The Kureishi trilogy: My Beautiful Laundrette, Sammy & Rosie Get Laid and London Kills Me

1. Immigration in post-war Britain: a brief history
2. Some specifics on the British Asian experience
3. Context of Thatcher’s Britain
4. Brief biography of Hanif Kureishi
5. Note on Stephen Frears, director of the first two of these films.
6. My Beautiful Laundrette (1985) – in-depth study of this film, focusing on the themes of a) race, b) sexuality, c) gender and d) class.
Exploration of the film’s critical reception.
7. Sammy & Rosie Get Laid (1987) – in-depth study of this film, including its poor critical reception. Exploration of themes of gender, race and class, and the film’s commentary on Thatcher’s Britain.
8. London Kills Me (1991): to the above issues of race, class etc, the last of these films adds the issue of drug-taking and homelessness. Again, we will explore the film in depth and watch clips.
9. Brief discussion of the Buddha of Suburbia.