Social realism analysis
Shank
Mo Ali is a inexperienced director that directed Shank which
was filmed in 2009. Although being a new to the scene director he Mo Ali
managed to get Ashley Thomas who is a rapper that the target audience would
recognize, he also managed to cast Adam Decon who is well known in this genre
of film after appearing in Kidulthood, Adulthood and Anuvhood. The film was distributed by Revolver
Entertainment, Revolver Entertainment are very much into distributing
independent films which shank falls under the category of also. Due to being a social realism film the film
was shot on a cheap budget in comparison to Hollywood movies as it cost £385,000.
When released in 26 March 2010 the film did fairly well seems as the Director
was unknown as it grossed £550,213 (UK) (19 April 2010), so in almost a month
they made £165,213.
Target Audience
Shank has a niche audience, the film is target at 15-22 year old that live in areas such as North and East London, the film is predominantly
aimed a males also as they could relate to the subject targeted within the
film. The target audience would more
than likely be in education or unemployed due to the area they live in, due to
this they wouldn't have disposable income and it wouldn't be likely for them to
go to the cinema and watch the film as they could find other forms of entertainment with that money. Although the target audience don't have disposable income the film was still screened at cinemas, due to this fact this is why it didn't make a very large amount at the cinema. This is very they quickly released the DVD release of the film to attempt to boost their income from the film.
Representation
In Shank, young black males are involved in gangs which is very stereotypical, but the idea they use of the gangs fighting and competing for food is a very clever one as it is sending a message saying that if this continues and gangs carry on things will become a lot worse than they already are.
In the gang the young black males are shown to be very caring, loving, loyal and protective other one another, this is not normally shown in the media. They are shown to be harsh and have no mercy but clearly have a side which isn't usually shown.
Laura Mulvey's theory of the 'Male Gaze' can be applied to Shank.This is because males are dominant, through out the film the male characters are dominant and have some form of power, in comparison to women as they aren't in the film to move the story forward but they are used as trophies/ sexualised objects to be looked at.
The film is set in London and a large majority of the cast in the entire film are young black males, although set in the future London is shown to be very run down and uncared for, this is sending a message to the audience saying gangs don't look out for the environment, they are messy and do not care for much other than themselves.
About the filmRepresentation
In Shank, young black males are involved in gangs which is very stereotypical, but the idea they use of the gangs fighting and competing for food is a very clever one as it is sending a message saying that if this continues and gangs carry on things will become a lot worse than they already are.
In the gang the young black males are shown to be very caring, loving, loyal and protective other one another, this is not normally shown in the media. They are shown to be harsh and have no mercy but clearly have a side which isn't usually shown.
Laura Mulvey's theory of the 'Male Gaze' can be applied to Shank.This is because males are dominant, through out the film the male characters are dominant and have some form of power, in comparison to women as they aren't in the film to move the story forward but they are used as trophies/ sexualised objects to be looked at.
The film is set in London and a large majority of the cast in the entire film are young black males, although set in the future London is shown to be very run down and uncared for, this is sending a message to the audience saying gangs don't look out for the environment, they are messy and do not care for much other than themselves.
The film is told in first person which is a regular way of
being shot in social realism films, the characters are represented in both a
negative away through most of the film as they steal from people and get caught
up in a gang conflict. But at the beginning they are show in a different light
due to the boys older brother dying. All of the characters are male ranging
from the age of 15 to 23 roughly which is alike the target audience. In the film the characters and plot almost say
that in the future if people come together they can overcome anything, as in
Shank gangs take over London.

The opening scene really grabs your attention the first on scene is one teen being chased by another on a motorbike. Mo Ali uses many different camera angles in this heated chase, the main shot the was effective was the close ups of the boy that was being chased. Throughout the chase scene there would be close ups of his face showing fear as he is running for his life, or there would be a close up of his feet as he lands after jumping off a bridge to get away. These shot created tension and created suspense in weather he would get away or not.
In the opening scene the feature that made the scene grab your attention was the editing. The editing style used was straight cut, the scene would just chop and change angles showing the audience that the chase was at a very fast pace. Along with the expression on the boys
fast pace editing of the chase, due to the speed the scene was getting editing at there was constant new images on the screen signalling that it was a high speed chase and that the boy was running for his life. The fast paced editing has an effect on the audience, as the picture on the screen is constantly changing the audience cant become attached to it. The combination of both the camera angles showing the boys face and the fast paced editing show that living this particular lifestyle can be very scary and you always have to be moving. The way this particular scene is shot also creates fear amongst the audience as you don't know if the boy will be able to escape from the boy on the motorbike.
The chase scene was from 2 minutes to 4 minutes.
Conclusion
In conclusion this is a typical social realism film in my opinion as it is about a main character that is put into a hard situation and has to overcome a difficult task. It fits the stereotypical stand out codes and conventions in most social realism films such as run down locations, graffiti and a strong influence from the people around them. You can tell the film was shot on a relatively small budget in comparison to a Hollywood film.
Connor