Zoe
Full Member
Posts: 73
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Post by Zoe on Jun 11, 2010 9:18:11 GMT
I'm not sure whether this has been mentioned before, but I am sort of interested in this sort of iconic history. By this I mean, how life sort of is what it is now because of her "ideas of politics" all those years ago. It came about when I started learning about the "long sixties" (1959-1975) for my A level, but the topic ended the year she became Party Leader in 1975. After this chapter, I learned about the growth of multiculturalism to the year 1975. Confusing? Anyway, I know of some people who can't stand Margaret Thatcher, but, I'm sure there are people who liked her. So, as I wasn't born, I wondered if people could tell me about their opinions of Margaret Thatcher; whether she was both good and bad, or just plain bad? There is no point to this, I have finished my A level, but I'd like to carry my research further as I find this era particularly interesting! Thanks for reading, Zoe x
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Post by fattaxi on Jun 11, 2010 16:19:16 GMT
I thought this was going to say she was dead
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Zoe
Full Member
Posts: 73
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Post by Zoe on Jun 11, 2010 17:18:54 GMT
wishful thinking by any chance lol?
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Post by fattaxi on Jun 12, 2010 17:27:29 GMT
Ha ha I wouldn't wish that on anyone other then Davina McCall, Fern Cotten and Adrian Chiles
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Post by jill on Jun 13, 2010 20:33:05 GMT
But when the time comes, we'll have the tributes ready?
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Post by jill on Jun 24, 2010 21:41:19 GMT
Oh go on then....I've been holding back on this one, but maybe the forum needs a bit of 'heated debate' Since you've studied the period Zoe, you probably already know this.....In terms of the economics, Thatcher was only the national face of what was a transnational phenomenon. There was a shift away from Keynesian macro-economic management and waves of market liberalisation across the Western world from the mid-70s onwards. It was most visible in the UK and US under Thatcher and Reagan, but also happened in countries where ostensibly leftist parties were in office-e.g France under Mitterrand. Whether or not market liberalisation and the end of financial regulation, for example, was a good thing is a debatable point-suppose it depends on what you think about the recent financial crisis fiasco and its aftermath, I suppose. What I remember most about the Thatcher period though was the divisiveness of the politics. Whatever people think about trade union's, castigating the NUM (and by extension striking miners) as 'the enemy within' was downright nasty. The Thatcher government used similar 'othering' tactics against other groups too-ethnic minorities (Norman Tebbit's infamous 'cricket test') and gays (Clause 28), just as the media was whipping up hysteria about AIDs too-nice. It was pandering to the very worst kind of bigotted tabloid popularism, aspects of which are captured well in TIE. She wasn't entirely without a heart though. Apparently she cried when she heard Pinochet was dead. God bless 'er. Bah! Have you seen American Psycho btw? A nice satire on the 80s.
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Post by tonyyeboah on Jun 24, 2010 22:14:23 GMT
She's lost the plot now. Who's to say whe wasnt losing the plot when she was in power?
that is all
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Post by large michael on Jul 7, 2010 12:17:40 GMT
"she cried when she heard pinochet was dead". Jill, there are levels of irony unsurpassed, in that sentence alone. And yes, im back.
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Post by tamster on Jul 12, 2010 21:16:56 GMT
There are mentions of Meryl Streep playing her in a film now that is one I would want to be in.
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Post by jill on Jul 18, 2010 11:20:53 GMT
Zoe, You might already know this book, but if not...... I've just started reading Andy Beckett's When the Lights Went Out, mainly thanks to your post (it's been sitting on a bookshelf for months). The book is really a (re)evaluation of the 1970s, but the point of doing that is-in part-is to cast a different light on Thatcher and Thatcherism. I'm only two chapters into it, so a bit early for a review, but so far it's a great read. It's maybe a bit politics heavy, although the reviews promise that it mixes politics and popular culture, so hopefully there's more of that to come. Since it is a bit politics heavy though, it might not be quite what you're looking for. My assessment so far though is that it's an excellent piece of work-detailed, intelligent, rigorous, engaging and pretty accessible all things considered. www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/may/03/andy-beckett-kureishi-when-the-lightsMaybe you'd also like Jon Savage's book on the Sex Pistols too: www.amazon.co.uk/Englands-Dreaming-Jon-Savage/dp/0571227201/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1279452006&sr=1-11970s again, but makes Thatcherism more understandable from a cultural perspective.
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