Blood Brothers - Context Flashcards
Class
Even before the industrial divide, there was a sharp divide in Britain between the working class and the middle class. Lots of working class struggled financially even in affording basic necessities. Middle class were largely unaffected by the industrial decline. Class divide was evident in education. Middle class parents sent children to private schools which often led to university. For working class children, university want an option. They needed to work when they left school to support their families and became stuck in low paying jobs.
Margaret Thatcher
During the 1970s, Britain’s traditional industries (coal mining, shipbuilding etc.) were in decline because they were inefficient. Britain was suffering from a recession and unemployment was rising. Margaret Thatcher became prime minister in 1979. She believed that Britain’s traditional industries weren’t economically viable anymore and decided to close them down. This had a huge impact on working class communities. There was widespread unemployment. Many men within a community relied on a single industry for employment meaning the whole community was left unemployed. Many people had to sign up for benefits. Unemployment led to an increase in depression and crime rates.
Youth Culture
Teenagers became a properly recognised group. It was widely accepted that young people had their own culture and way of behaving. The term ‘youth culture’ refers to the behaviour and interests of teenagers, including fashion, music and hobbies. Young people also became an important force in protest movements against things like nuclear weapons. They believed they had the power to shape the future and started to break away from their parents’ views.
Family
There were some big developments in social laws. In the 1960s divorce became easier. However, social attitudes in Britain were slow to change. Families were still expected to have a nuclear structure — a mother, a father and children. Single-parent families, like Mrs Johnstone’s, were less common than they are today and were frowned upon by many. Families were patriarchal, meaning the man led the family. He went to work, whilst the woman stayed home to care for the children and the household.
Z Cars
Young people often imitated characters from film and television. In the play, children pretend to be cowboys, Indians and gangsters. The peak year for the westerns was 1958 with 26 such shows airing including The Lone Ranger and Rawhide. Z Cars was set in a fictional town called Newtown and began in 1962. The series was based upon communities with problems and reflected the tensions between the police and working class as a result of numerous protests during this time.
