'This is England' finder sted i sommeren 1983. Det er en almindelig dag for den 12-årige Shaun, som bliver drillet i skolen. Shaun, der er lidt af en enspænder og ikke synes at have nogen venner, har for nylig mistet sin far i Falklandskrigen. Og hans mor har ikke overskud til at tage sig ordentligt af ham.

På vej hjem fra skole møder Shaun en gruppe skinheads. Gruppens leder, Woody, synes godt om Shaun, og han bliver hurtigt et værdsat medlem af gruppen. Til trods for den åbenlyse aldersforskel mellem Shaun og resten af gruppen opstår der et varmt venskab.

Shaun kommer hurtigt til at ligne resten af gruppen, da han bliver kronraget og iført Ben Sherman-skjorte, blankpolerede Doc Martens, opsmøgede jeans og røde seler. Forholdet mellem Shaun og resten af gruppen er rimeligt ukompliceret, selvom de ældre skinheads forleder Shaun til at deltage i tvivlsomme aktiviteter, der er på kant med loven. Woody og de andre medlemmer af gruppen har rimelig dårlige fremtidsudsigter, og de bruger en del af deres tid på at rende rundt i forladte huse, hvor de udøver hærværk, ryger hash og lytter til musik. Shaun stifter også bekendtskab med kærligheden i form af punkerpigen Smell, som han bliver kæreste med.

Gruppens sorgløse livsstil får en brat ende, da den ældre og racistiske Combo bliver løsladt fra fængsel og vender tilbage til gruppen. Under opholdet i fængslet har Combo fået mange nye idéer, som han præsenterer for gruppen. Det bliver for meget for Woody, der vælger at forlade fællesskabet. Shaun, derimod, er fascineret af Combo og begynder hurtigt at se ham som den far, han for nylig har mistet. Uden at være sig det helt bevidst er den 12-årige dreng på vej mod en voldsom omvæltning af sit liv.

Filmen, der i hovedtræk er baseret på instruktøren og manuskriptforfatteren Shane Meadows egne oplevelser, er på samme tid betagende og skræmmende. Det er svært ikke at komme til at holde af Shaun, Woody, Milky og resten af gruppen, men samtidig er det også ganske let at se, at de ting, der binder gruppen sammen, er for skrøbelige til at fortsætte, da Combo begynder at udbrede sine ekstreme idéer…

The film takes place in the summer of 1983 in England. It is an ordinary day for the 12-year-old Shaun, who is being bullied at school because of his pants. Shaun is a bit of a loner; he has lost his father in the Falklands War and he does not seem to have any friends. Not even his mother seems to have energy enough to take proper care of him.

That day, on his way from school, Shaun meets a group of skinheads, led by Woody, who along with the rest of the group takes Shaun under his wing. Even though the rest of the members of the group are all much older than Shaun they seem to be just as frustrated, insecure and naïve as him.

Soon enough Shaun looks like the rest of the group in his Ben Sherman shirt, his polished Doc Martens, his tucked-up jeans and the red braces holding up his jeans and of course his shaven hairstyle. Shaun’s life as a part of the group is relatively uncomplicated, even if they live on the edge of the law. Without any real prospects the boys run around destroying abandoned houses, smoking hashish and listening to a mixture of white punk and black reggae. Spending all his time with the group, Shaun meets the punk girl Smell with whom he falls in love.

The carefree life and the solidarity of the group come to a sudden end when the dangerous and racist Combo is released from prison and returns to join the group. Combo has racist tattoos on his arms and a lot of dangerous ideas in his head. Combo’s ideas divide the group. Woody backs off, but Shaun, who is fascinated by Combo and begins to see him as the father he has recently lost, stays; Shaun is then drawn into a much more uncomfortable territory. Without even knowing it, young Shaun has just approached the first major crossroad of his life.

The film, which is mostly based on writer and director Shane Meadows’ own experience as a youngster, is both spellbinding and somewhat scary. It is hard not to like Shaun, Woody, Milky and the rest of the characters, but at the same time it is easy to see that their friendship is too fragile to last when Combo begins to spread his extreme ideas.

England under Margaret Thatcher

Den konservative Margaret Thatcher med tilnavnet The Iron Lady (“Jernladyen”) blev premierminister i Storbritannien i 1979, og under hendes styre led Storbritannien under en tiltagende økonomisk krise. For at overvinde den økonomiske krise privatiserede den britiske regering mange af de statsejede virksomheder, der efterfølgende fyrede mange af deres ansatte. Fattigdom og høj arbejdsløshed blev således nogle af kendetegnene ved Thatchers regeringsperiode.

Det var langt fra alle, der var tilfredse med Margaret Thatchers måde at styre landet på. Den 12. oktober 1984 overlevede Thatcher på mirakuløs vis et bombeattentat mod Brighton Hotel, hvor hendes parti holdt deres årlige konference. Flere andre politikere og deres ægtefæller omkom eller blev alvorligt skadet.

