Down with the Corn Laws!

After his 2014 masterpiece Mister Turner, low-fi leftist legend Mike Leigh is back with what looks like another masterful re-creation of early 19th-century Britain. His new subject is the 1819 Peterloo Massacre in Manchester, in which local authorities called for a cavalry charge to disperse radical reformers protesting undemocratic representation and widespread famine caused by the infamous Corn Laws. At least ten people were killed, with hundreds more injured, and the event soon became a rallying cry in the campaign to bring the vote to the working class. If you didn’t learn about this in school, it’s because they don’t want you to know [ . . . ]

Continue reading at THE VULTURE: Peterloo Trailer: Mike Leigh Recreates the 1819 Massacre