The beautiful and the damned: Depictions of Scottish childhoods in Small Deaths and Gasman

This article explores the function of poetic child realism in two of Lynne Ramsay’s short films, Small Deaths (1996) and Gasman (1998). Investigating the role of the orphaned child embedded in Scottish film culture, this article considers the ways in which the intersection of social and familial realities is portrayed through the subjective viewpoints of female children. Through an examination of the films’ aesthetic and narrative elements, alongside a discussion of the role of industrial iconography and spaces, I argue that Lynne Ramsay’s films deviate from and subvert a traditionally masculine and patriarchal representation of working-class Scottish life on-screen.