This is England

Before the Easter break we saw the movie "This is England" in class. The movie is about a boy growing up in the 80's in England. The kids name is Shaun and he has a hard time at school, because he is being bullied. He lives with his mom and they are both struggling with the loss of his father. Shaun's father died in the Falklands war.

On the way home from school one day, some older boys are talking to him and that is one of the turning points in his life. Woody is the leader of their gang and he feels bad for the little boy and asks him to join them. The big boys dress him up, cut his hair and take him to parties. He even makes out with a girl, an older girl!

The other turning point in the film is when Combo shows up at a party. Combo went to jail to protect Woody and therefore Combo feel like Woody owe him something. Combo identifies with the little boy Shaun and he becomes some kind of a father figure to him. He introduces nationalistic and racist views and asks the boys to join them in the fight for England. Woody and some of his boys reject the invitation, but Shaun is manipulated by Combo. He says Shaun has to fight for his father, to make him proud. Shaun and two other guys from Woody's gang join the nationalists. They attend meetings and Shaun feels affiliation to a group. Combo has been through a lot in his life and we can tell by the way he's behaving. He is in love with Woody's girlfriend Lol, he opens himself and tell her about his feelings. She rejects him and he looses control. He starts doing drugs and when the black guy Milky (who sold him the drugs) shows up at his apartment, Combo snaps. Beating Milky unconscious and I actually thought he died. The film ends when Shaun throws his belongings which reminded him of Combo on the sea.

The movie is honest and gives us an impression of how the life in England was in the 80's. It brings up themes like bullying, being an outsider and racism. The skinheads were a pretty big subculture in England in the 1980's and they're the focus in this story.

Last English lesson we learned about the debates considering Englishness vs. Britishness and I think this movie shows us the nationalists’ way of thinking. They talk about the feeling of being English and about how the immigrants take their place in the industry.

I really enjoyed the film and felt a lot of sympathy with Shaun. I learned about the way the racist thinks, and that's very interesting.