I, Daniel Blake

I, Daniel Blake is a movie about the benefits system and the lives of people affected by it. It gained controversy from conservatives who argued that the film was "not a documentary" and is "inaccurate". However, Ken Loach, the movie's director, said “I challenge anyone to find a single word in that film that isn’t true.”.

The plot of the movie is about a 59 year old widower carpenter who was left unable to work after having a major heart attack. Despite this, he is classed as fit for work and forced to return to return to work or have his benefits cut. While at the Jobcentre he meets a young single mum who's also struggling financially.

The movie is directed by Ken Loach, a left-wing director who is well known for making other controversial, eye-opening movies. It was produced by Rebecca O'Brien and starred Dave Johns and Daniel Blake and Hayley Squires as Katy, the single mum Daniel befriends. The movie was made on a low budget and many people starring in the movie were not actors and actually people from these businesses. For example, the character Ann from Jobcentre actually used to work at that very same Jobcentre. This is likely done to add a higher sense of realism. It came out in 2016 and despite expectations, reached a wider audience and gained worldwide attraction.

This attention also came with its fair share of controversy, with many conservative politicians and right wing audiences calling it inaccurate and inaccurate representations of how Jobcentre works. The Daily Mail have written multiple articles about how it romanticises the people on benefits and that they are actually "scroungers". However, Loach has argued back that every part of the movie is based off of case studies in Newcastle and that not one part of the movie is inaccurate. Despite the controversy, overall the movie received positive responses, especially from people who have been or are in the same position as Daniel Blake.

I, Daniel Blake won a total of eleven awards, including a BAFTA award, two British Independent Film awards and a Palme d'Or.

Very present themes of the movie are poverty and the benefits system. It also has strong themes of family. It is set in Newcastle and, while a mostly white cast, does have characters of other ethnicities, including the neighbour. The main target audience is middle class people, as this is a way of educating them on a world they may not have been exposed to before. A secondary audience would also be working class people who can relate to what is happening in the movie.

The movie