Social Realism mainly focuses on the issues of modern society. The generic of social realism films change overtime due to the change in society. For example in the past social realism films were based on issues like racism which was a big issue back then but now social realism's are more based on issues such as knife crime and gun crime which are a topical issues alive in modern society today.

 

One of the main generic conventions that Social realism films tend to use are unknown actors. The use of unknown actors/actresses help to increase the verisimilitude of the film and makes it more realistic. The social class used in social realism's are also very important directors of social realism films normally set their films in run down areas or council estates and tend to use characters that can represent a working class background as most of social realism films are based around working class issues. The main characters also tend to be teenagers or young adults. Social realism's tend to deal with issues like drugs, alcoholism, prostitution, poverty, crime, homosexuality and sex. Some are also based on religious and political views.

 

The target audience of social realism's vary it is not always the same. Social realism's like Kidulthood are aimed at teenagers and young adults whereas before social realism's like Billy Elliot appealed to everyone. Social realism's are often funded by the government and production companies such as film 4 and the BBC

 

The music used in social realism's tends to be underground and by unknown artists instead of mainstream artists. One of the main genres you will find in recent social realist texts is grime music. Grime music is defined as separate from hip-hop, but promotes similar messages