"Identify two techniques which influenced how you responded to a central character in one text on your comparative course. Explain how your response to this character was influenced by the effective use of these techniques."

The text I studied is the movie 'Pride' directed by Matthew Warchus. The movie is about a group of people who are members of the LGBT+ community and are also the main characters. It is set in mid 1980s England, so miners are on strike because of Margaret Thatcher's policies to break their union. The main characters decide to form a group called 'Lesbians and Gays Support The Miners' (LGSM). They raise money for Welsh miners but are looked down upon because of their sexuality. The movie follows them as they face the challenges associated with living in 1980s England, where it was socially unacceptable and taboo to be gay. The miners and LGSM members have something in common: both groups are fighting for something they believe in.

The first technique used in the movie which influenced how I responded to a central character was the clever use of foreshadowing. There was a scene that stuck out to me; it was a shot of posters about AIDS and death. As soon as I observed that I immediately associated it with one of the central characters, Mark. And my assumption was correct; Mark contracts HIV and it worsens to AIDS, and it’s not a long time before he tragically dies from it. The way in which this technique influences me is it makes me see the movie in a different light; I now see the urgency of Mark’s activism and his determance and perseverance 

with both the the miners themselves and the LGSM group. 

The second technique used in the movie which influenced how I responded to a central character were camera shots that captured moments which have a significant deeper meaning to the character’s stories. An excellent example of this was a shot of one of the main characters, Joe, leaving home and his father being out of focus and blurred. This is an important moment, as it gives insight into the father’s relationship with Joe but it also reveals how Joe can be free from his father’s hatred and disappointment. It shows that in a way Joe no longer needs his father. He is 21 and is independent and he can finally experience true freedom.  

Both techniques used in the movie give me a deeper understanding of the characters. Simultaneously, they reflect light on the two storylines of those characters and I obtain a new perspective. In my opinion the techniques were used very effectively to influence how I responded to those central characters. 

Central characters in cultural context

Central characters can be successful or unsuccessful in challenging aspects of the cultural context in texts. For my comparative course I have been studying the movie ‘Pride’. This movie was released in 2014 and is written and directed by Matthew Warchus. Pride is a movie set in the summer of 1984, during the time of Margaret Thatcher being in power. The incident of the striking miner’s motivates a group self intitled LGSM to raise money in aid of the miner’s and their families. One of the main central characters in this text is Joe. Joe is unlike most of the central characters in this text in the sense that he has not fully accepted his true identity. Joe still lives with his parents who are unaware that he is gay. Joe tells his parents that he is at culinary college when in reality he is helping to raise money for LGSM. Joe is unsuccessful in living a life that is true to himself. Near the end of the text however, Joe comes out to his parents, being successful in his true identity. This is a challenging aspect of the cultural context as his parents are not accepting of him, however Joe comes to realise that staying true to himself is more important than the approval of his parents. His final decision is to join his friends where he feels that he belongs, he overcomes a challenging aspect of the cultural context, being successful in the end. Mark is another central character in this text, who unlike Joe, is successful in always staying true to himself. Mark lives alone, independently, and it is seen from the start that he is very open about his sexuality. Mark turns on the tv in his apartment, and Margaret Thatcher can be seen talking on the screen. This is a challenging aspect of Marks life, as Thatcher is a key political figure in society, and is not accepting of many of the minorities of the day. However, Mark is not one to follow the set rules of society. When introduced to the welsh mining community, Mark takes on the task of introducing LGSM, and trying to unite with the minors. At first, he is unsuccessful in uniting the minors with LGSM, and the group of minors think nothing of LGSM, some of them even being disgusted by them. Throughout the text however, LGSM slowly become united with the minors, as the welsh mining community soon come to accept and appreciate the groups acts of kindness. By the end of the text, both the mining community and LGSM are united as one, being successful in overcoming the norms of the society of the day.

     Another central character in this text is Gethin. Gethin is no longer in contact with his mother, as she is very religious and is not accepting of his sexuality. Gethin is being successful in living a true life, however, he does not feel that he has been successful as he has lost contact with his mother. It has been years since he has last spoken to his mother, but finally he is brave enough to visit her again. This is a big moment for Gethin and he is successful in standing up for his beliefs but also making it clear what he wants.

