Mike Leigh

Mike Leigh OBE is an English writer and director of theater and film. Born on 20th February 1943 in Broughton, Lancashire, Leigh had a working-class northern up bringing. He studies theatre at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art with a scholarship in 1960 and began his acting career with the Royal Shakespeare company. In the later 1960s, Leigh became a theater director and play write but it wasn't until the 1970s that Leigh made the transition to television plays. Some of his earlier productions such as 'Nuts in May' (1976) and 'Abigale's Party' (1977) humorously satirised middle-class manners and attitudes. As Leigh moved into the 1980's, his plays focused more on working-class families and had a starker, more brutal nature. 'High Hopes' (1988) and 'Naked' (1993) are good examples of Leigh's new themes. A commitment to social realism is evident throughout Leigh's work. His television plays portray 'Kitchen Sink Realism' that developed in the late 1950s; they explore the domestic relationships between ordinary people that are hugely affected by a crisis towards the end of the film.

Leigh's style of working is very unique to Social Realism. He works from improvisation instead of writing scripts. These sessions take place over a few weeks where the actors and actresses build their characters and many of the story lines from nothing but a brief sketch of ideas from Leigh. Working with only a small selection of actors including Alison Steadman who he went on to marry, Timothy Spall and Lesley Manville, Leigh ensures that his improvisation sessions will be successful as he knows that these can work well in his style.

Leigh has won many prizes at major European film festivals, most notably he won 'Best Director' at Cannes for 'Naked' in 1993. He has been nominated for six Academy Awards and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2008.

British Social Realsim

The UK has a strong legacy of fiction that attempts to portray issues facing ordinary people in their social situations. Social realist films should not be thought of as a genre but instead, an approach. English film director Ken Loach is associated with Social Realist Films and suggests he merely tells stories which he hopes will 'resonate' with the public. Mike Leigh tends to avoid being labelled to a form of realism although like Loach, Leigh uses no scripts and total improvisation which is a technique strongly linked to Social Realism.

Murry's definition of Social Realism (2008), "the work of film makers today who may be creative, but are always grounded in the actuality of the events within their social contexts - waiting to examine the social realities that these fictional stories and people grow out of. Our experience as audiences is a constant frisson of recognition".

'Frisson' leads us to the idea that social realism is often uncomfortable to watch. In many social realist films the main theme is the complexity of exploration. These films represent different issues so therefore can not be collectively summarised as being typically of how the UK is viewed on screen. However, the themes they explore are common in relation to location.

British Cinema

The ways in which Britain is represented on screen are hugely influenced by economic and political contexts, e.g funding, the relationship between USA and UK film, dilemmas for producers, audience shifts and government agendas.

We need to consider:

• British films as cultural products
• A range f commercially successful and critically acclaimed films on release with regard to directors, styles and audience responses
• How films represent the changing nature of Britain and it's people
• Does British Cinema suffer from a 'burden of representation'?

The British Film Industry

British films are split into four categories:

• Category A - an entirely British film funded by UK finance
• Category B - majority UK funded
• Category C - co-funded by the UK and the US
• Category D - US films with some creative input from the UK

UK films share a language with Hollywood...but is this a benefit or a stumble block? Roddick argues, "Every memorable achievement to come out of UK cinema since the war has come out of some one's desire to sell something, not to sell" (1999).

Our government defines success on the Hollywood model: 'bums on seats'. Films get money from the Film Council and the National Lottery if they seriously set out to or actually achieve this.

Film directors such as Mike Leigh, Shane Meadows, Ken Loach and Michael Winterbottom face the dilemma summarised by Stafford (2002), "The choices for British producers are: make low budget British films directed at mainstream British audiences, hoping that the 'peculiarly British' subject matter will attract overseas audiences who will see films as unusual.

The Burden of Representation

Linking to British Film in relation to collective identity, the 'burden of representation' describes the way that the history of social realist British film can weigh on the shoulders of new film makers and producers. E.g, 'Bend it Like Beckham' blends realism, authenticity and stereotyping. Where as some British films, such as 'East to East' have concerned Muslim critics about the representation of 'traditional' Muslim values through the depiction of inflexible patriarchs, 'Beckham' represents Punjani identity through a well-worn depiction of a wedding and 'Jess' breaks away from the stereotype by wanting to play football.

