Great 1980s Films from Easterhouse and Drumchapel

Two great videos below discussing housing, welfare and community issues in Easterhouse and Drumchapel in the 1980s.  What is striking is how progressive they are in comparison to the stigmatising representations of the working class and unemployed we see on television now. Both emphasise the ability of people in these estates to find their own political solutions to appalling housing condition; both make intelligent and angry critiques of Glasgow City Council and the imposition of ‘soft’ community measures that singularly fail to address underlying problems.

Whose Town is it Anyway? Easterhouse People and Power, (30 mins), Dir. Tony Freeth, 1984, Channel Four

A portrait of a working class community after 25 years on the receiving end of traditional local government. Includes interviews with local community activists, a meeting in a pub, the editorial office of ‘The Voice’ community newspaper and a discussion with unemployed young people. Conveys their sense of powerlessness and anger at the failure of the authorities to get to grips with the massive housing and employment needs of their area. The video was produced in 1984. This copy bleeds into another show after about 23 mins.

Drumchapel: The Frustration Game, (21 mins), Produced by De-Classed Elements, 1989

A short highly polemical political critique of Municipal Socialism in Drumchapel, then a local authority housing estate in Glasgow. An absolutely devastating portrayal of Labour Party duplicity and the sham of pseudo ‘community’ initiatives that resonates profoundly in the bullshit ‘big society’ era. Sound only kicks in at 1.50. Have patience.