Representation of Older People

Older people are represented unconventionally I the film pride as they don’t cornform to the traditional stereotype of being lifeess and disinterested in making a differnce to the world. The characters sch as Heffina and gwen aren't traditional with theur vews towards homosexuality and instead embrace and accept lgsm  

Ladies go to the gay club: 

This scene offers a representation of older people that differs from the traditional stereotype of old women; being that they have a lack of enthusiasm and are not willing to try new things or accept new societal ideologies. Within this scene, the ladies from the mining club in Wales are going to a gay club with one of the members of LGSM – Johnathon. On their way into the club, Johnathon asks the women if they are okay with it, to which Heffina - one of the older women – replies 'we want to see everything, don't we?' And Gwen agrees by saying 'even the rubber things' all of the women laugh following this. This differs from the traditional stereotype of older women as it reveals that they are fun loving and willing to try new experiences. Supporting this, when they are in the club dance music is playing and the women are all dancing with the men and it is clear that they are having a good time through their facial expressions – they are smiling to the men and to each other. This further reveals their willingness to have fun and indulge in new experiences, as well as accepting new ideologies that society presents. They are unbothered by the fact the men are homosexual – which is unexpected when the traditional stereotype is placed onto them. Likewise, the audience do not expect the older women to enjoy dance music as it is of a new generation, they would imagine the older women to listen to classical music instead and not enjoy dance music playing at the club, perhaps complaining it is too loud. Once they have left the club, they move to another and are walking in front of the men – they are laughing and expressing excitement as they walk down the stairs to the club. This shows, again, their willingness and acceptance of new experiences. Furthermore, they are quick to shut down the door man who tries to prevent them from entering as it is a 'men only venue'. Heffina responds to this man and the others laugh at her response and follow her into the club, this offers an alternative representation to older women as they are generally perceived as being overly nice and accepting of societal rules, whereas here they are disobeying rules and creating their own. The camera pans around the club and shows what each woman is doing, some of their actions may be shocking to the audience as they go against the traditional stereotype. For example; it may seem unusual that one of the eldest women is drinking a pint of beer – which is traditionally a more masculine drink, they would expect her to be drinking a more 'feminine' drink. Ending the sequence, two of the women – including Gwen, the eldest member of the group – are talking with the bar tender, questioning how he got into a leather leotard. Supporting the traditional stereotype of old people, Gwen cannot hear him when he responds and the other woman has to speak close to her ear – old people are often associated with having hearing and visual impairments, both of which Gwen appears to have. The man explains that he uses talcum powder to 'get into' his leotard, Gwen responds by saying 'lily of the valley I use' suggesting that she also wears tight leotards – which will be comedic and somewhat shocking for the audience as they expect older women to wear lose, conservative clothing, which the man's leotard is the complete opposite to. Overall, this scene offers an alternative representation of old people; the women do not conform to the traditional stereotype. Often this is seen through their attitudes, they do not shy away from new experiences and rather enjoy activities that they are believed not to through the audience's preconceptions created by this traditional stereotype.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gk0kn28jotA  

In Pride the older people are represented in an unconventional way as actors such as Maureen and Gwen challenge the representation of old people and their lack of life and enthusiasm to try new thing.  

 They start off dancing quite reserved and very unprovocative as you would expect from someone of their age, however there is then a shift in mood and atmosphere where jonathan gets up and struts centre stage and invites them up to dance with him. A series of close up shots reveal Heffina and Gwen screaming and laughing as Jonathan is dancing provocatively with then which completely goes against what a stereotypical old women represent and they are breaking boundaries with their enjoyment of the dancing. this is followed by panning of their bodies and the camera comes in to focus with Heffina and her chest, this is a section that adopts the male gaze and sexualizes the old women which is unusual as film usually adopts this gaze on young, attractive women but instead the director as chosen to do this on the older women. this reinforces the ideology that they are all young at heart and they are going against the typical stereotype of old people, giving their characters more personality and life to support the realism of the film to reflect their real life characters.  

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBn3gTMD-yg 

The older people in Pride are represented in an unconventional way. It is clear throughout that the older people are not stereotyped, as they do not adhere to what typical old people are seen as. Gwen and Heffina in particular are very accepting of LGSM, for example letting them stay in their homes when they visited Wales and they actively want to help LGSM. The audience are positioned to see the older people as comical and we therefore enjoy and like them. However, not all the older people are represented in this way. Maureen for example is one of the older people who represent the older traditional views that people have regarding the LGBT+ community. 

