The History of Our 'British/Coming of Age' Genre - Sabrina Bell & Alex Smith

British Golden Age

The British film industry had a golden age in the 1940s, led by the studios of j.Arther.Rank and Alexander korda. Many British actors such as: Kate Winslet,Julie walters and Sean Connery have achieved highly in the film industry.

There is often a debate on whether a film can be classed as being 'British', or not. Many films that include British actors, and British settings are often distributed by American Producers I.e The Harry Potter, and James Bond franchise. 

The British New Age

British films are often refered to as 'kitchen sink realism'. This extended from british films portraying a sense of realism, and gritty lives of working class citizens. This genre of film was introduces in the 1950's and early 1960's. Normally, kitchen sink films are based in working class suburbs of england, such as council estates. This genre became popular with other forms of media also such as plays, novels and art. Television soap operas such as Eastenders and Coronation street became very popular in portraying the raw lives of everyday people living in english towns. The term 'kitchen sink' became apparent after an expressionist artist John Bratby painted a picture of a kitchen sink. This sparked influence from other artists, that wanted to portray the banality of life through artistic means.

Coming of Age Films

The term coming of age refers to films that involve normally(but not necessarily) a male lead, that embarks on a life changing journey. They are usually a teenager that becomes more wise and mature towards the end, after going through self discovery, and learning about the world. Here are a few we've researched:

STAND BY ME (1986)

This film was released in 1986, and is about four boys that embark on a physical and emotional journey of discovery. Even though we are going to make a British based film, i believe that Stand By Me is an inspirational coming of age film that has been held as inspiration for other films.

FISH TANK (2009)

This film follows a working class teenage girl. It is a British film, set in the east london council estates. it relates to the British 'kitchen sink' genre because it is a raw,gritty story line that explores sad themes and ideas.

ANGUS THONGS AND PERFECT SNOGGING(2008)

This is another film that is under the 'coming of age' genre. This film explores a teenage girls discovery of herself, and demonstrates a typical girls life. Romance is very much a big part of this genre, and the protagonist female embarks on a quest to get the boy she likes.