My object of study this week is the film/TV series - This is England. Shane Meadow's TIE journey starts in 1983 Britain and runs all the way up to 1990. The first film This Is England follows the journey of poor boy Shaun Fields whose Dad died in The Falklands. Shaun gets bullied and has no friends until he meets Woody and Combo. Combo is an extremely racist skinhead whom is very happy to voice his disgust towards immigrants. The film delves into racial affairs, the hatred of Maggie Thatcher and the loss of innocence. The film has no boundaries and strong racial abuse is used which is very uncomfortable to watch to some extents.
It also has no boundaries when it comes to sexism/vulnerability of women. The key female figure, Lol (Vicky McClure) is seen to be strong and independent in the first film. Yet in the TV spin-offs TIE 86 you learn that she has cheated on her boyfriend with his best friend. Then in 88, you learn about her abusive childhood. She was raped by her father when she was younger and in the TV series he attempts to abuse her again however she accidentally murders him. Yet, she does not take the blame for her father's death, the strong, independent, male, leader figure Combo does. He serves time in prison for this murder as he loves Lol. Lol is then guilt-ridden and attempts to commit suicide as she can't live with the guilt. This rollercoaster shows how once women have power/control they cannot deal with it, they are still, vulnerable, scared and irresponsible deep down. Turnbull (p. 24) stated "women have the power which they give it to men for them to control" reinforcing the stereotype of women being irresponsible. However, Lol deals with a lot of pain, anger and abuse and still manages to live her life as a single parent, I admire her for this as I too can relate to the feeling of victimisation. She is strong, empowering and independent and defies numerous female stereotypes - as do I. As mentioned in another post, I identify as a skinhead but don't always display it in my appearance however at times I do dress in a skinhead fashion.
In TIE, the male characters are determined to have power over the female characters but in addition they fight for power amongst themselves. Before Combo is released from prison it is blatant that Woody is the 'leader' and Lol & Milky are below him then Pukey, Gadget etc. however once Combo returns the whole dynamics of the group change. Especially towards Milky. As Reeves Sanday (p.35) says "They (men) go to extraordinary lengths to acquire some of the power for themselves so that they will not be impotent when it's time to fight." and due to the racial divide this requirement to "fight" is very much blatant due to the differences in skin colour.
The films initially begin very dark in the sense of racism and extremely hard hitting however as they transition from 86-90 the racial issues and differences become less important, it's more about the journey of the characters.
The film/TV series is viewed as a 'cult' film/show to me due to the audience it appeals to which is very limited and it inspires people to look and present themselves as skinheads/rudeboys. Meadows changes the 'victim' from Milky (racism) to Lol (sexism), the white males remain dominant leaders who fight amongst themselves for power but Milky/Lol don't threaten this power at all, they understand their position/role and follow rather than lead. These messages are told in various other films/TV shows however, This is England is very much: realistic, relatable and hard-hitting and recreates various social and political issues in Britain during the 80s and 90s.
No comments:
Post a Comment