THE LONLINESS OF THE LONG DISTANCE RUNNER

Representation
Study films A Taste of Honey The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runnner Saturday Night and Sunday Morning You seldom see these people on film, or hear the language, and this in itself harbours a political message. (Andrew OHagan, 1996) One of the recurring themes in British cinema is the question of identity. Ours is a culture obsessed with boundaries and the notion of everyone knowing his or her place within the social order. Class is central to this but other factors such as gender, sexuality, race and ethnicity also have a bearing on how an individual is situated within the pecking order. These roles, and the appropriate codes of behaviour which belong to them, have in turn been rigidly policed by a combination of laws and peer pressure throughout the ages. It is no coincidence that the cinema should provide the means by which identity can be explored and challenged. The cinema not only documents the world, but is also a space where you can dream and fantasise about alternatives to existing social conventions and roles. One of the reasons why the British New Wave films continue to be of major interest to film students is that they represent an important period of history when British
British Cinema in the 1960s 1

Unit6

identity was in the process of changing. The 1960s ushered in modern Britain and marked a clear break with the war and its aftermath. The early New Wave films, the ones we are principally concerned with here, were made before the economic, social and political changes of the 1960s and were enshrined in laws and in social practice. What they can tell us is what was in the air, what people were thinking about, represented through character, mise en scne and action. THE CONCEPT OF REPRESENTATION Representation is a key concept that enables Film and Media students to investigate how and why certain images are constructed and what they might mean to audiences. It is a complex concept containing a number of interesting elements that will help us understand how film texts, and the New Wave texts in particular, construct a believable world and how this world transmits ideas. Representation as re-presentation This draws attention to the fact that rather than reflecting reality directly, films re-present the world as they see it back to us. The New Wave filmmakers were intent on presenting as authentic and realistic a portrait of working-class life as possible through location shooting, casting, language and mise-en-scne.
bfi Education / Unit 6

Representations are representative This means that they act as a kind of shorthand and speak on behalf of a much wider group, suggesting that people can be categorised as types. Because films last about the same length of time, usually one and a half to two hours, and are first seen in cinemas in one sitting, there are physical limits to what can be shown. Nevertheless, within these limits a film must tell us a complete story. In contrast, a novel can be any length and it can take any length of time to read it. A novel can spend chapter after chapter developing characters and expanding the universe of the story in print and in our imaginations. Films, on the other hand, have to show and tell us what we need to know very quickly, hence the need to present images that we recognise quickly. This process calls into question whether the media merely reflect reality or help to maintain a particular version of it. Representations in New Wave films were not typical of film representations at the time of production, but have since become identified with representations of the British working class Northern location, work-related, male central character speaking with a Northern accent etc. Kes (Ken Loach 1969), Brassed Off (Mark Herman, 1996), The Full Monty (Peter Cattaneo, 1997) The Ratcatcher (Lynne Ramsay, 1999), Billy Elliot (Stephen Daldry, 2000), to name but a few films, have further developed the legacy of the New Wave filmmakers. Stereotypical representations For representations to be believable, they must contain a grain of truth that stems from historical and/or ideological roots: This is the ways things are and always have been. But the real historical truth is not always apparent. For example, stereotypical representations of Irish people have drawn heavily upon the poverty and oppression of the Irish and the ways in which they have tried to overcome them, but the truth behind the oppression is rarely ever debated. Such a discussion may challenge British peoples ideas about Britains role in Ireland, which could threaten the social and political relationships which bind Britain and Ireland together. In other words, maintaining the status quo depends on stereotypes of Irish people which keep certain ideological beliefs in place. In similar ways, representations of working-class people prior to the 1960s showed them largely as subservient or criminal, but never as self-confident and central to the action. Whoever constructs the representation controls the way in which it sheds light on historical and ideological meanings.
G

they no longer seem as striking as they did when they first appeared. While there is still a freshness of approach, the attitudes and ideas of the characters appear rather old-fashioned and outdated. British society has changed enormously since the 1960s. It is now much more multicultural and more open to ideas about changing British identity. In the last 40 years the black, gay and feminist movements have all made an impact on and changes to the way in which we perceive race, sexuality, gender and class.
G

What, if anything, about the New Wave films seems to you to be particularly dated?

