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Originally intended as a history of the welfare state, as well as a
contribution to debates on feminist history, issues of free trade against
philanthropy and capitalist expansion against protectionism, The Song of the
Shirt became a subject of debate in itself, not least thanks to its four-year
gestation.
Many different groups, including Women's Aid and the Feminist History
Project, were involved during this long production period, and as a result the
final film had a broader agenda (and therefore audience) than was originally
planned. While it still addresses ideas of feminist history and Marxist theory,
it can also be read as a rather more ambitious project that fuses the history of
fashion, literacy and sexuality.
It is constructed as a documentary, although the use of multiple-screen
effects, monitors displaying text and projected backdrops constantly disrupts
the flow of information. Few dates are revealed in the film, forcing us to
address the arguments rather than the chronology. It moves back and forth
between locations and eras, juxtaposed in such a way as to highlight the
contradictions in the labour market. Close-ups of women and characters in the
dramatised scenes are avoided, and in the tribunal sequence the figure-of-eight
camera movements suggest aimlessness.
The women's readings, both singly and in groups, are based on a story that
appeared in the magazine Notes to the People. 'A Page for the Ladies'
argues that all classes of women are oppressed. Women of different classes read
the text in different ways, with other voices of workers and political writers
given equal footing with the text.
The Song of the Shirt's combination of relentless political content and a
dislocated and disruptive presentation makes it stand out from its
contemporaries in its ambition to present a genuinely feminist independent film.
Co-director Sue Clayton, a graduate of the Royal College of Art, has continued to
explore these themes through her work with the Independent Filmmakers'
Association and Screen magazine.
Emma Hedditch
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1. The Drive of Business (2:12)
