Using relevant academic research, explain how “Secrets and Lies” (Leigh, 1996) depicted national identity. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Mike Leigh's 1996 film, Secrets and Lies, represents British national identity using social realism, themes, and binaries. In this essay, the film will be analyzed and its representation of national identity will be revealed. This film's depiction of British national identity will be compared to The Imitation of Life (Douglas Sirk, 1959) and its depiction of American national identity. The film's themes include race, social status, and most importantly, hidden truths. Social status has been a key issue of Britain since the dawn of history, and race has been a key issue of Britain since the 1980s, a decade before this film was made. Race and social status have a direct link to British nationality and the history of Great Britain. Secrets and Lies is about a black woman named Hortense who searches for her biological mother Cynthia, after her adoptive mother dies. His mother appears to be a working-class white woman whose life does not have a stable rhythm. His mother has her own family problems and has another daughter, who she hasn't told about the older daughter she gave away. Hortense is an emotionless middle-class woman and, compared to Cynthia, reacts to every dilemma in the film in a calm manner. As the plot unfolds, the audience can identify more themes and areas of opposition in the characters. The embarrassment when the truth about Hortense being Cynthia's daughter is revealed, both to Cynthia and Cynthia's family, is experienced by the audience. “…that the defining characteristic of realism lies in the ambition to, in one way or another, approximate reality, to show 'things as they really are.'” (Hill, 1986) The identification of these themes and oppositions occurs when the audience experiences "embarrassment" or any other emotion depicted in the plot. This is part of what makes Leigh's film a representation of national identity using realism. British traditions, such as Hortense's attitude of "stiffing her lips" or emotional control when facing a problem and being a wealthy woman, and Cynthia's opposite characteristics are conveyed to the audience by Leigh's directing style. This causes the connection with the film that the audience can feel. These traditions are transmitted, which cause emotional connections between the audience and the film, which represents the British national identity. This film not only represents British traditions and national identity, but also represents Britain as an entire country. The hidden truths in the film are that Hortense is Cynthia's biological daughter, Cynthia was having an affair with a black man and this was the reason why little Hortense was sent away, and Maurice's wife could not have children. Understanding what Maurice and his wife represent is difficult. It is possible that this is a statement about abortion, but abortion laws were passed more than twenty years ago. The relationship between Cynthia and Hortense can be a mirror of Great Britain and the issue of multiculturalism. Britain colonized countries by conquering and making deals with different empires and tribes throughout the east and Africa. The relationship that Cynthia had represents the agreements and land of conquest that Britain obtained in the past. After World War II, Europe began the attempt to liberate its colonies by giving the countries their independence. There is a.