when i came out to my grandad, an ex miner, he told me about this film and it quickly became one of my absolute favourite comfort watches. i have since read the book interviewing the real people behind the story and many more memoirs about the miner's strike. it's now a period of history i have a lot of interest in, and am grateful to have people in my life who remember it and can share their memories with me. my great aunt- my grandad's sister and the wife of a NUM figurehead, is one of the most supportive people i know. she always asks after my love life, and one of her grandchildren is also gay.
A third reason I think the LGSM and Welsh might have different memories of the homophobia, is that in my experience if you are dealing with severe prejudice every day, you can fairly easily ignore mild prejudices to the extent that they don't even register with you.
@@tomgymer7719 In a way I feel the Welsh locals’ memories of the homophobia being much harsher is their way of expressing guilt. Here’s these LGBT folks coming from across the country to help and here we are cracking jokes at them.
@@SEAZNDragon I thought that too. And because homophobic comments would have been "just another day" to the queer folks, but would have been such a world-view changer for the Welsh locals, it would stick with them more.
Came here to say that. I was a queer activist in the 90's in Alberta. Like BIPOC folks who stop registering most microaggressions in their day or they'd lose their marbles, most queer folks in such situations ignore and forget all but the most blatant of aggression. Both groups reported their memories accurately. There were absolutely homophobic jokes, because the 80's breathed them in general, but the queers didn't feel like it was dangerous, so they didn't even notice.
I am a 63 year old straight non-miner white man. However, I too struggle to get the batteries out of my remote. You see, we are all human beings and need to support each other. That’s the message I got from this movie. I loved every minute of it.
I always love hearing these kinds of stories about solidarity between different groups. It reminds me of the time that the Choctaw, immediately after losing everything and being forced out of their homes in the trail of tears, heard about the Irish Potato Famine, and sent money to Ireland to help out. They only sent about $5,000 in today's money, but they didn't have much money to begin with. Ireland returned the favor in 2020 by raising $2,000,000 to send to native tribes in the US suffering from the COVID pandemic. It's nice to see people lift each other up, even when facing enormous challenges of their own.
I was thinking the same thing about the documentary Crip Camp, which is about how people with disabilities protested to get the Federal Government to enforce protections. When they were occupying a Federal office in California, the Black Panthers and LGBTQ people helped out with food and other supplies.
Oh you'll love the stories in Reeling in the queers! Gays against Imperialism marched on protests against the H-blocks and in support of the hunger strikes
I'm a Southerner who came out when I lived in Barnsley, because it felt safe there. I can only imagine the sense of pride you felt seeing the banners and hearing the sounds and voices of home.
So this film came out around the time I first came out as bisexual, I was 14/15 and my mum came home one day with the dvd and said “I thought it might help”. She didn’t know about it just knew it had gay people in it. First time I watched it I sobbed for ages, it was the first time I really felt being part of a community as I didn’t really know any other gay people. I’m so happy to see this film is still being discussed, used it myself for my university film course and knowing those that lived through it talked with the screenwriters is amazing. I knew it was fairly accurate but knowing how much care was put into it (apart from the women’s group) is awesome. Even now being 25, trans and with a partner I still cry at this film just because of those that helped us get what we have now.
I really love the way that the LGSM and their support for the miners shows the importance and values of solidarity, and it's also why fascists try so hard to dismantle and villainize solidarity and atomise society. And this film makes me tear up. Great look at a wonderful film, thanks.
I'm so glad you're talking about the music in this! The score was composed by Christopher Nightingale, who was Tim Minchin's orchestrator for Matilda and Groundhog day, he deserves more recognition for his work on this film!
Mine is when they sing Bread and Roses (I know, staged!) - especially the moment when Dai and his wife look at each other in such a loving way and when Gethin cries.
I need to tell you how perfect the timing of this video is! I'm the pastor of a Queer-Affirming church, and this is Pride Week where I live. This summer, we've been gathering to watch movies every Tuesday night, then I've tied Tuesday's movie into Sunday's sermon. And this week (because it's Pride week, and also because it's such a good movie) we're watching Pride. I loved your historical-perspective analysis of it, and I'm glad to learn that the movie is pretty historically accurate. I will be sharing a link to this video with my congregations in my mid-week newsletter - both for the people who have seen the film who want to do a deeper dive into it, and also for people who haven't seen the film because you give a good overview of the story and it will catch them up before Sunday. Thank you ❤🧡💛💚💙💜
As a queer person who left the church partly because of its stance on the LGBT community, this makes me truly happy to hear! Thank you and keep it up!!
I knew Mark Aston in the Belfast punk scene, but not well. I'm not surprised he was ready to join the fight, those were feisty times in our hometown!x (PS Mark was from Portrush} I always watch 'Pride' because it mimics another story he would have been involved in. Obviously punks weren't very popular in the late 70's, and there were a lot of violent and armed people around. One of the places we could go was a, then illegal, gay club. So when Gay Lib, as it was called then, wanted to march in Belfast their parade was flanked by leather-clad punks for protection.x
I love this! I always wish that if I could go back and live in another time and place, I'd be a punk in late 70s/early 80s London. I grew up in suburban Colorado in the US as a teen in the mid-80s with an older brother who was pretty punk. I'd have loved to have seen gay lib parades with punk security escorts!
@@hectorheathwoodundercover879 Oof, I would NOT have wanted to have to deal with all that (and sorry you had to). I think what I like seeing about that time and place is that people felt connections and were fighting for something, etc. Obviously what I know is from the history books and movies, but it always seemed like people living through it had a sense of belonging and purpose (and often a common enemy). I'm sure I'm romanticizing some of it, much like people romanticize how amazing a skiers heaven like Colorado must be (hint: it's not)!
@@EricaGamet It was just our normal Erica. I have a friend lecturing at the University of Denver, always trying to get invited to there and do some talking.x
I’ve seen Pride a couple times. I’m an American who spent three months in London at the beginning of 1991, and one of my first few days there was marching from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square protesting the Gulf War. It was my first bit of any sort of political activism ever. I bought my first pink triangle pin at Gays The Word. was back in the US by June, but I marched in our local Pride parade with ACT UP- AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power. I’m 53 now, and I was able to take a young coworker to her first Pride parade this summer. I’ll be in London again April 2025, first time since 1995, so I’m hoping you’ve got any appearances around that time.
The moment you started complimenting the banners my mind went to that line from the movie: MIKE: And what am I supposed to do with this? MARK: Give it to the Lesbians. They love a banner.
The mine workers showing up to the pride parade made me cry the first time I saw the movie and still makes me cry every time I watch it even in clip form Especially now having found myself as a union activist on top of being bi and trans
The Communards “For a Friend” was written about Mark Ashton and is played in the film. It’s such a sad song and you can really feel Jimmy Somerville and Richard Coles love for him. The scene where Russell Tovey’s character basically tells him he has AIDs is one of the most gut wrenching moments in the film.
This is one of my most favourite films of ALL TIME. So excited/nervous for this vid. I remember attending my first ever Pride in Seoul a couple years back and there was a banner that read (roughly translated) "metal workers are with you" and I thought of this film and started SOBBING.
