Fish Tank exam question

A1: To what extent are your chosen texts typical of their genre?

My chosen text is the British social realism film, Fish Tank. The film gives a realistic portrayal of society and life for the under class. Social realism represents real life, including all of the difficulties involved. Films within the genre are usually gritty drama, set within an urban environment, showing the struggles of everyday life. The film technique is very realistic also, allowing the viewer to relate at certain points, by effects such as hand held camera.

Fishtank is typical of its genre, using conventions of the genre. Some of these conventions include handheld camera movements, diegetic sound, shallow depth of field, non-professional actors, urban location shooting (non studio) and wider social issues. These conventions all show its genre and makes it appeal more realistic to the viewer. In the scene where Mia is chasing Connor, the camera action is hand held tracking, allowing the viewer to almost feel as though they are there. In another scene where Mia is confronting Connor after visiting his house, there is a shallow depth of field, as she is in the foreground, and is in focus, whereas the background is not, which once again, is natural, appearing more genuine and real. Long shot and mid-shot camera angles are used often, with point of view shots and eye level shots, again, allowing the viewer to relate to the scene. Facial expressions are often shown as close-ups, to emphasise the emotion that the character is going through, allowing the viewer to relate and empathise. This makes the viewer feel empathy, as they are shown the hardships of Mia's life and feel closer to her and her life situations, as the techniques used appear more factual. Even the name of the film suggests that Mia is trapped in a metaphorical fish tank and is unable to escape her life of growing up in an East London council estate, facing everyday problems, which she is unable to break free of, which is supported by her love for a horse she finds on a caravan park which is chained to a post. Mia empathises with the horse, perhaps because she feels the same way, as she is unable to break free, very similar to the horse. Although Mia is not physically tied up, she is unable to escape her under class lifestyle, and it is unlikely that she ever will. The general location is around East London, with no studio shots, used by major Hollywood blockbusters. This again shows realism. The environment is urban, with the other characters shown to be very similar to Mia in dress sense and language. Another representation of the underclass is money issues, as in numerous scenes Mia asks Connor for money, for example when she goes to his workplace asking him for money for alcohol, when she tells him that she has no money for a train fare home, and when she steals money from his wallet, in all scenarios, she eventually attains money from Connor. Showing that Connor is financially stable.

Fish Tank includes many conventions typical of its genre, social realism. Therefore allowing the viewer to feel more involved in the storyline, in addition to being able to relate to the characters in some scenarios.