Tasks: Pride

Work with a partner or in a group.

1. Why is the film called Pride?
2. Joe is the only major character in the film who is not based on a real person, but he is important to the plot. Why do you think this character was included in the film?
3. How would you describe Mark Ashton? What is his motivation for starting the LGSM movement, and what does that say about him as a person?
4. After the Pits and Perverts concert, Mark meets an old friend called Tim, who says he is on “a farewell tour”. After this meeting, his mood changes, and he becomes more irritable towards the others. What is it that Mark understands at this point, and what does this meeting foreshadow?
5. In one scene, Cliff from the mining community admits to Hefina that he is gay. Hefina answers that she has known since 1968. Why do you think they have never talked about this before? Is it easier to be gay in a city than in the countryside?
6. Which of the characters made the greatest impression on you? Give reasons for your answer.
7. This film takes place in 1984. How would you describe the overall attitude towards gays and lesbians at the time? Comment on the way some of the gays and lesbians are treated by their family and by society in general.
8. In the 1980s, AIDS was a death sentence, and it struck the gay community particularly hard. The disease is mentioned or hinted at several times in the film. How are the characters in the film affected by this disease, directly or indirectly?

1. What strikes you about the setting of the film? (Look at time period, geographic locations, social conditions, atmosphere, physical environment, ...)

2. Give examples of dynamic characters in the film. What have they learnt and how have they changed? Are there any characters that you would define as static?

3. What are the themes of the film? What is the director trying to teach us?

4. How does music contribute to telling the story in the film?

The song 'Bread and Roses' by James Oppheim is sung just after Mark Ashton makes an impromptu speech where he vows that LGSM will do something big for the miners.

Read the lyrics for the song in the expandable box below. Write a short text where you discuss to what extent the theme and message of the song are similar to the theme and message of the film.

The miners' strike in 1984–85 was a conflict with serious consequences for many people and it became a dividing line in British history.

Use the internet and find answers to the questions below. Then write a coherent text, in which you sum up the information you have found.

The four articles in the box below will help you on the way, but you are free to find other sources as well.

1. Why did the National Coal Board and the British government want to close the pits?

2. The following three people were important in the strikes: Arthur Scargill, Ian McGregor and Margaret Thatcher. What roles did they have that made them so important?

3. What role did the police play in the conflict?

4. In what way were the women involved in the conflict?

5. What was the end result of the conflict?

6. What were some of the consequences of the closing of the pits? For individuals? For the mining communities? For the power of workers' unions in the UK.

1. Imagine that you are a journalist making an interview for a newspaper with one of the following characters from the film: Mark Ashton, Siân James, Jonathan Blake, or Dai Donovan.

   –Use the information you are given in the film. You can also do a bit of research and find out more about what happened to him/her after the strike was over. Write the interview/article.

2. Write a film analysis of Pride. You may find the NDLA resource 'How to Write a Film Analysis' useful.

3. Write an article about the importance of strong unions in ensuring workers' rights. You may want to compare conditions in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Norway in your text.

4. England, Wales and Scotland made same-sex marriage legal in 2014, Northern Ireland in 2020. This was a significant step in the struggle for LGBT rights.

   Write an article where you look at the history of LGBT rights in Britain. Also try to find out if the marriage act means that government discrimination of the LGBT community has ended in Britain.

Work in a group.

1. Pick an issue of the day and plan a protest.

2. Who do you want to involve in the protest? (Everyone, classmates, ...)

3. How will you reach people to get them involved? Be specific.

4. Make an invitation to the protest in the format you think will reach your audience most effectively. (Poster, social media invite...)

5. Make a protest poster.

6. Make a speech to be held at the protest. Focus on persuading the audience that the issue you are protesting is important.
   Make the speech together using a shared document.
   
   You may find the NDLA resource "How to Make a Good Speech" useful.