Language

• What do you notice about how language is used in the two films?
• How does it reflect the protagonists' changing or evolving identities?

Discuss your own thoughts on these questions in relation to Joel's comments below.

Language is an important indicator of cultural value and identity. The visual language of Pat's evolution has a parallel in the development of a specific black British verbal dialect, that draws upon, yet is significantly different from, the various island patois' of the Caribbean and traditional British vernaculars of the time (themselves in a constant state of flux). As Pat becomes immersed in a black British environment in the course of the film it is possible to perceive the importance of language as a signifier of black identity. When she hears in court that Del has been refused parole, her outcry is far from the middle-class tongue we hear from her at the start of the film.

A comparison between Pressure and Burning an Illusion highlights this shift in clear and unequivocal terms. In Pressure Colin makes no bones about the fact that he is from Trinidad and speaks in a manner that distinguishes him as such. This is in complete contrast to Tony's 'middle-class' British accent which not only separates him from Colin and his own black friends but also from his white friends, such as Sheila, who speaks with a more pronounced working-class accent. Throughout Pressure the nuances between various aspects of black language and dialect can be identified and located. They signify several strata, compromising the pan-Caribbean first generation immigrants, an incipient black British vernacular and a heavy, American-influenced political rhetoric as spoken with revolutionary zeal by the activist 'Sister Louise'.

In Pressure the language spoken by many of the characters, particularly from the immigrant generation, identifies them as coming from different Caribbean Islands, though many of these dialects are less familiar to contemporary viewers. Furthermore, much of the slang used at the time is no longer in vogue and even when recognisable, maybe seen as kitsch by a younger generation. When Colin says to Sister Louise 'you come hard', commending her on her tough attitude, he is using a term that had a very narrow field of usage within the Caribbean, let alone in Britain, holding virtually no resonance for contemporary viewers, black or white. Similarly, when Bopsie berates Tony's father and brother for putting 'Goat mout' (mouth) on de boy' (a phrase used widely in Trinidad) and not wishing him luck for his interview, Ové is again employing language to mark a clear distinction between the generations, and between the Caribbean and Britain. Other common slang words like 'fuzz' and 'pig', employed frequently to describe the police, or the term 'birds' to describe women have also slipped from popular usage but command a much broader cultural reference point, that many people can still easily tap into, viewed almost as a kitsch remnants of 1960s counter culture.

Less than a decade separated the release of Pressure and Burning an Illusion, yet in that time the development of what some people now describe as a 'London patois' has already been moulded. Gone are the distinct island variations and in their place is a more homogenous British construction (drawing predominantly from Jamaica, which constituted the largest Caribbean population in Britain). It is from this linguistic standpoint that Del and to a lesser extent Pat, like so many of their generation, initially start to create the foundations of their identities - what it meant to be black and British in the melting pot of 1980s Britain. Ironically, over 20 years later, 'black English', has now been adopted, like so many aspects of black popular culture, by many in the mainstream in their never-ending pursuit of cool.