Marketing communications is fundamentally about narrative.
You define a problem.
You tell a story about what’s at fault. You propose a solution.
That reasoning isn’t limited to brands; it also extends to ideology.
This is why This Is England is such a powerful watch.
Set in 1983, against the backdrop of the Falklands War, Thatcher’s Britain, punks, skinheads, and a very different cultural landscape, the film follows a young boy whose father was killed in the war. Searching for a sense of belonging, he joins a local skinhead group.
At first, it feels like friendship, identity, and community.
Then the gang’s former leader (played brilliantly by Stephen Graham) returns from prison. He is angry and needs someone to blame. Immigrants are “taking jobs.” The country is “full.” Culture is being “diluted.”
It could be 2026.
The film demonstrates how a straightforward us-versus-them story fosters division between those consumed by grievance and those who oppose it.
The difference between 1983 and today?
Back then, racism was explicit.
Today, it is often disguised as common sense, economic concern, or cultural protection.
The surface has changed. The structure hasn’t.
Ultimately, the outcome remains the same: division between multiculturalism and nationalism, belonging and exclusion.
Narratives shape markets.
They also shape nations.
And that’s why they matter.