Under Thatchers regeringsperiode fandt Falklandskrigen mellem Argentina og Storbritannien sted. Krigen, som varede fra 2. april til 14. juni 1982, vedrørte Falklandsøerne, der ligger ud for Argentinas kyst.

Vælg én af følgende opgaver:

• Lav en præsentation af Margaret Thatchers regeringsperiode.
• Lav en præsentation af Falklandskrigen
• Hvem tog skylden for bombeattentatet mod Brighton Hotel? Og hvorfor blev det gennemført? Kom her ind på Thatchers politik over for Nordirland.

Fremmedhad og racisme

Storbritannien er et multikulturelt samfund, hvilket vil sige, at der bor folk fra stort set hele verden. Udover de indfødte englændere, walisere, irer og skotter bor der store befolkningsgrupper fra Asien (blandt andet fra de tidligere engelske kolonier Indien, Pakistan og Bangladesh) samt mindre grupper af folk fra Sri Lanka, Afrika, Caribien, Kina, Filippinerne, Japan, Korea og Vietnam.

Storbritannien vil gerne fremstå som en såkaldt smeltedigel, hvor forskellige kulturer, madvaner, klædedragt og sprog smelter sammen. Men sandheden er desværre lidt mere nuanceret end det.

Der har været og er fortsat en del racisme i det britiske samfund, hvilket har givet grobund for adskillige sammenstød gennem årene. I 1980 og 1982 var der Saint Pauls-urolighederne, i 1981 uroligheder i Brixton, Toxteth og Moss Side, i 1985 i Handsworth, Brixton og Tottenham, i 2001 var der Bradford- og Oldhamurolighederne, der var blandt de voldsomste raceuroligheder i Storbritannien, og i 2005 var der urolighederne i Birmingham.

Arbejdsopgaver

• I skal arbejde parvis. Vælg én af de ovennævnte uroligheder, som I vil undersøge nærmere.
• Lav en kort præsentation af urolighederne.
• Brug internettet til at finde relevante oplysninger, og sørg for at besvare følgende spørgsmål i jeres endelige oplæg:
  1. Hvorfor opstod urolighederne?
  2. Spillede racisme en rolle i urolighederne? Hvis ja, hvilken og hvordan?
  3. Hvor længe varede urolighederne? Og hvordan blev de standset?
• Lav desuden en overskuelig tidslinje over urolighedernes forløb.
• Præsentér jeres oplæg for klassen.

British National Front & white nationalism

I Storbritannien er der flere organiserede højrenationalistiske grupper, bl.a. National Front og British National Party, der går ind for raceadskillelse og “England for englændere”.

I filmen tager Combo blandt andet Shaun med til et møde med en gruppe højrenationalister.

Arbejdsopgaver

• Hvad får du at vide om ”white nationalism” i filmen?
• Hvem er primært gruppens medlemmer? Og hvorfor?
• Hvad kan den form for agitation eller propaganda, som vi ser og hører på mødet, ende med?
• Find informationer om National Front og British National Party. Du kan fx anvende den engelske udgave af wikipedia.
• Lav på baggrund af informationerne fra filmen og fra internettet et kort oplæg.
• I dit oplæg skal du lægge vægt på de racistiske og fremmedfjendske synspunkter, som er fremherskende hos begge partier.

Characters

• Make a presentation of one of the characters in the film. Try to answer as many of the following questions in your presentation as possible:
  1. Why does Shaun become a member of Woody’s group?
  2. How do the other members react to Shaun?
  3. Which activities do they do? And why?
  4. What signals status in the group? And why?
  5. Describe the surrounding society.
  6. What happens when Combo arrives?
  7. Is there a point of no return in the film?

Shaun and his mother

• How do Shaun and his mother cope with the death of Shaun’s father?
• How are their living conditions?
• What kind of life do you think Shaun will have when he grows up?

Youth culture

Culture is a set of attitudes, values, social conventions, manners, and ways in which we act and think. Larger and smaller groups can have their own culture which seperates them from other cultures. Speaking of youth culture does not necessarily mean that all youngsters are a part of this culture. The culture of the majority is called the mainstream culture; other cultures are socalled sub-cultures. And there are quite a few of those. The main sub-culture in the film is the Skinheads.

• Make a presentation of the skinhead sub-culture
  1. How do they look?
  2. Why do they have shaved heads?
  3. Why do they all wear Doc Martens?
  4. Find out why the boots are called Doc Martens.
  5. What is characteristic for the skinhead culture? And why?
  6. When did this sub-culture start and where?
• Write a review of 'This Is England' consisting of three parts
  1. A short summary of the film, where you only give the reader some general information
  2. Your own opinion about the film. Remember that you have to explain your points of criticism.
  3. A rating.
• Write and perform a short play
  1. Form a group of three or four.
  2. Write a short play about a boy or a girl who is being bullied.
  3. All members of the group have to take part in the play.
  4. Rehearse your lines and your acting.
  5. Show the play for your classmates.
• Rewrite the ending of the film
  The director is not pleased with the ending of the film, and he has asked you to rewrite it. Rewrite the ending of the film but be true to the characters. The only things you are not allowed to change are the characters.
• Finish the newspaper article
  You are going to finish the following newspaper article. In the article, you must explain why and how the policeman died. Furthermore, you must give the reader some background knowledge of the riot and this horrible episode.
  You must write at least 250 words.
  
