Author: Lewis Kellett
Supervisors: Dr Rinella Cere (Director of Studies), Dr Ruth Deller

This doctoral research explores the construction and representation of youth in 21st Century British Social Realist cinema. Many realist films in the last twenty years have youth as a significant theme in their narrative. Through textual analysis and selected case studies, such as Sweet Sixteen (2002), This is England (2006), Fish Tank (2009), My Selfish Giant (2013) and more recently Rocks (2020), I analyse concepts of identity, class, gender and race. I consider my study of youth in British social realist cinema an important opening to wider issues about societal understanding of young people and the ‘specific moment’ in their life trajectory. The films bring up through the characters’ voice these ‘specific moments’ and challenge preconceived ideas about youth.

I have a long-standing personal interest in this topic that combines my previous studies, my passion for British cinema, and my experience of working with young people across different sectors of education. Social Realism is a genre that is known for its ability to frame and position its characters in the cultural and political context from which they stem. This research will add to the literature on how youth is constructed and represented in 21st century British social realism and provide an insight into how films in the British realism mode of filmmaking produce alternative articulations of youth.