My Beautiful Laundrette By Hanif Kureishi And Directed By...

My Beautiful Laundrette, a 1985 film written by Hanif Kureishi and directed by Stephen Frears, was heavily shaped by the surrounding social and economic climate taking place under Thatcherism. In the Thatcher era, an emphasis was put upon the return to Victorian values- including the encouragement of the self-made man, meaning that great importance was put upon individual interest as a opposed to communal ones. The government privatized industries that were formally nationalized. Inevitably, the gap between the upper and lower class increased. Under the conservative rule of Thatcher, other morals were encouraged such as the concept of a nuclear family, the preservation of British culture, ignoring or denouncing homosexuality, and†¦show more content†¦Considered to be â€Å"social realist† films, they reflected and acknowledged issues in present society and criticized Thatcherism. In 1982, Channel 4 was launched, a network that financed low-budget independent films and encouraged cultural diversity, giving voices to those who had continuously been ignored. With this in mind, it should be obvious that the majority of these films had an extreme opposition to Thatcher and the principles encouraged under her influence. My Beautiful Laundrette was among the numerous films produced by channel 4. Shot with 16mm film, typically used for home videos or documentaries, this only increased the sense of realism portrayed. The film had been made â€Å"so cheaply and quickly and out of love,† it was never expected t o reach any sort of commercial success or be viewed amongst a wide audience (Kureishi 1992) â€Å"Their success helped illustrate that it was possible to make films about non-traditional subjects and reach large audiences† (1992). Being produced by channel 4 and representing minority audiences, one can deduce that the core features of the film were to challenge ideologies under the rule of Thatcher, which both Stephen Frears and Krusichi have been critical of. Frears has stated, â€Å"She has divided the country between north and south, between the employed and unemployed, between the rich and the poor, between the people who’ve got