Filmanalyse: 'This is England' og skinheadkultur

“This is England” takes place in 1983, and is about the skinhead culture in the 1980’s. That year and in the period of 1979-1990 a female Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher served Britain. England was in a poor state with millions of unemployed MO [folk] and a poor industry, when Margaret Thatcher, also called the Iron Lady, came to power. She managed to make a great deal of improvements in the British society, and in British politics under the slogan “Labour is not working” – meaning the Labour party.

Unfortunately, Argentina invaded the British Falkland Islands in 1982. Many British soldiers went to fight the Argentinean soldiers. Even though the war only lasted for two and a half month (2nd of April to the 14th of June 1982), hundreds of British soldiers and thousands of Argentinean soldiers were killed.

“This is England” starts with an introduction to a young boy at 12 years old called Shaun, who is the main character. He lives alone with his mother in a small house. His father was one of the soldiers killed in The Falklands War. The home and the worn out clothes Shaun is wearing clearly shows that they live in a working class environment.