FIL-30019 - British Social Realism
Coordinator: Hollie Price
Lecture Time: See Timetable...
Level: Level 6
Credits: 15
Study Hours: 150
School Office: 01782 733147

Programme/Approved Electives for 2023/24

None

Available as a Free Standing Elective

Yes

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2023/24


Aims
- Introduce students to films, filmmakers and movements that form part of a diverse, evolving realist tradition in British cinema
- Familiarise students with the forms, styles, themes and historical contexts of different movements in British film history ¿ including Griersonian documentaries, 1960s New Wave films, film collectives in the 1970s-80s, and the contemporary movement of `new realism¿ in British cinema
- Enable students to learn about the socio-cultural, political and industrial contexts of social realist filmmaking and to analyse representations of class, age, race, gender and sexuality using a range of conceptual approaches and theoretical concepts
- Introduce students to debates surrounding realism and social realism in screen studies ¿ including theories on realism; definitions of social, moral and poetic realism; British national cinema; regional or local identities; politics, authorship and aesthetics.

Intended Learning Outcomes

recognise a range of British social realist films and movements, and the various, mutable forms and traditions of realist film practice: 1,2
gain and apply knowledge and understanding of British film history ¿ including major movements like the Griersonian documentary movement and the 1960s New Wave and more recent `new realism¿: 1,2
develop their existing skills in close film analysis ¿ and explore key aspects of film form including mise-en-scène, cinematography and performance in close detail: 1,2
develop skills in applying a range of theoretical concepts and approaches in Film Studies, and in exploring films within their social, cultural, political and industrial contexts: 1,2
adopt and apply methodologies, drawing on secondary historical studies and primary archival texts in seminars and independent research: 1,2

Study hours

24 hours ¿ seminars [12 x 2 hour weekly seminars]
22 hours ¿ film watching [11 x 2 hour screenings]
48 hours ¿ seminar preparation
18 hours ¿ preparation/work on first assessment
38 hours ¿ essay research and writing

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment

1: Short Paper weighted 30%
Film Treatment/Scene Analysis
Students will produce EITHER a) 1250-word treatment for a social realist film project, outlining the chosen subject/story and justifying creative decisions within the wider and more recent history/understanding of social realist film, OR b) a 1250-word close analysis of a sequence from a chosen film, not discussed on the module, looking at its aesthetic choices and discussing them in relation to the history and theories of social realist film.

2: Essay weighted 70%
Essay
Students will produce a 2000 word essay, based on one of a set of questions provided [these questions will cover all concepts, issues and historical contexts covered on the module]. Students may also construct their own essay question with advice from the module convenor.