I was so happy to see this video, I love the film Pride! Although I don’t come from a mining community, I was born in the late 80s in an area in between North Wales and Liverpool, where Margaret Thatcher’s name is still mud all these years later. Many people in my family are queer, including myself, so this film has always touched very close to home. I’m happy to see how accurate the film was and am grateful for the extra context you added in this video. My brother is a dancer and he toured in Gary Clarke’s production of “Wasteland” which tells the story of the impact of mine closures on the children of miners through the 90s and the intersection with rave culture. The show featured men’s choirs consisting of real ex-miners where possible and brass musicians! It was an incredible production and fits well into the story of Pride. The tour has finished now but if you’re ever able to see a showing of it or any other Gary Clarke productions, I think you’d love it. I can also confirm that my brother “coming out” as a vegetarian was a far bigger deal than coming out as gay!
I’m glad some older anti Thatcher communities support gay people, I’m worried that the descendants of many that opposed Thatcher are becoming quite conservative when it comes to LGBTQ rights
@@personperson.7744 No way, you're telling me the people who opposed progress in the 80s would raise their offspring to oppose progress in the 2020s and beyond?
How cool you’re doing a video on this. As an American I don’t get to watch much British film but I saw this a year ago on an airplane on the way back from hurricane response. As a gay man I thought the story was incredible and contrasted to how a lot of pride in the United States has become dominated by corporate powers, contrary to building up communities harmed by these institutions.
Pride month in the UK is corporate in many respects but at my Quaker meeting, we opened for Pride in London and it was wonderful. So many people, of all sexualities and genders, popped in to have a chat. I did say to one guy he could only come in to use the loo if he left his beer at the door, but he didn't mind!
the corporate story is the same here in the uk... but we do have lots of events that arent! london trans pride is a grassroots protest that has tens of thousands every year and i love seeing it grow. im sure you can escape the corporate bs, its just knowing where to look!! i wish you luck :D
The thing I find fascinating about _Pride_ is Joe. Joe is supposed to be a fictional character, invented specifically to be an audience avatar. Joe is virtually identical to Billy James, from Boy George's musical _Taboo._ He's a baby gay photographer from Bromley who goes to London in the early 80s, falls in with a queer crowd, and discovers his own sexuality. That's pretty oddly specific!
for pride one year we dressed up as the cast of this film, and on the train home we were sat with a guy who was part of LGSM! it was so cool to talk to him, and a queer moment i will treasure forever.
I was actually lucky enough to bump into Mike Jackson, who lives in London, completely by coincidence. Absolutely lovely bloke, stopped and had a chat and told us stories about him and Mark
Id also like to tell people of a current struggle to try and have a blue plaque erected in Mark Ashton's hometown (Portrush Northern Ireland) as the current local council refuses to build one.
Had the pleasure of meeting Mike Jackson around the time of the film's release. A few of us had a pint with him in Doncaster. He's a lovely, genuine and kind fellah. And very funny too. x
You didn't even mention Billy Bragg, the guy who sang the end credits there. He was an ally to the miners and gay people early on, and he's still an ally fighting for trans rights now. He's a hero, as a working class bloke from barking then statistics say he should be right wing and uneducated, but he's taught himself
The rich and powerful stay rich by divide and conquer. This movie is a touching reminder that we should unite against the ones that really oppresses us. Any hoo please do other film reviews. I enjoyed this!❤
I never knew about this movie at all. Its gone from netflix already?? Damn Damn Damn. Well at least I found the book and have added it to my wish list.
From when I first saw this film in cinemas, it was an instant favourite of mine. I think I have watched it about 8-9 times since then, about once a year. I still get goosebumps on my arms for Bread and Roses and for the final scenes. Also, I have played in community brass bands in regional Australia since I was a child, and while brass bands here are not quite so strongly associated with the working class (at least not any more), I still come from a mining town (gold instead of coal though) and the messages of this film gets me every time! Hearing the brass band music to the background of the miners strikes are so heavily linked, they even made a film about it (gotta love Brassed Off!)! Thank you for doing this analysis and commentary. It was wonderful to watch someone else get so excited about all the same scenes that I do! Now I think I will go rewatch the film, maybe with the Director's Commentary this time!
This is a fantastic example of how a TH-cam video that is heavily based on another media such as a film provides a lot of additional insight as compared to a lot of reaction videos, which often add very little.
I was at an Australian girls boarding school in the 1980s. They were told that I was a vegetarian but they hadn’t really thought about it after that. Over the first few months they had absolutely no idea what to feed me. In the end it was decided that I (at 12 years old) would visit the kitchens and have a chat with the staff about ideas that would be easy and not too difficult or disruptive for the kitchen - so yeah, it was hard work. In those first few months I had to walk to the kitchen alone to collect “my plate”, for dinner. For months I had a plate with half a boiled egg, a few bits of very pale iceberg lettuce, a quarter of a tomato and a small hunk of cheese. If the main hot meal had veggies and other suitable things I could get some but it was ALL cold food for quite a while. Eventually my brothers girlfriend would do a shop for me and bring me a bag of goodies every other week. Oh and the adults initially confiscated my peppermint tea because they thought it was pot. Yeah, I’m drinking Cannabis tea that smells like peppermint 😳 So again, it was hard work.
One of my favorite queer movies. There's not a lot of media about being queer in the 80s that doesn't center on AIDS (for very obvious reasons). It's my favorite example.
Vegetarian in the 80’s here, and it was difficult! Also, a lot of people were really angry about it here in the US! God forbid I answer their questions honestly and say it was because I cared about the animals! Vegan now and it’s so easy!
I'm not vegetarian (but pretty dang close these days), but my best friend of 38 years is. When I visited London (and much of the UK actually, there for 2 months) in '97 I remember it was a big thing that restaurants had "Now with vegetarian options" signs and on their menus. I took too many photos for my bestie (on actual FILM!). I can't eat beef, so I ate a lot of bean burgers at Burger King while there!
I loved the film, as a gay Welshman of course! But the accents just threw it for me - probably only subtle enough for someone familiar to the differences between Welsh accents. The English characters have actually done a good job of the accents. Sian James's husband sounds like he is actually a Welsh actor, but he has a strong North West Wales accent - sounds like a Welsh speaker, while Andrew Scott's character is from Rhyl in North East Wales but has a South Wales accent - Rhyl and NE Wales has a very particular accent with hints of Scouse. Lisa Scott-Lee from Steps is from Rhyl for an example of the accent. I just checked - the actor who plays Sian James's husband is Rhodri Meilir, who grew up in NE Wales, but notice how strong his accent is compared to say Lisa Scott-Lee - this is because he is a Welsh speaker, and given the rural nature we are shown of Gethin's home* - he was likely a Welsh speaker too (plus Gethin is a very Welsh-Welsh name!). In conclusion! Andrew Scott should have Rhodri Meilir's accent, and assuming the character Rhodri Meilir is playing is from South Wales - he should have Andrew Scott's accent! *Onllwyn and Rhyl are 4hrs away from each other by car - it isn't a quick easy trip to be done in an afternoon!
