The Political Ideology of Trainspotting



 is set in post-industrial Leith in the 80's during the height of poverty,  unemployment, low aspirations and an aids/heroin epidemic. Although in the book, Thatcherism and it's policies is explicitly mentioned to influence the main characters- with Irvin Welsh claiming that Thatcher was the "invisible author" of the book- it results in a group that are products of their political and social environment. However in the film, which is made during the optimistic wave of new labour is a bit more ambiguous surrounding this concept.
Image result for leith trainspotting
It is evident in the film that Thatcherism is very much in the background of the film influencing its characters. Not once in the film do we see a character working in a traditional work environment in Leith. The only time one of the characters gets a taste is when Spud, the least likely out of the group, secures a job interview. However upon turning up to the interview on speed, he "fucked it up good and proper" as Renton explains.  Is this commenting on the citizens of Leith having such low aspirations that they don't even want a job and deliberately sabotage their own job interview  or is giving Spud this opportunity, clearly demonstrated for a comical effect commenting on the unlikeliness of a job opportunity at the time? Either way it exhibits and explores the unemployment epidemic in Leith due to Thatcherism and how the political and social environment deciphers
Furthermore, Renton blatantly states he "chose not to choose life" because "who needs reasons when you've got heroin" however upon further analysis the audience questions whether this choice is really an option.         

Finally when Renton moves to London, the financial centre during Thatcherism to get an estate agent job, the most Thatcherite job there is, there's no denying the direct influence. Renton himself quotes Thatcher in one of the club scenes "There will be no such thing as society". Clearly Renton transitions throughout the film adhering to the mole of a Thatcherite: greedy with self interest at heart, escaping from their background to profit from property. Through this the themes of escapism, alienation, Leisure Vs Work, individual Vs Society, poverty, choice and drugs are conveyed.

Image result for new labour in Leith I do not agree that Renton's function is to represent this label. I think Trainspotting is about a lot more than that and believe that Renton does in fact have his own agency. To an extent, the characters, especially Renton, are a product of their political and social environment, yet Thatcherism and it's influences are extremely subtle in the film, and the characters personalities takes centre stage. Furthermore the Brit-pop era- where the creative arts became more funded- had a massive influence on the film, resulting in the overall look and feel of the film. The Soundtrack to the film resulted in the tone being vivacious and full of life, rather than a bleak anddepressing one, despite how grim the content was at times.Furthermore, considering this was made in 1996 in the new labour wave where times were more optimistic for Scotland, the view is therefor more optimistic. It's more looking back at the hard times rather than dwelling on them. This explains the colour, life and light that the film includes. All these elements that  feed off of each other, with one of the most iconic Brit-Pop icons-Oasis- promoting and directly linking to New Labour. that hugely influenced the production infers to the audience the film is simply about so much more than Thatcherism.
Finally, Renton can just as easily be looked at as a symbol of Scottish nationalism rather than a product of Thatcherism. This becomes evident in the scene where Tommy attempts to bring the gang on a hike through the picture-perfect version of Scotland and asks "doesn't it make you proud to be Scottish?". To summarise, Renton concluded "It's shite being Scottish" "we're the lowest of the low" "can't even find a decent country to be colonised by" and finally "It's a shite state of affairs to be in and no amount of fresh air will make any fucking difference". Arguably a rather bleak outlook, but considering the pictures you'll find on a postcard of Scotland is a stark contrast to what Leith looked like at the time, Renton's speech would have represented the opinion of Leith and it's entirety. 
                                                                                                

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