At the beginning of the film, the real scene of the parade was played, and then the protagonists appeared one by one. At first, they thought that joe was the protagonist. Later, it was found that there was no real protagonist in the film, everyone was the protagonist. At that time, the British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, known as the "Iron Lady", took an iron fist to suppress the labor movement, and the miners launched the largest strike in history. A group of gays and lesbians spontaneously raised funds for the miners group and formed LGSM—lesbian and gay support miners. At that time, LGSM had 11 organizations in the whole country, and the one in London was the largest. It's a condensation of the other lesbian members, the other 8 are real people: Mark, Mike, Jeff, Steph, Gethin, Jonathan, Reggie, Ray. Mark died of AIDS in 1987, and the other seven are doing well.
The portrayal and details of each character in the film are very meticulous, and everyone is a protagonist with flesh and blood. In the 1980s, the British social atmosphere was still very conservative, and the media exaggeration, the homosexual group was demonized and not accepted. walk on the fringes of society. Therefore, when this group of marginalized people raised funds, they had many difficulties. The most common thing they heard was being scolded by passers-by: "Perverts!" But they were never discouraged. They wanted to prove to the world that homosexuals can contribute to society just like ordinary people. Others make contributions, they want to justify homosexuality, they are proud of their identity, as mark said: Have some pride, cause life is short. Finally, due to a beautiful misunderstanding, a small village in Wales finally accepted the donation. At first, only Dai and Sian welcomed them. The other villagers were more contemptuous than curious, so they all left. field. But this group of gays persevered. Jonathan showed off his dancing skills and won applause from the audience. Later, he also attracted male miners to ask for dance lessons. The two lesbians told the old woman that they and their partners were vegetarians, and let the old woman People were surprised. There were also two blond gay men chatting with housewives. Gradually, everyone corrected their misconceptions about this group of homosexuals. From discrimination and hostility to understanding and tolerance, they realized that homosexuality is only a sexual difference, not a demon. Demons and demons are not perverts whose fancy clothes endanger society, and they have forged a profound revolutionary friendship - everyone is actively fighting for their own rights and interests. Until later held a sensational Pits and Perverts fundraising concert across the UK. Two very different groups come so close. In the end, due to various obstacles, the small village could no longer accept the help of LGSM, but the affection between LGSM and the villagers deepened day by day. Visible phalanx, this is the moment I feel the most excited.
I use my actions to prove my existence, I am proud of my existence, I am proud of who I am, even if there is a lot of opposition, even if there is a lot of discrimination and hostility, even if the road is tortuous, we are united, that song "Solidarity forever" resounded through the beginning and end of the film - Yet what force on earth is weaker than the feeble strength of one, For the Union makes us strong, the female villagers at the end of the film sang "Bread and roses" - our lives shall not be sweated from birth until life closes. I believe that the light is always waiting for us on the road ahead. We can't always blame the government for not accepting the society, we have to be brave, because I am my pride! Have some pride, cause life is short!
By the way, no one dared to touch this subject for decades, because the society does not pay enough attention to this group, and it can even be avoided. I am very grateful that the film restores many historical details, such as Dai's fundraising in Pits and Perverts. The speech at the meeting was based on the original words at the time (you wear our badges, coal mines are not alms, we will also wear yours when the situation demands it), and the village representatives in the video voting on whether to continue to accept the support of LGSM are fictitious. In reality, LGSM has always supported the miner until the final strike action failed, and never asked for anything in return until the last minute.
As for the fictional character Joe, I prefer the one mentioned in other film reviews. It is an audience surrogate that resonates with the audience. He is a timid but curious person who knows little about homosexuality, and gradually accepts and agrees with him. , Be confident in yourself, dare to face yourself, face your family, face the society, and have the courage to be your own young people, even if the strength is small, you can't change the world, you can't let the world change you, and be proud of yourself!
PS: Due to the special subject matter of this film, I deliberately searched why the gay community in the UK was a blockbuster in the biggest strike in the UK? So I searched for the historical background:
the American counterculture movement in the 1960s, the black civil rights movement, the Stonewall incident, and Harvey Milk in the 1970s.
Among them, the "Stonewall riots" (English: Stonewall riots) is a landmark event in the history of gay rights protection, which triggered the action of gay groups in the United States and expanded to the world. A powerful gay rights group, the Gay Liberation Front, was formed.
In the 1970s, Harvey Milk was an American gay activist and the first openly gay person in American politics. He was finally shot and killed. He once said: "If a bullet goes through my head, let it go through everything first. "The Closet Door" encourages homosexuals to face up to their identities and fight for their due rights. He encourages homosexuals to grasp the growing influence of the gay community in San Francisco, support each other, and bravely come out of the closet. At that time, Harvey's successful deeds brought great hope to the homosexual groups in the United States who had long given up political participation in pursuit of their own rights.
1981-1986 was the initial stage of AIDS. On June 5, 1981, the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, USA briefly introduced the medical history of 5 AIDS patients in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly, which was the first time in the world about AIDS. official record. At that time, the society had little awareness of AIDS, and the media's biased reports misled the public into thinking that homosexuality was the main source of infection, so homophobic thinking prevailed in society. Jonathan was the first person to be diagnosed with HIV in the UK. After being diagnosed with HIV+ in 1982, he was so desperate that he even attempted suicide when he met Nigel (Gethin in the film, the one who has not returned to his hometown of Wales for 16 years.) After that, I really started to face life again, and it was because of Nigel that he joined LGSM. . At the end of the film, there is a subtitle that he just passed his 65th birthday, and he is still active on the stage of the gay rights movement.
In the 1980s, the Conservative Party headed by Margaret Thatcher cracked down on the labor movement, making Britain, the country with the most labor movements, a country where the labor movement has almost disappeared. In 1984, there was a year-long general strike in the United Kingdom. Thatcher used all the power of the state to suppress, causing thousands of casualties, and asked MI5 to conduct a full-scale eavesdropping and infiltration of trade unions. Britain's most trade unions have suffered a devastating setback. The whole country is in turmoil.
After watching the movie, review the background above to better understand the movie.
Written on January 5, 2015
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