It's onmy favourite films! Not just because of it depicting true story, but also because of the warmth and love between the characters. In this film, there was more than solidarity, there was a deep emotional bond, almost like a family bond between them.
I’m a straight man, and I enjoyed the film. Watched it with my lesbian best friend and she enjoyed it as well. I’m no expert but for me this film needs to be understood in the context of the homophobia of the Thatcher government, culminating in Section 28 (and then John Majors ‘back to basics’ 😂😂😂). Also respect to Welsh class solidarity.
Just to point out how bafflingly economically illiterate Thatcher was she thought if she closed all mines in Britain that would boost the economy. Obviously as anyone with a functioning brain would realise it caused an economic collapse, and mutiple regions of the UK have still not recovered to this day. Even if she wanted to transition away from coal, investing in emerging technologies and retraining would have been something someone with basic economic knowledge would have done. Rather than just letting the countey fall apart.
@@Alex-cw3rz well, she wanted the British economy to move from a manufacturing model to a service-industry model and in that she succeeded. She ruined people's lives and the consequences can still be felt in former mining communities. There was nothing done to help miners except being told to sign on the dole (where you were treated like dirt). There was no possibility of employment and people were treated as if it was their fault. No retraining, no government investment, just people thrown on the rubbish heap.
She wasn't economically illiterate - the reality was that most mining communities were illiterate in general. Most of these communities wouldn't accept that they had to find move on and accept the transition from a manufacturing economy to a white collar service economy.
@@DaDARKPass well seen as we had to import coal when they were closed it shows they were still necessary. How are you meant to transition when there was no investment in these jobs or services to retrain. She was economically illiterate as are you, you are so out of your depth you don't even understand Geographical and occupational immobility something you learn in the first term of A level economics. If she wanted to transition away from coal, then she needed to invest in new technologies and jobs in the areas, this is so bafflingly basic, yet she fell flat on her face not at the first hurble but at the start line.
I had no interest in this topic, but I had watched other videos of yours so I decided to take a minute or two to see what it was about. I couldn't stop watching till the end. You are very good at your job. Also, I pre-ordered your book.
I remember the miners' strike well. To correct something you say near the beginning, Margaret Thatcher can't really be said to have "started" closing pits. Pits had been closing for a long time. Harold Wilson closed 253 pits in his two terms in office, more than twice as many as Thatcher closed in total. It is, however, true that the rate of closures had slowed in the 1970s. Having been a minister in the Heath government, Thatcher knew that the miners had the potential to bring down the government and a leader (Arthur Scargill) who did not view any Conservative government as legitimate. During her first term in office, she was careful not to provoke a miner's strike, backing down on plans to close pits when one was threatened in 1981. The strike came when she was ready for it. Scargill played into her hands on timing and even more so by failing to hold a ballot before calling the strike because he wasn't confident of winning the vote, having failed on three previous attempts.
There are hard decisions which need to be made. No need to vilify Thatcher concerning the closing of those uneconomical and unhealthy mines. Just as Macron shouldn't be vilified for trying to raise the retirement age in France from 62. Those coal mines were leftover from a previous time just as 62 years retirement age doesn't reflect the current time. Clearly in both examples people will protest. Vilify Thatcher for something else.
I'm sad I left the UK in 1982. I feel I might have found London Pride and the Greenham Common women't camp. II think a lot about how different my life might have been if I'd had the confidence to make my own way in the UK after my family went to the US. As it was, I found PRIDE in Seattle and later joined ACT/UP for direct action civil disobedience.
Diolch, J D. Although I am not gay and I have never dug coal from the earth, this video brought back many memories. (Although I was around at the time of the Miners' Strike and somewhat active in my own way). Pride was already one of my favourite films but your video has made me look at it in a different way and made it all the more poignant. Thank your for this contextualised presentation. I'm going to have to watch Pride again soon. By the way, I really enjoy all of your videos and look forward to reading your book.
Amazing timing! My friend loves this movie and I've been meaning to watch it for years. Last weekend she asked if I wanted to hang out and we watched it! I loved the additional context you were able to add.
I think what watching this film taught me and hearing your interpretations of it is that solidarity is crucial. There are attempts to divide and conquer which rage on ever more fiercely. All minorities and discriminated communities have common ground and support is best shared between them. It’s some of the most powerful forms of activism
Great video, great movie. If I had to gripe, I did find it a bit odd that basically all the main Welsh characters were played by non-Welsh actors. Sometimes the accents are a bit off.
I almost didn't watch this as I didn't want you to ruin the positive vibes of the film. Very glad I did watch it though as "this part got oversimplified", "this part was over dramatised", "real person A is dead but we have quotes of similar ish stuff" and "this was untrue but the real person consented to the misrepresentation" are by far better than other favourites have managed when I looked too closely
To the extent of my knowledge, a large chunk of the criticism of the historicity of this movie is aimed squarely at the depiction of Mark Ashton, in particular how he's basically reduced solely to his role in LGSM with no mention of his support for communism. And whilst I do think that would be appropriate, were this a biography of his life, I don't think it's especially pertinent to his role in the overall historical narrative that the movie specifically is recounting, so I understand it not being so present.
It would have been nice, because it’s a plausible political intersection between the miners and him and his LGSM members. (I don’t know much about it, only learnt about this strike and alliance from this film, as a German) The Wikipedia page about him said that his communist positions were omitted in order to not alienate American viewers… (on one hand seems somewhat plausible to a degree, given what I’ve heard about „mainstream opinions“ of Americans on that topic, but how are those opinions ever going to change if we don’t „expose“ them to those ideas for fear of them not liking things …
I’m a lesbian and I’m from south wales and this film is one of my all time favourites! whilst I thankfully didn’t live through thatcher, it hits close to home and makes me appreciate those who came before me (in both welsh AND lgbt history, which is a huge part of who I am)
I love this film! I definitely cried at the end of it. I think its probably the best film that combines gay rights and labor rights activism.... Ever? If anyone has any suggestions, let me know. Also also, now im rhinking about how my local pride parade could use a huge banner....
When I just came out, a friend of mine showed me this film, and it still makes me so emotional five years later. It's such a hopeful piece of history, such a testament to what grassroots action and real solidarity, and the importance of community in all its many forms. This film and the history it portrays is so important to me.
This is a wonderful breakdown of that film. I loved it when I watched in on Netflix some time ago and i'm actually old enough to remember that strike. I was a 12-year-old kid in an Irish immigrant family in the Midlands and there was a lot of Thatcherite feckers around there who were really hostile to the miners and to the LGBTQ community as well, of course! This film really is touching and shows how alliances and actual friendships and cameraderies can be made between the most unlikely of allies. It's truly poignant and you're not the only one with goosebumps, I can tell ye!! 😊😉🙃🥰 I love your videos anyway and this is a bit of a fave now!! It's rea;lly interesting to see about details of events of the time and good to know that the inaccuracies are actually quite minimal!! Far fewer of them than I was expecting! Thanks for uploading this, Jenny! You're an absolute legend, so ye are! 🥰
I adore this movie, so thank you for this. I attended an American women’s college, “Bread and Roses” is one of our school songs. That scene gets me every time.
