Meanings
nounsocial realism (uncountable)
- uncountableAn art and film movement that critically portrays the everyday lives of the working class and the poor.
The consistent look and the working-class milieu of Ms. Arnold’s films align them with the three British directors most associated with social realism: Ken Loach, Mike Leigh and Alan Clarke, who died in 1990.
2010 January 14, Graham Fuller, “Social Realism in a Poetic Lens”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
Translations
Russian социа́льный реали́зм
- социа́льный реали́зм (sociálʹnyj realízm)art and film movement that critically portrays the everyday lives of the working class and the poor
Ukrainian соціа́льний реалі́зм
- соціа́льний реалі́зм (sociálʹnyj realízm)art and film movement that critically portrays the everyday lives of the working class and the poor
Cite this entry
APA
social realism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/social%20realism
MLA
“social realism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/social%20realism. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “social realism,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/social%20realism.
Source: social realism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.