OCR GCSE Drama

28 Cultural context Mrs Johnstone is compared to Marilyn Monroe, a beautiful Hollywood star who would have been popular when Mrs Johnstone first met her husband. Music, such as that of the Beatles, was very important in the 1960s and Willy Russell was a semi-professional singer, making the use of contemporary pop music particularly appropriate for the play. In the 1960s and 1970s, Liverpool was at the forefront of youth culture, including fashions, such as mini-skirts and long hair. Clothing was often brightly coloured or patterned and items such as waistcoats or leather jackets were popular for men. The architecture of Liverpool at the time ranged from grand civic buildings to poor tenements. Some areas were still severely affected by the heavy bombings that Liverpool suffered during the Second World War. Social context Middle-class people, like the Lyons, generally experienced fewer ill effects caused by the 1970s economic recession and had more opportunities for education and employment. Mickey and Linda, like Willy Russell himself, attend a non-selective secondary modern school. Edward goes to a private boarding school, spending term times at school and returning home for the holidays. Both are depicted as being flawed, but Edward’s school has higher aspirations for him (‘Talk of Oxbridge’, page 63), while Mickey’s teacher wonders if Mickey will ever be employed: ‘Just how the hell do you hope to get a job when you never listen to anythin’’ (page 67). Although there had been some improvement for women’s rights with the passing of the 1975 Sex Discrimination Act, a woman’s role of wife and mother was still considered by many to be their most important. In Blood Brothers , none of the lead female characters is shown as having a powerful job outside the home, suggesting the importance of their domestic roles. A bronze statue of the Beatles in front of the Port of Liverpool Building. A middle-class 1970s couple window shopping. The ‘quiet room’ of a boys’ boarding school, 1966. Workers at the Liverpool Tate and Lyle factory, 1961. They would often pack sugar from 6am to 2pm before doing the family wash in the corporation laundry. Recession: A period of economic unproductivity or decline, which is often associated with high unemployment and rising prices. KEY TERm: 3 THE SET TEXTS