Opportunists and Hooligans: Thatcherism in The Ploughman’s Lunch and Arrivederci Millwall!

Abstract

In The Ploughman’s Lunch (1985) and Arrivederci Millwall (1987, 1990), the two works under consideration in this chapter, the focus of attention shifts away from Margaret Thatcher herself and onto that curious blend of nostalgia and neoconservatism known as Thatcherism.¹ McEwan’s film and Perry’s play/television film,² also use very different techniques from those employed in Sink the Belgrano! and If … Thus, rather than rely on the alternative exaggeration of cartoon, they seek to counter Thatcher’s mythic vision of nation through a rigorous conformity to the conventions of social realism.