Ideologies in This is England
Anti-racism
Anti-nationalism
Anti-Thatcher
General
The film starts with a montage of clips from the 1980s set to the ska music that the group we focus on loves. The montage features both pup culture moments and political moments. The montage roots us in a time and place, 1983 and England, then at the end, there is a matching montage which bookends the film. This montage largely has an upbeat tone, especially when compared to the end montage.
Roland Rat is the first thing to be shown in this montage. He is from Birmingham and encapsulates what Channel 4 was going for when their channel starts. He also can be described as post modern due to him talking to the audience, the producer and the puppeteer.
Margret Thatcher is the next person to be shown. Space Invaders is shown because whilst it was developed in the 70s, they could now be in the home. This was because people could now afford these new electronic gadgets. Lots of people were wary of these games though.
Night rider is shown which was about a vigilante with a robot car. This is shown because it was the first time American imports were shown, making it significant. Young people were now getting exposure to stuff outside of the UK.
There is then a long crabbing shot of the reality of Northern urban life at the time that the film is set. Shows the worst of the British post-war life. The new places that had been built now looked grim with simmering resentment in the population.
After this, there are shots of various youth cultures, this one showing a group walk up stairs. This is where young people find an identity through a shared love. The one that is being shown at the moment, is showing the skinhead culture all dressing identically. The more that people are put into environment that they don’t feel like they belong in, they group together more.
Top of the Pops is shown before showing a keep fit video. There was an expanding middle class with people who didn’t have to do physical jobs. Therefore, the whole idea of the keep fit thing took off. Then, an oi band is shown showing the music of violence and dissatisfaction.
Princess Diana and the royal wedding is then shown. This was still a time when royalty had an elevated status. Famously, this wedding was huge and did bring out lots of patriotic feeling within the British public. The patriotism that is shown here can be shown as positive.
There was a recognition that those buildings that had been built weren’t working and therefore were being demolished. Then, the famous shot of the man being blown up in the hostage situation in the Iranian embassy.
In the 1980s, Britain allowed America to put nuclear missiles in the UK which was obviously not popular. This was done to strengthen ties with America and Britain but obviously the public were very much against them. This led to CND and in this shot, people are trying to tear down the fences around them. Also, this organisation was supported by lots of women. People were also being arrested for this, showing that they were willing to give up their freedom.
Rubik’s cube is shown before a BMX bike is shown with someone doing tricks on them. Again, Space Invaders is shown before Margret Thatcher is shown trying to look human and failing, again. This shows the move towards technology and having to embrace it. Yet again, keep fit is shown again.
CDs were advertised as being indestructible and perfect, but again shows the development in digital technology. CD players were new, video recorders were new. Massive changes in consumer technology. There was also an increase in mechanisation which saw the threat to people’s livelihoods.
There’s then a clip of a miners riot that ruined certain people’s lives and communities. This had a massive effect on Wales and Northern England and many miners went on strike to protest the pits being closed down. The government basically starved the coal miners because they refused to give them any concessions to make them go back to work.
Then, there is footage of a National Front rally in London which grew in this environment of desperation. Many people started to cling on to this movement due to their own fears. In the 1980s, the National Front were prevalent and there was lots of graffiti. In addition to this, there were many small groups that splintered from this across England. This is then shown through the results of these groups getting out of hand through the broken windows of cars and houses.
Then, after all of the race riots are shown (a change in tone from the lighthearted topic of children’s TV) it transitions into the Falkland Islands and the war that ensued. In the build up to this, Thatcher was a figure of national hate and thought that her way out of this, was this war and was a way to save her government. This helped to play into the feeling of national pride that was rising within some of the groups in England. There is footage of soldiers marching confidently forward showing their pride before showing Margret Thatcher on a boat.
At the same time that this was happening Ronald Reagan and Margret Thatcher were talking about nuclear weapons. She made a pact with Ronald Reagan about reducing the amount of nuclear weapons. She used this as a way to increase her own popularity.
The montage however ends with the visual consequences of what happens to those soldiers in the war. This is seen when a soldier is being carried with their leg having been blown off.
There is a fade to black, then a fade from black showing a picture of Shaun’s dad who is shown in a soldier’s uniform. It is only later in the film that we learn that he has died. This also shows the link with the montage and the characters. After the montage, the film zooms into something more specific, 1983, last day of term. In this shot, the first thing we hear is diegetic sound of Thatcher on the radio capturing the zeitgeist of the era. Furthermore, the peeling paint shows that the people who live there are in some sort of poverty. There is some sort of juxtaposition between the proud soldier and the realities of the people involved.
The camera slowly pulls back and the audience are introduced to Shaun, the main character. He is shown to be a young boy in his bedroom with pictures of his family on his wall. Underneath the alarm clock, there are football cards which stand for being an image of childhood.