Pride

Opening credits (1:00-1:30)

A montage of historical footage of the miner’s strike displays rows of police personnel and cars clashing with miners. Lyrics call for ‘solidarity forever’.

Scene 1: Introducing Mark (1:30-2:50)

The establishing shot of a striking red banner, ‘Thatcher Out’, appears on the exterior of social housing flats, referencing a dislike for Thatcher’s government and her mine closure policy.

Inside Mark’s apartment, Mark is following the unfolding events of the strike on the television. A young man emerges, and tells Mark he’s left his phone number but Mark is distracted by the riots. Perhaps the seeds of his plan start here.

Mark collects buckets, a neighbour helpfully handing him one through the window. The children talking to Mark and the helpful neighbour establishes Mark as a likeable character, and his comical rebuttal of an elderly man’s complaints about the parties at Mark’s house shows Mark’s confidence in who he is.

Scene 1 Quotes

‘All we have now is pride and self-respect and we’ll carry on keeping that.’ (A miner, on TV) Scene 1

‘I can’t change my style. It has to be a style of firm leadership.’ (Margaret Thatcher, on TV) Scene 1

Scene 2: Introducing Joe (2:50-3:13)

The establishing shot shows Joe’s house is almost identical to those around him, suggesting mainstream suburban life. The TV is still reporting on the miner’s strike. Joe gets a camera for his 20th birthday and his mother dotes where they sit together at the table. Joe’s father sits in the other room, highlighting a distance in their relationship. After glancing nervously at the clock, Joe exits his house.

Scene 3: Gay Pride March June 30th 1984 (3:13-6.00)

An innocent-looking Joe emerges from the train station and witnesses gay and lesbian activists holding banners and chanting ‘two, four, six, eight, is that copper really straight?’ A banner highlights the group are ‘fighting for equality’. A small group of skinheads yell at the activists and hurl something towards them. Joe has to duck to avoid being hit, and stumbly forward has accidentally joined the march. He is handed a banner to hold by Mike. Joe explains to Mike that it’s his first march. Steph and Jeff join Mike and Joe, who is now carrying the banner: ‘Queers: Better blatant than latent.’ Mark arrives with the buckets that he’s been collecting.

The group demonstrates inclusivity in welcoming Joe. Mark appears as a natural leader and his walking against the crowd signals that even in this familiar crowd, he is swimming against the stream.

A series of mid-range documentary-style shots include the viewer in the march.

Mark calls for the group to collect for the miners out of solidarity, portraying their plight as similar to their own, with common enemies in the government, the police, the media and the public. Mike reluctantly agrees to the late change of plans and asks Mark what to do with the banner. Mark says to give it to the lesbians, suggesting slight divisions within what had first appeared as a unanimous group.

As the group head off with Mark, Joe feels isolated without his newfound friends and steps out of the march. A woman comments to him that it is ‘disgusting’ and he agrees with her, highlighting he is not willing to publicly side with the gay and lesbian community. As Joe sees Mike and Mark approaching, collecting for the miners, the familiar faces encourage him to re-enter the march. This shows the importance of support in being able to stand up for a cause. Joe is handed a bucket and nicknamed ‘Bromley’, denoting the suburb in which he lives. The group begin their new chant, ‘Gays and lesbians support the miners’, and an elderly lady counters with a placard: ‘Burn in Hell.’

Scene 3 Quotes

‘It’s just I don’t really want to be too visible.’ (Joe) Scene 3

It’s a show of solidarity. Who hates the miners? Thatcher. Who else? The police, the public and the tabloid press. Sound familiar? (Mark) Scene 3

‘Give it to the Lesbians. They love a banner.’ (Mark) Scene 3

Scene 4: Founding of the LGSM (6:00-10:54)

It is the evening of the same day, the establishing shot is a gay book shop, ‘Gay’s the Word’, draped in gay pride and homophobia banners. Outside, Joe is on a public phone lying to his parents about his whereabouts, saying he is with a few peoples from college. This demonstrates that for Joe, this is a life he needs to keep separate from his parents, who are portrayed as being unaccepting. Joe’s mother, Marion, reminds Joe to mind himself on the last train home because of the ‘weirdos and all sorts on there’, showing her general distrust of people who are different. Behind Marion, Joe’s father is still glued to the television and uninterested in the phone call.

Inside the bookshop, a post march party is taking place. Joe climbs the narrow stairs to the flat above the shop where he is met with an explosion of noise and life. Bronski Beat is playing and there are banners hanging from the bannisters, torn and trampled like battle pennants. A shirtless male hands Joe a beer. Joe blushes, then seeing Mark and Mike through an open door to a bedroom, counting coins, makes eye contact with Mark.

Steph calls Joe ‘Bromley’ and they have a chat during which Joe indicates he’s never met a lesbian, showing his inexperience in the gay and lesbian scene. After Steph notices Joe’s badge and Joe declares it’s his 20th birthday, Steph suggests Joe keep that information to himself as he hasn’t yet reached the legal age of consent for homosexuality, which was different from the heterosexual community at the time. Steph asks if Joe did not learn anything on the march, suggesting not that Joe would learn anything about the age of consent but with the unequal treatment of gay people within society.

