe from Barking.

I would use this strategy of using actors from the filming location so that the accents match the area of Britian, this is a convention of British social realism as they tend to use actors from the specific area, as Mia's character is played by Katie Jarvis, who is from dartford- I would use this to make the character relatable to the target audience. 

Secondary Research:
Institutional Background:

The movie Fish Tank was produced on lottery funding, and had a production budget of approximately £2000000, and had been produced/supported by institutions such as BBC Films, UK Film Council, these institutions support independent movies and due to a proliferation of hardware we are finding that more independent movies are being made each year, as it is cheaper and easier to film and edit. These companies appeal to a niche market, and do not appeal to a mainstream audience, this could explain why they had only made $32,619 on their opening weekend.

Audience Breakdown:

The movie Fish Tank is an Independent movie, and is aimed at a niche market, therefore the movie would relate to people who live in a similar environment, but this would also aim at a active audience as this is not a movie that will entertain an audience, but would require more attention to watch. The music genre would attract more people to come and watch the movie as it has Hip Hop/R'n'B, one of the songs was Ja Rule- Down 4 U.

Marketing Strategy:
The marketing strategy of this movie was they had followed the ethos of an independent movie, where they use unknown actors. This movie had won the The Grand Jury prize at the cannes festival in 2009, this would invite more people to watch the movie as it has recieved recognition at a known film festival.