This paper examines how race and class are represented and obscured in Ken Loach’s I, Daniel Blake and the government report Healing a Divided Britain. While the film highlights working-class struggles under austerity, it largely omits racial minorities, reinforcing whiteness as the default experience of suffering. In contrast, the report reveals deep-rooted racial inequalities across British society. Through comparing these narratives, the paper argues that such omissions in cultural storytelling silence marginalized voices and uphold existing power structures. The study calls for more inclusive narratives that reflect the full diversity of social hardship in Britain.
This paper examines how race and class are represented and obscured in Ken Loach’s I,Daniel Blake and the government report Healing a Divided Britain. While the film highlights working-class struggles under austerity, it largely omits racial minorities, reinforcing whiteness as the default experience of suffering. In contrast, the report reveals deep-rooted racial inequalities across British society. Through comparing these narratives, the paper argues that such omissions in cultural storytelling silence marginalized voices and uphold existing power structures. The study calls for more inclusive narratives that reflect the full diversity of social hardship in Britain.