I knew Mark Ashton through the YCL, I'm pretty sure he was in the YCL during the miners strike. His death was a tragedy, he was such a nice guy and a tireless campaigner.
I was lucky enough to see the film at Green Man festival the year it came out and they had a q&a session with Sian James afterwards - she said that the prison scene did happen but it was at a bank where they were being refused withdrawals iirc
J, I love this type of video format from you!! The Muppets one was also fascinating, and this one made me cry! I would love it if you did more! Also, I have pre-ordered the book, looking forward to reading it ❤❤❤
On the whole "some of the people in the movie are still alive and they advised on the movie" thing: and sometimes when that happens the advisors can massage their roles to make themselves look better and/or people who are now dead look worse (for instance, the living members of Queen supposedly making themselves seem responsible and hardworking blokes in "Bohemian Rhapsody" while Freddie Mercury is portrayed as kind of an irresponsible fuckup and he can't refute it because he's dead!)
That's one of the reasons why I preferred the Elton John biopic that came out the same year.. By framing it all in therapy groups, flashbacks, and dream sequences they made it clear that this is a person's perspective of their own history, not the unadulterated truth. (Not throwing shade at Elton btw - I just think too many films/articles/biographies, etc. ignore the reality that we all have our own perspective/memory of what happened and that you can't get the truth from only one side of a story)
"i want to form a women's group .". "this is important." Man, its so often women's issues that are deemed not important.... Thank you, I'd never heard of this movie (or anything about this strike!) and now my daughter and i are going to watch it together!
Regarding the guy that played Mike Jackson, my first thought was, "That's the dude from 'This is England'"! I am American, so I don't know much about Emmerdale (except that David Tennant referred to it as Emmerdale Farm and said that makes him old). I knew a bit about the events in "Pride," but I didn't realize there was a movie... and with such a great cast, no less! Off to find where to stream it! Thanks for this wonderful deep-dive! And I had to laugh about you pointing out the actual route and where they were actually filming. I worked briefly in the film industry in L.A. as a location scout/manager. I always get a kick out of saying, "Hey! You can't get to that street by taking that freeway," etc. The magic of filmmaking!
I watch every video of yours. I'm watching this twice though. I watched it, went to find the film, watched it and now I'm back. Thank you for bringing this awesome movie to my attention.
The batteries!😂 Oh my gods, that was the BEST!!! Whatever the rest has, I'm HOOKED! Wow, the Iron Lady was a shrewd character, stockpiling specifically to outlast a strike.
She brought in paramilitary policing techniques from the colonial police too to put down the 84' strike, really crazy stuff. There's a great documentary on the battle of Orgreave called "Strike: An Uncivil War" which I'd highly recommend
Thank you for making this Jenny. I’ve been meaning to watch this movie for ages and having a historian give commentary on it is lovely. I will go watch it now! Excited about your book 😊
I love this movie, and it always makes me cryyy. The score is so wonderful; every time you pointed out the brass bands 😍 I got goosebumps too! It's incredible that Johnathan Blake is still alive, and I'm go glad that he is. (Mad Max Fury road mention!!!)
I started watching this and immediately wanted to watch the movie. So I watched that first, then came back to watch this. So good! Thank you both for the fact checking and the encouragement to watch a movie that I really enjoyed. What a good day :)
@36:00 For the book, in the US, if you use someone else's work (book cover), it opens a door to being sued. You could argue it doesn't detract from their ability to profit from their own work, but more likely, you'd settle out of court for some monies. Studios don't like paying this, so instead they pay ~100-200 for someone to fake a book cover.
I’ve seen recommendations for this film around but never got to watching it. Well, saw this video today and decided to give it a go. Thank you so much. And now knowing what genuinely is the truth off of it is also fantastic
As a proud Welshman (not an easy thing to be over the last month or so) of mining stock I loved this video on a film that always brings a tear to my eye. My favourite story from production was (along the lines) that Bill Nighy agreed to do the film on the condition that he got to deliver the line "Margaret F@#£ing Thatcher!"
![ร้อยพ่อพันแม่ - WanMai [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/XY2pNYASEbg/mqdefault.jpg)
when i came out to my grandad, an ex miner, he told me about this film and it quickly became one of my absolute favourite comfort watches. i have since read the book interviewing the real people behind the story and many more memoirs about the miner's strike. it's now a period of history i have a lot of interest in, and am grateful to have people in my life who remember it and can share their memories with me. my great aunt- my grandad's sister and the wife of a NUM figurehead, is one of the most supportive people i know. she always asks after my love life, and one of her grandchildren is also gay.
Based grandad
🥹
My heart cant take how beautiful this story is ❤
A third reason I think the LGSM and Welsh might have different memories of the homophobia, is that in my experience if you are dealing with severe prejudice every day, you can fairly easily ignore mild prejudices to the extent that they don't even register with you.
@@tomgymer7719 In a way I feel the Welsh locals’ memories of the homophobia being much harsher is their way of expressing guilt. Here’s these LGBT folks coming from across the country to help and here we are cracking jokes at them.
@@SEAZNDragon I thought that too. And because homophobic comments would have been "just another day" to the queer folks, but would have been such a world-view changer for the Welsh locals, it would stick with them more.
Came here to say that. I was a queer activist in the 90's in Alberta. Like BIPOC folks who stop registering most microaggressions in their day or they'd lose their marbles, most queer folks in such situations ignore and forget all but the most blatant of aggression.
Both groups reported their memories accurately. There were absolutely homophobic jokes, because the 80's breathed them in general, but the queers didn't feel like it was dangerous, so they didn't even notice.
I am a 63 year old straight non-miner white man. However, I too struggle to get the batteries out of my remote. You see, we are all human beings and need to support each other. That’s the message I got from this movie. I loved every minute of it.
lay a piece of non conductive ribbon under the batteries. Then you just tug on one side of the ribbon and the batteries lift.
@@cynhanrahan4012 My wife has a lot of ribbon. Thank you for the tip!
I always love hearing these kinds of stories about solidarity between different groups. It reminds me of the time that the Choctaw, immediately after losing everything and being forced out of their homes in the trail of tears, heard about the Irish Potato Famine, and sent money to Ireland to help out. They only sent about $5,000 in today's money, but they didn't have much money to begin with. Ireland returned the favor in 2020 by raising $2,000,000 to send to native tribes in the US suffering from the COVID pandemic. It's nice to see people lift each other up, even when facing enormous challenges of their own.
I was thinking the same thing about the documentary Crip Camp, which is about how people with disabilities protested to get the Federal Government to enforce protections.
When they were occupying a Federal office in California, the Black Panthers and LGBTQ people helped out with food and other supplies.
Oh you'll love the stories in Reeling in the queers!
Gays against Imperialism marched on protests against the H-blocks and in support of the hunger strikes
Oh gosh! 1985 was my first Pride March. I came down alone from Sheffield, and was pleased to see the Miners leading us off.