'The Hero With A Thousand Faces' - Joseph Cambell

First published in 1949, Joseph Cambell's 'A Hero With A Thousand Faces' is a non-fiction, seminal work of comparative mythology. In the book, Cambell explores and evaluates the journey or monomyth of the archetypal hero that originates from the world of mythologies:

• 'A Call to Adventure' - At the beginning of the monomyth, the Hero is in his/her ordinary world and time when they receive a call to enter an unusual world of strange powers and events.


• 'A Road of Trails' - If the Hero accepts this call, he/she will then face challenges and tasks that could potentially end with fatalities. They may have to face these trails alone or might have assistance.


• 'The Goal or Boon' - If the Hero survives the challenges, he/she will receive a great gift. This gift often results in the discovery of important self-knowledge.


• 'The Return to the Ordinary World' - The Hero must then decide whether or not to return home with his Boon, but this would mean leaving the unusual world.


• 'The Application of The Boon' - If the Hero returns home successfully, he/she can use the gift or Boon to change their lives for the better and improve the ordinary world.

Most myths contain all of these stages, however, some explore only a few or focus one one alone. These five stages are usually separated into three sections: 'Departure' which involves the Hero's venture into the quest, 'Initiation' deals with the Hero's adventures along the way and 'Return' deals with the Hero's return home with the knowledge and skills he/she had acquired along the way.

Post 2006 Films that explore Myth - Inception.

Inception (2010)




Inception, (2010), is an American Science Fiction film written, produced and directed by Christopher Nolan. The plot intricately explores myth to a great extent, seducing the audience into the unknown magical world of invading the mind of the dreamer whilst the fast editing entices the audience from the opening shots, creating an overwhelming sense of apprehension and tension throughout the film.

The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio who plays the protagonist Dom Cobb, a skilled thief, the best in the dangerous art of extracting information from the subconscious minds of his victims whilst they are at their most vulnerable state: dreaming. Cobb's rare ability has made him an international fugitive and he has had to leave his past and his loved ones behind in order to be a successful, covert player in the world of corporate espionage. In exchange for his old life that he longs for, Cobb must perform one last impossible job: inception - the reverse of the perfect heist, his team must accomplish the planting of an idea into the mind of his client's competitor.

Through this process of travelling through dreams, pain can be felt but death results in awakening; this idea alone is very mythological and mystical. The entire concept of working within the unconscious mind of another is exceptionally mythological as it has connotations of magic and the process is unknown in our reality, therefore creating a sense of anxiety in the audience.

Myth and Established Genre...'Western'

The 'Western' was the earliest established genre known to the world of film. Its has had some infamous directors and titles such as Clint Eastwood with his classic 'Unforgiven' (1992), John Ford with 'The Searchers' (1956) and Sergio Leone with 'Once Upon a Time in the West' (1968). These men greatly influenced the world and most definitely the media of today. The history of the Western derives solely from America's history and its development in the early ages of the cowboys and red Indians in the 16th century onwards. When the original white men discovered the Native Americans they became known over time as 'The Founding Fathers' who were puritan in belief. They settled in the East and in the 17th century developed the train. This enabled them to travel West over the Rocky Mountains and further discover the world of the Native Americans. This area became known as 'The Wild West' due to the confrontation between the Founders and the Natives. It became known as the 'Promised Land' with the dream of 'freedom under one God'. This myth inspired directors and writers into making and producing films that formed the category 'The Western' that re-lives classic moments of history or simply portrays the day to day life and excitement of the Wild West. More Western films were made from 1910 - 1960 than any other genre of films to this day. Therefore, although the Western was the first established genre of all times, it is now thought of as an exhausted genre and not many new Westerns are made in the current film industry.

The opening of 'Once Upon A Time In The West' - Sergio Leone (1969)

• 'Once Upon A Time In The West' intertextualises other Westerns, the writers took lines out of other films and put them into 'Once Upon...' in places that had maximum focus of the audience and usually in ironic situations to ensure fully that the viewer would realise.
• It is a very post-modern film as at the time it was made, it upset mainstream conventions of traditional narrative structure and characterisation.
• The power of the western characters is purely mythical as the original strength and fear that the settlers had over the natives has been exaggerated in time and the connotations of cowboys and their power now stand as far superior to the actual power they originally possessed.
• The shot at approximately ... through the doorway looking out to the wild west is one of the most famous shots out of all western films. It is testament to John Ford, he's a director that follows the Auteur theory whereby the film reflects the directors creative vision.
• The juxtaposition of extreme close-ups and long shots used quickly within the same scene increases tension and apprehension in the mind of the viewer and intensifies the meaning behind the actions of the characters.
• The opening of the film is mostly complete silence which portrays the barren landscape and also creates suspicion and apprehension. When the fly lands on the man's face, this silence is exaggerated, furthermore this moment contrasts sharply to the arrival of the train which represents civilisation: a completely different emphasis to the barren, lifeless landscape previously shown.

