The Working Class Goes to the Movies: Labour Law and Thatcherism in British Films

Abstract

Abstract The essay focusses on the employment relationship as a privileged perspective for the analysis of the binomial “power of voices/voices of power.” In such context, the right to strike is presented as a meaningful example of the power stemming from a collective organisation of voices, the voices of the workers, granted as a means to counter-balance the power and the voice of the employer. The analysis highlights the enduring relevance of the British perspective towards the topic, from the liberalist policies fostered by Prime Minister Thatcher in the Eighties until the critical approach recently adopted by the British Government with regard to the protection of the right to strike at international level. British filmography is chosen as a lens for observing such perspective, in particular to the extent it describes the impact of Thatcherism on the British model of industrial relations as well as the economic and social consequences of such political measures in the Nineties. After a general overview, aimed at highlighting common features across the films, like the pivotal role of music and dance in the storyline, the analysis focusses on Billy Elliot, examining the ambiguous relationship between the collective and individual dimension in its narration.