I, Daniel Blake

(Warning: contains spoilers for I, Daniel Blake)

2016 isn't cheery.  There's celeb deaths aplenty, Brexit confusion, worldwide discord, and a Wotsit with weird hair is soon to be in charge of America.  To add to the gloom, Ken Loach decided to make a film about the benefits system in 2016.  Thanks Ken (then).


I, Daniel Blake is the story of the eponymous Daniel Blake (Dave Johns) who, after working as a joiner for all of his adult life has a heart attack when he's 59, and is advised not to work for a time by his GP, surgeon and physiotherapist.  Unfortunately, this leaves him at the mercy of the benefits system which deems him fit to work because he can still walk 50m unaided, raise his arms, and isn't incontinent (therefore not eligible for Employment and Support Allowance).  Bemused, but undeterred, he applies for Job Seekers Allowance, but the odds are stacked against him given that he has one set of skills from the one type of job he can do (but isn't allowed to do), all assistance is online (and he's computer illiterate), and even if he gets past all that and is offered a job he won't be able to take it because he's not medically fit enough.

Expect to see this spray painted on JobCentre walls near you soon...

 Along the way, he meets Katie (Hayley Squires) who is a single mother who has been moved to Newcastle from a homeless hostel in London because of a lack of affordable housing in the capital.  Away from familiar surroundings and her own support network, she struggles with two small children, the financial implications of relocation, and lack of suitable employment.

The film is a series of small defeats that strip the characters of a little more dignity, a little more humanity, and reduces them to ciphers that don't quite fit into the prescribed Governmental boxes.  For example, Daniel spends his days on foot taking his CV to various worksites.  However, he cannot prove to the JobCentre that he did this, so is put forward for sanction.  Katie gets caught shoplifting sanitary pads because the local foodbank cannot supply them as essential items (a small but pointed protest about the so called "Pink Tax" - https://www.listenmoneymatters.com/the-pink-tax/).

The Foodbank Scene.  Too sad to caption.

If I were to be critical about this film, it would be to say that the "victims" of the benefits system are too saintly.  They do absolutely everything they're "supposed" to.  There's not a trace of drug or alcohol use in this film.  But that "saintliness" is deliberate: it leaves us in no doubt that it is not the people who are the issue - it is the system that is broken, and it's facilitated by the people who do not question the ineffectiveness of it all.  For example - the "healthcare professionals" who perform Daniel's Fitness to Work tests (who have no medical training or qualifications, and cannot record that he has a heart condition because there is no box on the assessment form for that), the Jobcentre staff who have no time to listen to people's stories or rationale and get frustrated that their clients don't/can't follow their demands to the letter and penalise them as such.  The manager who reprimands the one "helpful" JobCentre person for offering to help Daniel navigate the assessment forms.  At a mandatory CV training course, the teacher notes that Costas in Nottingham received 1700 applications for 8 jobs (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21521125). 
"What does this tell us?" 
"...that there's not enough jobs to go round?" asks Daniel
"No," the teacher chirps, instantly pegging Daniel as a 'disruptive influence'. "It means your CV really has to instantly stand out to a potential employer."

Probably not acceptable under DWP standards

It's not entirely grim.  There are uplifting notes throughout - arguably, this is also a film about how small communities of people help each other out when things get tough (Blake's neighbours, the Foodbank).  How the same internet age that stymies Daniel is also the one that allows his neighbours to thrive as they Skype about selling knock-off branded trainers.


One thing is clear - the welfare system has been so finely honed to deter people who may be considering a life of idleness that it has forgotten the reason why it was set up in the first place: to protect the health and well-being of its citizens, especially those in financial or social need.  Yes, there are people who manipulate the system.  Of course there are.  But in trying to deal with them, there are people who actually need those benefits, (need that food, need that cash) who wind up suffering instead.


I leave you with these thoughts.
1.  It is a sad affair when society needs to be reminded of the human element of austerity via film.  But here we are in 2016, needing that reminder.
2.  There is a reticence for this film to be seen.  Why is Doctor Strange screened across all cinemas at all times of the day, but I have struggled to see this film once in the entire county?
3.  Here is a much more articulate, real life example of why this film is important:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/oct/22/i-am-daniel-blake-millions-like-me-jack-monroe-ken-loach
4.  If you were under any doubt that this film was accurate, look to the small, sober note on the credits: "thanks to dozens of JobCentre staff who told us of their experiences and chose to remain anonymous" [paraphrased]
5.  You are Daniel Blake.  I am Daniel Blake.