REPRESENTING THE REAL WORLD All films are constructed through film language camerawork, lighting, editing, mise en scne and sound. They attempt to hold the interest of the audience by making this constructed world an interesting and believable place. However, films do not always have to look like the real world in order to seem real and believable. Cartoons and fantasy films, for example, can be absorbing and thoughtprovoking; and films that are shot in a realist style but clearly not set in a familiar and recognisable contemporary world, like science fiction films, can also be totally believable and can reveal a lot about the here and now. Realism is created through a set of conventions that are organised differently in different genres to deliver different versions of reality. ACTIVITIES 1 Find a news story from a recent newspaper that involves ordinary people doing something interesting and dramatic. In small groups, discuss how you would adapt that story for three of the following genres: I One of todays television news broadcasts I A documentary I A feature film I A television soap opera I A drama documentary I A television sitcom G What sorts of changes do you have to make to the story to make it fit in with the conventions of the genre? G Do you have to fill in or miss out parts of the story? G How does that change the truth of the original? G What does this tell you about representing the real world? 2 People, ideas and events are represented to us through media texts. It is a process of construction, actively constructing meanings about the world and re-presenting them. Think about the following in relation to our three study films: G What sense of the world is this film making? G What does it claim is typical of the world and what deviant? G Who is really speaking? For whom? G What does it represent to us, and why?
2 bfi Education / Unit 6

How might working-class people at the time have viewed these new representations?

CHANGES OF REPRESENTATIONS Representations change over time with social, political and ideological change. The films we are discussing broke new ground in the early 1960s for the way in which they represented people and ideas. As we look back, clearly
British Cinema in the 1960s

REPRESENTING IDEAS AND IDEOLOGIES The mass media are a significant source of ideas. Since becoming a mass entertainment business (press, cinema, television, magazines, radio, video) there has been concern that industries that produce stories must have an effect on the attitudes, values, beliefs and even, in some quarters, behaviours of the audience. There is a widespread belief that the media, in its attempts to represent social and cultural life, does have an influence on social and cultural values. A prime area of concern in Film and Media Studies has been on how stories carry ideas. Students of Media have to consider the following issues: G What are those ideas and what kinds of effects might they have on peoples beliefs? G Who owns or produces the product and how do those individual or institutional values make their way into the kinds of media that get made? (Institution) G How is the story presented to us? What is the range of representations? How open or closed is the text? How easy is it for us to read the text in a range of ways? (Representation) G How is the audience positioned for a text? How is the audience invited to respond to a text? (Style) ACTIVITY Close examination of a scene: 3 Analyse the opening sequence of A Taste of Honey (05:30 07:50*) using the questions above as prompts. G What messages and values does the scene reveal? TYPES OF REALISM In different types of film, filmmakers use different sets of conventions to create believable worlds for their audiences. In Hollywoods classic realism, characters usually conform to acceptable norms of behaviour and the mise en scne is a meticulous recreation of period and location. However, the stories are told through familiar storytelling techniques and genres designed to reinforce the audiences recognition and pleasure (see also section on Narrative), the storylines are rarely ordinary. For example, while Erin Brockovich (Soderbergh, 2000) may be based on a true story and even features Erin Brockovich herself in the cast list, the film manipulates certain elements of the true story to turn it into a kind of fable about the possibilities of success in America, thus reinforcing the American dream. Social realism Social realism has become identified with the New Wave, and with much of subsequent British cinema. Social realist films attempt to recreate the real world of ordinary people on screen. They are set in the most ordinary of settings on the street, in the workplace and in the home. They lay great stress on being authentic, on showing things as they really are and telling stories about people who have none of the glamorous qualities of Hollywood actors. Putting ordinary people on screen raises political and social issues for discussion
British Cinema in the 1960s 3

and debate. They draw attention to the way in which society shapes human experience and not the other way around. The three films we are studying were amongst the first British films to represent working-class people in a realistic way. Characters like Arthur, Colin and Jo had never before been the major focus of a British feature film.
A TASTE OF HONEY

ACTIVITIES 4 Choose one scene from each study film that best represents working-class life. G What do you identify as the key signifiers of working class life? G How does the production seek to authenticate this representation through camerawork, editing, sound, lighting, casting and use of location? However, social realism was not relentlessly grim. In each film there are sequences in which the camerawork and editing deliver a more poetic sense of reality that makes the world of our protagonists less grim and often changes our perception of the character. 5 Take Colins first running scene (47:00) in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner for example. G Look at the lighting, camerawork and editing. How is it shot differently from the rest of the film? G How does the mise en scne contribute to our understanding of Colin? G How does the musical accompaniment help not just to create atmosphere but to give us a sense of how Colin is feeling?
bfi Education / Unit 6

How does the running sequence contrast with the rest of the film?

