In relation to one text on your comparative course, discuss the aspects of the text that ,in your opinion make your chosen theme or issue appear more or less relevant to life today. support your answer with reference to the text

Conflict is an eternally relevant theme in all texts. The text I am dealing with in this essay is 'Pride' by Matthew Warchus. It is a broad term that straddles many kinds of relationships. In this text there is conflict between Joes newly developed world view and his parent's traditional world view. There is conflict on a national scale between Thatcher and the miners over the pit closures and there is conflict between longstanding friends such as Cliff and Maureen over sexual identity. 

  

It is no secret that life today is insurmountably different from life a few generations ago. In today's life society's world view is much more tolerant and progressive whereas in the 1980s growing gays rights movement was regarded with contempt and disdain. One of the main characters, Joe, comes from a working middle class family who shared these affections for the LGBTQ+ community. His family shunned things that would make them seem less respectable by society and their neighbours. Joe being a young man raised without much freedom of expression, naturally felt inclined to rebel against his parents the first chance he got. His chosen method was to attend a gay pride march which was taking place in London. After his first encounter with actual gay people Joe stands on the sidewalk and we see conflicted emotions cross his face he is clearly weighing up his budding comradeship with some gay people and the traditional opinion his parents had indoctrinated him with from childhood. In the end he decides to join "the gays", as Hefina calls them, at a club.  As the text continues, that decision went on to shape the course of Joe's life and worldview. 

Joe goes on to share key experiences with the rest of LGSM and by the end of the year admits to himself that he is a gay man. When Joe's parents found out Joe's usually distant father unleashes his anger on Joe, the reader cannot discern the words being said as the only part of that key scene shown on camera is an out of focus panning shot of Joe slumped at the kitchen table and his father at the head of the table shouting and gesturing furiously in Joe's direction. This is a major rift in the family and the peak of conflict the text regarding Joe and his family as the conflicting worldviews that have been building between Joe and his family are converted into a material conflict. This resulted in Joe having to leave his home because his views and his parents views were no longer reconcilable. 

Unfortunately, Joe's experience is mirrored in gay people's lives today. Only in today's life homophobia is less visible than it was in the 1980's. if anything the text highlights the importance of showing acceptance to gay people because they may be dealing with the same conflicts Joe did in their own family life. The good news is that society has progressed somewhat. There are bigger and bigger turnouts to gay pride parades every year proving there was fruit to all the previous parades, all the past demonstrations were relevant to the current mindset.  The recent Irish referendum to make gay marriage legal was a big step forward for the Irish gay community and a positive reflection on how the Irish opinions on gay marriage are relevant because it makes a real difference to people that weren't allowed marry 30 years ago and now are allowed to marry whoever they wish regardless of gender. 

  

From looking at cultural context of the text we see a much larger conflict in progress between Margret Thatcher the prime minister of England in 1979/90 and the miners who were defending their livelihoods. Part of Margret thatcher’s plan as prime minister was to shut down the Mines. The large problem with Thatchers plan was that there were entire towns of people in England for whom, for generations their only source of income was mining. To shut down the mines was to shut down their only source of income and way of life. One of the characters, Cliff says that ' The pit and the people are one and the same.'  In the text there was a very strong sense that the people were fighting against a cutthroat government. The same conflict is happening all over the world today, it seems as if in today's life the governments of the world are only interested in profit. They would sacrifice people's welfare, animal welfare and the environment all for a bit more profit. A big debate recently was regarding the second amendment and gun laws in America. The American people have been lobbying for the repeal of the second amendments as it is a dreadful risk to life. There is a direct correlation between the miners of the text and the gun struggle in America today, in both cases the people are fighting the government for their lives to be preserved. There will always be conflict between authoritarian figures and the public and therefore the theme of this text will always be relevant to the present day.  

The relationship between two longstanding friends or acquaintances is always fraught with conflict, occasionally there is a positive resolution but in many cases that is simply not possible. One such case is the relationship between Cliff and Maureen in the text. Maureen stands against the gay peoples efforts in Wales the entire way through the text. Her bias is a deep held belief that no one seems to be able to dislodge. The only person who ever got close was Maureens longtime friend, Cliff, when he invited her to join in the celebrations with the gay people at Hefina's house. The two friends are on different sides of the gay rights movement. Cliff is a gay man who hasn't come out yet and Maureen is a homophobic woman this clearly causes conflict in their relationship. This conflict is clearly visible in the text when Cliff quietly rages at her after the vote to stop accepting funds from LGSM. Although the text never completely resolves the case if their friendship it is safe to assume that the two could never be good friends ever again as their beliefs were no longer reconcilable. This situation must occur more and more in the present day