Shirley Valentine
"Shirley Valentine" English Coursework Willy Russell's Shirley Valentine is a romantic comedy, set in Liverpool, about a woman called (Surprisingly) Shirley Bradshaw. She is married to a man called Joe. When Joe and Shirley were married, they loved each other passionately, but as the years went on her life became a routine of washing up plates, glasses and dishes and making meals for her husband. She has resorted to talking to the kitchen wall because she is bored and has no one to socialize with. Shirley though, can never remember the exact point in which her amorous marriage turned into a horrible nightmare. Her marriage becomes so routine that Joe eats particular meals on particular days and if he does not get them on the right allocated days he has a tantrum! The play is influenced by kitchen sink drama, which was around during the late 1950 to 1960.It was a straight realism with a focus on working- class life, social problem relationships. Many kitchen sink dramas didn't have a pessimistic atmosphere that pervades the play with characters trapped in realistic social situation. The title sequence and opening scenes help to establish Shirley's character, by demonstrating atmosphere background and expressions. Moreover, there is a lot we can deduce from images. Firstly there are sketches in the opening of the film which instinctively grabs the audience's attention
british and irish film essay
The producers of British and Irish film use a set of codes and conventions to reinforce the myths about Britain. True or not true? I have chosen the film Shirley Valentine, 1989 to show that I agree that the producers of British and Irish films use a set of codes and conventions to reinforce the myths about Britain. I will discuss Margaret Thatcher and her policies; I will discuss how Britain saw a revolution during Thatcher's reign as Prime Minister and how by 1989, the time of the films release the country was completely different to how it had been before. Social Mobility will be the main subject as I discuss the question. The reason for this is because the film puts emphasis on this throughout. I will also discuss 'Class Crazed Britain' and how this affected us at the time. The Mise en scene will be used to analyse the particular sequence I will use to prove that producers of British and Irish film use a set of codes and conventions to reinforce the myths about Britain, although I will discuss other elements of film making also. Narrative, Genre, Cinematography, Editing and Sound. In 1989, Britain was led by Margaret Thatcher. By this time she had been in power for ten years and made radical changes to the country-radical changes that would deem significant forever. She decided that we should no longer be living in a welfare state. A state that Edward Heath
How does the playwright, Willy Russell, make the strong, rebellious and independent aspects of Shirley’s character stand out against the dreary confines of the Liverpudlian kitchen sink setting where we first see her?
How does the playwright, Willy Russell, make the strong, rebellious and independent aspects of Shirley's character stand out against the dreary confines of the Liverpudlian kitchen sink setting where we first see her? Willy Russell was born near Liverpool. Russell left school at 15 and became a hairdresser before changing his career to teaching where he was able to write and then to being a playwright. Willy Russell once said, "... that would mean a drastic change of course. Could I do it? I could I do something which those around me didn't understand? I would have to break away." This is relevant because the attitude in this speech comes out in his plays. In Shirley Valentine she does something drastic but doubts whether she can do it and no- one understands why she has to do it. It also shows that you can achieve what you want in life. Russell explores a number of themes throughout Shirley Valentine. One theme that Russell explores is changing your life. This is shown when Shirley becomes happier and confident in herself. Russell also explores the theme of how seeing different places affects you. This is shown when Shirley goes to Greece and realises there is a lot more to life than what she is used to. Another theme Russell explores is how other people's opinions and expectations influence you. This is shown in what Joe expects Shirley to have done when he gets home
How does Willy Russell use dramatic devices to explore the issues and themes of Shirley Valentine?
