Rocks review, Culture Whisper
It’s strange to feel pride when watching a social realist drama, a genre that usually highlights the underprivileged in society. So why is it the case with Rocks? Simply: London. The people, the differences, the similarities, the overall cosmopolitanism. Since lockdown, the capital city has been a no-go area for many outside its borders – hopefully this film will bring them back.
The group of teenage girls in Rocks is made up of many cultural backgrounds: Nigerian, Somali, Congolese-Ghanaian, Bangladeshi, Polish and English. But, ultimately, they’re all British. They show the city’s diversity: various races and traditions and languages washing together in a mostly warm confluence.
Where a more political movie like Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing would use multicultural characters to show division, Rocks unites them. As we continue enduring the loop of tighter and looser restrictions, as well as the never-ending Brexit limbo, this film shows how wonderfully inclusive London can be. And should continue to be.
