Context (C3)

• Who was the cinematographer?

  Cohen
• Who were the editors?


  Hamilton and Meadows
• What was the budget?

  $1.5 million
• How much did it make in box office?

  $5 million
• Where's it set?

  English East Midlands
• When is it set?

  1983
• What genre is it?

  social realism and coming of age
• Who is the actor of Shaun?

  Thomas Turgoose
• Who is the actor of Combo?

  Graham
• Why was the role of Combo extremely personal for Graham?

  He has mixed race heritage, so he brought his own inner conflicts to the role of an extreme right-wing character
• What's a first-wave skinhead?


  subcultural group born from a mix of Jamaican and working-class culture, distinct sense of style, politically contradictory youth group
• Subversive meaning:

  Seeking or intended to subvert an established system or institution
• “Subcultures like this provide a mechanism where individuals could retain…group identity in a world that has no place for them”
• Younger generation came in and felt pressured to conform to racist ideals
• What happened to skinheads in 1969?


  They became more mainstream and found a new form and followers 
• Second-wave skinheads:


  Footballers, more violent, more racist, wore flares, boots, face tattoos 
• "Skinheads…quickly became defined by terror, menace and racism”
• What were the 1981 Brixton riots?


  Series of conflicts between majority of black youth and metropolitan police that began London and spread to many UK cities 
• What did they emerge from?

  Black community felt the country was divided – high unemployment, racial tensions, black mistreatment by police 
• This is England set against backdrop of Falklands war --> opening montage, Shaun’s father 
• What's the 1982 Falklands war?


  -Thatcher’s government were in crisis after failing to deliver economic improvements and the growing opposition to her leadership 

  -Argentina invaded Falkland Islands as their military were in a similar position and hoped to restore Falkland Island’s support 

  - Britain responded to attacks resulting in a ‘brief, bitter war’

  -Argentina surrendered, returning islands to British control
• What was the result of the Falklands war?


  Country was unified by victory and a sense of alienation in the young, working class as a result 
• Why was Thatcher losing popularity?

  Mass unemployment
• What did the war do to English nationalism?


  Increased it
• What did the war do for Thatcher?


  Got her another term
• What's a criticism of the Falklands war?

  It's a 'phony' war -pointless war
• What was the 'slippery slope of nationalism'? 


  Pride of country turns to violence against immigrants
• When was Thatcher prime minister?


  1979-1990
• How did her social and economic politics define the 80s?

  -Decline in employment in manufacturing sectors

  -Conservatives wanted to dismantle welfare state

  -Rejected advancements made by multiculturalists and minority groups
• Who did Thatcherism actually benefit?

  Middle-class white England
• Who did the rise of unemployment effect?

  Younger generation and this living outside the Southeast (Midlands)
• What did Thatcher do to the force of trade unions?

  Made it hard for working class unions to strike by reducing their power
• What impact did this have on working class?

  Working class disempowered
• How did factory owners gain cheap labour?

  Immigrant labour - cheaper which caused high unemployment for English citizens
• This is England reflects individuals struggle for self-realisation and the issues faced by the divide of Thatcherism
• Margaret Thatcher can be read as the films' ultimate antagonist
• What was the relation between music and politics in the 80s?

  Popular music responded/confronted politics (post punk and early hip-hop) or escaped from it 
• What genre of music was really popular in the skinhead community?

  Reggae
• What was the ska-rock band 'Two-tone'?

  Multicultural punk rock band - targeted at black and white kids

  Part of first-wave skinhead culture, contradicted newcomer skinheads who were racist
• What was the skinhead uniform?

  Red Doc Martens, stay press trousers, white Fred Perry polo shirt