The sense of togetherness that the older community possess is clear throughout. One scene in particular is the final scene when the miners arrive on buses to London. There is a wide shot of a red mini bus approaching LGSM through a field, as people run towards it cheering with banners. The use of a handheld style shot positions the audience as a member of the crowed who is running towards the mini bus. Close-up's of LGSM and the older community embracing highlight that these people don't hold traditional views like Maureen does. 

 Following this, Gwen says "Where are my lesbians?" and the use of this line creates comedy as it is unexpected to come from an elderly person. Despite wearing stereotypical elderly peoples clothes, her personality doesn't match this. Her outward demeanour of being frail and old is juxtaposed by her 'one liners' within the film. The close-up shot of Gwen, stood in the middle of two lesbians with their hands on her shoulders is significant in this scene. It makes Gwen look like she is just one of their friends and part of the group. The use of this shot highlights that Gwen doesn't see them as anything other than her friends and this is unconventional, because the older and younger community don't normally mix in day to day life. When LGSM and the miners lead the march, there is on overhead shot of Cliff. He is stood still, soaking in his surroundings while others march on with banners, they are out of focus and Cliff is clearly in focus. Here, we see him admiring what is going on around him and the smile on his face shows that he is proud to be there. He then joins in the march and there is a close-up of his smiling face, this suggests a sense of solidarity and how he is part of both LGSM and the miners.  

A slow motion wide shot of everyone marching past Big Ben positions the audience to see how everyone is marching together and at the front and this is due to the older people. This shot reminds the audience that without the help from the older miners, they wouldn't have brought buses full of people with them so they could all lead the march through the streets and it therefore connotes that the elderly in this film (apart from Maureen) are very accepting and open minded. The framing and slow motion of this shot emphasises the cohesion of the two groups. By them travelling down from Wales to London, it shows their dedication to want to help LGSM and repay what they did for the miners. It also highlights how they are willing to try new experiences. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrrBKTvGQKw  

Arthur Scargill and The Union Fight Back

Who is Arthur Scargill?

Athur Scargill lead the national union of mine workers, during his epic strike against Margaret Thatcher's attempt to smash the union in 1984-85. For this he remains a heroic figure to a generation of activists.

• He was the son and grandson of coal miners, at the age of 15, when he left school he followed his Fathers footsteps into the pits.
  He became a representative of The Daily Worker who convinced him, at the age of 17, to join the Young Communist League of Britain. 
• Within 18 months Scargill was sitting on the executive board of that organisation.
• At the age of 19 Scargill attended the 1957 world youth festival in Moscow as the representative of the Yorkshire miners.
• He was a British trade unionist, President of the National Union of mineworkers from 1982-2002
• The chair of Yorkshire NUM (National Union of Mineworkers) said that the working hours of workers, would be cut. Arthur Scargill was not happy with this, as well as many other miners and the chair was voted out, declaring a strike. 

"Yet what you need is not marches, demonstrations, rallies or wide associations, all of them are important. What you need is direct action. The sooner people understand that, the sooner we will begin to change things."

The Strike of 1984

• Scargill played the key role in the 1972 miners strike, when he was a miner, and a union rep in Yorkshire. Crucially he called upon other workers to strike in solidarity with miners. This then lead to a number of strikes, including 1984, where again Scargill lead the union fight back.
• Tens of thousands of Britain's miners stopped work in what looked like becoming a long battle against job losses after the pits where closed.
• The miners strike will always be remembered in British working class history as the most significant turning point in the power relationship between the working class organisations of the trade unions.
• The strike, which began on March 12, 1984, lasted for a year before ending in failure. Scargill and his wife were among the hundreds of strikers arrested. 
• Despite the fail of the strike, he still remained popular among people.
• His year-long stand off with Margaret Thatcher in the 1984 miner's strike was one of the defining events of the era.
• The miners are still to this day attempting to rebuild their shattered communities. 

• More than 187,000 miners came out on strike and this was the start of the most confrontational strikes ever seen, with a clash between miners and police. 
• Arthur Scargill took on the government, but Thatcher wouldn't negotiate. 