  Policeman killed in riot
  
  Street violence in Tottenham, North London
  
  A policeman died in hospital from a knife wound in the neck last night after four hours of rioting in Tottenham north London turned into the most ugly episode so far in Britain’s recent wave of racial disorder.
  A spokesman for North Middlesex Hospital announced the death, which is in the borough. Scotland Yard confirmed it 45 minutes later. It followed the use of shotguns against police and bystanders, as well as stones, petrol bombs, machetes, and a hurled Stanley knife.
• Fill in the gaps
  The following text is a summary of the film. Fill in the gaps with the words in parentheses. Make sure that all the verbs are in the past tense.
  
  After being ________ (bully) at school, 12-year-old Shaun ___________ (come) across a small band of Skinheads lead by Woody, a fascinating and caring teenager who _________ (be) nice to the boy immediately. Bringing him into the fold as one of their own, Woody quickly ____________ (initiate) Shaun as a Skinhead to the disappointment of his widowed mother. Having lost his father in the Falklands War, Shaun happily ___________ (embrace) his new friends and looks until the group _________ (be) split with the arrival of Combo, an older, nationalist skinhead just __________ (release) from prison. Once friends, now bitter rivals, Combo and Woody ___________ (divide) the group along political lines. Blaming England's economic misery, growing unemployment and post-war problems on the arrival of foreign minorities, Combo ___________ (persuade) Shaun and other members of the pack to make a stand, preserving England for the English. After attending a meeting of right-wing nationalists, Combo ___________ (take) his newfound gang of hooligans to threaten the local Pakistani community. In his dislike for others, Combo __________ (begin) to reveal his own emotional battles with loss, loneliness and isolation. When his romantic advances __________ (be) later rebuffed by Woody's girlfriend and former fling, Lol, Combo ______________ (turn) his hate, envy and prejudicial anger against one member of the group to disastrous effect...

Nationalistic symbols

“We few, we happy few”

During one of his nationalistic talks, Combo uses the following quote “We few, we happy few”, which comes from Shakespeare’s play 'Henry the 5th'.

Shakespeare wrote his play about the English king Henry the 5th, who tried to conquer the French throne and thus become king of France. Just before the battle at Agincourt, in the northern parts of France, Shakespeare lets the king make the following declaration:

“This story shall the good man teach his son; And Crispin Crispian shall never go by, From this day to the ending of the world, But we in it shall be remembered; We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he today that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother; be he never so vile, This day shall gentle his condition: And gentlemen in England now in bed Shall think themselves accursed that they were not here, And hold their manhood’s cheap whiles any speaks That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.”

Tasks

• Read the text
• Look up the words you don’t understand.
• Why did Shakespeare let Henry the 5th make this speech?
• What is the king saying?
• What kind of statement does it contain?
• Why does Combo make a quotation from it?
• How does the quotation underline Combo’s nationalistic points of view?
• Who do the happy few represent in Combo’s opinion?
• Combo clearly sees himself as one of the happy few. Who are the others? Aand who are not part of this group?

The legend of Saint George

Combo also refers to Saint George, Patron Saint of England, and the flag he carried when he killed the dragon.

• Use the internet to find information about Saint George.
• What does the legend of Saint George mean to Combo?
• Why do the British nationalist use Saint George’s flag as their symbol?

Multiple Choice Tasks

1. Why does Shaun join the group?
a. He is bored
b. He likes to beat people up
c. He is alone and needs some friends

2. Who is the leader of the group in the beginning?
a. Woody
b. Milky
c. Gadget

3. What does Shaun do when he is together with the group?
a. He does his homework, and they help him
b. He cleans up after them
c. He does all sort of criminal things, and he even drinks with them

4. Who does he fall in love with?
a. Smell
b. Woody’s girlfriend
c. Combo

5. Why does Woody decide to leave the group after Combo’s release from prison?
a. He has a new job
b. He does not like Combo’s new ideas
c. His mother wants him to spend more time at home

6. Why does Combo like Shaun?
a. He reminds him of his younger brother
b. He is kind and offers to fetch beers
c. He is courageous and tells Combo off, when none of the others dares to

7. Who is Combo in love with?
a. Smell
b. Woody’s girlfriend
c. Shaun’s mother

8. Who is Margaret Thatcher?
a. The former Prime Minister of Great Brittan
b. Shaun’s mother
c. The girl who Combo is in love with

9. What was the Falkland’s War?
a. A war between England and Argentine
b. A war between England and Australia
c. A war between England and Ireland

10. Why does Combo attack Milky?
a. Combo hates Milky
b. Combo likes Milky, even though Milky is coloured
c. Combo just fells like hitting someone