Various social groups, both large and small, (such as family, friends,
organisation or community) reflect the cultural context in texts.
In Matthew Warchus’s Pride, various
social groups help to reflect the cultural context of the text. Pride is set in
1980’s Britain, alternating setting between the impoverished town of Onllwyn,
Wales and the vibrant streets of London.
The film introduces us
to LGSM, a group of LGBT activists and friends. After hearing about the plight of
the Welsh miners, they decide to take action and raise money for them. This organisation helps showcase the cultural context and national feeling on the LGBT community. LGSM face constant setbacks as they search for a mining community to support.Several unions and communities hang up onthem straight away. This reflects the 'shame' associated with the gay community. No one wanted toassociate with them, due to the embarrassment it would bring. This social group allows us to
witness the constant harassment and prejudice faced by this community. A brick is thrown through their shop window, and they are publicly shamed in their attempt to raise money. 'Perverts support the Pits' Later, when Gethin goes out to fundraise on his own, he is beaten up. This reflects the culture of the time, where being a gay man is dangerous. This was a reality faced by many gay people in the 1980's. Homosexuality was not just frowned upon, it was actively protested. The police force did not intervene, in fact the police seen escorting the Pride March jeer at the marchers.
As well as seeing LGSM as a whole, we are also given a deeper insight into the family dynamics of members in the group. When we first meet Joe, he sneaks out to go to the Gay Pride Parade in London. He is hiding a massive secret from his family. He continues to keep this secret for the majority of the film, spinning elaborate lies to explain where he goes. This was common for many young LGBT members, who were terrified of coming out. Casual homophobia seemed to punctuate every home, Joe's sister's husband jokes about Aids, "Anally injected death syndrome" However Joe is unable to keep this secret forever. Upon returning home from the charity ball, he is confronted by his parents, who after rifling through his personal belongings have found out his deepest secret. They are unable to accept him, his Dad shouts at him, while his mother emotionally manipulates him. She says "It's such a terrible life Joe.. No family, hiding from everyone, keeping secrets?"Although this seems harsh and manipulative it is also true in a time where people were not accepted and had to hide. The family dynamics here reflect the cultural context in the text.Acceptance is a key theme in the text, and in LGSM most members have been isolated by families due to their sexuality. Steph will not call her mother as she will only receive a "queerbashing". Gethin has not spoken to his mother in over 16 years as she could not accept him. This helps to show the political and social context of the time. However there is hope, Gethin reunites with his mother, and she is able to accept him finally. This shows that the culture in the film is changing, slowly becoming more accepting and inclusive. However this shift took a lot of time, as is evident by the fact that Joe's family are unable to accept him.
At the end of the film we learn that the Labour Party voted to enshrine the rights of the LGBT community in their manifesto, however before 1985 this was not a political priority. The LGBT community were not politcially represented and this translates into their treatment in everyday life. The legal age of consent was 21, as compared to the age of 16 for heterosexuals. As Joe's mother tells him, this is to "protect him" as if homosexuality is something negative and dangerous. This is just one of the many ways the LGBT community were discriminated against. Upon Joe's 21st birthday at the conclusion of the text, he is given a badge by Mark proudly proclaiming that he is legal.
Top marks for this great piece. Perhaps the ending needs to be more defined.... And you might use colour to highlight every time you refer to the topic. A fine Cultural Context essay. Well done!
ReplyDeleteVarious social groups, both large and small, (such as family, friends, organisation or community) reflect the cultural context in texts.
ReplyDeleteIn Matthew Warchus’s ‘Pride’ and Henrik Ibsen’s ‘A Doll’s House’, family and friends are two social groups which reflect the cultural context of the time in both the texts. In ‘Pride’ homophobia and AIDS and in ‘A Doll’s House’ a women’s place in society were strong factors of cultural context at the time.
In ‘Pride’, Joe’s family reflects the cultural context of homophobia and lack of acceptance during the 1980’s in Wales. At the beginning of the text, we see Joe accidentally joins in the Pride March, here he makes friends with some of the marchers and through this he becomes part of the LGSM group, ‘Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners’. As he spends time with the social group throughout the text, he tells his parents a cover story, that he is doing a bakery course as he is a closeted gay man living with a homophobic family reflecting the cultural context in the text as he is too scared to express who he is to his family. We also see Joe’s family reflect the culture of homophobia at the time as Joe’s sister’s husband jokes about AIDS being “Anally Injected Death Sentence”. AIDS was a prominent issue in the 1980’s which we discover affects some of Joe’s friends in LGSM as Jonathan and Gethin are both diagnosed HIV+. Much like in ‘A Doll’s House’ Nora’s dysfunctional family and her friend Christine reflect the cultural context at the time of the text. Nora is a married woman with three children, Nora does not work as she takes care of the children, Torvald is the worker in the family and he is often in his office where he is not to be disturbed, reflecting the cultural context of a women’s place in society at the time. Nora’s friend Christine tells Nora that she married her late husband not out of love but out of money as she had to provide for her family. We discover that Christine is a modern character who defies the cultural norms of a woman’s place as she loves to work and seeks a job with Torvald to provide for her new family, the opposite to Torvald and Nora. It seems that Christine influences Nora to break free from her dysfunctional family to go and discover herself by getting educated, also defying the cultural norms of a woman’s place in society as she is leaving her children instead of taking care of them.