In general, social realism and populist films reflect the life of the common man. According to Raymond Durgnot writing for Film Comment, there have been at least four significant eras that celebrated the so-called "salt of the earth" in cinema. These include the French poetic realism movement of the 1930s and 1940s (Renoir, Clair, Vigo, Clouzot), populism and the English wartime documentary movement (Dupont, Baxter, Launder, Gilliat), the neo- Italian realism (Rosselini, DeSica and Visconti). , and American populist films (Ford, Chayefsky, Kazan). Later, in the 1960s and 1970s, New Hollywood filmmakers like John Cassavettes (Shadows, A Women Under The Influence), Martin Scorsese (Mean Streets, Box Car Bertha) and George Lucas (American Graffiti) made films that touched on social realism. as a response to the radicalized political climate of the time. Due to a multiplicity of factors, the populist film quickly fell out of fashion in Hollywood. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essay The 1980s and 1990s saw a decline in populist films. Actress and director Barbara Loden remarked that "American artists will watch over Italian workers but not Americans." John Hughes remembers that "handwork plans often sparked uneasy laughter in arthouse workshops." However, in Great Britain, at the same period, filmmakers Ken Loach and Mike Leigh, descendants of British New Wave directors (Richardson, Lindsay, Schlesinger), were reacting to the effects of Thatcherism. Graham Fuller identifies this particular form of social realism as "misery films", which are identified "as having a social-realist agenda, a working class milieu and a contemporary setting", but they are also exclusively dark with little room for for transcendence. This is potentially problematic because it perpetuates negative stereotypes that people from poor backgrounds are one-dimensional. Arnold entered filmmaking in the early and mid-2000s, following the misery movement, and his films are perhaps a reaction to "miserablism." British social-realist films created by directors Loach and Leigh. The marked difference between Arnold's films is that it moves away from the cynicism and misanthropy of its predecessor. Arnold's portrayal of people from low-income backgrounds is more psychological, which does not make it any less political. She just gets her message across differently. Where traditional social realism depicts the harshness of working class life in a more documentary style, Arnold's goal is not only to dissect the systematic problems that are responsible for the depraved conditions, but also to give power to its vulnerable characters by treating them as important players. , psychologically complex, significant and less victimized, both narratively and aesthetically, without glorifying life either. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Arnold does not shy away from the realities of this harsh environment, particularly in her depiction of young women facing the vulnerabilities and dangers of life with little supervision, money, or positive role models..