Metanarrative and "The Reign of Fire" (2002).

Many metannaratives are visible in the film 'The Reign of Fire' (2002), directed by Rob Bowman. The opening is set in London - which in it self has many connotations. Bowman has included many metanarravies to foreshadow future events and create apprehension and tension in the first few minutes. Some of the metannaratives and their connotations are:

- Pigeons swarm across the sky in the opening shot, hassle for the boy:

• symbolises escape - foreshadows mother and son trying to get up the lift later in the film when they are attempting to escape the fire from the dragon.
• flying of pigeons foreshadows flying of dragon and the hassle they are causing the boy is a mere hint of how much trouble and danger the dragon will cause.

- Focus of a man lighting a cigarette effortlessly:

• the same action is performed later on and the match is blown out but an unknown force - anxiety is created in the mind of the audience as to what caused it.
• on a simple level, this action emphasises the stereotype of the British Worker they are trying to create.
• the extreme close up focuses on the flame the match feeds, foreshadowing the later fire, furthermore, the control of the flame of the match contrasts sharply to the out of control, ragging fire that the dragon breaths.

-London Underground, Westminster:

• underground culture conveys secrecy, lies and mystery...all of these notions are emphasised upon the audience which builds up tension in the audience. Secondly, the word 'underground' its self foreshadows the appearance of the dragon as they life in underground or cave-like locations.
• Westminster equals power and authority in Britain. This is later lost to the dragon who has control of the situation and the people are let helpless in one of the most powerful locations in the country.

Myths and Metanarratives

Myth (dictionary definition): a traditional or legendary story, usually concerning some being or hero or event, with or without a determinable basis of fact or natural explanation, esp. one that is concerned with deities or demigods and explains some practice, rite, or phenomenon of nature.

Ideas associated with the myth:

• fantasy
• nature/nurture
• realism
• hyper reality
• legends
• morals
• provides you with a stereotype
• literally involves the person but is a metaphor

Metanarrative (dictionary definition): in postmodernist literary theory - a narrative about a narrative or narratives. Meta meaning 'after' or 'beyond'.

Metanarratives can belong to individual characters as well as the plot as a whole. Many metanarratives can be used at the same time to create a background story that the audience is led to believe...the myth. Dominant discourses suggested by the metanarrative are linked by myths to form stereotypes. Metanarratives are very closely related to allegories, meaning one story told through another, the 'Star Wars' films are very good examples of this where by it is thought that WW2 is being re-told through the characters and plot. The American TV sc-fi drama series 'Lost' is riddled with metanarratives and mythological elements, such as the monster that roams the island. Even in the first episode, the main character 'Jack' is seen stumbling through the rain forest of the desert island holding his ribs as co-character 'Kate' walks into the shot - this scene has the metanarrative of the biblical story of Genesis when Adam is in the Garden of Eden where Eve is created from one of his ribs. Although the story of Genesis is not even verbally referred to in the series through the script, it is shown through physical connotations to the audience, making it a mythological metanarrative instead of a storyline in the plot.

Joseph Cambell, American mythologist, writer and lecturer, had a huge influence on the world of media and in particular the film industry. In his book 'The Hero with a Thousand Faces' (first released in 1949), Cambell explores the archetypal hero found in mythologies. This book heavily influenced George Lucas who was the first Hollywood film maker to publicly credit Cambell's work. After Lucas released 'Star Wars' in 1977, he announced that the storyline was partially based on Cambell's works. The character 'Luke Skywalker' was can easily be compared to the archetypal hero Cambell discusses in his books and this linkage was proven somewhat by re-prints of 'The Hero...' using the image of 'Luke Skywalker' on the cover. Maybe without the influence of Cambell, the mythological metanarratives would not be understood or even used as thoroughly as they are today in the film industry.