A2 G325 Collective Identity (Exam question 2): 2012

The possibility of a better world is integral to the morality of art, nowhere more so than with Ken Loach

This according to 'The Guardian's' Editorial today after Loach won the Jury Prize award for 'The Angels' Share' at Cannes. What could be more contemporary than to refer to Loach's own feelings about collective identity and 'Britishness' in your essay this summer?

After winning the prize – awarded to the third-placed film at the international movie showcase on the French Riviera – Loach said his film about the struggles of a group of unemployed Glasgow youths proved that cinema is “not just an entertainment – it shows us who we are”. Did Loach drop in these words of wisdom purposefully just in time for you to quote him in your essays?

One issue to address is that the film was forced to remove some of its 'bad' language to obtain a 15 rather than an 18 certificate. Loach says that "The British middle class is obsessed by what they call 'bad' language. Actually, 'bad' language is manipulative language, and they're very happy with that. But the odd oath, like a word that goes back to Chaucer's time, they will ask you to cut. But the manipulative and deceitful language of politics they use themselves."

In the same press conference, Loach makes the point that the "working classes are our agents of change", but that "as the economic crisis gets harder, the villification of working people gets more intense by the press in that people, as you see in the film, are seen as feckless, idle, with their hand out for benefits. This is the propaganda we get, so one of the things we wanted to do in the film was to turn that on its head and say no, of course, that isn't the case... If the system that is bringing destruction to us and to our lives has meant that for us to ask for a secure job, a house to live in, somewhere to go when you're old, to be looked after when you're sick, security for your family... These are now revolutionary demands... No politician now speaks of full employment as a right. I think it's very important that we realise the scale of what we now see as impossible and what we 50-60 years ago thought of as the basis of a civilised life... The young generation must demand back those requirements for a decent life."

Read more: http://www.expressandstar.com/uk/uk-news/2012/05/27/loach-film-takes-cannes-jury-prize/#ixzz1wCp8qcZk

guardian.co.uk, Monday 28 May 2012 21.59 BST

Ken Loach is the least egotistical of cinema directors. But the Jury Prize award for his film The Angels' Share at Cannes – where six years ago he won the Palme d'Or for The Wind That Shakes the Barley – is something to shout about. It's not just that the film, about a group of unemployed Glaswegians who discover a taste for malt whisky, has that particular but universal touching humour that marks some of Mr Loach's best work – think Kes, think Sweet Sixteen, think that other underrated Loach Glasgow movie Ae Fond Kiss. It's also that, with so many young people on the developed world's scrapheaps, Mr Loach has unerringly chosen a theme which is both entertaining and serious. "Another world is possible," Mr Loach told the Cannes audience this week. Not everyone will always agree with Mr Loach's own politics, but the possibility of a better world is integral to the morality of art, nowhere more so than with Ken Loach.

Read in 'The Daily Mail' how one of the cast says the film saved his life: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2148228/Cannes-2012-Ken-Loach-saved-life-says-ex-star-new-film-The-Angels-Share.html

Snippet of the Press Conference for soundbites: