Case Study: White Girl

'White Girl' is a social realist film that tackles family, social class and ethnicity issues, and is challenging the condition and representation of what it means to be British' and the identity of youth in a British family.
'White Girl' presents a disfunctional family who aim to escape a controlling father figure (who is also their only source of income). They relocate to a different geographical region in England (Bradford) which introduces an unfamiliar culture and religion to the British family.
The contrast between how the British family and the Muslim religion are represented is very apparent. The Muslims are shown to be respectful of their family, the posessions they own, their parents wishes, and are peaceful. The Biritish family clash with this as although they help look after each other (scenes involving Leah making her younger siblings breakfast) they shout and swear at each other, there is constant drug use within the family (unlike the Muslim families) and the mother is very unreliable and needs her mother to help her out (whereas the Muslim family have an authoritarian in a father figure, something the British family escaped as their father figure was abusive of his role). The Muslims therefore show a very strong sense of community and obedience. The British family however abuse the family community, with each parent being neglectful of their duties and using the kids such as Leah's brother to benefit themselves and get them things (the young boy getting his dad items from the local shops). Representations of Britishness in this case is very negative and shows a typical C2 demographic family to be disfunctional and uncohesive with one another, not a strong community.
The impact subsequently on a youth character in 'White Girl', Leah, is ultimately escapism as she begins to adopt the Muslim religion, beliefs and way of life. The scarf (hijab) is the first sign that she is beginning to "escape" Britishness and shape her own identity. By gaining this scarf, and by reading books at school, Leah begins to discover acceptance by being welcomed into the local school and freedom from her teacher to read books about the Muslim community, security through collective identity and foundations of commandments written within the religion and classes at school that teach these, and aspiration by being given books to further teach herself about Muslim life and frequent visits to the Mosque. A prime example of aspiration in Leah's case is the Hijab; by her wearing it she shows neglect towards her British family and safety within the Muslim heritage. The hijab therefore becoming a symbol of acceptance, security and aspiration. All together this is moving her away from the alienation she had been experiencing in her own British family.
Leah's mother however is resentful to her moving away from Britishness, and instantly becomes fearful when Leah wears the scarf within the British family community, this fear could be down too Leah losing her authentic Britishness (her roots) and losing respect for her Britishness, yet also being fearful of Leah's new found valuation of elements of life the mother has rejected in the past, education.
Leah's mother rows with her teachers against Leah's will. This is a key example of adult fear. Through this fear the community within the British family shows that family is a valued concept to Britishness and straying from the roots of what makes us British is not acceptable, in this demographic class at least. However, the fear could also stem from previous educational failure of the mother herself, and how she does not have an education and did not care about her own education, yet how Leah is not at least gaining an authentic British education. British pride and aspects of racism, and perhaps the clashing of beliefs and teachings through geographical region are the resulting factors in this case.
Adult fear is further established during the scene that the hijab is forcably removed from Leah, even though she is stubborn to fight to keep her new identity and what the hijab stands for. She ends up being shut out of her house until she accepts her true British heritage. Here I felt that the door was a representation towards the border divide of a country, where inside the house is Britain, and outside this house and any other house in that region represented the Muslim community as a foreign world and country in its own right. Leah's refusal to walk through the door of Britishness further establishes her neglect of her British roots and rejection of how her social class represents Britain.
Subsequently Leah builds her new Britain around the Mosque, and invites her mother along to visit the Mosque. The rituals of washing her face, feet and hands shown before they enter the Mosque resounded the possibility of this being Leah's initiation or induction to her Britain, and you can only proceed further inside the Mosque and reach the centre of her Britain if you cross the border and comply by washing her hands, feet and face also.
The mother herself has a low class job as a cleaner, and acquires constant drug abuse of cigarettes and a powerful drinking problem. The possible reasons that the mother turned to the drink in the first place is some what suggestive to her using it as a comforter and empowerer to balance her duties for the family and to balance family, work, and social responsibilities mentally.
It is the drug abuse that Leah targets and believes is destroying the family (cans of drink are consistantly displayed throughout the film within reaching distance of the mother whilst in Bradford), and it could be from this that envokes the escapism that Leah has, to get away from her British tag and gain new status and identity under Muslim life. Her happiness and security of this new identity is confirmed by the scene that shows her working and reciting quotes from the Quran towards her father during an argument, which ultimately drives him away.
I feel representations of Britishness through "White Girl" show pride of our roots and of our family and collective identity of where we are from. The insecurities shown in this film lie underneath this, how conflict within family can be swayed by unreliable parentage, drug abuse, lack of respect, and striving to fulfill our aspirations which in this film's case was Leah's education and the conflict being how Leah's mother did not have one and is resentful for this.