The Stars Look Down

Community Conflict

Whereas Mr Parry in The Proud Valley functioned to unite his community in the choir, Mr Fenwick in The Stars Look Down succeeds only in causing conflict when he represents the men. At the start of the film we are informed by the butcher that he has ‘brought poverty and misery on the whole town’. The conflict in this community is illustrated by the fact that the butcher threatens unwanted customers with a meat cleaver. Although the men do unite to storm the shop they are divided again once inside as they each scramble to get to the meat.
The strike itself causes conflict in the community. In the end the miners reject both Mr Fenwick’s leadership and Davey’s plea and recommence work. Conflict is also evident in the outbursts of violence in the film. Davey hits both Jenny and Joe. During the pit disaster Barras too is hit by an irate miner. The butcher is also physically assaulted.

The source of much of the conflict in the film comes when characters aspire to a better life. When Mrs Fenwick complains that too many men are leaving the pit, this is a criticism of not just her own family but of the community as a whole. There is a notion of ‘getting on’ throughout the film, which conflicts with the traditional life of the community. This is Jenny’s aspiration when she states ‘I’ve got ambitions’ and is the root of the trouble in her marriage. The notion of ‘getting on’ conflicts with the traditional community.

This contrasts with the young Parry children in The Proud Valley. They actively ‘play working in a pit’ and in doing so demonstrate their desire to maintain the status quo and continue their father’s tradition into another generation. Emlyn, although the proud possessor of a manager’s certificate, is also essentially a coal miner. The unity of The Proud Valley is unthreatened by the next generation, whereas in The Stars Look Down there is already a generation conflict in the community.