Heroic Workers And Angry Young Men: Nostalgic Stories Of Class In England

This article discusses nostalgic images of white working-class life through the twin figures of the heroic worker' and the angry young man'. Using a case study of a discussion of Roy Williams' play Vultures, I consider the ways in which nostalgic figures are used to position a contemporary white working class as lacking value. I argue that these nostalgic figures provide anchor points in decline narratives which, I argue, have come to define the ways in which the English white working class are represented. Hence, I argue that some forms of nostalgic class representations may be one means through which continued disparagement of contemporary white working-class people is rendered respectable.