Is This England?

This Is England '86 is a follow on TV drama to the 2006 film This Is England (directed by Shane Meadows)

The film, which follows the life of a troubled boy growing up in England during 1983, shows the lifestyle of a group of skinheads and what can happen if you fall into the wrong crowd. Crammed with graphic violence and disturbing scenes, this hard hitting British film caused me to question the country we live in and the way in which it has or hasn't changed since the 1980's.

Moving into 1986, which is covered in the current TV Drama 'This Is England '86', viewers are taken on yet another journey into the life of Shaun Fields who had previously been taken under the wing of easy-going laid back Woody and his circle of friends to 'Neo-Nazi' Combo, who turned young Shaun into a member of The National Front, whilst trying to brainwash his reggae-loving nationalistic friends.

The film shocked and dismayed viewers, showing scenes of brutal violence, racism and persuasion. It was whilst watching this film that I realised Shane Meadows had addressed the nation into realising just what went on in England during these times, and still to the present day.

This Is England 86' certainly doesn't hold back on the graphic content, and still uses shock factor scenes to grab the viewers attention and convey the importance behind the message it sends out.
Episode 3 of the series showed a disturbing rape scene which left it's audience stunned and shaken. The scene, which showed father Mick raping his daughter's best friend in the living room of his house, sparked a wave of reaction on social networking sites Twitter, Facebook and numerous TV forums.

This Is England is definitely a programme which has the capability of leaving viewers gobsmacked and concerned about the real-life issues which hide within both film and television programme.

Personally, it leaves me mortified that I am a part of a world which holds so much violence and racism. What happened to equal rights? Everybody is a person with feelings and emotions no matter what the colour of their skin or type of nationality.

It is a shame that it takes a film to bring this to peoples' attention, so many things go unnoticed and ignored, with the 'out of sight, out of mind' attitude. Viewers are so quick to voice their opinions on things that happen on-screen, but perhaps it's time that people face up to the reality of the real world and not only recognise the things that are happening, but try to do something to make a difference.

This Is England continues to show us what went on during the 1980's and leaves us questioning what still goes on today. Although it comes to an end tomorrow night (Channel 4 at 10pm) Shane Meadows has said that he can already envisage a further series.

If you have missed any of the episodes of This Is England '86, catch up here.