Definitons and Conventions

Social Realist Drama (British):

These films are representative of real life. They are generally based around political or social issues and are also set around the working class. They are usually set in cities or neighbourhoods and a main aspect of these films is community. The characters are usually from bad backgrounds and are fighting for something better for their lives, something that they strongly believe in.


This is an example of naturalistic lighting, used in the British Social Drama film, This Is England.














Crime Caper:

There is usually a leader of a group with an ensemble cast and the narrative is usually based around money and drugs. The crime is usually represented as sophisticated. In these films the consequences of crimes are never seen and they are usually set in cities and they focus on the side of crime that makes it appealing.

Adventure:

The main character of an adventure film is usually in the title of the film as they are the main character. The main character is often young and during the film they are presented with their fear and they have to overcome it. In these films there is a clear good vs evil divide and the evil character is often very different. There are a lot of special effects used in these films and they are set in an unfamiliar environment to the audience and the characters. This helps the film of isolation and also adults are represented as not understanding or believing the children that are in the fantasy.

Teenage Romantic Comedy:

There are lots of stereotypes in these films, for example the unpopular geek, the rich and attractive girl and the male jock. The scenes in these films are humorous which are relatable but they are often far-fetched. There is usually some sort of a 'makeover' scene whereby the unpopular cool person becomes more attractive. There is a large group of characters and humiliation is a main feature in these films. The relationships are based on hetrosexual relationships and the ending always ends happily.