Brassed Off
Everyone,
I know I told you I’d upload a movie for you to watch, but I decided to simply show you the film Brassed Off in class. It’s a great movie and more fun with a bigger screen and decent sound system.
Please bring a USB drive to class, so you can get a copy for yourself to re-watch in preparation for our discussion next week. My plan is to go through some of the vocabulary and language to make sure you get more of what characters are saying, watch the movie, and then discuss a little.
If you want some more information that will help you understand the film, afterward, here are some issues that come up or inform the movie:
- Margaret Thatcher (especially the section on her Second Government, 1983-1987)
- “The Tories,” ie. The UK Conservative Party
- UK Miner’s Strike (1984-85)
- Grimthorpe (the village on which the film’s Grimley is based), and some footage of the real-life Grimthorpe colliery band (who played the brass music on the soundtrack)
- UK Slang Dictionary: lots of the crazy language that you might struggle with in this film is listed here, like “bloody” or “bollocks” or “nowt” or “summat”