Research homework: Britain 1948-1962

 Representation works through construction- How were black people represented in the film?

Black people were represented badly throughout the majority of the film, however Sapphires brother is a doctor which shows to many they are regarded highly, as he was able to obtain an impressive job especially in that era. Although it may be simply to deem the older generations as racist and unwelcoming to black people. As the old women that let out their rooms only to white people, stating it would offend their other clients. The father being heavily racist, showing that it was an issue they had and gave to their children, as his daughter became heavily racist under his influence. Black people are represented as highly different and outsiders, tension is created in the film when a black person is amongst white people. They are represented as an highly undesirable race to be within Britain as in many cases they were not allowed nice rooms to let even if they did have the money. In the clubs in which many black people would enjoy themselves at they were seen as rebels and slightly reckless, as if they were simply there to make trouble, as they were portrayed as dangerous, as the film mentions knife fights. On a whole a lot of the time throughout Sapphire by some of the actors the black community were represented as a drain on their resources and an inconvenience As the some of the British public portrayed within Sapphire seemed unwelcoming and ungrateful towards any sort of help from a black person, especially the sister.

Considering your research and film analysis- How does the film put across a sense of collective identity of Black British people?

From my research and film analysis it showed that Britain itself was moving along and in many ways picking herself back up and thriving. However the Black British in society seemed to be losing their spirits to ever growing prejudices against them. As during WW2 many people from the West-Indies were welcomed in Britain, to only find that now they have out stayed there welcome. That they were only wanted by many whilst the white British men were away. Showing that the film presents a collective identity of feeling unwanted and in a so-called motherland that is nothing like they thought. In the film Black British people do stick together in many ways and this shows just how out casted they were within society that they even needed their own clubs to enjoy themselves in.