Blokes, lads and geezers: Working class masculinity on screen | BFI video essay

From the Woodfall films of the 1950s to Attack the Block, Top Boy and the rise and rise of Danny Dyer today, representations of working class masculinity have evolved rapidly with the times.

In this video writer and critic Lou Thomas (@London_Lou) and writer and editor Maha Albadrawi (@malbadrawi) examine what what we're shown of British working class masculinity tells us about the world these men were raised in.

Their video was made in support of Acting Hard, a season of films exploring representations of working-class masculinity in British cinema from the Thatcher era to the present, which is taking place at the BFI Southbank throughout September.

00:00 - The rise of Danny Dyer
00:20 - Intro
00:48 - Working class men after the second world war
01:15 - Kitchen sink dramas and The Woodfall films
01:45 - Look Back in Anger
02:40 - The 60s and Michael Caine
04:00 - 1970s austerity
04:19 - Scum and social realism
05:25 - The Thatcher years and Meantime
06:00 - Channel 4 and Young Soul Rebels
06:50 - New Labour and Cool Britannia
07:50 - Enter Danny Dyer
08:00 - Human Traffic
08:30 - Dyer and Nick Love
10:57 - Attack the Block
11:46 - Pretty Red Dress and the new working class man on screen

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