High on my list of films to see is Suffragette, a movie that
has been lauded and criticised for its depiction of women’s struggle to obtain
the vote in the late eighteenth and early twentieth century. It is set in a
period just before the First World War and focuses on the militant activities
of the WSPU (Women’s Social and Political Union) in Britain.
Britain at this time was a class ridden society, and although
some members of the WSPU were working class women, the majority came from the middle
and upper classes, particularly those who followed Emmeline Pankhurst and her
daughter Christabel.
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| Sylvia Pankhurst |
Emmeline’s daughter, Sylvia Pankhurst who, unlike her mother
and sisters, had a strong attachment to the Labour party, and was particularly
close to Keir Hardie was the one who brought the suffragette struggle to the
working classes. She disagreed with Christabel’s tactic of turning the WSPU
towards upper and middle-class women, and due to her disagreements about the way
the WSPU was conducting the struggle for votes, she broke away from them and
set up the East London Federation of Suffragettes (ELFS). This organisation was
more democratic with a greater focus on working women and even included men.
It must be remembered that the WSPU were not the only
organisation fighting for women’s suffrage. The Women’s Freedom League (WFL), was
also a militant organisation, but their militancy was non-violent. The WFL was
formulated in 1907 by WSPU members who had become disenchanted with the WSPU due
to the autocratic leadership of the Pankhursts, and the violent path on which
they were embarking.
The film has attracted criticism and has been accused of
having racist overtones, but it has to be remembered that in order to have a
degree of accuracy, the historical attitudes of the time have to be replicated
to provide a degree of authenticity. And Britain was a racial and class-ridden
society at this time in history. Much of the criticism revolves round the
wearing of tee-shirts with the slogan “I’d rather be a rebel than a slave”
which is actually a direct quote from a speech Emmeline Pankhurst gave in 1913.
And Emmeline’s politics did veer to the hard right by this time, although
earlier in her life she’d had socialist leanings. It is possible this slogan
will not have the same adverse effect in Britain as it does in America, where
slavery is a large part of their history. We could argue all day as to whether
the producers of the film should have been more sensitive to this aspect, or
whether they were right to portray historical accuracy, and at the end I doubt
if there would be agreement. On the other hand, perhaps I am being cynical in
thinking this is a publicity stunt which had the desired effect of stirring up
controversy.
I have no view on whether the producers were right or wrong,
all I know is I want to see the film.
Chris Longmuir
NB: My historical crime novel set in 1919 features Dundee’s
first policewoman who was a suffragette prior to the start of the First World
War.
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