6 Analyse other poetic sequences: the fairground scene in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (58:00) and the Blackpool scenes in A Taste of Honey (33:00) How do they work within the realistic framework of the films? What do they tell us about the characters and their lives? 7 Write a short pitch or scenario for a modern remake of any one of the three films that we are discussing. G What changes would you need to make in the way the characters are represented to appeal to modern audiences? G Who would you cast in the leading roles? G How have ideas about masculinity, sex and the working class changed? G What would you need to do to make your film representative of a multicultural Britain? G What would you change about the way the film is shot and edited? G What sort of music would you use? G Who would be your target audience? G In relation to these questions think about: I location I gender I sex I work I family I relationships I marriage I attitudes to authority. LIBERALISATION OF REPRESENTATIONS IN THE 1960s The British film industry was in a very volatile financial position during the late 1950s and 1960s. Audiences were dwindling because of television, and cinemas were closing in large numbers. Producers were keen to do whatever they could to attract audiences back, especially young audiences who used the cinema space as one of the few places where they could indulge in some form of sexual activity in relative privacy. The arrival of John Trevelyan, the new liberal director at the British Board of Film Censors in 1958, allowed filmmakers to be more explicit about sex than ever before. By contrast, television was much more tightly regulated. The New Wave filmmakers profited from this liberalisation of attitudes. However, they were mostly men and had yet to have their ideas about female sexuality challenged by the womens movement, which was to arrive later in the decade. Representations of masculinity and social class The New Wave films introduced many new and refreshing elements into British filmmaking. In particular, they marked a shift in attitudes towards young, working-class men. If you were to conduct some research into the films and film stars on offer to British audiences during the 1950s you would find a different set of representations from those of the New Wave films in terms of issues, genres and stars. Rex Harrison, pictured here, was one of the leading men in a number of successful British films of the decade.
British Cinema in the 1960s 4

ACTIVITY 8 Compare and contrast Rex Harrisons image in this publicity still from the 1950s with that of Albert Finney in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning and Tom Courtenay in The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner. Bear in mind that Harrison also had a very refined middle class accent.

SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING THE LONLINESS OF THE LONG DISTANCE RUNNER

Beyond stereotypes There is very little action in either Saturday Night and Sunday Morning or The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner. Nearly every scene is instead dedicated to exploring and developing the characters of Arthur and Colin in relation to their environments. Arthur Seaton (Albert Finney) and Colin Smith (Tom Courtenay) are both working-class descendants of John Osbornes play Angry Young Man. In the pre-credit sequence Arthur makes it clear that he is ready and willing to defend himself in any confrontation with the bosses or anyone who might want to grind him down. Similarly Colin Smith reveals himself as angry and defiant right from the
bfi Education / Unit 6

