SCAB

I may as well admit it - I'm a scab. In the office where I'm temping there is currently a strike on.

Admittedly there are more people in work than not. Also I'm only a temp - the strike will have no effect on my pay. However the fact remains there are people with placards outside the front door.

To show some solidarity here are 5 memorable strikes in films:

Billy Elliot

At first glance Billy just looks like a story about a boy who wants to dance. True enough but Billy comes from a mining family and it's 1984. The miner's strike is both perspective and reflective to the story - it puts the families poverty into perspective and highlights the differences between Billy (who can escape) and his brother(who never will). Also when Dad attempts to break the stike it is truly heartbreaking.


Happiness

"I'm not a scab... I'm a strikebreaker." So Happiness is about peadaphiles, murder and dirty phone calls but when Jane Adams says that it's a moment of pure joy.

How Green was my Valley

More coal miners. This time they're Welsh, filmed in the California backlot, and just starting the whole union thing. It didn't work for the Welsh - there are no more working coal mines.

Carry On at Your Convenience

One of the worst of the Carry On series, which is saying something, At Your Convenience spins a feeble set of jokes around a strike in Kenneth Williams' toliet factory. Including such gems as:

Vic Spanner: It's another a little prod at the very vitals of your personal freedom.
Chloe Moore: I never noticed anyone prodding at my vitals!

The River

Mel Gibson and Sissy Spacek lose their tractor, their crops and eventually their dignity because of that pesky river. Mel breaks the steel strikes to make a few dollars - gets spat at. Sissy stays at home and gets bugged by Scott Glenn. It all ends happily, though.

Did I miss any? What strike films get you walking out? Feel free to make some comments.