Blood Brothers Context edexcel 2-Post-1914-Literature

Blood Brothers political context

Written in 1981, Blood Brothers reflects the significant political context shaped by the contemporary Conservative government led by the then Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. 

Conservative ideology

• Thatcher’s administration championed individualism, free market economics and a reduction in the welfare state:

  • These policies often drew criticism for exacerbating social inequality and neglecting vulnerable communities

  • The play’s narrative revolves around the tragic consequences of social inequality and a rigid class structure

  • It conveys playwright Willy Russell’s views about the political climate of the time

• Thatcher’s government introduced significant reforms to trade union laws in an attempt to lessen the power of organised labour:

  • During this period, there were many confrontations with trade unions, most notably the miners’ strike of 1984–5

• Within the play, Russell also criticises Conservative ideology regarding families:

  • Conservative ideology endorses the nuclear, traditional family

  • Russell highlights Conservative attitudes towards divorce

  • Britain’s social laws changed in 1967 under the Labour Party, relaxing laws on divorce

Blood Brothers social context

Social class

There was a huge social and economic disparity between the classes in 1980s Britain, which is reflected in the differences between the Lyonses and the Johnstones. 

• When Russell wrote the play in 1981, England had just experienced political instability which widened the social class divide

• The Conservative party reduced the power of trade unions (organisations that argued for better working conditions); this affected the manufacturing industry and, in turn, the working class:

  • Industrial cities, like Liverpool, where Russell grew up and where the play is set, were affected especially badly

  • This resulted in widespread strikes and protests from the working class

• Russell’s play criticises Conservative ideology as discriminatory towards the working class:

  • Margaret Thatcher famously said that hard work was the answer to success

• Russell wrote his play just after an economic crisis in 1978 known as the Winter of Discontent, a period of time which led to increased crime and drug use

• There was a shortage of housing, with many inner-city homes being run-down and impoverished:

  • In the play, the Johnstones are relocated from the city to new housing 

Gender

During this period, Liverpool faced high unemployment rates, a theme reflected through Mrs Johnstone’s employment as a cleaner for Mrs Lyons and her struggle to raise seven children alone. 

• Russell’s play criticises an England between 1960 and 1980 where women were still largely reliant on men for security and status:

  • Russell depicts the impact of single motherhood through Mrs Johnstone and reveals she was abandoned by her husband and left with seven children to raise

• Russell criticises patriarchal attitudes to mental health through Mrs Lyons’ mental deterioration:

  • Many married women during the 1960s and 1970s were prescribed medication to treat anxiety and nerves

  • Up until 1969, it was common practice to institutionalise women who did not reflect an attitude in keeping with social norms

• Russell highlights that contemporary gender ideals related to beauty and youth:

  • He uses a sinister motif, Marilyn Monroe, to symbolise gender ideals of the time

  • The dark symbolism suggests a criticism of social ideals regarding gender 

  • Marilyn Monroe, a famous Hollywood actress, was idolised for her beauty, but died young under tragic circumstances linked to drugs

Blood Brothers literary context

• Blood Brothers belongs to the genre of musical theatre, blending song, dialogue and choreography to narrate the events:

  • It contains a non-naturalistic style through narration, musical elements, ensemble acting and asides

• The play has elements of both comedy and tragedy and concludes with a sorrowful conclusion

• Blood Brothers aligns within the broader literary tradition of realism, which attempts to create literature in which the world is presented as it actually exists:

  • Its purpose is to present everyday experiences as they are in real life, even if they are monotonous and mundane

• The play is structured as a tragedy using certain conventions of classic Greek tragedy:

  • A tragedy usually depicts the doomed journey of a tragic hero with a fatal flaw

  • The mothers act as the antagonists of the play and the play opens with a warning from the narrator, who acts as a chorus

  • He informs the audience that the deaths of the twins is inevitable