The Enemy Within (Still The Enemy Within) 2014
Distributed by Bullfrog Films, PO Box 149, Oley, PA 19547; 800-543-FROG (3764)
Produced by Sinead Kirwan, Mark Lacey, Owen Gower.
Directed by Owen Gower
DVD , color, 112 min.
Middle School - General Adult
Unions, Great Britain, Mineworkers
Date Entered: 08/09/2016
Reviewed by Malcolm L. Rigsby, Department of Sociology, Human Services, & Criminal Justice, Henderson State University, Arkadelphia, ArkansasDirector Owen Gower demonstrates his prowess in combining background information and media footage with eyewitness accounts of the 1984-5 British Miner’s Strike seeking redress in response to then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s attempt to curb the power of unions in Great Britain. Gower seeks artfully and in a very tasteful way to show us the reality of the strike, its harshness in terms of loss and victories in terms of prosocial progress. He uses the historical and personal accounts of individuals, people just like the public to tell the story of the success and loss associated with the action to preserve the union. It is through the faces of the men and women and their intimate and soulful stories that we come to reason how commitment and first hand action can make a difference in a rapidly changing world where government does not always do what is best for the people at large but rather does what is necessary to preserve political interests.
The film, released in Great Britain under the title Still The Enemy Within, provides many opportunities for group and class analysis as well as individual contemplation. Hence it is excellent viewing for the individual or in group screenings. The Enemy Within objectively portrays the power of people to unite and affect their nation’s and their own future. In an age of dynamic change what better film can be imagined!
People interested in politics, sociology and psychology will find this an intriguing film. The website provides a trailer.