WHEN PRIDE OVERCOMES PREJUDICE

Ben Schnetzers role as Mark Ashton, a gay activist, is truly inspiring, as he pledges to
pursue anti-gay law, as well as attempting to overcome Thatchers destruction of trade union
power during the 1984 miners strike. The newly made Gays and Lesbians Support the
Miners activist group is rather an unusual one. Whilst one would be puzzled as to why a
small cluster of homosexuals would stand outside on the street holding buckets to collect
peoples change especially for the miners, we can witness a sense of selflessness and
dignity in what they do. It could even be suggested that both the homosexual population and
the miners were exactly in the same boat being harassed by the state and revoked of their
rights. For Ashton, supporting the miners seems like the right thing to do, as opposed to
others sarcastically claiming Yeah, because the miners have always come to our aid.
Although in debt and starving, the Miners Union arrogantly refuses to accept the money that
LGSM has raised. This seems to cause some anger amongst the audience, and brings forth
questions on social justice: why is it that homosexuals must endure unfair treatment? The
Miners Union definitely would not have turned down the hospitality of a heterosexual union,
so why must the sexual orientation cause such alienation in society? At this point our
emotions have built up, only to end in utter disappointment. However it is only when Jessica
Gunning who stars as Sian James, a miners wife, finds her voice and suggests the
ridiculousness of the situation, she begins to unite together both the gay and lesbians and
the miners. A real sense of community starts to emerge and Bill Nighy reveals that he is too
a homosexual as well as being amongst the Miners Union. In the film, it is said that 1 in 5
people are gay, thus it is shamelessly pointed out that there must be also be gays and
lesbians within the Miners Union a notion that many of them refused to accept before the
unification.
In 1985, a year after the strike, the Miners Union marginally agreed to return back to work
without any change in agreement by the state. As Pride shows, this became a symbol of
political defeat, with the miners gaining nothing except a decline into extreme poverty, and
thus having no choice but to end their strike. However, what remained was a joyful union
between a previous segregated and narrow-minded society. Imelda Staunton as Hefna
openly declares Were just off to Swansea now for a massive les-off! which can
potentially been seen as the most important line of the play, as she disregards societal
norms and within her words, brings about a social change where politics and intimate
matters can coincide, without the need for prejudice.