Tv Drama Love Child Essay

The TV Drama Love Child produced for channel 9 in 2014 set in King’s Cross in the late 1960s and early 1970s follows the lives of the staff and residents at King’s Cross hospital and Stanton House. At a time where unwed mothers were frowned upon, freedom was golden, woman had little rights and society controlled everybody’s beliefs. It was the beginning of a social revolution. A great representation of the time is reflected in the Matron as well. A combination of narrative and visual conventions subvert the rigid attitudes widely held by society at the time and to reinforce the value of freedom and women’s rights held by the younger generation in the 1960’s.
The value of freedom is largely supported in this TV drama by a range of visual and narrative conventions. This is evident in Vivian’s characterisation, she’s not afraid to break the rules in the name of freedom. Soon after arriving at
Stanton House; a home for unwed mothers she convinces the other girls that they should explore Kings Cross stating “lets just live a little”. After running away, they end up having a great time and meeting Mcjauger but this so called freedom they love is short lived when they’re caught by police officers and taken back to Stanton House. When inside the house Vivian is positioned inside looking out of a window, with the window acting as a barrior between her and freedom. The sad music played in this scene emphasizes her longing for freedom but it being just out of reach. The same camera angle is used at the beginning of the show when she’s being driven to Stanton House to express her loss of freedom, something she loves. Conscription being shownon the show and characters like Jonny not wanting to go to war just shows how valuable freedom is , with it often being taken advantage of. All the above examples reinforce the significance of freedom and that sometimes it may come at a cost.
This show’s characters value women’s rights and fight for them.
A range of techniques convey this battle and the significance of it. Joan a sister nurse is proven to be a catalyst for improving women’s right in this show. While, examining Vivian, she’s rudely interrupted by doctor McNorton who assists he needs to do a naked examination on Vivian with her responding with” I don’t think it’s approaite for a young girl to be used in one of your teaching exercises “Then again she takes a stand after seeing Annie losing her daughter due to harsh adoption processes, insisting to doctor McNorton that “the adoption process these girls go through is brutal”. Her words are then put into action when she takes the initiative to help Annie take her baby back. She figures out her rights and in the end, Annie ends up with her precious baby despite her being in danger of losing her job. Not only this but throughout the show she is always willing to help the girls at Stanton house who are denied by less compassionate others. Its characters like Joan that emphasize the value of women’s
rights. The widely held attitude at the time that single mothers have no place in society is turned on its head by the use of characterisation and plot events. Annie’s character is an obvious example of a mother who is able to find her place in society despite setbacks. At first, she’s turned down for jobs and frowned upon by her circumstances but she is able to find her voice both figuratively and literally. She’s able to land a job at a bar signing songs for the public and becomes a hit with her being able to break free from the constraints placed on her. McNaughton’s generous act of handing over Annie’s baby despite her not being married speaks volumes as she believes that she deserves the right to have her , the same right a married mother would have. The help offered by both Joan and Shirley to Annie to get her baby back imposes further the idea of single mothers being marginalized. It’s obvious that this show’s construction challenges the dismissing of single mothers in Western Society.
A range of visual and narrative conventions portray the challenging of the degrading attitude followed by many that doing what society believes is right is the only decision. These beliefs include the importance of girls being pure and getting married. After giving birth and giving her baby up Annie comes home. She puts on her Debutante ball dress which is ironically white and her family continually try to cover up what happened. It’s obvious when they start to record her before attending the ball that they are only seeing what they want to see. The filming represents this as they’re looking just through the lens of a camera not at the reality of what happened. She’s even rewarded with a car from her parents who say, “She made the best of a bad situation.” However, she refuses to forget what happened and drives furiously back to Stanton to tell the Matron “I want my baby back”. .Before getting in she rips off her white Debutante Ball dress with it symbolising her loss of purity. Although in the end, she gets her baby back and does the opposite of what society believes is best which is giving the baby to a married couple. The attitude that everyone should follow society’s ideals is overthrown in this show, as it isn’t always applicable for everyone.
To sum up, society’s widely accepted attitudes at the time are undermined and the values of freedom and women’s rights are backed through the use of a range of techniques. Some of the values and attitudes upheld at this time differ from the ones upheld today but freedom will always continue to be valued.