Directed by the Trinidadian Horace Ovè and co-scripted by Ovè and Sam Selvon, Pressure (1975), the first Black British feature film, offers a lively snapshot of 1970s London and the problems of integration and identity. The film introduces the story of Tony, a London-born adolescent son of immigrants from Trinidad, who, after taking his 'O' levels brilliantly, unlike his white friends cannot manage to find a qualified job despite several attempts. His elder brother Colin, born in Trinidad, is a Black Power militant who resents Tony's initial compliance with English 'white' values and behaviour - icons such as bacon and eggs, fish and chips, and even the rockstar Gary Glitter. Tony's alienation and disenfranchisement from the 'English' culture grow as he is forced to cope with his failure to find proper employment due to racial discrimination. He becomes involved in politics after attending a peaceful Black Power political meeting which was raided by the police. A film like Pressure can be used to analyse various aspects of 1970s London life, notably the frustration triggered by racial abuse, in an attempt to compare 1970s and 2000s London in order to identify enduring phenomena (i.e., the 'Sus' laws shown in the film are reminiscent of today's similar 'Stop and Search' policy directed this time not only against Caribbeans but, in the wake of the July 7 2005 London bombings and the following feeling of 'Islamophobia', mainly against radical Muslims). Pressure also gives us a chance to reassess what has changed since then, with the development of novel forms of third millennium citizenship as the possible outcome of the demonstrations and the social unrest of 1970s and 1980s Britain.
Elia, A. (2011). Pressure (1975): From Black Power to 21st-century British citizenship. In Black Arts in Britain: literary visual performative (pp. 67-84). ROMA : Aracne [10.4399/97888548442471].
Pressure (1975): From Black Power to 21st-century British citizenship
ELIA, ADRIANO
2011-01-01
Abstract
Directed by the Trinidadian Horace Ovè and co-scripted by Ovè and Sam Selvon, Pressure (1975), the first Black British feature film, offers a lively snapshot of 1970s London and the problems of integration and identity. The film introduces the story of Tony, a London-born adolescent son of immigrants from Trinidad, who, after taking his 'O' levels brilliantly, unlike his white friends cannot manage to find a qualified job despite several attempts. His elder brother Colin, born in Trinidad, is a Black Power militant who resents Tony's initial compliance with English 'white' values and behaviour - icons such as bacon and eggs, fish and chips, and even the rockstar Gary Glitter. Tony's alienation and disenfranchisement from the 'English' culture grow as he is forced to cope with his failure to find proper employment due to racial discrimination. He becomes involved in politics after attending a peaceful Black Power political meeting which was raided by the police. A film like Pressure can be used to analyse various aspects of 1970s London life, notably the frustration triggered by racial abuse, in an attempt to compare 1970s and 2000s London in order to identify enduring phenomena (i.e., the 'Sus' laws shown in the film are reminiscent of today's similar 'Stop and Search' policy directed this time not only against Caribbeans but, in the wake of the July 7 2005 London bombings and the following feeling of 'Islamophobia', mainly against radical Muslims). Pressure also gives us a chance to reassess what has changed since then, with the development of novel forms of third millennium citizenship as the possible outcome of the demonstrations and the social unrest of 1970s and 1980s Britain.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
