{"id":15533,"date":"2014-12-01T16:55:07","date_gmt":"2014-12-01T16:55:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/?p=15533"},"modified":"2024-02-01T12:57:28","modified_gmt":"2024-02-01T12:57:28","slug":"pride-in-the-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/culture-media\/stage-screen\/pride-in-the-fight\/","title":{"rendered":"Pride in the fight"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The 2014 film Pride<\/em> is based on the true story of Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM), set up at the start of the miners\u2019 strike in 1984 to raise funds and supplies for the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the film, LGSM reaches out to a small branch in Onllwyn, South Wales, after the NUM declines its support through fear of negative publicity. Despite some initial hesitancy, Onllwyn invites LGSM to visit, and its ongoing support is eventually embraced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1985, despite the failure of the strike, miners join the Lesbian and Gay Pride rally in London and the NUM block vote helps establish equal rights for gays and lesbians as Labour Party policy. Deftly handled by writer Stephen Beresford, this little known history makes for a funny, warm and impressively political film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the surface, Pride<\/em> seems to encourage solidarity across groups defined by identity politics \u2013 the b\u00eate noire of many Marxists. Digging deeper, however, Beresford instead shows ostensibly disparate movements mirroring each other. Staid miner Dai is the ideological mate to restless iconoclast Mark; women refuse supporting roles and assert their own politics; queers \u2013 and homophobes \u2013 are to be found in cities and valleys alike. Pride<\/em> is about making community in the pursuit of justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pride<\/em> is about making community in the pursuit of justice<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The film is not flawless. The packed, intertwining plotlines inevitably sell a few ensemble members short, though none verge into caricature. Strong acting across the board ensures that even bit parts feel authentic, and helps cover cracks in occasionally suspect regional accents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u2018feelgood\u2019 tone of the film has caused some critics to bristle, and perhaps rightly. Pride<\/em> arguably dwells too long on uplifting sequences, and skips too lightly over scenes that could pack more punch. A few poignant moments, and one or two troubling interactions, feel cut short. Given the failure of the strike, it might seem perverse for cinemagoers to exit smiling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I disagree. The power of Pride<\/em> lies in its embrace of humour. Yet themes of family rejection, homelessness, AIDS deaths and panics, homophobia and living on the bread line are all present and accounted for. By revealing without dwelling on each, the film feels earnest without dissolving into mawkishness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike the similarly bittersweet and music-laden Billy Elliot<\/em>, Beresford\u2019s script celebrates group solidarity even in the face of failure, rather than individual triumph over adversary. This is Pride\u2019s<\/em> enduring strength. Though the strike breaks, the gay rights movement is strengthened through the LGSM-NUM alliance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the film\u2019s closing scene, the Pride \u201985 organisers tell LGSM to take down their banners, as the event is now intended as a celebration, not a protest. Overwhelming NUM numbers force a change of heart. Yet Pride marchers hear the same refrain today. It continues to ring hollow, but floats for Selfridges, the Met and LGBTory drown out our placards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this context, Pride<\/em> is an indictment of many contemporary gay rights campaigners, whose failure to fight austerity policies that disproportionately affect LGBT populations has broader repercussions. It is also a timely reminder to a fractured left that solidarity, found even in the least likely of places, matters a great deal \u2013 and, just maybe, that we can smile as we build it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article first appeared in Issue #199 Politics by the People<\/em>. Subscribe<\/a> today to support independent socialist media and get your copy hot off the press!<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Siobhan McGuirk celebrates the solidarity \u2013 and humour \u2013 of a film about when lesbians and gay people backed the miners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":42381,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[199,2543],"tags":[2567],"class_list":["post-15533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lgbtqplus","category-stage-screen","tag-siobhan-mcguirk"],"yoast_head":"\nPride in the fight - Red Pepper<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Siobhan McGuirk celebrates the solidarity message and humour of a film celebrating the 1985 lesbians and gays support the miners campaign\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/culture-media\/stage-screen\/pride-in-the-fight\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pride in the fight - 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