Blood Brothers (abridged) social and historical context

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  • Created by: loupardoe
  • Created on: 05-11-16 12:15

time of writing

  • there are references throughout the play which suggest that the action is happening some time during the 1960s and 1970s
  • russell was also influenced by what was happening in the early 1980s when he was writing
  • issues such as rising unemployment and recession are reflected in the play
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emergence of youth culture

  • teenagers became a properly recognised age group in the 1960's
  • for the first time it was widely accepted that young people had their own culture and ways of behaving which made them different from both children and adults
  • the term youth culture referred to the behaviour and interests of teenagers
  • fashion, music and hobbies
  • youth culture was associated with freedom and potential
  • bands like The Beatles had huge teenage fan bases
  • their music represented feelings of being young and carefree
  • young people became an important force in protest movements against things like nuclear weapons
  • they believed in their power to shape the future, and started to break away from their parents' views
  • the rise of mass advertising and colour television meant that even children were exposed to films, television programmes and celebrities in a way they hadn't been before
  • young people often imitated characters from films and television
  • in the play, the children pretend to be cowboys and indians
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traditional family structure

  • a time of great social change
  • big developments in social laws- homosexuality was legalised and divorce became easier
  • social attitudes in Britain were quite slow to change
  • families were still expected to have a nuclear structure
  • single parent families like Mrs Johnston's were less common than they are today and were frowned upon by many
  • most families were patriarchal- the man went to work, whilst the woman stayed at home to care for the children and household
  • this is the situation in the lyons household
  • in contrast, mrs johnston has to fill both roles after her husband walks out on her
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Margaret Thatcher and the decline of traditional i

  • during the 1970s britain's traditional industries were in decline because they were inefficient and struggling to keep up with foreign competition
  • britain was suffering from a recession and unemployment was rising
  • Margaret Thatcher became prime minister in 1979
  • she believed that britain's traditional industires weren't economically viable anymore, and decided to close them down
  • the decline of traditional industries had a huge impact on working class communities
  • widespread unemployment among the working class
  • most men relied on a single industry for work
  • if that industry couldn't provide jobs, the whole community was left unemployed
  • many people had to sign up for benefits
  • mickey represents the many working class men who became unemployed in this period
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strong class divide

  • there was a sharp divide in britain between the working class and the middle class
  • the decline made it worse
  • working class parents struggled financially even if they were in work or on the dole
  • many people found it difficult to afford basic things
  • middle class were largely unaffected
  • many didn't work in industry- they worked in teaching or accountancy instead
  • those who did work in declining industries were running them
  • they had transferable skills and could get new jobs
  • many middle class parents could afford to send their children to private school
  • private school led to university and a well-paid job
  • for most working class children, uni wasn't an option
  • they needed to work when they left school to support their families
  • they became stuck in the same low paid jobs for life with little opportunity to progress
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liverpool and the industrial decline

  • liverpool was a major port
  • provided lots of jobs at the docks and the shipbuilding industry
  • made liverpool very vulnerable
  • liverpool had one the highest unemployment rates in the country
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rehousing from liverpool to the suburbs

  • after ww2 ended, liverpool began rebuilding to replace the housing lost during bombing raids
  • huge new estates of council houses were built
  • constructed so quickly and cheaply that they were poor quality
  • most had no heating, indoor toilets or gardens
  • overcrowding was a problem
  • this is the kind of housing the johnstons have until they are moved
  • in the 1960s the government began building New Towns
  • small, existing towns were extended and redeveloped to provide more housing for nearby cities
  • some residents were upset to be moved from the area they'd always known
  • others saw it as an opportunity for a better life
  • hit by the same problems as liverpool when traditional industries went into decline
  • many big employers left the town
  • many factory workers lost their jobs
  • liverpool also had wealthy areas, like where edward lived
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Comments

emmaloef

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good resource

[email protected]

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Thank you alot I am currently studying blood brothers and have found these revision notes amazingly helpful. And an special thanks to louisepardoe - the one who created these cards for her time and amazing effort to make student's revision stratergies alot easier

THANK YOU

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