@@archivist17 that's awesome. Also hello from a fellow Sheffielder lesbian.
I'm a Southerner who came out when I lived in Barnsley, because it felt safe there. I can only imagine the sense of pride you felt seeing the banners and hearing the sounds and voices of home.
Ahh the socialist Republic of South Yorkshire
In 2019, trans activists assisted protesting coal miners in Harlan County, USA who were blocking a coal shipment because of unpaid wages
So this film came out around the time I first came out as bisexual, I was 14/15 and my mum came home one day with the dvd and said “I thought it might help”. She didn’t know about it just knew it had gay people in it. First time I watched it I sobbed for ages, it was the first time I really felt being part of a community as I didn’t really know any other gay people. I’m so happy to see this film is still being discussed, used it myself for my university film course and knowing those that lived through it talked with the screenwriters is amazing. I knew it was fairly accurate but knowing how much care was put into it (apart from the women’s group) is awesome. Even now being 25, trans and with a partner I still cry at this film just because of those that helped us get what we have now.
I really love the way that the LGSM and their support for the miners shows the importance and values of solidarity, and it's also why fascists try so hard to dismantle and villainize solidarity and atomise society. And this film makes me tear up. Great look at a wonderful film, thanks.
I'm so glad you're talking about the music in this! The score was composed by Christopher Nightingale, who was Tim Minchin's orchestrator for Matilda and Groundhog day, he deserves more recognition for his work on this film!
When the banner with the hands that they’ve been talking about all movie comes up at the end I invariably cry. Instant waterworks
And with the music!!!!
Mine is when they sing Bread and Roses (I know, staged!) - especially the moment when Dai and his wife look at each other in such a loving way and when Gethin cries.
@@29jgirl92there is power in a union
I need to tell you how perfect the timing of this video is! I'm the pastor of a Queer-Affirming church, and this is Pride Week where I live. This summer, we've been gathering to watch movies every Tuesday night, then I've tied Tuesday's movie into Sunday's sermon. And this week (because it's Pride week, and also because it's such a good movie) we're watching Pride. I loved your historical-perspective analysis of it, and I'm glad to learn that the movie is pretty historically accurate.
I will be sharing a link to this video with my congregations in my mid-week newsletter - both for the people who have seen the film who want to do a deeper dive into it, and also for people who haven't seen the film because you give a good overview of the story and it will catch them up before Sunday.
Thank you ❤🧡💛💚💙💜
God bless you for looking after our ostracised siblings, Pastor
Homosexuality is a grave sin, and you are going to hell
As a queer person who left the church partly because of its stance on the LGBT community, this makes me truly happy to hear! Thank you and keep it up!!
@@29jgirl92 Blessings to you on your journey ❤🧡💛💚💙💜
I knew Mark Aston in the Belfast punk scene, but not well. I'm not surprised he was ready to join the fight, those were feisty times in our hometown!x
(PS Mark was from Portrush}
I always watch 'Pride' because it mimics another story he would have been involved in. Obviously punks weren't very popular in the late 70's, and there were a lot of violent and armed people around. One of the places we could go was a, then illegal, gay club. So when Gay Lib, as it was called then, wanted to march in Belfast their parade was flanked by leather-clad punks for protection.x
I love this! I always wish that if I could go back and live in another time and place, I'd be a punk in late 70s/early 80s London. I grew up in suburban Colorado in the US as a teen in the mid-80s with an older brother who was pretty punk. I'd have loved to have seen gay lib parades with punk security escorts!
@@EricaGamet They were, indeed, very exciting times Erica, and a lotta fun in a war zone.x
@@hectorheathwoodundercover879 Oof, I would NOT have wanted to have to deal with all that (and sorry you had to). I think what I like seeing about that time and place is that people felt connections and were fighting for something, etc. Obviously what I know is from the history books and movies, but it always seemed like people living through it had a sense of belonging and purpose (and often a common enemy). I'm sure I'm romanticizing some of it, much like people romanticize how amazing a skiers heaven like Colorado must be (hint: it's not)!
@@EricaGamet It was just our normal Erica. I have a friend lecturing at the University of Denver, always trying to get invited to there and do some talking.x
@@hectorheathwoodundercover879 I hope you're able to make it over there. It IS beautiful in the mountains, at least.
I’ve seen Pride a couple times. I’m an American who spent three months in London at the beginning of 1991, and one of my first few days there was marching from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square protesting the Gulf War. It was my first bit of any sort of political activism ever. I bought my first pink triangle pin at Gays The Word.
was back in the US by June, but I marched in our local Pride parade with ACT UP- AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power.
I’m 53 now, and I was able to take a young coworker to her first Pride parade this summer.
I’ll be in London again April 2025, first time since 1995, so I’m hoping you’ve got any appearances around that time.
That’s awesome, thank you for your activism 🧡
Thank you for sharing that!!
The moment you started complimenting the banners my mind went to that line from the movie: MIKE: And what am I supposed to do with this? MARK: Give it to the Lesbians. They love a banner.
The mine workers showing up to the pride parade made me cry the first time I saw the movie and still makes me cry every time I watch it even in clip form
Especially now having found myself as a union activist on top of being bi and trans
Join your unions! Form a union if there’s none to join!
Yes, it's beautiful, isn't it? I knew it was coming but it still got me, and continues to! Solidarity is so important
Even just seeing the clip here made me tear up!
The Communards “For a Friend” was written about Mark Ashton and is played in the film. It’s such a sad song and you can really feel Jimmy Somerville and Richard Coles love for him.
The scene where Russell Tovey’s character basically tells him he has AIDs is one of the most gut wrenching moments in the film.
"For A Friend" is unspeakably beautiful but utterly heartbreaking.
This is one of my most favourite films of ALL TIME. So excited/nervous for this vid. I remember attending my first ever Pride in Seoul a couple years back and there was a banner that read (roughly translated) "metal workers are with you" and I thought of this film and started SOBBING.
that so sweet omg
Kicking myself so hard that I never used this film as a media text when I was an English teacher.
I’m still a teacher, I’ll use it (sneakily).
@@megb9700 Hooray!
I’m studying to become a teacher and I will definitely use this film
I was so happy to see this video, I love the film Pride! Although I don’t come from a mining community, I was born in the late 80s in an area in between North Wales and Liverpool, where Margaret Thatcher’s name is still mud all these years later. Many people in my family are queer, including myself, so this film has always touched very close to home. I’m happy to see how accurate the film was and am grateful for the extra context you added in this video.
My brother is a dancer and he toured in Gary Clarke’s production of “Wasteland” which tells the story of the impact of mine closures on the children of miners through the 90s and the intersection with rave culture. The show featured men’s choirs consisting of real ex-miners where possible and brass musicians! It was an incredible production and fits well into the story of Pride. The tour has finished now but if you’re ever able to see a showing of it or any other Gary Clarke productions, I think you’d love it.
I can also confirm that my brother “coming out” as a vegetarian was a far bigger deal than coming out as gay!
