I, Daniel Blake (2016): vulnerability, care and citizenship in austerity politics

Article


Gibbs, J. and Lehtonen, A. 2019. I, Daniel Blake (2016): vulnerability, care and citizenship in austerity politics. Feminist Review. 122 (1), pp. 49-63. https://doi.org/10.1177/0141778919847909
TypeArticle
TitleI, Daniel Blake (2016): vulnerability, care and citizenship in austerity politics
AuthorsGibbs, J. and Lehtonen, A.
Abstract

This article offers a reading of Ken Loach’s 2016 film I, Daniel Blake, a fictionalised account of experiences of the UK welfare system in conditions of austerity. We consider, firstly, the significant challenge the film poses to dominant figurations of welfare recipients under austerity, through a focus on vulnerability to state processes. We follow with a reading of some of the film’s interventions in relation to reciprocity, drawing on the important trajectories of care, community and resistance that the film renders visible through the collective stories of the major characters. Finally, we conclude with reflections on citizenship, subject narratives and alternative imaginaries of ‘deservingness’. Our article offers an ‘against the grain’ reading (hooks, 1996; Wearing, 2013) of the film, highlighting some of the radical possibilities of the more minor moments, character arcs and subject positionalities within the film’s central narrative of Daniel’s experiences in the shadow of the steadily crumbling welfare state.

PublisherSage
JournalFeminist Review
ISSN0141-7789
Electronic1466-4380
Publication dates
Print01 Jul 2019
Online23 Sep 2019
Publication process dates
Deposited26 Nov 2019
Accepted27 Sep 2018
Output statusPublished
Accepted author manuscript
Copyright Statement

Gibbs, J., & Lehtonen, A. (2019). I, Daniel Blake (2016): Vulnerability, Care and Citizenship in Austerity Politics. Feminist Review, 122(1), 49–63. Copyright © 2019 The Author(s). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0141778919847909

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1177/0141778919847909
LanguageEnglish
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https://repository.mdx.ac.uk/item/88935

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