How typical is your chosen text to its genre?

How typical is your chosen text to its genre?

The British film "Fishtank" is a social realist film, directed by Andrea Arnold.  The film focuses on Mia, an aggressive fifteen-year-old girl, who lives on an Essex estate with her mother, Joanne, and little sister Tyler. She spends most of her days aimlessly. She begins an uneasy friendship with her mothers boyfriend, Connor, who encourages her one interest, dancing. The film is full of many conventions which are typical to the social realist genre.

In the scene where Mia is about to leave her family to go to Wales, her mother is dancing to music while having a cigarette. This scene is very typical to its genre as the music being played is coming from a stereo present in the scene which means the director is using diegetic sound. Diegetic sound is commonly used in social realist films because they want the audience to feel part of the text and create a feel of realism. The song which is being played repeats the lyrics of "life's a bitch and then you die", this reflects the situation which Mia has found herself in as her life has been troubled and hard. This theme is common in most social realist films as they focus on the under represented - the underclass, who find themselves in a very difficult and troubled life. Also Joanne, Mias mum is shown smoking, this is typical iconography of its genre. Alcohol, drugs and cigarettes are very common within the social realist genre as most characters tend to turn their frustration of being trapped in an underclass society to such things.