Rebecca Witterick How does Willy Russell use dramatic devices to explore the issues and themes of Shirley Valentine? Willy Russell uses many different dramatic devices to explore the issues and themes of the play 'Shirley Valentine'. One of the main themes is change, Russell explores and portrays this issue using several dramatic techniques, particularly flashbacks, stereotypes and contrast. In the opening scenes of the play, Shirley is a stereotypical housewife. Her daily routine is cooking and running after her husband, Joe. Like most of the important characters in 'Shirley Valentine' Joe is also a stereotype. He is a chauvinistic male who expects his wife to be there to serve and respect him. His old-fashioned ways make him believe that he is the breadwinner, therefore, when he comes home in the evening, Shirley should treat him with superior respect. Shirley is also expected to be a servant for her spoilt daughter Millandra, a stereotype who does not respect or care for her mother. Jane is Shirley's best friend, who became the stereotypical feminist after her husband left her. Being a man-loathing feminist, however is simply a facade for Jane to hide behind. This enlightens the audience on how some people may use stereotypes to protect their real identity and personality in order to prevent getting hurt, like Jane had been before. Marjorie's stereotype changes.
Shirley Valentine - review
The screenplay Shirley Valentine was written as a monologue by Willy Russell. The play set in Liverpool, which is Willy Russell's home, tells the story of a lonely and bored housewife who is sick of the way she is treated by her narrow minded and inconsiderate husband. Using devices such as flashback the screenplay shows how Shirley becomes a confident and positive woman after traveling to Greece and fulfilling her ambitions. In this essay I will be examining how Shirley has changed during the course of the play, and how the play has been organised to show the importance of these changes. Willy Russell has organised the use of devices so we can see how Shirley has changed over the years and how she has been effected by certain events in her life. As the opening credits are shown a song is being played. The lyrics of this song suggest this is a film about change, a change that enables Shirley to be herself. During the credits pictures are being shown the, these are pictures of Shirley doing household jobs such as washing dishes. Cleaning the house and cooking. This makes us think that the movie will be about a housewife changing to show her true self. This is a very clever use of sound and images, as it is trying to tell us about the story before it has even begun. As the film begins the setting alone is enough to show the mood Shirley is in and set the ton for the beginning
How does Willy Russell make is sympathise for Shirley Valentine?
How does Willy Russell make is sympathise for Shirley Valentine Willy Russell's big hit screenplay, 'Shirley Valentine', we examine the life of this middle-aged house wife and her struggles with her boring life. From the very beginning of her Secondary School times till now, Shirley's life was wasteful. No one listened to her opinions; no one really cared about her. Now she is a lonely, low classed person. This sympathetic connection between Shirley and the audience is illustrated in many ways, using a variety of dramatic techniques such as flashbacks. Flashbacks have revealed Shirley's past, it shows the reasons to why Shirley has become her lonely self. Then one of her closest friend Jane tells Shirley that she won tickets to Greece and Shirley is coming. After arriving at Greece, Shirley met a man called Costas, they go onto a boat and Shirley has an affair. After an affair and some happy moments in Greece she had at last fulfilled her life. She has found her inner self and has fallen in love with the idea of living. This whole story is linked to the writer of this play Willy Russell's past. There are many similarities such as Willy Russell was born in Liverpool and the story of Shirley Valentine is based in Liverpool. On top of this Willy Russell grew up in a materialistic atmosphere, this taught him to view the world for many women during the 1980's. This story
How does Willy Russell use dramatic devices to allow the audience to see many different sides of Shirley
Shirley Valentine How does Willy Russell use dramatic devices to allow the audience to see many different sides of Shirley Valentine's personality? Willy Russell is the playwright of Shirley Valentine. The play develops around one central character, Shirley, a housewife from Liverpool. The audience first meet Shirley sadly reflecting on her life. The play shows how the leading character changes dramatically throughout the course of the play. The first half of the play sees Shirley as a lonely but cynical, dependent human being. As the play progresses, the audience hears about Shirley's dream. Shortly after her dream becomes reality. In the second half of the play, Shirley finds herself on a Greek island, away from her husband, Joe. Shirley's character begins to change as she meets Costas. She becomes independent and confident. Willy Russell uses many dramatic devices in this story to develop the character of Shirley Valentine. Perhaps the most obvious one, which is shown all the way through the story, is the use of monologue to tell the story and all the characters and their personalities are introduced through Shirley Valentine. This technique of writing is used to highlight the fact that she is a very bored, lonely housewife. The Liverpudlian accent chosen deliberately by the author represents a working class middle aged housewife. This is another dramatic device to show
