Poshos versus Chavs: The Battle of Class and the Film Industry

Warning: I am not political. I am not an anthropologist. I do not speak for anyone, I speak for myself. I am not an expert in any field and, I am entirely unqualified to share my advice on any topic.

Let’s get the slang definitions out of the way for the non-British readers.

The Upper Class: Posh, Poshos, Toffs, Hooray Henrys, Sloane Rangers, Aristos, Blue Bloods, Gentry and Champagne Charlies.

The Working Class: Lads, Lasses, Birds, Skivers, Chavs, Cocks, Townies, Cockneys and Blokes.

I am not a linguist, but these are the ones I have heard the most over the years.

Disclaimer: Life is full of contradictions and class is no different. I like to think of myself as a class chameleon, this is probably inaccurate, but I like it, so I carry it with me. I have a mixed-class background, some of my family were land-owning farmers, who farmed their own land, and the other half were miners, who physically worked the mines. My upbringing was a mix of working class and lower middle class with long stints on council estates and then in slightly improved circumstances. I have been broke and poor more times than I am willing to write here. I was absolutely broke when I entered the Film Industry, I lived in Hackney, in a council flat, when it still sold bacon rolls for breakfast and lived next door to a crack dealer called Zac. Therefore, this blog will be subjective and working class orientated. It is what I know, but I appreciate that it is tough for everyone, particularly at the moment.

Working Class Representation in the Arts

The working class have always been poorly represented in the Arts; it is nothing new. It is expensive to work within a creative industry, and therefore more accessible to the middle and upper classes. The working class are poorly represented in the UK Film Industry for this same reason.

Revolution of the Classes and the Arts

I sometimes find myself thinking about the French Revolution (All that French tyre burning you see on TV). It started with the nobility and worked its way down to the working class, getting progressively bloodier as it went. Representation in the Arts has followed a similar pattern flowing from the upper classes to eventually the working class. The working class are better represented now in the Arts than they have ever been.

Is the representation of the working class in the Film Industry getting worse?

Yes!

We are witnessing an unprecedented loss of people from working class backgrounds leaving the Film Industry right now.

Why? Last year’s strikes. But why are the working class leaving at a faster rate?

These would be my best guesses: Their savings have been exhausted or they simply had none. No family financial safety net. The bank likely owns the property they live in, or they rent. Meaning their monthly overheads are much higher after the mortgage interest rate increases and the rent increases, increasing their risk. Even if they manage to break into the Film Industry which is a big if, their chance of sticking around is low. As we all know the film business is built on freelance gigs, offering zero job security, which is constantly driving out the less well-off to seek more stable employment elsewhere. All of which, results in a massive loss of film experience and artistic talent.

Working Class Access to the Film Industry

The working class are poorly represented in most departments. Access is the main issue. How can you possibly get started in the Film Industry working for free without money in your pocket and a free roof over your head? You can’t. In your first year, you may make no money or maybe £12k if lucky. I think at this point it is also sensible to mention geography. You must be in London or near the studio, most of the work is in these areas. These areas however have the highest property prices in the world. If you are from a working class family you are less likely to be based in London or near a film studio.

What is a room in a shared house nowadays? £800 a month, plus travel, plus car. I just don’t see a runner from a working class house being able to manage it. Then there are entry-level start-up expenses. You must be mobile, have a car, insure it, get tyres on it, tax it and finally be able to afford to fuel it. What are we talking here £2-3k? If you are in the Location Department as I am, you need £1-2k for a laptop, £1-2k for camera gear. Let’s total this up, assuming zero money is made the first year, you likely need £15-18k. This is similar to a year at university, except you will NEVER get a loan to finance it. But let’s not forget that there are plenty of posh people with no cash as well, who also struggle to get a break.

Recruitment

This will not be liked, but I will say it anyway. There is no such thing as positive and negative discrimination, there is only discrimination. Glad we got that out of the way. Unfortunately, people employ people like themselves, don’t judge yourself too hard, it is an evolutionary inherited instinct designed to keep us safe when choosing our pack. But given that the working class are underrepresented in the Film Industry already, this puts you at a disadvantage. Be aware of this cognitive bias if you are recruiting and adapt your behaviour accordingly. If you are going for an interview, be aware of this and prepare accordingly. Don’t forget this also works in reverse.

Fixing the Unfixable

Is the situation fixable or reversible? Probably not. I can’t see the art budgets being increased in the next decade to improve access. The less working class people in the industry means that the working class film network will shrink and they will be able to introduce less people, resulting in a decreasing spiral.

I don’t mean to bash the government here, the increased film tax breaks have helped, but more reliable arts funding would help here for working class film access, there are many talented film-makers in the UK, but we must give them more support. It isn’t just training, but those initial network introductions to get them on that first jobs.

Behaviour

No matter who you are dealing with, be kind, be polite, and be measured. No matter a person’s background, we do not live in the jungle.

Some help:

There are some very simple changes you can make to give yourself the best chance of film entry access, if from a working background.

No one knows you. Work on your posh accent, go underground. Just tell them you have a second home in Suffolk and talk about how much you love horses and dogs.

Work on your network. Go to everything. Hand your business cards out like Willy Wonka.

Move home to your family for the first year or two if you are lucky enough to live close by. Parents are annoying, but at least you will not starve.

Improve your financial literacy. If your household was anything like mine, you were taught how to apply for a Barclaycard and it finished there.

Be willing to suffer more than anyone else. The currency of success is happiness and freedom, be willing to go further than others.

Posh people can be defined by what they don’t say. Say less. You have two ears and one mouth, always listen twice as much as you talk.

How to stay the course

Keep your network well-maintained.

Be reliable and dependable. These people are hard to find, no matter what background.

Save every month. Aim to have 3-6 months of overheads saved for the downturns.

Always set aside your tax money.

Live small, earn big.

Some light moralising

As much as it is an entertaining conversation topic of the British, all people in the UK cannot be defined by being either a Chav or Posho, do have a go for the sake of fun, but it is nonsense and shouldn’t be taken too seriously.

I think it is also important to mention how our brain works a little, for some extra context here. The brain cannot process everything happening, we would collapse. Our monkey brain is designed to classify (see what I did here!) and categorise information to help make sense of the world. A tendency to categorise people is deeply rooted in our evolutionary history. It is important we recognise this cognitive bias so we have a more evolved approach. The world can’t be divided into poshos, chavs, conservatives, labour, black and white, republicans, democrats, it is just fucking silly. That said, try not to be too hard on yourself, this programming runs deep and it is important it tries to increase our chance of survival, but do try your best to have a more nuanced approach. The suffering in the Film Industry at the moment is universal.

I’ll end with an African proverb; I like to muse on:

“Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion, or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle—when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.”

Good luck out there whoever you are!

A final warning: I am not political. I am not an anthropologist. I do not speak for anyone; I speak for myself. I am not an expert in any field at all and I am entirely unqualified to share my advice on any topic.

Poshos versus Chavs: The Battle of Class and the Film Industry

Thank you!