Wasp (Andrea Arnold) 2003

Wasp is a short film (roughly 25 minutes) with the genre of social realism. It is evident of this in the first few minutes due to the setting and characters. The characters are clearly lower class due to their accents and clothing; the setting is also an estate, which is most likely consisting of council houses/flats.


The film deals with real themes and issues that happen all over which the audience can relate too. The mise en scene is fairly simplistic to maintain the sense of realism, for example the lighting is most likely natural and the props are limited, except from the scene in the flat. The lack of food again suggests that the family are poor.

Social realism films are often unique because it is hard to create what is percieved as 'real' however 'Wasp' represents the themes and issues that occur within lower class communties and how, stereotypically they may deal with these issues.

I find it interesting because it is so shocking that a mother would leave her young children alone for hours, however it is clear she cares for them and we sympathise for the children as they clearly have had tough upbringing. The film is unique because it shows the realism of a single mother on a council estate which is not often seen in films, more documenteries. It is insipiring for my film because it represents a modern day setting with real issues which i can relate to.

The short film narrative is effective because it gives the viewer enough to establish the plot and the characters way of life in a short amount of time. I think that if the film were to be extended than the viewer might find it tedius and repetitive so its the right length.

The camerawork uses a lot of close ups of props and facial expressions so that it can place focus on certain things. The soundtrack is mainly diegetic, with the background ambient sound often being cars passing by, children laughing and music. In the scene at the pub, music is played loudly which is parallel to the theme and the characters, it represents a lively and loud atmosphere that the director is trying to create.

The film overall is about the issues that a single mother goes through as she tries to balace motherhood and her social life. It is clear that she is lower class and therefore lacks the parenting skills that most people would expect. However, many of us may sympathise as it is clear she is struggling finacially. Her character is stereotypical of a mum living on a council estate, which is why the viewer can relate to the story as they have probably made these accosiations of such people before.