I’m glad some older anti Thatcher communities support gay people, I’m worried that the descendants of many that opposed Thatcher are becoming quite conservative when it comes to LGBTQ rights
@@personperson.7744 No way, you're telling me the people who opposed progress in the 80s would raise their offspring to oppose progress in the 2020s and beyond?
How cool you’re doing a video on this. As an American I don’t get to watch much British film but I saw this a year ago on an airplane on the way back from hurricane response. As a gay man I thought the story was incredible and contrasted to how a lot of pride in the United States has become dominated by corporate powers, contrary to building up communities harmed by these institutions.
Pride month in the UK is corporate in many respects but at my Quaker meeting, we opened for Pride in London and it was wonderful. So many people, of all sexualities and genders, popped in to have a chat. I did say to one guy he could only come in to use the loo if he left his beer at the door, but he didn't mind!
The Mattachine Society was founded by Marxist-Leninists until the more moderate pushed them out, so that's not entirely correct
the corporate story is the same here in the uk... but we do have lots of events that arent! london trans pride is a grassroots protest that has tens of thousands every year and i love seeing it grow.
im sure you can escape the corporate bs, its just knowing where to look!! i wish you luck :D
The thing I find fascinating about _Pride_ is Joe. Joe is supposed to be a fictional character, invented specifically to be an audience avatar. Joe is virtually identical to Billy James, from Boy George's musical _Taboo._ He's a baby gay photographer from Bromley who goes to London in the early 80s, falls in with a queer crowd, and discovers his own sexuality. That's pretty oddly specific!
Bill Nighy brings me to tears in this film, every. single. time.
for pride one year we dressed up as the cast of this film, and on the train home we were sat with a guy who was part of LGSM! it was so cool to talk to him, and a queer moment i will treasure forever.
I love the use of Billy Bragg's song. Made me cry. That's all I have to say.
I was actually lucky enough to bump into Mike Jackson, who lives in London, completely by coincidence. Absolutely lovely bloke, stopped and had a chat and told us stories about him and Mark
Id also like to tell people of a current struggle to try and have a blue plaque erected in Mark Ashton's hometown (Portrush Northern Ireland) as the current local council refuses to build one.
Is there any way we can help?
My heart swells with pride for this depiction of intersectional solidarity. These are the people I respect.
Had the pleasure of meeting Mike Jackson around the time of the film's release. A few of us had a pint with him in Doncaster. He's a lovely, genuine and kind fellah. And very funny too. x
You didn't even mention Billy Bragg, the guy who sang the end credits there. He was an ally to the miners and gay people early on, and he's still an ally fighting for trans rights now. He's a hero, as a working class bloke from barking then statistics say he should be right wing and uneducated, but he's taught himself
The rich and powerful stay rich by divide and conquer. This movie is a touching reminder that we should unite against the ones that really oppresses us.
Any hoo please do other film reviews. I enjoyed this!❤
I watched this the night it was due to leave Netflix & it was so good, glad you’re covering this, thanks!
I never knew about this movie at all. Its gone from netflix already?? Damn Damn Damn. Well at least I found the book and have added it to my wish list.
@@francescathomas3502I think it’s still available on BBC iPlayer, if you’re in the UK.
aw shit really? i wanted to rewatch it :((
From when I first saw this film in cinemas, it was an instant favourite of mine. I think I have watched it about 8-9 times since then, about once a year. I still get goosebumps on my arms for Bread and Roses and for the final scenes.
Also, I have played in community brass bands in regional Australia since I was a child, and while brass bands here are not quite so strongly associated with the working class (at least not any more), I still come from a mining town (gold instead of coal though) and the messages of this film gets me every time! Hearing the brass band music to the background of the miners strikes are so heavily linked, they even made a film about it (gotta love Brassed Off!)!
Thank you for doing this analysis and commentary. It was wonderful to watch someone else get so excited about all the same scenes that I do!
Now I think I will go rewatch the film, maybe with the Director's Commentary this time!
This is a fantastic example of how a TH-cam video that is heavily based on another media such as a film provides a lot of additional insight as compared to a lot of reaction videos, which often add very little.
I was at an Australian girls boarding school in the 1980s.
They were told that I was a vegetarian but they hadn’t really thought about it after that. Over the first few months they had absolutely no idea what to feed me. In the end it was decided that I (at 12 years old) would visit the kitchens and have a chat with the staff about ideas that would be easy and not too difficult or disruptive for the kitchen - so yeah, it was hard work.
In those first few months I had to walk to the kitchen alone to collect “my plate”, for dinner.
For months I had a plate with half a boiled egg, a few bits of very pale iceberg lettuce, a quarter of a tomato and a small hunk of cheese.
If the main hot meal had veggies and other suitable things I could get some but it was ALL cold food for quite a while.
Eventually my brothers girlfriend would do a shop for me and bring me a bag of goodies every other week.
Oh and the adults initially confiscated my peppermint tea because they thought it was pot.
Yeah, I’m drinking Cannabis tea that smells like peppermint 😳
So again, it was hard work.
This is the J. Draper changing batteries content that I am here for
"and then it turned out it was not in a single British school" The historical parallels!
I LOVE that you kept the whole drama with the remote not working in the Final Cut!
One of my favorite queer movies. There's not a lot of media about being queer in the 80s that doesn't center on AIDS (for very obvious reasons). It's my favorite example.
Vegetarian in the 80’s here, and it was difficult! Also, a lot of people were really angry about it here in the US! God forbid I answer their questions honestly and say it was because I cared about the animals! Vegan now and it’s so easy!
I'm not vegetarian (but pretty dang close these days), but my best friend of 38 years is. When I visited London (and much of the UK actually, there for 2 months) in '97 I remember it was a big thing that restaurants had "Now with vegetarian options" signs and on their menus. I took too many photos for my bestie (on actual FILM!). I can't eat beef, so I ate a lot of bean burgers at Burger King while there!
I loved the film, as a gay Welshman of course! But the accents just threw it for me - probably only subtle enough for someone familiar to the differences between Welsh accents. The English characters have actually done a good job of the accents. Sian James's husband sounds like he is actually a Welsh actor, but he has a strong North West Wales accent - sounds like a Welsh speaker, while Andrew Scott's character is from Rhyl in North East Wales but has a South Wales accent - Rhyl and NE Wales has a very particular accent with hints of Scouse. Lisa Scott-Lee from Steps is from Rhyl for an example of the accent. I just checked - the actor who plays Sian James's husband is Rhodri Meilir, who grew up in NE Wales, but notice how strong his accent is compared to say Lisa Scott-Lee - this is because he is a Welsh speaker, and given the rural nature we are shown of Gethin's home* - he was likely a Welsh speaker too (plus Gethin is a very Welsh-Welsh name!). In conclusion! Andrew Scott should have Rhodri Meilir's accent, and assuming the character Rhodri Meilir is playing is from South Wales - he should have Andrew Scott's accent!
*Onllwyn and Rhyl are 4hrs away from each other by car - it isn't a quick easy trip to be done in an afternoon!
It's onmy favourite films! Not just because of it depicting true story, but also because of the warmth and love between the characters. In this film, there was more than solidarity, there was a deep emotional bond, almost like a family bond between them.