Representation of Latika and Women in Slumdog Millionaire

The women in Slumdog Millionaire, especially Latika, are treated very different to the males. We can see that men and women are not equal in this society and women are inferior. Through the use of limited female characters, Latika is the only one given a name. This shows that in scenes for example with Javhed and Salim when they are sat surrounded with women dancing, they are objectified and are only there to be looked at. Other times, for example the murder of Jamal and Salim's Mother, we only see several seconds of this character and the audience are not told her name. Consequently, it is clear to the audience that the women are given poor treatment, they're objectified are inferior to men. The treatment of women throughout the film projects how men are more dominant and have control over them, this makes the women look vulnerable, Latika in particular when she tries to break out of where she is being held by Javhed and cannot break free. Using Propp's character types, Latika would be considered the Princess. This is because Jamal is always chasing after her and trying to save her from danger. This paints Latika as a damsel in distress and that women need to be protected from the outside world.



In this scene, we see Latika and Jamal spot each other in the train station, before she is chased by Salim and put into a car. Jamal tries his best to catch up to them, but they drive away as he reaches the car door, seeing Latika struggling in the backseat with a blade held up to her face. This is an example of Latika fitting Propp's character type, as Jamal is trying his best to save her from danger. The use of Salim and the gangsta's, the villains, show Latika to be very vulnerable. This is because she is never safe and is always at the edge of danger. The fact that Latika is repeatedly captured by men and forced to work for them, connotes that they are significantly higher than women and have more power over them. The fast paced editing and following camera suggests the idea of a chase and how Latika is always being watched and followed. Her traditional Indian clothing, is coloured vibrant yellow making her stand out from everyone in the crowd and Jamal's facial expression when he sees her suggests that he is taken back by her beauty. This therefore suggests how at this time in India, most women where used as objects to be looked and Jamal innocently adheres to this.


Latika and Jamal meet again for the first time as adults in her new house and are very emotional to see each other, as they cry and hold their faces. Latika soon backs away, as she realises that her husband will be back home soon. Following this, her husband is seen shouting at Latika and demanding that she "makes him a sandwich". She obeys this and it is very clear to see here that the men are treated as inferior to the women. You can see how Latika is scared of her husband and we can therefore see how she is very vulnerable in her situation, even if she is at home. Jamal is here in this scene and once again is trying to get her out of danger, demanding that he comes with here. A clear representation of Propp's Princess is therefore displayed, particularly in this scene.

Represetation of Women and Latika in Slumdog Millionaire

In Slumdog millionaire women and Latika are represented in many different ways for example they are represented as being vulnerable and inferior to men as they don't serve any other purpose in society other than to please the men. Latika herself is presented as the props character type princess and is a damsel in distress and it is Jamal's job to come and rescue her. They are also seen as a reward as she becomes Jamal's prize for going on who wants o be  a millionaire and  his inly reason to go go on it was because f her making her a goal rather tan just a person. The only other woman who are seen within the film are what look like prostitutes who are there again to provide pleasure for the men and serve no other purpose with in the film other than to serve them creating the ideology that women are inferior.




In this scene we see Latika as the prize for Jamal successfully completing who wants to be a millionaire, she is waiting patiently at the train station for him to come and find her. there is a series of close upshots of Jamal and Latika looking into each others eyes and eventually kissing reveal that Jamal 'the hero' has completed his task and has found his 'princess'. in this scene there is slo a wide sot of them both stood on an empt platform which could be symbolic  to represent that they feel as if there is no one else in the room when they are together. The idea that she is  a prize is also shown through the use of costume, she is wearing a bright yellow head scarf with golden buttons attached to it to represent her wealth as a person to Jamal and her beauty. yellow is representative of happiness and hope and by the use of this clever stylistic choice Latika is being represented as Jamals happiness, and now that he has found her he can now be complete. The use of the extreme close ups and slow motion shots we an see the true love and emotion portrayed both characters revealing again she is the prize and the purpose of women are that they are there to please the men.

woman are also presented as second class citerzens and there to provide pleasure for men and entertainment. in the scene where Salim and Javed are seen to e having a party/ gathering there are lot of close up shots and pans o the women body's providing the ale gaze giving off the ideology that these women are here for the purpose of the men and are objects to be looked at he fact that there is no dialogue from these characters and we are not introduced to the as individuals with name it also supports the idea that they are not individuals and are seen as a group and are not worthy enough to be classed as individuals. This supports the representation that women are also inferior to men in all aspects.