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.
'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 with reference to the text'. I will be comparing two texts instead of one for this question - 'Pride' by Matthew Warchus, and 'A Doll's House' by Henrik Ibsen. I will be discussing the theme of relationships. in 'Pride', one of the central characters is Joe. Joe has a good relationship with his parents at the beginning of the text, however this is when he is not being his true self. It completely shocked me when Joe finally came out to his parents and they were not accepting of him at all. This is a toxic relationship for Joe and he decides to leave it in the past. Joe's own parents do not accept him for who he really is, so Joe decides to form a new family, with his close friends who completely accept him.
ReplyDeleteLikewise, in 'A Doll's House' Nora is stuck in a toxic relationship. This however, is with her husband Torvald. Torvald merely sees Nora as a prize, and he does not think she is capable of anything. Nora has to keep secrets from Torvald because of this, just as Joe did with his parents. However, in contrast to 'Pride', the shocking part of this relationship was positive. When Nora finally stands up to Torvald, she is finally being true and independent. Nora also decides to leave this relationship in the past, and she also moves on with her life, for the better.
Discuss the extent to which you were surprised or shocked by aspects of a theme or issue encountered in texts you have studied for your comparative course.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised and shocked at the themes encountered in the texts I have studied for my comparative course. I studied ‘A Doll’s House’ by Henrik Ibsen and ‘Pride’ by Matthew Warchus. The theme of oppression is developed in both texts. Whereas in ‘A Doll’s house’ it is the oppression of women, in ‘Pride’ it is the oppression of the gay community.
In ‘A Doll’s House’ (from now on referred to as ADH) the main character Nora is continuously oppressed by the men in her life. Throughout the text we are shocked and surprised by the lack of control Nora has in her everyday life. When we first meet Nora, she has just arrived home from shopping. She secretly eats a macaroon and then must conceal them as her husband does not allow her to eat them. Her husband’s control and oppression even extend to her diet. The full extent of her oppression is revealed in the last scene when Nora finally confronts her husband Torvald about his treatment of her. Nora compares herself to a doll, as she has always been controlled by the men in her life, first by her father and now by her husband. She explains how she could never have an opinion different to that of her father. We are shocked to find that Nora’s whole life has been controlled by men and understand that this is true for many women in this time period.
Similarly, the main character in ‘Pride’ is also oppressed. Joe is a closeted gay man, who feels unable to come out to his parents due to their homophobic, oppressive views. He hides his membership of LGSM from them, pretending he is still completing his pastry course. His secret is finally ripped from him when he returns home from a night out to find his parents waiting. The powerful scene is shot in silence, as we witness his parents giving out to him. The audience are left to imagine what is being said. Later, we see his mother try to comfort him ‘It’s such a hard life Joe’ We are shocked at her emotional manipulation as she desperately tries to convince him otherwise. Joe is oppressed as he cannot be himself around his family.
We are shocked and surprised at the confrontation scenes in both texts. Both characters are given the chance to break free of the oppressive hold their families have on them. In ‘A Doll’s House’ Nora is finally able to confront her husband and makes the decision to leave. She wishes to educate herself so that she doesn’t treat her children like she was treated. We are surprised at the insight Nora has, and she is revealed to be an intelligent, perceptive character. The beauty in how the theme of oppression is dealt with in both texts lies in how they not only show the oppressed parties but also how they show how they can free themselves. Joe is also given a chance to confront the oppression he faces at home. He returns home and finally speaks his mind to his family. ‘I hope one day we can be friends again Mum’ We are happily surprised at Joe’s character arc as he grows in confidence, and is finally able to break free of the shackles of oppression.