I’m a straight man, and I enjoyed the film. Watched it with my lesbian best friend and she enjoyed it as well. I’m no expert but for me this film needs to be understood in the context of the homophobia of the Thatcher government, culminating in Section 28 (and then John Majors ‘back to basics’ 😂😂😂). Also respect to Welsh class solidarity.
Just to point out how bafflingly economically illiterate Thatcher was she thought if she closed all mines in Britain that would boost the economy. Obviously as anyone with a functioning brain would realise it caused an economic collapse, and mutiple regions of the UK have still not recovered to this day. Even if she wanted to transition away from coal, investing in emerging technologies and retraining would have been something someone with basic economic knowledge would have done. Rather than just letting the countey fall apart.
Just as with Ronald Reagan in my country, it was never about "boosting the economy" - it was always about breaking the power of organized labor
@@Alex-cw3rz well, she wanted the British economy to move from a manufacturing model to a service-industry model and in that she succeeded. She ruined people's lives and the consequences can still be felt in former mining communities. There was nothing done to help miners except being told to sign on the dole (where you were treated like dirt). There was no possibility of employment and people were treated as if it was their fault. No retraining, no government investment, just people thrown on the rubbish heap.
She wasn't economically illiterate - the reality was that most mining communities were illiterate in general. Most of these communities wouldn't accept that they had to find move on and accept the transition from a manufacturing economy to a white collar service economy.
@@DaDARKPass well seen as we had to import coal when they were closed it shows they were still necessary. How are you meant to transition when there was no investment in these jobs or services to retrain. She was economically illiterate as are you, you are so out of your depth you don't even understand Geographical and occupational immobility something you learn in the first term of A level economics. If she wanted to transition away from coal, then she needed to invest in new technologies and jobs in the areas, this is so bafflingly basic, yet she fell flat on her face not at the first hurble but at the start line.
@@DaDARKPass mate, here is not the place to be classist
Brassed Off was my first introduction to the UK coal miners' and to the concept of the work-based groups
Another great British movie 😊
Love Brassed Off, which sparked a love of brass band music to this day.
I had no interest in this topic, but I had watched other videos of yours so I decided to take a minute or two to see what it was about. I couldn't stop watching till the end. You are very good at your job. Also, I pre-ordered your book.
I Remember the AIDS advert I was 10 it was frightening as hell.
I love this film and your commentary so much, thank you.
If you're from the UK, then this film is on BBC iPlayer
For those curious, Marvericks is available in Australia via Amazon, but the hardcover has a delayed release and won't come out until March.
Even a snippet of that last mqrch has me in tears. Such a great movie!
Really interesting video! Thanks!
I remember the miners' strike well.
To correct something you say near the beginning, Margaret Thatcher can't really be said to have "started" closing pits. Pits had been closing for a long time. Harold Wilson closed 253 pits in his two terms in office, more than twice as many as Thatcher closed in total. It is, however, true that the rate of closures had slowed in the 1970s.
Having been a minister in the Heath government, Thatcher knew that the miners had the potential to bring down the government and a leader (Arthur Scargill) who did not view any Conservative government as legitimate. During her first term in office, she was careful not to provoke a miner's strike, backing down on plans to close pits when one was threatened in 1981. The strike came when she was ready for it. Scargill played into her hands on timing and even more so by failing to hold a ballot before calling the strike because he wasn't confident of winning the vote, having failed on three previous attempts.
And it's also true that Thatcher's whole intention was quite specific - to destroy union power.
@@philroberts7238I remember the Thatcher years. What an awful person, I couldn't stand her
There are hard decisions which need to be made. No need to vilify Thatcher concerning the closing of those uneconomical and unhealthy mines. Just as Macron shouldn't be vilified for trying to raise the retirement age in France from 62. Those coal mines were leftover from a previous time just as 62 years retirement age doesn't reflect the current time. Clearly in both examples people will protest.
Vilify Thatcher for something else.
@@debbieepstein6133 I've just written a long post but can't send it due to an internal error
From what I know, weren’t the ones that Wilson closed down already running dry as opposed to the ones Thatcher did?
I'm sad I left the UK in 1982. I feel I might have found London Pride and the Greenham Common women't camp. II think a lot about how different my life might have been if I'd had the confidence to make my own way in the UK after my family went to the US. As it was, I found PRIDE in Seattle and later joined ACT/UP for direct action civil disobedience.
Diolch, J D. Although I am not gay and I have never dug coal from the earth, this video brought back many memories. (Although I was around at the time of the Miners' Strike and somewhat active in my own way). Pride was already one of my favourite films but your video has made me look at it in a different way and made it all the more poignant. Thank your for this contextualised presentation. I'm going to have to watch Pride again soon.
By the way, I really enjoy all of your videos and look forward to reading your book.
I do adore this film but it is one that makes me cry pretty much every time I watch it.
Amazing timing! My friend loves this movie and I've been meaning to watch it for years. Last weekend she asked if I wanted to hang out and we watched it! I loved the additional context you were able to add.
I think what watching this film taught me and hearing your interpretations of it is that solidarity is crucial. There are attempts to divide and conquer which rage on ever more fiercely. All minorities and discriminated communities have common ground and support is best shared between them. It’s some of the most powerful forms of activism
Great video, great movie. If I had to gripe, I did find it a bit odd that basically all the main Welsh characters were played by non-Welsh actors. Sometimes the accents are a bit off.
I was 17 living in a rural village when this movie came out and it felt like a gift just for me. Still cry every time I watch it.
I almost didn't watch this as I didn't want you to ruin the positive vibes of the film. Very glad I did watch it though as "this part got oversimplified", "this part was over dramatised", "real person A is dead but we have quotes of similar ish stuff" and "this was untrue but the real person consented to the misrepresentation" are by far better than other favourites have managed when I looked too closely
To the extent of my knowledge, a large chunk of the criticism of the historicity of this movie is aimed squarely at the depiction of Mark Ashton, in particular how he's basically reduced solely to his role in LGSM with no mention of his support for communism. And whilst I do think that would be appropriate, were this a biography of his life, I don't think it's especially pertinent to his role in the overall historical narrative that the movie specifically is recounting, so I understand it not being so present.
It would have been nice, because it’s a plausible political intersection between the miners and him and his LGSM members. (I don’t know much about it, only learnt about this strike and alliance from this film, as a German) The Wikipedia page about him said that his communist positions were omitted in order to not alienate American viewers… (on one hand seems somewhat plausible to a degree, given what I’ve heard about „mainstream opinions“ of Americans on that topic, but how are those opinions ever going to change if we don’t „expose“ them to those ideas for fear of them not liking things …
its not like theyre fully gone either, because his flat has communist logos everywhere and hes called a commie in one of the first scenes at a gay bar
I’m a lesbian and I’m from south wales and this film is one of my all time favourites! whilst I thankfully didn’t live through thatcher, it hits close to home and makes me appreciate those who came before me (in both welsh AND lgbt history, which is a huge part of who I am)
I love this film! I definitely cried at the end of it. I think its probably the best film that combines gay rights and labor rights activism.... Ever? If anyone has any suggestions, let me know.
