Pride representations

The mining community

Even though Pride is based off the story of a group of people from the gay community choosing to support the miners whilst they are on strike, there is not much focus played upon the miners themselves. It is mainly  on the struggle and character development of those involved in the group LGSM (Lesbian and Gays support the Miners). When there is focus on the miners there is little depth to the scenes and only brushes upon their struggles, whereas in scenes involving their wives and community, there is more meaning to the scenes. For example, Sian a Miner's wife has a fairly important role in the story and a lot of her story focusses on her struggle to get her community to accept the help of LGSM and also her support for her husband.

We rarely see the Miners without the company of either LGSM or their family and friends. One scene that provides viewers with an insight into the strike is when the miners from the town are facing the police officers on the picket line. The scene is very chaotic and rushed, with the miners pushing in the crowd against the police. The mise-en-secne provides the audience with the  information , using police uniforms and vans that this is a fight between authority and and regular middle class workers. The scene sets up the enigma code of will the miners be successful in this strike and be able to defend their rights? Or will it fail? As an audience we already know the outcome of the strike however it is not known by the miners therefore it provides empathy towards the miners.

This scene can be seen as a remake of the archive footage that is shown at the begging of the film. The archive footage provides the audience with the knowledge that this is an event that did occur in 1984 and is something that changed the way in which communities and the country viewed each other. The almost identical scenes allow the audience to link the two together and gather the understanding that this was a daily occurrence for the miners. 

The second scene we are looking at is when 'LGSM meet the miners' In this scene Dai introduces LGSM to Cliff, Sian, Heffina and Gwen and some of the miners wives. The fact that LGSM meet the miners wives before the miners is important as it shows that not only are the men of the village effected by the strikes but so are their wives and families.

When LGSM enter the working mens club you are able to hear the miners singing and clapping in the bar. This shows how quiet their lives are compared to LGSM who live in London .

This scene shows the awkwardness of their first meeting as the Welsh people don't really know how to react to LGSM. When Cliff is talking you can see that he struggles to even say 'Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners'. When looking at both groups when speaking in the kitchen you are able to visually see how different both groups are. The members of the Welsh community are older than LGSM and are dressed quite smart in suits and dresses whilst LGSM are wearing bright colours and leather jackets. 

The character Gwen who comes across as the 'nan character' symbolises how very little they know about Lesbian and Gay people. Gwen is used as comedic relief to make the scene less serious as the two groups meet.

This scene is very important later on in the film when LGSM return to Wales after Christmas.  When comparing the scenes you are able to see how hard life gets for the mining community. They are rationing foods, have no heating which results in them sharing water and then the Miners van gets smashed to pieces. This showing the difficulties of trying to live during the strike.