Abstract
skinhead subculture as a contested space, not a cohesive racist grouping. I will argue that by re-imaging/imagining Britain of the 1980s, it straddles a nostalgic gaze and a critical distance to produce parallels with contemporary Britain. The latter film takes place in the present, but engages with the central character’s mourning for her murdered husband and daughter. Her personal history is
situated within a contemporary public framework of observation: she is a CCTV operator, and the film’s visual style suggests a Britain dominated by surveillance. I will assert that although these films employ distinctive
relationships with history (one at the level of narrative setting, the other of character), they approach a comparable articulation of how re-imagining a violent past is vital for coming to terms with loss, thus suggesting a pliability of
history. In doing so though, uncomfortable relationships with the past are resolved through reconciliation based on individual rather than collective histories.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Remapping Cinema, Remaking History |
| Editors | Hilary Radner, Pam Fossen |
| Place of Publication | Dunedin |
| Chapter | 8 |
| Pages | 96-106 |
| Volume | 2 |
| Publication status | Published - 2009 |
| Event | Remapping Cinema, Remaking History - University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand Duration: 27 Nov 2008 → 30 Nov 2008 https://www.otago.ac.nz/fhaanz2008/ |
Conference
| Conference | Remapping Cinema, Remaking History |
|---|---|
| Country | New Zealand |
| City | Dunedin |
| Period | 27/11/08 → 30/11/08 |
| Internet address |
Keywords
- British Cinema
- Film
- Violence
- Red Road
- This is England
- Shane Meadows
- Andrea Arnold
- Collective Memory
- Memory
- Trauma
Cite this
}
Imaging/Imagining a History of Violence : Red Road and This is England. / Allen, Steven.
Remapping Cinema, Remaking History. ed. / Hilary Radner; Pam Fossen. Vol. 2 Dunedin, 2009. p. 96-106.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Paper published in a conference proceedings › Research › peer-review
TY - GEN
T1 - Imaging/Imagining a History of Violence
T2 - Red Road and This is England
AU - Allen, Steven
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - Both This is England (Shane Meadows, 2006) and Red Road (Andrea Arnold, 2006) utilise a combination of violence and memory (public and personal) to construct a vision of British national identity. The former is set during the Falklands War/Guerra de las Malvinas, and redraws our understanding ofskinhead subculture as a contested space, not a cohesive racist grouping. I will argue that by re-imaging/imagining Britain of the 1980s, it straddles a nostalgic gaze and a critical distance to produce parallels with contemporary Britain. The latter film takes place in the present, but engages with the central character’s mourning for her murdered husband and daughter. Her personal history issituated within a contemporary public framework of observation: she is a CCTV operator, and the film’s visual style suggests a Britain dominated by surveillance. I will assert that although these films employ distinctiverelationships with history (one at the level of narrative setting, the other of character), they approach a comparable articulation of how re-imagining a violent past is vital for coming to terms with loss, thus suggesting a pliability ofhistory. In doing so though, uncomfortable relationships with the past are resolved through reconciliation based on individual rather than collective histories.
AB - Both This is England (Shane Meadows, 2006) and Red Road (Andrea Arnold, 2006) utilise a combination of violence and memory (public and personal) to construct a vision of British national identity. The former is set during the Falklands War/Guerra de las Malvinas, and redraws our understanding ofskinhead subculture as a contested space, not a cohesive racist grouping. I will argue that by re-imaging/imagining Britain of the 1980s, it straddles a nostalgic gaze and a critical distance to produce parallels with contemporary Britain. The latter film takes place in the present, but engages with the central character’s mourning for her murdered husband and daughter. Her personal history issituated within a contemporary public framework of observation: she is a CCTV operator, and the film’s visual style suggests a Britain dominated by surveillance. I will assert that although these films employ distinctiverelationships with history (one at the level of narrative setting, the other of character), they approach a comparable articulation of how re-imagining a violent past is vital for coming to terms with loss, thus suggesting a pliability ofhistory. In doing so though, uncomfortable relationships with the past are resolved through reconciliation based on individual rather than collective histories.
KW - British Cinema
KW - Film
KW - Violence
KW - Red Road
KW - This is England
KW - Shane Meadows
KW - Andrea Arnold
KW - Collective Memory
KW - Memory
KW - Trauma
M3 - Paper published in a conference proceedings
SN - 978-0-473-14886-7
SN - 978-0-473-13889-9
VL - 2
SP - 96
EP - 106
BT - Remapping Cinema, Remaking History
A2 - Radner, Hilary
A2 - Fossen, Pam
CY - Dunedin
ER -