Also also, now im rhinking about how my local pride parade could use a huge banner....
When I just came out, a friend of mine showed me this film, and it still makes me so emotional five years later. It's such a hopeful piece of history, such a testament to what grassroots action and real solidarity, and the importance of community in all its many forms. This film and the history it portrays is so important to me.
This is a wonderful breakdown of that film. I loved it when I watched in on Netflix some time ago and i'm actually old enough to remember that strike. I was a 12-year-old kid in an Irish immigrant family in the Midlands and there was a lot of Thatcherite feckers around there who were really hostile to the miners and to the LGBTQ community as well, of course! This film really is touching and shows how alliances and actual friendships and cameraderies can be made between the most unlikely of allies. It's truly poignant and you're not the only one with goosebumps, I can tell ye!! 😊😉🙃🥰 I love your videos anyway and this is a bit of a fave now!! It's rea;lly interesting to see about details of events of the time and good to know that the inaccuracies are actually quite minimal!! Far fewer of them than I was expecting! Thanks for uploading this, Jenny! You're an absolute legend, so ye are! 🥰
This video made me cry - thank you for making it
I adore this movie, so thank you for this. I attended an American women’s college, “Bread and Roses” is one of our school songs. That scene gets me every time.
I knew Mark Ashton through the YCL, I'm pretty sure he was in the YCL during the miners strike. His death was a tragedy, he was such a nice guy and a tireless campaigner.
The absence of his YCL activity is what, for me, this film lacks the most. Bragg, brass band and the final moments make up for it.
I love this. Your passion is so palpable and your history knowledge is so fun to hear! This video made me emotional with you, thanks so much ❤
Thank you for this. I learned a lot and now I'm off to learn more about this fascinating period of British history.
Great video! Pride is one of my favourite films :)
Congrats on the book release!!
Ditto, for both comments.
I was lucky enough to see the film at Green Man festival the year it came out and they had a q&a session with Sian James afterwards - she said that the prison scene did happen but it was at a bank where they were being refused withdrawals iirc
I know one of the old LGSM guys. Great lad, used to tour round screening the film and giving talks
J, I love this type of video format from you!! The Muppets one was also fascinating, and this one made me cry! I would love it if you did more! Also, I have pre-ordered the book, looking forward to reading it ❤❤❤
On the whole "some of the people in the movie are still alive and they advised on the movie" thing: and sometimes when that happens the advisors can massage their roles to make themselves look better and/or people who are now dead look worse (for instance, the living members of Queen supposedly making themselves seem responsible and hardworking blokes in "Bohemian Rhapsody" while Freddie Mercury is portrayed as kind of an irresponsible fuckup and he can't refute it because he's dead!)
That's one of the reasons why I preferred the Elton John biopic that came out the same year.. By framing it all in therapy groups, flashbacks, and dream sequences they made it clear that this is a person's perspective of their own history, not the unadulterated truth.
(Not throwing shade at Elton btw - I just think too many films/articles/biographies, etc. ignore the reality that we all have our own perspective/memory of what happened and that you can't get the truth from only one side of a story)
"i want to form a women's group .". "this is important." Man, its so often women's issues that are deemed not important.... Thank you, I'd never heard of this movie (or anything about this strike!) and now my daughter and i are going to watch it together!
Yay, glad to learn this is one of those rare movies that is (mostly) historically accurate AND a great movie!
Is it just me, or do others have a memory of seeing this film way more than 10years ago? Maybe it's such a classic it feels much older?
Both your enthusiasm and the interesting content are brilliant; a million thanks.
I think this is great I hope there's more coming.
I just recommended your book to my local library for purchase!
Regarding the guy that played Mike Jackson, my first thought was, "That's the dude from 'This is England'"! I am American, so I don't know much about Emmerdale (except that David Tennant referred to it as Emmerdale Farm and said that makes him old). I knew a bit about the events in "Pride," but I didn't realize there was a movie... and with such a great cast, no less! Off to find where to stream it! Thanks for this wonderful deep-dive! And I had to laugh about you pointing out the actual route and where they were actually filming. I worked briefly in the film industry in L.A. as a location scout/manager. I always get a kick out of saying, "Hey! You can't get to that street by taking that freeway," etc. The magic of filmmaking!
I'm getting chills watching the banners lift. ❤
A perfect film about intersectionality in both civil and labour movements. Its even more relavent today as LGSM was back in the 80s.
A must watch
Sung out with Uncle Bill and the choir... I need to see this movie.
NEVER CLICKED SO FAST!!! This is one of my three favorite movies of all time!!!
I watch every video of yours. I'm watching this twice though. I watched it, went to find the film, watched it and now I'm back. Thank you for bringing this awesome movie to my attention.
The batteries!😂 Oh my gods, that was the BEST!!!
Whatever the rest has, I'm HOOKED!
Wow, the Iron Lady was a shrewd character, stockpiling specifically to outlast a strike.
She brought in paramilitary policing techniques from the colonial police too to put down the 84' strike, really crazy stuff. There's a great documentary on the battle of Orgreave called "Strike: An Uncivil War" which I'd highly recommend
Thank you for making this Jenny. I’ve been meaning to watch this movie for ages and having a historian give commentary on it is lovely. I will go watch it now! Excited about your book 😊
I love this movie, and it always makes me cryyy.
The score is so wonderful; every time you pointed out the brass bands 😍 I got goosebumps too!
It's incredible that Johnathan Blake is still alive, and I'm go glad that he is.
(Mad Max Fury road mention!!!)
I started watching this and immediately wanted to watch the movie. So I watched that first, then came back to watch this. So good! Thank you both for the fact checking and the encouragement to watch a movie that I really enjoyed. What a good day :)
@36:00 For the book, in the US, if you use someone else's work (book cover), it opens a door to being sued. You could argue it doesn't detract from their ability to profit from their own work, but more likely, you'd settle out of court for some monies. Studios don't like paying this, so instead they pay ~100-200 for someone to fake a book cover.
I’ve seen recommendations for this film around but never got to watching it. Well, saw this video today and decided to give it a go. Thank you so much. And now knowing what genuinely is the truth off of it is also fantastic
As a proud Welshman (not an easy thing to be over the last month or so) of mining stock I loved this video on a film that always brings a tear to my eye.
My favourite story from production was (along the lines) that Bill Nighy agreed to do the film on the condition that he got to deliver the line "Margaret F@#£ing Thatcher!"
The above is anecdotal, alas I can't find a reference to back it up.
Such an amazing presentation. Thank you x
This is my one of my favourite films. Thank you for covering it ❤
Love the long format, keep up the great work
Pride is one of my favourite movies, and one of only two that make me cry.
This has long been one of my favourite films ever, I was a teenager in the 80s and vividly remember those ads on the tv. Thanks for this breakdown.
I pre ordered your book via Amazon for my kindle.
Brilliant work, J. Solidarity happens when people meet people.
Ill absolutely be picking up the book! Thank you J!