SECRETS & LIES - why are we watching it?

SECRETS & LIES - Mike Leigh

We have been watching this over the last few lessons and thinking about the following points..

1) How does it represent gender, class, regions of Britain?

CLASS
Think about the way it portrays middle class (Hortense, Cynthia's brother and his wife etc..).. How do we know they are middle class.. Is their life better somehow? Do they still have problems? What are their lives like?

How does it portray working class / lower class people? (Cynthia, her daughter etc..) What are their lives like? What are their problems?

Do the classes clash or contrast? When and how? Think about the scene with Hortense an Cynthia in the cafe.. Also think about the moments when they cut from one house to another..

What does the film tell us about the class system in Britain? Is it still alive? Who has a problem with it?

GENDER
Consider the ways it portrays the lives of men and women in the film. What is the role of the female characters? Are they traditional? Do they feel pressure to be mothers? The film was made in tehh 90's when girl power and ladettes were the fashion and women had "broken through the glass ceiling" of sexism and were more powerful than they had ever been? Society at the time would have us believe that women were equals with men and could be career women and shouldnt be forced to marry or have kids. Does this film challenge or support the dominant ideo9logy of the time? How are men portrayed? What is their role in the film?

REGIONAL IDENTITIES
The film is set in London (some in Sutton / Croydon / Purley and some in East London like Holburn etc).. There is a definite difference between the 'city' folk and the 'suburban' folk.. What does the film tell us about London, people who live here? The people are so varied and different that perhaps it's message is that London is a place where you can either be very successful and rich, or you can be poor and lower class?

Why have we watched it?

* To give us some representations of class / gender / regional identity that we can discuss in the exam
* To see an example of a film from 10 years ago and how it represented these issues at the time
* To discuss how the social context in which a film is made can influence the way it represents issues
* To discuss how a director / company / funding can influence the way it represents issues etc..