Shirley Valentine - Transformation Throughout Play
Willy Russell's screenplay, 'Shirley Valentine,' follows the transformation of the monotonous lifestyle lived by a mundane, down-to-earth woman. In the end, we see that she is 'reborn' and becomes an intrepid, optimistic woman who fulfils her life-long ambitions of living a serene yet bountiful life. This changed is relayed to us using an assortment of dramatic techniques like voiceovers and dramatic monologues. This essay will discuss how efficient these techniques are to showing us how Shirley has altered her characteristics during this play. The opening sequence of the play including the credits reveals masses about the platitude of Shirley's day to day routine. We see an array of picture slides of Shirley doing household chores. They are all in a monochrome, washed out, blue colour. This blue portrays her washed out feeling towards life in general. We also see her looking wistfully at a picture of her former self, which shows that she is regretting how she has lived her life effectively. This also shows longing to be how she used to be. The transition between slides is very sluggish and this also shows us about her life that it is slow and pointless. We see a picture of her street dissolve to the actual street and enter her household. The first time we see Shirley is when she walks into shot wearing a dull grey Mac and wearing very restrained and plain clothing. This
Shirley valentin
No-one thought she had the nerve, the courage or the lingerie. Does this accurately reflect the character of Shirley Valentine? The play Shirley Valentine is written by Willy Russell and it is about her path to self-discovery. Shirley Bradshaw, who was known as Shirley Valentine, is a bored middle-aged housewife living in Liverpool in a small semi-detached house. Shirley who lives with her husband Joe is now in her early forties, with her children having now left her, she feels unhappy and unfulfilled. By the end of the play we see Shirley has changed and she is no longer bore, that her life is full of excitement as she has gone to Greece and met a man. All throughout the play we see Willy Russell use different dramatic techniques. At the start we see her talking to herself, to us the audience. He does this to show us what Shirley is thinking and feeling, which is that she is very lonely even though she has a husband. At the beginning of the play we see Shirley first talk; we see her talking to the wall, "Hello Wall". This shows us that she is so bored out of her mind that she resorts to talking to the wall. As she is talking to the wall this shows the audience that she is very lonely and this makes the audience sympathetic to Shirley. Another technique that the author uses in the play is that as this play is a monolog it is only herself talking and there is no-one else,
“I believecomedy is the best way to learn the truth about ourselves. Maybe it’s noaccident that human beings are the only animals that laugh.” (Jack Rosenthal).What truths about human nature does Willy Russell hope to teach his audiencethro
"I believe comedy is the best way to learn the truth about ourselves. Maybe it's no accident that human beings are the only animals that laugh." (Jack Rosenthal). What truths about human nature does Willy Russell hope to teach his audience through his play Shirley Valentine and how does he achieve this? "Funny isn't it? You know, when you've pictured something and you've imagined how somethin's gonna be well, it never turns out like that does it?" Willy Russell effectively conveys the complexity of human life through his play "Shirley Valentine" using comedy, language, play structure and characterization. I think the main truth conveyed during the play is that the majority of people are not content with their life and everyone has dreams of a different life. They have a set routine like Shirley and Joe, "So just think how exciting it would be if for once you had your tea at quarter past six. It'd make the headlines." But most people do not change this routine. Shirley however seizes the chance she is given by her best friend Jane and challenges her reality. Shirley follows her dream "I'd like to drink a glass of wine in a country where the grape is grown. Sittin' by the sea just sippin' wine and watching the sun go down." The audience see Shirley's character develop. Shirley starts off very unsure of herself but Jane gives her the confidence despite Joe's criticisms to be