start of his time at Ruxton Towers in the scene where he confronts Stacey with his Id let em have it speech (07:00). Both Arthur and Colin are strong characters who leave lasting impressions on the audience and become real people. Their complex characterisation is achieved by showing them in a variety of situations responding in a variety of ways. This gives the audience a range of perspectives from which to see and understand them and their psychological motivation. Arthur uses his fists to win arguments but talks in a very articulate way to Bert about more spiritual things; he is confident and cocky about his sexual abilities, but shy when he goes to talk to Aunt Ada. Colin is chirpy and clever when he is with his mates but surly and uncooperative with the police and his mothers boyfriend; he is gentle and warm with his girlfriend but can be cold and bitter with the Borstal wardens. Both Arthur and Colin are multi-dimensional. They are not stereotypical as traditional Hollywood heroes and villains tend to be, whose behaviour may be predictable from the opening scene and who act largely as a function of the narrative demands of Hollywood film. From the outset Arthur is constructed as a man who refuses to knuckle under like those around him. He is confident in his ability to take on the forces against him: the bosses, the taxman, the soldiers with a grudge against him. He is an authentic product of working-class affluence with the confidence that this gives him. He appears to know who he is and what hes worth: Dont let the bastards grind you down, he says with absolute conviction. He is sexy and charismatic and has an energy that leaps from the screen. Although the audience may not approve directly of Arthurs womanising and vulgar behaviour, we are always on his side and not judgemental. Our attitude to Arthur could be compared to the way we relate to the character of Renton (Ewan McGregor) in Trainspotting (Danny Boyle, 1996). Arthurs and Colins anger, however, manifests itself differently. Arthurs anger comes out in physical ways: he is hostile and defiant in his speech; he is aggressive with the sailor in the pub drinking competition; he shoots Ma Bull in the backside with an air rifle; he has a bloody fist fight with the soldiers at the fairground. His anger is an expression of his physical masculinity. Colin, who is a less physically robust figure than Arthur, expresses his anger through cunning and stamina, through his attitudes to authority and his ability to endure the hardships of Borstal and the extra demands of long distance running. The social power of both men appears to derive directly from their aggressive, masculine characteristics. Other characteristics of these characters include: In all three films the father figures are either weak or absent altogether. Arthur mocks his father at the beginning of the film, in the scene where he is mindlessly watching the television; Colins father dies a horrible death and his mother installs another man to replace him with indecent haste; Jo never knew her father and Helen is reluctant to tell her
British Cinema in the 1960s 5

about him. This lack of father figures and therefore lack of authority figures in the home may be one reason why Colin and Arthur are aggressive and anti-authoritarian. Both young men have problems dealing with their mothers. Doreens mum (and Ma Bull) suffers from Arthurs aggression. Colin is very angry with his mother for not caring enough about his father and for too quickly spending his insurance money on trivia. Both men are deliberate rule-breakers. They are against the bosses, the police, the prison warders and anyone else who might want to tell them what to do. ACTIVITIES 9 Draw up a diagram that for you best represents the characters of Arthur and Colin. Support what you say by selecting specific moments or scenes from the films. Remember that in an exam question or a coursework essay you must always use direct textual reference to the film to support your argument. G How does each compare to representations of young working-class men in modern British films? Men like Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) in Trainspotting, for example, or Gaz (Robert Carlyle) from The Full Monty? 10 What other, more contemporary, dimensions of class are missing from the New Wave films? THE REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN The representation of women is more ambivalent in New Wave films, drawing both on stereotypical ideas about women and their role in society, and on some new, more assertive and positive images, especially in terms of sex and sexuality. Women are still often represented as being traditional and rather dull, believing in marriage and family. If they are sexually more assertive, they ultimately get punished for that attitude. Sue Harper, in her book Women in British Cinema: Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know, points to a number of reasons why this might be. Changes in womens roles Between the census of 1951 and 1961 the proportion of married women working outside the home increased from one in four to one in three. The economy depended upon the availability of female labour. Public fears about the breakdown of the family and the decline of traditional social and sexual values were identified with this trend. There were fears about increasing delinquency and premarital sexual activity among young people. The 1950s and 1960s were a period of high employment and growing affluence. More women than ever before were not at home looking after young children. Women consequently became associated with the growing consumer boom, with rises in spending on domestic labour-saving goods like vacuum cleaners and washing machines, and the commercialisation of culture associated with television.
bfi Education / Unit 6

Representation of women in the study films Saturday Night and Sunday Morning: Brenda: In an early scene in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning Brenda is clearly shown to be enjoying spending the night with Arthur: Ee, Arthur, what a time we had last night (11.10). She does not appear to feel guilty about the fact that she is deceiving her husband and just in the knick of time pushes Arthur out of the front door as her husband and son arrive at the back door. Her behaviour becomes more understandable when we meet her husband Jack who is unattractive, conventional and very dull. Arthur, in one self-justifying outburst, blames Jack and any other inattentive husband for what happens to their wives. However, it is Brenda who is ultimately punished for her illicit sexual behaviour with Arthur by becoming pregnant and having to undergo the indignity of an attempted abortion with Aunt Ada. Brenda is firmly returned to her role as wife and mother, which she appears to accept philosophically. Doreen: Doreen is not like Brenda. She is very pretty but not actively sexy. She has not got Brendas passion and desire. Perhaps putting her to work in a hairnet factory cynically sums up Doreens conventional and unchallenging character. What she wants above all is a ring on her finger and all that goes with it a new home, a husband, respectability and acceptance in the community. She uses her sexuality as a way to lure Arthur into a marriage that may possibly tame him.
G

