British New Wave Essay

 British New wave came about after the war had finally ended but Britain was still overcoming shortages that were caused by the war, this reminded the population of the divide between the different social classes and the hierarchy, making societal issues more visible to the public. As well as this being a contributing factor to the beginning of British new wave, the 1950s was a period of time where technology began a dramatic evolution, producing things such as the first personal computer. This was a contributing factor because as new, exciting technology was being brought to light, the public craved something new in cinema too and began to get bored of the standard typical advertisements for the British way of life that was being shown previously and thus came Kitchen sink dramas, aka, British new wave.

British New wave, otherwise known as kitchen sink dramas stood out hugely from the previous typical advertisements for the British way of life because they were unpolished, gritty features that showed the working class citizens of Britain as they are in real life. These films were based on social realism, which means as realistic of a depiction of real life as possible, and focused on typical problems the working class public faced post war and were typically set in northern England during the late 50s and the 60s. The narratives of these productions usually dealt with issues such as un happy marriages, alcoholism, unplanned pregnancies, homosexuality, and generally anything that defied social normalities of that time period. Kitchen sink dramas were that successful, they carried on to be a sub genre of movie after the new wave had ended. They were easily. noticeable by some of their features and editing techniques such as location shots, these were used to give off a documentary feel  because documentaries were one of the biggest influences on this movement in film, the location shots, while often were more dangerous to the crew members, enhanced the social realism aspect to the productions. To further the documentary style, normal people were used as extras often, not actors. Handheld cameras were more frequently used,  this added to the unpolished look but also helped to make the audience feel more as though they were there. Long tracking shots were one of the most commonly used techniques throughout the movement, this is to give the illusion on real life and space to the viewer. Finally, breaking the fourth wall and breaking the 180 degree rule was common amongst these movies especially in black and white movies. This is because the British new wave took a large amount of influence from the French new wave.

A taste of honey 1961, directed by Tony Richardson, Is about an angsty 17 year old girl named Jo, living with her mother who struggles with alcoholism and is well known to be promiscuous. Jo, whilst desperate to be shown any form of love after being abandoned by her mother, gone off to re marry to a younger man, spends a night with a black sailor who is on a short shore leave. From there on, the movie depicts Jo's life for the few following months, showing her befriending and living with a homosexual man named Geoffrey. However, Jo and Geoffreys happiness is short lived when Helen, Jo's mother, re appears after splitting with her new husband and plans to drive Geoffrey away and reassume care of Jo. In a taste of honey, the camera often focuses in on Jo's eyes, this emphasises her fears for herself and her unborn child because it links back to when Jo is told early in the film by her mother that her father was the "village idiot" and was often ridiculed by everyone around him before his death. After Helen informs her of this, she tells Jo that Jo has her fathers eyes; making Jo paranoid she or her unborn child will have inherited her fathers "madness".  A key scene for this movie has to be where Jo admits she doesn't care for her short lived love anymore and Geoffrey hints at his unhappiness as they stand over looking the river in the same place Jo was saw earlier in the movie, watching the father of her unborn child leave. In this scene Geoffrey asks the question "who's happy" which relates to the contextual side of the British new wave, and unlike past british cinema, refusing to put up a facade and to pretend British life is perfect, this scene, along with the whole movie, accurately shows that life as a working class, British person presented many problems. Jo later goes on to call Geoffrey "unique". This was quite accurate for the time because he was presented as a homosexual character, which at the time was still frowned upon and would usually result in ridicule. To present this (along with other themes in the production such as mixed race relationships, alcoholism, dysfunctional families and unhappy marriages) in movie must have been scandalous to the viewer when it was released as they were used to a polished, unrealistic representation of British people. Long tracking shots are used in this scene to ensure the audiences focus stays on the conversation as its is a pivotal part of the production where Jo admits her love was just a fantasy. The use of tracking shots, long takes and black and white directly link to the British new wave because they were commonly used techniques throughout the time period by a variety of film makers.

Saturday night and sunday morning, 1960, directed by Karel Reisz, is about "angry young man" of the 1960s, Arthur  Seaton. During the week, he works in a tedious factory job, portrayed in the opening scene through his internal monologue. But over the weekend Arthurs darker side comes out; this involves alcoholism, secret affairs and unplanned pregnancies. Arthur starts the movie dating a fellow workers wife Brenda who is infatuated by his careless attitude towards life, but soon finds a new love interest, Doreen. Soon after that Brenda announces shes pregnant, Arthur attempts to hide this from his current love interest but she finds out and confronts him about the matter. A key scene for this production begins with Arthur getting dressed up and exiting his house. Upon exiting his house he bumps into mrs Bull and shows no remorse, even when it audibly distresses her. This links to Arthurs lack of respect for most people that he shows throughout the movie, often lashing out at them for little to no reason. Arthurs carelessness presented in this scene and throughout the whole of the production, puts emphasis on the fact that he has no time for social responsibility and he feels as though everyone wants something from him; therefore making him uncomfortable with his life. He is later shown in the scene drinking alcohol so fast it catches the attention of multiple people and is discovered to struggle with alcoholism, this is a maladaptive coping mechanism he uses to escape his mundane job and the stress of having not one, but two secret relationships. This presents a link to the context of new wave films from that time period because it quite frankly shows the world how it is instead of presenting it as an issue. The use of a long tracking shot at the beginning of the scene and throughout the movie is a common technique used in the British new wave as well because it aids the documentary style most kitchen sink drama or British new wave producers aimed for.

Kes, 1969, directed by Ken Loach, is about Billy Casper, bullied at school by peers and teachers and abused at home, attempts to tame and train a kestrel falcon, which he names Kes, helped and encouraged by the few positive influences surrounding him, Casper finally finds purpose until a tragedy strikes, bringing Casper back down to earth. A strong scene I believe is presented in the Pe changing rooms. This scene really symbolises how Casper is treated by everyone around him throughout the movie; his peers stand there laughing whilst his PE teacher publicly tells him off for not having his PE kit, even though he has made it clear he can not afford one and has not been able to for four years. When Casper then makes that clear, he then goes on to question other things about him and further attempt to embarrass him whilst occasionally hitting his head with a ball. If all of this wasn't humiliating enough for the 15 year old boy, the teacher then goes on to get him shorts that are extremely big on him, causing his fellow students to ridicule him further. This is an accurate representation of working class schools in this time period because many teachers, whilst were supposed to be professional and supportive of the students, would often be the worst bullies themselves. The use of a long take relates back to widely used techniques for this time period, further linking this production to the British new wave.