Representation of the Self-Other Binary in PRIDE

Abstract

The film PRIDE tells the extraordinary tale of a group of lesbians and gays who decide to stand up and support the miner's strike in the 1980's in Great Britain. In the midst of this historical story, we follow the fictional character of Joe who is trying to come to terms with his homosexuality. With a film like PRIDE where the protagonist is queer, as well as many of the most important side characters, can we see a change in the way in which the Self-Other binary is constructed? To answer this question, first the concepts or representation and othering will be discussed, which are the building bricks to understanding the construction of a Self-Other binary. Queer theory and the practice of queering are also explained, since all these concepts will be vital tools in understanding the film PRIDE. To analyse this, the structures of sympathy will be analysed through the neoformalist approach as developed by David Bordwell. This is a observant analysis method which focusses on film techniques used to engage the viewer. The first part of the analysis will focus on the opening and closing scenes to understand the construction of sympathy throughout the entire film. The main characters and the way they are framed will be discussed. After this, some key scenes in which queer and straight have a conflict regarding identity will be highlighted and analysed. Finally, there will be a reflection on this analysis and a more in-depth discussion of the representation of the Self-Other binary in PRIDE and how we can understand the construction of characters in this film.