Culture Depicted In The Film 'Are Skinheads Racist?'

The film “This is England” occurs in 1983 in England following Shaun and his social group of Skinheads. He is influenced by a group member who brings with him racist and nationalist visions where Shaun is introduced to a new view of society.

The skinhead subculture surfaced in London in the 1960s amongst working class youth which affected Shaun’s identity and values when he was exposed to the culture. They are characterized by shaved heads and punk themed clothing. The culture was affected by other cultures through cultural meetings where they interacted with the mod subculture as well as other ethnicities, such as the Jamaican youth(Jenkins. “Skinhead”) . Although connotations made with the term “skinhead” are often negative and related to

“Are Skinheads Racist? A Look at Their History and What They 're About”) by saying “Two thousand years this little tiny fucking island has been raped and pillaged by people who have come here and wanted a piece of it, the “people” being immigrants,whilst Woody portrays the other perspective of Skinheads which are Independent Skinheads whose values cherish the cultural traditions without any political stands (Kay. “Are Skinheads Racist? A Look at Their History and What They 're About”). This contrasts the different identities of individuals within a culture and society which is shown by the division of the group.The shaved heads function as a cultural symbol because it creates a visible identity of the individuals and the culture. St.George’s cross, the flag of England, is an influential cultural symbol because it expresses the nationalistic ideologies shared within the cultural group as well as increasing the feeling of unity. This symbol is more significant for the Neo-Nazi Skinheads where they need to enhance the white supremacy through the

Shaun is introduced to this by socialising with the Skinheads. He later grows and matures socially by gaining new views and experiences that are incorporated in the Skinhead culture like smoking and partying, but he also develops his mindset by first accepting the racism displayed but later questions the values of the ideology.

Consequences are peer pressure affecting him in a negative way from an ideological perspective by influencing his ideologies with racist views because this is the norm of their social group, however, they have positive impact on his development too,like social impacts such as strengthening his character so he stands up and thinks for himself, e.g. when he realises the violation against human rights that racism encourages and questions his initial