Pride (2014)
Based on real events, Pride offers a message of solidarity between oppressed groups, albeit while centring a whiggish narrative of gay rights and evading some of Thatcherism’s consequences.
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This post is part of the ‘Rewound’ series of analyses of objects or episodes from cultural and political history. It is available in full only to paid subscribers.
Content warnings: Homophobia; Homophobic violence; HIV and AIDS.
Spoiler alert: This analysis of the film Pride and its themes reveals plot details for the purpose of enhancing that analysis.
Based on historical events, Pride commences with the 1984 Gay Pride march in London, at which viewers are introduced to several characters (mostly based on real-life figures): outgoing Mark Ashton (Ben Schnetzer); his more reserved best friend Mike Jackson (Joseph Gilgun); feisty Steph Chambers (Faye Marsay); suburban student, Joe ‘Bromley’ Cooper (George McKay), who hides his sexuality from his family; and slightly older couple Gethin Roberts (Andrew Scott) and Jonathan Blake (Dominic West). Under Mark’s leadership, they form the Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM) group out of sympathy for mineworkers who have commenced an all-out strike against planned pit closures, and whom they see as a fellow oppressed group.
LGSM begin raising money to support miners and their families in the Welsh village of Onllwyn, in Dulais. Upon first visiting Onllwyn, they receive an initially cautious but eventually hugely warm welcome. Some of the striking miners, union leader Dai Donovan (Paddy Considine), and women’s support group members like Hefina Headon (Imelda Staunton) and Siân James (Jessica Gunning) in turn visit the LGSM members in London for a fundraising concert (see below). Despite LGSM’s continued efforts and visits, the strike fails, and the miners eventually return to work.
Back in London, Gethin is the victim of a homophobic attack, Joe’s family discover the truth about his sexuality, and Mark becomes temporarily estranged from the rest of the group after discovering he is HIV positive. Nonetheless, the film ends on an upbeat note, with the Onllwyn miners returning to London to participate in the 1985 Pride march in a show of solidarity with the gay community. A postscript notifies viewers about the subsequent fates of the characters, including Mark’s death two years later from AIDS-related pneumonia.
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