Research for Road

In Road there are many themes that links to the 1980's. Poverty was in the 1980's Margret Thatcher came to power politically and made some changes which effected people who became employed from there jobs. This was the time when Billy Elliot was made. Billy Elliot shows the theme of the miners strike. Billy Elliot is a great example because there are miner strike scenes that shows you what the conditions were like and how the police were trying to get the miners.

This video shows that miner and the police and how violent it was. The police would block parts of the road. This video really shows what the strike conditions were like.

 The suffering of not seeing there families is running deep. The communities were separated and it took a long time to heal. Some of the communities never did heal.

The guardian wrote a story about a person Bruce who was a miner. He was 29 years old and married with 2 young kids. He worked as a miner in Silverwood Colliery Rotherham since 1978. He said that he knew that the strike would happen. They warned enough by our NUM (National Union of Mineworkers). Thatcher and her government wanted a showdown.

The strike is mainly because of the power and the leadership of Margret Thatcher this video explains the idea that Margret Thatcher had. Margret Thatcher was very good at giving speech to support her argument. 

The of National Coal Board wanted to cut 20,000 more jobs that previously planned to get the industry to break even was purely a commercial one. The NCB happily signed to the agreement. The minister thought that a strike could be avoided. The NCB never thought the strike would go on for years. Quoted by John Redwood 

'The left's aim is to pave the way for ultimate defeat of the government by destroying its policies and its credibility'. 

John Redwood was the chancellor of NCB and that quote was explaining his plan for the future. 

How does the theme poverty relate to my character?

My character Valerie is in a process of poverty because from her monologue she is explaining her story about the life that she is in and how her husband is always out. The words 'can we not have before again' shows that she is struggling and need help. The word 'we' means its more than one person which means maybe its a relationship issue. The poverty theme effects Valerie because of Margret Thatcher's cut jobs that Valerie needs. 

Music

Another theme that occurs in Road which is music. The character Bisto uses a lot of music in his scenes and relates to the 1980s. He refers in his monologue 'ahh the Bee Gees'. The Bees Gees was formed in 1958. The band member consist on Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb.  The trio were very successful by releasing songs staying alive. They released the disco part of the 1980's. The Bee Gees had sold more than 220 million records worldwide. 

This clip was the music in the 1980s because this decade was all about discos and having a good time with your friends down the pub. The dance move of night fever was then brought in from this record and thats what became more popular. 

The 1980s was the memorial decade for music because of the diso element and DJ's like Bisto. Bisto used the music for his act. The music made his act more funnier and communicated to the audience his job and his character from. 

Also the music in the last scene got the boys what they wanted by getting the girls Carol and Louise drunk. The song 'Try a little tenderness' was written by Otis Redding which was released in 1932. 

Fashion

The fashion was a very popular part of the 1980s. Some of the fashion from 1980s have passed on to this decade such as leather jackets. Leather jacket were popular in the 1980s. International fashion was influenced by American sportwear more so in 1980s than it had been since jeans in 1960s. Also the jean jackets were influenced in the 1980s. Velvet was popular around the clock and women with tweeds and leather. 

Mens clothing wore snug fitting and comfortable clothes. Soft fabrics were everywhere while they clothes were still tight compared to today, they weren't skin tight like the seventies. 

Activewear was a popular choice for men and boys alike. Matching sweatpants and sweatshirts flew off the shelves for the entire decade. In the early eighties the men started a fashion of having a thick moustache but by the end of the decade they had become much less popular. Mens suits were relatively conservative seemingly the only in the eighties that wasn't drowned in the bright colours. 

Most characters wore the eighties fashion in the play Road. For example the girls that go 'pub after pub' had the fashion to talk to the men that were around. The girls wore heels to go out to the party. 

Valeries character didn't really have fashion as her costume was in her nightie but if she would go out she would of worn vibrant colours.