Analysis of Films Issues and ThemesBY JORDAN KENT

Ken Loach’s Films

Poor Cows (1969)

A young women makes a lot of bad choices in life when it comes to her boyfriends. She finds a new man but is sent to jail like the rest. She finally comes to grip with her priorities when she almost loses her son.

Some of the issues and themes in this are: marriage, working class, justice system, mothering, children, responsibility, criminal behaviour.

For example, the justice system and jail are big themes and issues in this film as both of her partners are criminals and sent to jail.

My Name is Joe (1998)

Description: Two thirty something’s, unemployed former alcoholic Joe and community health worker Sarah, start a romantic relationship in the one of the toughest Glasgow neighbourhoods.

Some of the issues and themes are: relationships, unemployment, alcohol, Glasgow neighbourhoods, violence, love, social issues, working class.

The reason I had picked working class as a issues/theme as it describes them living in a rough neighbourhood. People of a upper or middle class status are not normally living in places like that so are probably working class. And this helps address the issues of living conditions for people of that class.

Sweet Sixteen (2002)

Description: Determined to have a normal family life once his mother gets out of prison, a Scottish teenager from a tough background sets out to raise the money for a home.

Some of the themes and issues could be: prison, family, Scottish, mothers, troubled times, class.

A theme in this film is family. As the teenager is trying to raise money for the family to get a new house.

Summary of Ken Loach

A lot of his films seem to raise awareness about the working class is some shape or form. I have only included tree films for him, but it can be clearly seen the films he produces are normally surrounding issues relating to the working class.

Mike Leigh

High Hopes (1988)

Description: Slice-of-life look at a sweet working-class couple in London, Shirley and Cyril, his mother, who's aging quickly and becoming forgetful, mum's ghastly upper-middle-class neighbours, and Cyril's pretentious sister and philandering husband. Shirley wants a baby, but Cyril, who reads Marx and wants the world to be perfect, is reluctant. Cyril's mum locks herself out and must ask her snooty neighbours for help. Then Cyril's sister Valerie stages a surprise party for mum's 70th birthday, a disaster from start to finish. Shirley holds things together, and she and Cyril may put aside her Dutch cap after all.

Some themes and issues are: Problems with the Working class, London living conditions, marriage, family, politics, and class divide,

One theme I thought that was quite obvious was family, as the main characters are all connected in a family. And it seems to be important in the plot.

Life is Sweet (1990)

Description: Just north of London live Wendy, Andy, and their twenty-something twins, Natalie and Nicola. Wendy clerks in a shop, leads aerobics at a primary school, jokes like a vaudevillian, agrees to waitress at a friend's new restaurant and dotes on Andy, a cook who forever puts off home remodelling projects, and with a drunken friend, buys a broken down lunch wagon. Natalie, with short neat hair and a snappy, droll manner, is a plumber; she has a holiday planned in America, but little else. Last is Nicola, odd man out: a snarl, big glasses, cigarette, mussed hair, jittery fingers, bulimic, jobless, and unhappy. How they interact and play out family conflict and love is the film's subject.

Issues and themes: London, family, conflict, dreams, hopes, work, alcohol.

I chose alcohol as the reason that Andy bought the van as because he was dunk, so could raise the issue that drinking alcohol will make you do bad choices.

Secrets and Lies (1996)

 Description: Successful black woman traces her birth mother to a lower-class white woman, who denies it; emotions run high as everyone's secrets are exposed.

Some issues and themes are: Race, class divide, mother, family, denial.

I chose denial as a theme for this film, as the black women is denying that she is related to a lower class white women. It seems to be an important part in the plot and this is why I chose it.

Mike Leigh Summary

In these selected films, a running theme is ‘family’. He includes it in all of these films and even ‘Four Seasons; (2010). In his films, he tries to make the films feel more personal by involving the characters family. This as a viewer makes us feel more emptions when watching the films.

Shawn Meadows

This is England (2002)

Description: A story about a troubled boy growing up in England, set in 1983. He comes across a few skinheads on his way home from school, after a fight. They become his new best friends even like family.

Some themes and issues are: 1980s Britain, boys, skinheads, age, racism, race, discrimination, north England, violence, culture, upbringing

A big issue in this film is the amount of violence and racial discrimination there is. This is shown by the main characters constant use of threatening language to other races and people.

Somers Town (2008)

Description: A black-and-white study of a social environment in London, concentrating on a pair of unlikely new friends and the girl they both fancy.

Themes and issues: love, women, males, friendship, relationships.

I put down both relationships and friendships as the two males in the film are both friends and by them both wanting to have a love relationship with the same girl will test their friendship. So I feel that this will be some important themes that will run throughout the film.

Other Directors

Fish Tank (2009)Andrea Arnold

Description: Everything changes for 15-year-old Mia when her mum brings home a new boyfriend.

Some themes and issues include Council estates, 15 year old girls, relationships, working class, sex, boyfriends, deprived, violence.

I chose violence as during the opening sequence the girls on the estate both act violence toward one another. She both swears frequently and gets into fights.

Neds (2010)Peter Mullan

Description: Encompassed by violent street gangs, neglectful parents, bullying teachers and a dearth of positive role models, a studious but emotionally abandoned kid turns thug.

Some of the themes and issues I identified were: violence, street gangs, parents, bullying, teachers, abusive fathers.

I chose bullying as one of the themes in this film as by the description we can get a sense that the kid is being bullied at all times (school, home, on the streets)

Last Resort (2000)Pawl Pawlikowski

Description: When a young Russian woman and her son leave Moscow to meet her fiancé, who fails to show up, she declares political asylum.

Some themes and issues: Eastern Europeans, women, children, asylum seekers, love, responsibility.

Asylum seekers is a issue in this film as the film plot is about a women coming to England and then seeking asylum for questionable reasons when her fiancé doesn’t meet her.

Overall Conclusion

Overall many of the issues and themes that these various film makers/directors choose are based on the current issues of the time the film is being made from. For example in Shawn Meadows ‘This is England’ a big theme and issue is racial discrimination as this was common during the 80s. But films set in present times don’t really include this as it is not as big an issue as it once was.

We can see the changes in themes and issues over the ages. We see at the start of the period, around 1960s/1970s, that some major film issues were about working class problems. And that more current films include themes and issues such as love, family and alcohol.