(Pride) Discuss the extent to which you were surprised or shocked (or both) by aspects of a theme or issue encountered in one of the texts you have studied for your comparative course. support your answer by reference to the text

While studying the film 'Pride' by Matthew Warchus, I was shocked and surprised by many aspects of themes and issues encountered in the text. In 'Pride' we see both the LGBT community and the mining community in Wales during the 1980’s, we see people struggle from both sides which ultimately join the two groups together in their fight for their rights and freedom. Relationships is a theme between many characters such as Joe, Mark and Gethin, which were strongly influenced by issues surrounding them at the time. We also see Joe and Gethin are on the flip sides to each other in their fight for their rights and freedom in the text. 

Relationship is a theme that shocked and surprised me throughout the text. Joe is one of the main characters in the film, he is a 20-year-old young man living with his parents, pretending to be straight. Throughout the text we follow Joe in his fight for freedom against his parents alongside the miners and LGSM. LGSM is a group called ‘Lesbian and Gays Support the Miners’, this is a group of LGBT activists who are fighting for their freedom and rights along with the rights for miners, because of this group Joe is secretly able express who he is which leads to him coming out, but Joe is a closeted gay man in his parent’s eyes. Joe joins LGSM by pure accident as we see at the beginning of the film, he ironically takes cover in the Gay Pride march and is asked to hold a banner, some might say it was fate. Viewers and Joe are shocked and surprised by the hate messages the group receive whilst marching. We see that Joe is the flip side to Gethin, who is not a closeted gay man and is not living at home either as his mother, not surprisingly, does not accept him as a gay man. Gethin is a senior member of LGSM and we discover he already has a partner, Jonathan. They are in a happy relationship. Gethin is from North Wales. We learn about Gethin’s backstory at the party in Gwen’s house Gethin says “I’m in Wales and don’t have to pretend to be something that I'm not”, this is a shocking statement for viewers to hear, as we discover Gethin left home 16 years prior to this due to his mother’s lack of acceptance. At the party Hefina asks Gethin about his mother, this strikes a soft spot in Gethin and surprisingly after 16 years, Gethin reaches out to his mother, “Hello Mum”. 

Homophobia and AIDS was a strong issue in the text which influenced the many relationships in different ways. Coming from the viewpoint of a person living in the 21st century the discrimination LGSM faced shocked and surprised me hugely. One moment in the film we see Joe’s sister’s husband watching a commercial about AIDS and making a shocking joke about it being an “Anally Injected Death Sentence”, showing the lack of consideration as to how sad AIDS is and how homophobia was so common even in the home. Homophobia was also very prominent in public. After the ‘Pits and Perverts’ charity ball for LGSM to raise money for the miners, we see Gethin is on his way home and is shockingly beaten up just for being a gay man, which sadly is not surprising considering this was a very common incident to happen to a LGBT person at that time. Shortly after this, Joe returns home after his night out where he had encountered his first romantic experience with a man. Upon Joe’s arrival at home we discover his family have found out he is gay by rifling through his belongings in his room, violating his right to privacy. The next scene we see Joe’s father shouting at him over the table and his mother emotionally manipulating him by giving him a hug but saying “It’s such a terrible life Joe”, even though this seems as if Joe’s mother is hurting him surprisingly it is the sad truth of the time. The homophobia is shown by their lack of acceptance to the lifestyle he will now live. Once again, Gethin is on the flip side to Joe as his mother comes to the hospital he is staying after he has been beaten up, showing she finally accepts him for who he is. 

Mark is the creator of LGSM and one of the main activists within the group. The first time we meet Mark we see he has just had a relationship with a man the night before but does not seem to take much notice towards him, he cares much more for the freedom and rights for the miners and LGSM. At the ‘Pits and Perverts’ charity ball, we meet a man from one of Mark’s past relationship, Tim. They bump into each other on the stairwell in the venue. “I miss you...”, Tim says before he tells Mark to take care of himself and then sadly says goodbye for the last time. The theme of relationships and the issue of AIDS are both relevant here as Tim is on his farewell tour as he is dying of AIDS, embodying the tragedy of the time of a young man dying in his prime.