Masculinity In The Film This Sporting Life

In the late 1950s and the early 1960s, the topic of modernization was under intense debate and concern throughout Britain. This brought up issues concerning gender, and masculinity. Throughout the film This Sporting Life, the audience’s attention is turned to the questions of heroism in sport, social class and change, and the relationship between the male gender and the female gender, especially between that of Frank Machin and Margaret Hammond. The problem that British society faced lied within the perspective that sport and the social culture that surrounds it sustains a force to drive modernization. In the fifteen years or so after the second World War, the time which the novel and film adaptation took place, there was a sense of crisis that developed in Britain. Society became more focused on the unity of collectivity and how the workings of the individuals became more crucial to civilization for their contributions. Economics, business, industrial relations, foreign affairs, and even sport and leisure activities were subjected to close scrutiny by those observers who perceived Britain as having an absence of forward thinking in the face of modernization. These ideas however, were not new to British society. There were similar perceptions throughout history in Britain, for example, when the industrial revolution came about. These ways of thinking were clouded by visions of the past, present, and future. Society could not see past their own ideology of the way things were and how they ought to be to see the change that was happening around them. These ideas about what could be achieved were overshadowed by the thoughts of restoring things from the past. …show more content…
These thoughts and perceptions can be seen at play throughout the film as Margret refuses to move on from her life with her deceased husband and Frank struggles to make a future for her and her children through his rugby football career. Margaret can not move on from the memories of the past with her late husband and struggles to return Frank’s affections. This creates tension with Frank as he responds with outward aggression. Margaret’s inability to move on from her past makes it impossible for Frank to take his part in the family unit. Frank upholds this utopic idea of how the family unit should work and operate, with himself being at the head of the household and providing both everyday items and lavish gifts for his family. Any time Margaret disagrees with the things Frank’s ideals, he retaliates with an outburst of hyper-masculinity, often throwing things or hitting Margaret. ‘Acting big’ while, in actuality, being ‘small’ is one of the key features in the ‘angry young men’ movement that This Sporting Life was born from. Frank embodies the anger and rebellion of young men at this time period when they felt that they were being made small. The Beatles depicted this same feeling if disappointment from the generation of angry, lower-class men after the second World War and the economic and social upheavals that came afterwards. However, The Beatles participation in the movement seemed to be more aesthetic than political. Despite this, the validation and acknowledge of the rage that the generation felt was enough to continue to propel the movement forward. Other distinctions could be made between Margaret and Frank, as he began