Tatcherism in movies (article)

Monday, May 15th, 2017

Thatcherism in the movies

Great Britain’s iron lady, Margaret Thatcher, has left a great impression in her country history. Several authors and scriptwriters tried to preserve the emotions which ruled the country during her tenure.

Thatcherism is a political and economic movement which follows the radical policies of Britain’s Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. After her election in 1979, the iron lady promised to make the country’s economy bloom and to “sort out the nation finances”. However, her radical changes failed to put inflation under control and the unemployment increased during those times. Numerous riots took place in British cities and most of the working class went on strikes. As she suppressed all movement, she became a “hate figure among many working-class communities”.

Several artists tried to translate the state of the cities and the lives of those who lost their jobs due to this economic crisis. “Brassed off” by Mark Herman (1996); “The full Monty” by Peter Cattaneo (1997) and “Billy Elliot” by Lee Hall and Stephen Daldry (2000); are three films where the main plot is surrounded by the hardship of the population of the British working class daily life. While showing a story full of friendship, comedy and hope the scriptwriters managed to illustrate the setbacks of the citizens such as: strikes, depression, unemployment, riots, and the decline of the mining industry. But they also showed the group solidarity and the support they demonstrated. These films came out during the time Margaret Thatcher was prime minister.

Another film which communicates an aspect of Thatcherism is “The iron lady” by Phyllida Loyd (2012). This biopic show the life of Margaret Thatcher as she made her place in a world full of men. This time the scriptwriter wanted to put forward the fact that Mrs. Thatcher was a woman with a lot of determination and she had to face several issues: the riots, strikes and peer pressure. This movie offers a less negative point of view but the elapsed time between it and the time it really happened may have soften the way people saw her.

Thatcherism is a term full of consequences for thousands of people who suffered because of it. In the cinema, several authors communicate Thatcherism from different point of views. Either way they present the bad sides and the daily life of the working class or they show us what was going on inside the government or in Thatcher’s point of view, twenty years after her election.

A.Arnell

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