Tony Richardson’s A Taste of Honey (1961) could very much be argued to not be a typical film of the British New Wave simply due to it’s deviation away from a male protagonist in favour of a more rebellious female protagonist. The main character in A Taste of Honey, Jo, is established early on to be rebellious, however, the scenes that depict this often juxtapose her rebellious nature in contrast with her very much enjoying herself doing these actions. One clear example of this is near the beginning of the film where Jo is imitating playing the violin in class.
Jo’s misdemeanor leading to her punishment within the scene could arguably be used to illustrate how the contemporary culture of 1960s Britain didn’t allow for a particularly progressive view on women. Following this, it’s evident to state that women within these films are presented with very much stringent and strict roles that they can be represented through, “There are two types of women in these films: wives and mothers… and lovers and mistresses” (Lay, 2002, p. 65).
The non-conformity that the film shows to Lay’s statement of women in British New Wave films further go to show how A Taste of Honey is not a typical film of the British New Wave movement. Rather than for simply going against the oppressive culture present in the film, it could be argued that Jo’s rebellion is a way for her to enjoy herself in this harsh working class setting that the film constructs. Jo’s more active role, and more complex character, as a female, could lead many to argue that A Taste of Honey very much presents these values of progressivism and the construction of these values of progressivism may lead into the argument that the film presents a feminist focussed ideology despite the patriarchal zeitgeist, “A Taste of Honey must be defined as a feminist text above all.” (Harper, 2000, p. 112)
However, it could also be argued that the film very much is, in fact, a typical film of the British New Wave. This line of argument could be pursued through the analysis of the semantic elements of the film that it shares with other films from the British New Wave, “A Taste of Honey belongs to the ‘new wave’ of british filmmaking which characteristically drew on northern settings, working-class mores and young aggressive heroes” (Geraghty, 1997, p. 102). However, despite the semantic elements being shared with other films of the movement, it could be argued that this very much does not matter in the context of the film, as A Taste of Honey’s syntactic elements are focussed on the film being pro feminist, rather than presenting the common ideology of the British New Wave, of an frustrated young man. In conclusion, Richardson’s A Taste of Honey was simply not a typical film of the British New Wave, as it’s ideology of constructing it’s protagonist were very much different of other films of the movement at the time.
Geraghty, C. (1997) Women and 60s British Cinema: The Development of the ‘Darling’ Girl. In R. Murphy (Ed), The British Cinema Book (2nd ed., pp. 101-108). London: British Film Institute
Harper, S. (2000). Women in British Cinema: Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know. London: Continuum
Lay, S. (2002). British Social Realism: From Documentary to Brit-Grit. London: Wallflower Press
Richardson, S. (Director). A Taste of Honey [Motion picture]. United Kingdom: Woodfall Film Productions
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