‘I’m Talking But No One Is Listening’

Sounding the Hauntology of Thatcherism in I, Daniel Blake

Abstract

Even though Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s term ended in 1990, the reverberations of her policies have lingered on in British politics, culture and social life. This paper discusses the legacy of Thatcher within the soundscapes present in the 2016 social realist film I, Daniel Blake (dir. Ken Loach). By looking at the effects of Thatcher’s policies and how they are made audible in working class communities, this paper ultimately questions whether her presence has truly disappeared. In employing the fields of hauntology and sound studies as an approach to Thatcherism, this study sonifies the voices of the past, and questions how they will echo in the future.