Women that Changed the World

Readers of this column will be aware that the film Victim (1961) led to a change in the law with regard to gay relationships and Cathy Come Home (1966) was instrumental in taking homeless families off the streets.

The recent release Made in Dagenham (2010), whilst not leading to a change in the law per se, does in fact document how the pivotal Equal Pay Act (1970) became law. The Act was not initiated by reasoned debate in Parliament, rather the driving force behind this radical change in our daily lives was a group of working women who were outraged when they discovered that men were getting paid more money for the same or equivalent work.

The Cinema of the Oppressed does not figure much on our flickering screen. Film after all, is entertainment. I  go to the cinema to be taken out of myself, people are want to say and Sam Goldwyn put it even more succinctly, If  I want to send a message, I go to Western Union. That being said, two virtually unknown British films stand out as excellent examples of the genre.

Winstanley (1975) tells the story of a group of disenfranchised rural folk who after the Civil War in 1648 gave a literal interpretation to the word commonwealth, and set up a community on St George’s Hill, Weybridge. They welcomed everyone. Each to his own needs, was the slogan. Amazingly this prescient counter culture movement lasted three years despite constant harassment from the local gentry. Its mentor Gerard Winstanley mysteriously disappeared into the mists of time only to be re-discovered in the 1970’s, when hippy communes suddenly became de rigeur.

There is a turn -off on the Dorchester-London road that leads to the Tolpuddle museum. Well worth a visit. The film Comrades (1986) re-tells the story of how 6 farm-workers from a tiny Dorset village in 1820 were deported to Australia for daring to set up a Trade Union, and having the audacity to ask for 9 shillings per week. Unlike Winstanley, there was a happy ending in that the Tolpuddle Martyrs as they became known, were eventually pardoned thanks to popular support and  all lived to a ripe old age in their newly adopted home of Canada.

Norma Rae (1979) and Bread & Roses (2000) bear a striking resemblance to Made in Dagenham in that they both involve women fighting for their rights in the workplace. Sally Field deservedly got an Oscar for her role as the feisty textile worker in a 1970’s North Carolina town, who fought the good fight for trade union representation, whilst our very own Ken Loach entered the lion’s den of LA to tell the story of how big time lawyers (yes lawyers can you believe?) still exploit Latino (mainly women) cleaners.

Indie director John Sayles in Matewan (1987) tells it how it was. A stranger comes into town. Goody or Baddy? In fact he turns out to be a goody – a union rep no less. But the mere mention of the word union, strikes fear in the hearts of the tough coal miners, who our hero has come to organise. The film, based on the true story of a 1920’s strike in Virginia, ends in a bloody shoot-out, but in terms of the miner’s lives it is just the beginning of the beginning in their struggle for a living wage.

Whilst there are no shoot-outs in Made in Dagenham the story is essentially the same. Working people fighting for their rights. Made with backing from the Film Council which sadly is about to disappear due to government cuts, it is a film that deserved to be made. Those strident women from Dagenham were not only responsible for this country’s Equal Pay Act but also after 1970 many other countries rightly followed suit. How refreshing to see a film that celebrates the power of ordinary people.

One suspects that lawyers of every ilk will find this film not only entertaining but also of interest in the way it traces the origin of this legal cornerstone.  A Source of the Nile moment, no less. In fact hark! Do I not hear the dulcet tones of the bells of

Saint Chancery Lane

ringing out, C…P…D?

No not really. That would surely be asking too much.

But if you are stuck for a stocking filler for your loved one who just may hack out a living at the coalface of Employment Law or any other kind of law for that matter, then I suspect Made in Dagenham will be a present that won’t find its way to the nearest charity shop come Eastertide.

A very important film that needs to be seen by lawyers of a curious disposition, and also lawyers of other dispositions as well. A must for all Law Schools.

Altogether now,

                         Women of the world unite.

                         You alone know what is right.

                         People ought to feel this way.

                         That’s the joy of Equal Pay.  

FILM NITE starts up again on 11^th January 2011 at the exclusive celebrity watering hole SOHOHOUSE. The opening two sessions will be given by Hollywood expert John Wischmeyer on the uncrowned king of tinsel town FRANK CAPRA – famous for films about the little man fighting for what is right and decent. Capra is probably best known for his festive regular, It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), and his search for Shangri-La saga, Lost Horizon (1937). Whilst sometimes derided for his sentimental social comedies John Wischmeyer will demonstrate through the use of carefully selected extracts that there is a great deal more depth and complexity in Capra’s films than meets the eye. Other Capra films of note Are Mr Smith goes to Washington (1939) and of course It Happened one Night (1934) when Clark Gable takes off his shirt in the presence of Claudette Colbert. Shock! Horror! And the times, they are a changing………..…….

The rest of the term is given over to presentations/discussions on four recent releases, a free champagne reception at Sohohouse, and various meals and drinks. All in all a very pleasant way to learn about the second most interesting subject in the world.

                        Probably the best film class in town if not the world.