Social problem film
A social problem film is a narrative film that integrates a larger social conflict into the individual conflict between its characters. In the context of the United States and of Hollywood, the genre is defined by fictionalized depictions of social crises set in realistic American domestic or institutionalized settings.
Background
Like many film genres, the exact definition is often in the eye of the beholder; however, Hollywood did produce and market a number of topical films in the 1930s, and by the 1940s, the term "social problem" film, or "message" film, was conventional in its usage among the film industry and the public.Many characteristics that have grown to define the social problem film revolve around the perceived consciousness of the nation about a certain social issue and integrating that issue into a narrative structure. Social problems such as the horrors of war, suffering of the poor, addiction, the rights of women, and the inhumanity of a certain world are often put on display. The problem with defining this type of film as a genre lies within the ability it has to separate itself from films that display similar style, as a lot of films do address social issues. However, the social problem film differentiates itself by focusing on the problems within the historical context of the current time, dealing with the social issue of a certain era as it applies to that era with a style that is much more didactic than its contemporaries. Furthermore, the social problem film allows further immersion into a certain issue than other genre films. For instance, gangster and prison films will reflect certain features of a social issue but won't actually fully explore the problem in the way that would qualify it for this genre.
Defining characteristics
Historical context and didactic nature
An important fact of the social problem film is its ability to react and display a social problem that is relevant to the current era it was produced in. It specifically addresses an issue while the issue is still part of the national consciousness, often forming an argument for what the problem actually is through the narrative and character development. Early social problem films often blended ideological feelings of the time into a narrative which translated it into a message for audiences to absorb. This can be evidenced within certain sociological experiments that occurred revolving around the ability for a film to change public perception. A prime example of this is the representation of anti-semitism within the film Gentleman's Agreement and the subsequent sociological study by Russell Middleton that measured perceived anti-semitism before and after seeing the film. Surprisingly the film seemed to positively affect the subjects as the majority of people who participated in the study had markedly less anti-semitic feelings than before they saw the film. Although there are certain factors that need to be considered this study seems to indicate once again the primary didactic nature of the social problem film as well as the tackling of subject matter relevant to the current era of the film and how audiences of the historical period perceived such a message.This phenomenon of historical context and audience reaction created an interesting balance between the teaching nature of the film and its ability to contain an interesting narrative. Oftentimes the earlier films of the classical era can be seen as a bit preachy, often appearing less like a fictional feature and more like a public service announcement. This is displayed in the common occurrence of a teaching moment often near the end of the film where a character will literally give a speech often referring to the social message the film is attempting to portray. Examples can be seen through the judges at the end of Wild Boys of the Road and Where Are My Children?, both of which provide a lesson in monologue form that almost seems separate from the fictional narrative being presented. This relevance to the problem of the era the film resides in lends a sort of didactic authority to this type of film that others may not have. For instance, Where Are My Children? had trouble getting through the National Board of Review to public release due to reviewers believing that audiences were being provided with misleading information regarding birth control. They believed that the film was more educational in nature rather than a fictional narrative addressing a social issue.
Focused narrative on characters and institutions
The social problem film often takes a larger social issue during its respective era and displays it in a much more focused way. The problem will be expressed through a narrative often involving a few characters, often a family or an individual that traverses the film world experiencing the perceived social issue. Oftentimes they will interact directly with social institutions meant to display the social problems. The typifying of these institutions is styled based on the overall ideological message of the film, either being portrayed as ineffective or idealized as a proper solution. These can be seen throughout the development of the social problem film and even into contemporary times as the form of the social problem film changed. Examples of this style of narrative are apparent within films such as The Soul of Youth in which the larger problem of delinquent children with no home is portrayed through the ineffectiveness of the orphanage the protagonist resides in juxtaposed with the idealized life of the family of the judge he eventually settles in with. Another instance that deserves to be mentioned comes once again from Wild Boys of the Road in which the film reaches its climax as the protagonists are being dealt with by a judge, bringing the larger social issue into an individualist lens by applying the solution of a nationwide problem to a few individual experiences.Another important social problem film dealing with institutions is the alcoholism themed Days of Wine and Roses. The film follows the progressive demise of a couple due to their inability to control their drinking, once again devolving a larger societal problem onto a focused set of characters. It does, however, offer a solution in the form of the institution of Alcoholics Anonymous which serves as an effective way to treat one's self. A sociological study conducted by Elizabeth Hirschman revealed that the film's portrayal was indeed relatable to addicts and alcoholics who after watching the film viewed AA as a viable option to address their problem. This effect on the real population indicates the interaction that social problem films hope to have on their audience in comparison to films meant to purely entertain while skimming the surface of certain issues.
A more contemporary instance of the focused narrative of characters and institutions in the social problem film is the ineffectiveness and cruelty of the military hospital in Coming Home, a film about returning vets from Vietnam. The mistreatment and negligent behavior affecting all vets in the hospital is reduced to the experiences of two or three characters.
Real life insertions and location shooting
One aspect that is widely seen within the social problem film is the usage of non-actors to portray either background characters or voices of reason within the narrative as well as the desire to film scenes on location. Both of these factors help lend authenticity and relation to the real world which is essential to the genre. Some notable examples are the inclusion of actual Judge Ben Lindsey playing himself in the previously mentioned film The Soul of Youth. This insertion created an environment the audience knew was based in reality and thus lent a sense of authenticity to the didactic nature this genre possesses. The presence of a figure from the real world directly confronts the idea that the messages displayed in social problem films must be confirmed by real-life counterparts. It lends a sense of integrity reminiscent of journalism or a documentary film.Location shooting is a factor that although not limited to the social problem film, has grown to exemplify certain factors within the genre. The idea of shooting outside of a studio and in the real environment again strengthens the films authenticity in the same way non-actors do. A film that utilized this style of shooting in order to gain this sense of realism is the previously mentioned Wild Boys of the Road. The film's scenes that are set within the train yard that the children temporarily reside in is shot on location in an actual train yard in Glendale, California.
Perhaps the most notable instance of the idea of real-life insertions is the opening scene of Border Incident, a social problem film about Mexican immigration following the instituting of the Bracero Program in 1942 meant to alleviate the shortage of farm-hand work in the United States. The film opens with a flyover shot of farmland as an unseen narrator describes the landscape, the lack of labor, and the subsequent creation of the bracero program in response. This is an insertion of a program that actively was occurring during the production of this film. This reality-based narrative combines with the voice over, which mentions borders no less than five times to subtly push an ideology of mutual dependency towards the audience while allowing itself the appearance of being an authentic representation of the situation, showing again the effect real life insertions can have on the social problem films ability to affect its viewers.