Fish Tank - Social Realism

Task - How typical is your chosen text to its genre?

Fish Tank is a 2009 British drama film written and directed by Andrea Arnold. The text is a social realist film, and adheres to this genre in many ways.

One way Fish Tank adheres to the genre, social realism, was in the scene where the teacher came around to talk to Mia about school, and Mia looked at a dead fish on the floor. This connotes that Mia would be a fish out of water being in school.  This shows is a very typical convention used in social realist films, and shows that she is not entirely accepted by society, and like I've already said, would become a fish out of water.

Another convention that shows how typical Fish Tank is to its genre is the use of unvarnished locations, such as busy town centres and council flats. Not editing the lighting, or adding props will make the film become more realistic, and adds empathy to the viewing making the audience feel in Mia's shoes. Unvarnished locations are constantly used in the narrative, which make this narrative very typical to its genre, social realism.

Another way Fish Tank is shown typically of its genre is in the scene where Mia picks up a 'Wanted Female Dancers' poster, and also in the same scene where she is watching clips of professional dancers on the computer, this shows her dream, and shows that the protagonist, Mia, strives for an improved life and circumstance than the one she finds herself in at the beginning of the narrative.

Whilst looking at the video of the 'London Street Crew 03' dancers, it changes camera footage and focuses on the screen, using a POV footage style. This makes the scene feel more realistic, and puts us in Mia's shoes, and her point of view, which later on causes us to gain emotions she feels, and become more attached into the film. POV footage shots are used numerous times in scenes in the films, which make this narrative very typical to its genre, social realism.