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'Co-operation' is a training film made for the Co-operative Society,
which shows the Society at a stage when it was trying to re-invent itself
as a modern retail and wholesale organisation. The film dramatises the
experiences of a group of young new recruits learning the new principles
and practices of the organisation. It follows the story of one new recruit
with strong ideals as he learns about the Society and how it is changing
to keep pace with the development of large out-of-town supermarket complexes
and the rise of aggressive marketing practices. The film conveys messages
about the public image of the Co-op, the contrast between the old and
new values of the organisation, and the merging of small local groups
into the bigger organisation. The film is also a delightful portrait of
some of the clothing, hairstyles, leisure, gender relations and social
attitudes of the 1970s. Other Co-operative Movement films in the Media
Archive for Central England include 'Painting for Pleasure' (1958), an
information film from Derby promoting the paint products of the Co-operative
Wholesale Society and ‘Trent Side Story’ (1963) made by the
Nottingham Co-operative Society for its centenary, showing scenes around
the city and in the large Nottingham Co-op department store, along with
a social history of the city and the co-operative movement. See article:
Burton, Alan, "Amateur Aesthetics and practices in films of the British
Co-operative Movement in the 1930s", in Kapstein, N. ed. 'The Jubilee
Book. Essays on amateur film' Association européenne des Inédits:
Charleroi, 131-143 |
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