has a female leading role. Jo might be nave and innocent, but she is also strong and honest. Despite the chaos of her home life she is often confident and assertive. Her one desire is to recreate the family she so sadly lacks. Both Geoff and Jimmy are social outsiders and misfits who play nurturing, feminine roles to Jo. Geoff likes cooking and cleaning and behaves in a very camp and effeminate way. He may now appear a stereotype but at the time he could be seen as a challenging and positive representation of homosexuality rarely seen on screen. Geoff is the feminised man who becomes Jos surrogate mum and as a gay man he offers no sexual threat. Jimmy is the unconventional romantic lead who is also very caring towards Jo. It is a foregone conclusion that he will eventually have to leave her, but Jo still has a sexual relationship with him and lives with the consequences. Their relationship is represented as childlike and natural like the childrens songs that accompany much of the action. The pregnancy abruptly curtails any further exploration of Jos sexuality and she appears to accept her position as a single parent willingly. The baby is possibly the way in which she will achieve the kind of nurturing family environment she has longed for. Helen is also a very strong character who represents new attitudes to femininity. She is a very poor mother who takes little account of her daughters needs for a father and a stable home. She chooses a man who is clearly an unsuitable father figure and leaves Jo to fend for herself. Used car salesmen have long been considered the epitome of insincerity! Helens pursuit of her own pleasure is associated with material things: a new home, new clothes, a car, dancing, drinking. Her sexual exploits are openly discussed from the beginning of the film. However, the two women eject the men at the end of the film in order to prepare for the new baby. They stand together, alone to face whatever may come in a rare representation of feminine independence. ACTIVITY 11 Analyse the scene in which Mrs Smith goes on a spending spree (49:00). Look in particular at the editing. G What ideas do you think Richardson is conveying through this scene? G What attitude does he take towards working-class women and affluence? Essay questions G Making specific reference to one or more films, analyse the representation of one or more social group in the New Wave films of the 1960s. G What would you say were the defining characteristics in terms of representations of the British New Wave cycle? Answer with close textual reference to one or more films.

What do you think about this representation in particular?

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner Mrs Smith: Colins mother Mrs Smith, is not very supportive or caring to Colin, perhaps because she has three young children and a dying husband to cope with. She represents the negative values of the affluent, consumer culture. As soon as Mr Smith dies, Mrs Smith acquires a fancy man, and when she gets hold of the insurance money, she goes on a spending spree and blows it all on consumer goods a fur coat, a carpet and the real bone of contention, a television (49:00). The television is a metaphor for the break-up of the family and the indecent haste with which Mrs Smith introduces another man into the household to replace her dead husband. It is Mrs Smiths obsession with money that leads Colin to burn the pound notes as an act of protest against her values. The only two other women in the film, the girlfriends, tell us more about Colins and his mates sexuality than about themselves. They are easy pickups and appear to have few qualms about premarital sex but do not have an active role in the way the action unfolds and they disappear long before the film ends. A Taste of Honey Jo: A Taste of Honey is different perhaps because a woman wrote the play and the action is controlled by two women, Jo and Helen. It is the only one of the New Wave films that
British Cinema in the 1960s 6

bfi Education / Unit 6

REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING Sue Harper (2000) Women in British Cinema: Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know, Continuum Moya Luckett (2000) Travel and Mobility: Femininity and National Identity in Swinging London Films in Justine Ashby and Andrew Higson (eds) British Cinema Past and Present, Routledge Andrew OHagan The Boys Are Back In Town, Sight and Sound, February 1996

Andrew Spicer (1997) Male Stars, Masculinity and British Cinema 19451960 in Robert Murphy (ed) The British Cinema Book, BFI * Timings are shown in minutes:seconds from the start of the film. All images: courtesy of bfi Stills

British Cinema in the 1960s

bfi Education / Unit 6