The group gathers around Mark after the collection for the miners has been counted. Mark jokes that there were hardly any petrol bombs or swastikas and that perhaps the police were ‘getting soft’. Although lighthearted, this reveals the usual resistance and oppression the community experience. Mark holds a newspaper showing a policeman on a horse with a baton raised to a miner, suggesting the group has found a reprieve as the police have gone to pick on someone else. Despite the difference in their lifestyles, Mark focuses on the similarity of the struggles between the gay and lesbians and the miners. Dissenting voices in the group note that the miners have never helped them so why should they help the miners.

As Mark outlines his plan – LGSM, Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners – one by one most of the group leaves. A new couple, Ray and Reggie, say they’d like to help. Gethin asks if he and Jonathan can be included. Jonathon appears on screen, unashamedly dressed with long gloves and a fur coat and blowing a whistle, an elder member of the group who has presumably experienced the discrimination the group has highlighted. The group decides on Joe’s behalf that he is also a member.

Scene 4 Quotes

‘Just mind yourself on that last train. There’s weirdos and all sorts on there.’ (Joe’s mother, Marion) Scene 4

‘I’ve never met a lesbian before.’ (Joe to Steph) Scene 4

‘It’s also illegal, darling. Sixteen for breeders. Twenty-one for gays. Did you learn nothing on that march? You’re still a minor.’ (Steph to Joe) Scene 4

‘Now these mining communities are being bullied. Just like we are. Bullied by the police. Bullied by the tabloids. Bullied by the government.’ (Mark) Scene 4

‘I know those bastards kicked the shit out of me every morning on my way to school. And every night on my way home.’ (Gethin, about his treatment from miners) Scene 4

Scene 5: Connecting with the miners (10:54-15:50)

A montage of scenes juxtaposes the LGSM collecting money and seeking a group of miners who are willing to accept the donations from the group.

Mike and Mark each experience phone hang-ups from the mining communities they call. Gethin tries to include Jonathan in the group but Jonathan seems tired in the struggle, and questions what happened to ‘gay lib’. As the group struggles to find a community to donate to they consider the idea of donating anonymously, but Mark believes they should be unapologetic about being gay.

Mark is called a ‘pervert’ while trying to collect money on the street. He will later own this label in order to disempower it. The group decides to bypass contacting the unions and to approach a mining town directly. As they look for a town, it is revealed that Gethin is from Wales but hasn’t been back there for 16 years. The group rings Onllwyn Miners Welfare Hall. A phone in a large empty hall rings, symbolising the group’s struggle to be heard. The phone is answered by a sweet and gentle older lady, Gwen, whose simple response, ‘I see’, demonstrates her understanding of the group’s intentions and that she is not narrowminded or judgmental.

LGSM celebrates their victory and sings ‘solidarity forever’, the song first displayed by the miners, showing that their causes are now aligned.

Scene 5 Quotes

‘This is a gay and lesbian group and we are unapologetic about that.’ (Mark) Scene 5

‘Well, let’s just say there isn’t always a welcome in the hillsides.’ (Gethin) Scene 5

‘I see.’ (Gwen) Scene 5

Scene 6: Meeting Dai Donovan (15:50-21:02)

In London, Dai Donovan, from the Dulais Valley, South Wales, approaches the LGSM and politely introduces himself. Despite the contrast between Dai’s conservative dress and hairstyle and the alternativeness of the LGSM members, and the nervousness on both sides, there seems to be a willingness to make a connection, which they do, and Dai and the group go to a café. When Dai is made of aware of what the abbreviation LGSM stands for, he says he thought the L stood for London. His pause before saying ‘lesbian’, shows his inexperience with using the term. Dai almost apologetically admits to the group that they are the first gay people he has met, to which Mark responds, ‘as far as you’re aware’, highlighting that due to the social environment, there could be other gay people Dai has met who have been unable to openly express themselves. The awkwardness is broken when Mark tells Dai that he is the first miner he has met, showing that terms such as ‘gays’ and ‘miners’ are descriptors, and not something to be inherently feared. Dai asks that the thanks of the people from the Dulais Valley be conveyed to those who have given money but Mark is scheming a plan, and simply asks: ‘Who fancies a pint?’

The scene continues with the group at a gay bar, where gay music plays in the background, and the lyrics ‘and you know we’re homesapien, too…’ further highlight that there is more commonality between people than there are differences. In a slow pan, the camera captures a variety of people of different gender, ages, and lifestyles, conveying a sense of community. The group have asked the owner for some stage time for Dai to convey the thanks from the miners in the Dulais Valley himself. Jonathan is spotted in the crowd and Dai’s initial reception is frosty. He heckles Dai as Dai expresses that this is a new experience for him. Dai wins the crowd with his unassuming nature and humour. He expresses the gratitude of Onllwyn and receives a round of applause from the bar crowd. Jonathan is now contemplative; it appears that Dai has touched a chord with him. As the group enjoy more beers, more money is collected from the miners. Zoe and Stella join the group, disappointed that Steph is the only female in the group. The night concludes with a photo of the group, declaring ‘victory to the miners’.

Scene 6 Quotes

‘Truth told you’re the first gays I’ve ever met in my life.’
‘As far as you’re aware.’ (Dai and Mark) Scene 6

‘… and you know we’re homosapien, too…’. (Lyrics to song in gay bar) Scene 6

‘…because what you’ve given us is more than money, its friendship.’ (Dai, thank you speech at the gay bar) Scene 6

And when you’re in a fight as bitter and as important as this one, against an enemy, so much bigger, so much stronger than you – well. To find out that you have a friend you never knew existed – It’s the best thing in the world. (Dai, thank you speech at the gay bar) Scene 6