FILMS
Richard Curits/Working Title films, such as Notting Hill, 4 weddings, the boat that rocked, love actually etc. These films are good in showing the meta-fictions of British life-eg, Britian is a self-deprecating, middle class, polite nation who are in awe of America. This theme runs throughout the films, and is what could be sen as the "global image" of Britian-although who is actually the creator of this identity is rather hard to distinguish.(americia consumes this image most, so more gets made and this becomes the typical representation...but who did it belong to in the beginning?)
These films are, as icons
of Britishness, often very tied up with british past/icons-for instance, the bristish pop music cults in the boat that rocked, or in the icons of government (good-labour, bad-conservative) who find place love on a high scale. Alot of his work is political too, and blurred in reality. In 4 weddings, it opened just as Labour came into power- the film capturing the breezy spirit of renewal. This continued to love actually, and the Boat that Rocked monitors Labours dimise (although the government is supposedly conservative.) The constant play with amercians (being awed by them;standing up to them;compromising with them) reflects the british/americian relationship today, and misgivings about it. The love of labour is also shown by the representation of the prime minister in Love actually. It was considered so realistic, Tony Blair had to make a speech about how he wasn't in love with his sectary or angry with americia-that was fiction.Therefore, it is good for contemporary study, as well as past. It can also be said, by critics, that this is the global identity of British- the gratification image, which is only seen by Amerasians, as they are the largest and most important, and nothing really gets above this stock type of identity. It can be said that these movies are so popular as they tap into the common ideologies and discourses which Britain's either believe in or wish to believe in-love and goodness etc. This means it creates a dominant belief in what britishness is.
Saturday night, Sunday Morning
This was one of the first films to explore the working class Britian, and was quite shocking. It's representation of nihilism, and a world of no values-except having fun in the form of getting drunk and fighting-was a direct opposite to normal ideolgies of British upper-class and normality, and the use of a very lost characer in a world filled with people like him, was shocking. The film has the collective identity of "yob culture" and Working class, presenting Britian as a bleak, lost society deviod of ideologies.
Italian Job
It is more like Curtis in it's quirky and optimistic stance, especially led by Micheal Caine. The presentation of the british is patriotic and quirky, intelligent and determined, and alittle crazy. It also creates the iconic mini as a british icon. It has the theme of corruption and a large disrespect for crime and law-a theme which is starngly apparent in a huge number of movies. It treats this is a joky way-which shows both self-deprication and playfulness. It has refernence to the war, and a strong united britian too however. The main characters are a mix of rich and poor (or cockney) and both are shown to be corrupt. (rich in prision corruption, poor in crime) and therefore the class divisions are less apparent.
Get Carter (1971)
this film is similiar to SNSM in it's presentation of Britian. (micheal caine is also used in this-he is a british icon, presentation of britishess) It also presents a lost britian, whose families are affected by the evils of modernity and struggles of the lower classes feeding off ecahother to stay alive. (this is what Ken Loach is interested in too.) It however, does have a strong good vs evil theme and a strong family image-although this is shot down by the ending. The grimy lives of lower class and realism of working life is again a represntation of british crime and corruption, and the darkness of trying to follow ideolgies.
Bend it Like Beckham
This is a more modern version of britian-based in the noughties as opposed to the 20th century. It shows a multi-culteral britian, and a britian of prejudice against colour, race, sexuality and gender-which all have to be overcome. The presentation of Britian is that it is a mix of cultures, which are confusing and divided-especially for those trying to define themselves to both. Britian is middle-class, and the prejuices are quite strong, but broken down by the end. indexical british identity in modern aga-struggle to define yourself.
24 hour party people
Very good to go along with the Rave culture/moral panic case study. This film shows rave Britian, class wars, power to the people, drugs and music culture, causual crime, nihilism and the growth of britian. These are quite a few of the iconic things for Britian, distinguishing it.
Happy Go Lucky
This is a more strange version of Britian-one which is slightly insane-both charaters being on the egde of reason-suggesting that the nation itself is like this. It does also have the cockney, witty represntation of Britian. It is all quite comic and questions normality.
Billy Elliot
This is a period peice, documenting the miners strike and iconic British history-the lower class misery and division of class through "high culture" and "low culture". Billy's progress to high culture is marred by prejudice from both sides-the lower class culture not accepting the high class ideas, while the upper class not seeing the miners strike as worth it. The splits are divided like in BILB, although again broken down by the end-suggesting more mobility between classes, although it can be seen that there is just enhances splits between the 2 sides. Also adresses crime, but see's it as a thing of despair.
Wimbledon
this uses a big british icon.-the film is very much based around the british as self-depricating, humble to americia etc.
Hitchcock
any of hitchcock's film are represntations of British uncertinaties and causual violence-pyscho is a good example of this- it is a staple of British worries over stability etc.
Others which i dont want to go into in detail: Oliver, Harry Potter, Breakfast at Tiffeny's, The Queen, Elizabeth, Trainspoting, London to Brighton, Sumerland, The Full Monty, etc.
Tele Vision
Eastenders
This shows typical British values, atleast of a more working class world. The ability of the series to follow the concerns in the news and promote these values onto the screen make the show seemingly realistic. Therefore, it's characters seem real, and represent the "average"person in London. As the show is based around many things the British worry about, like teen pregnany or bird flu, this means the show is good for showing a collective of (atleast what the media considers to be
) British values. Eastenders is strongly family-based, and this means it is very traditional, although the incrasingly broken families suggests the trend of norm which is in Britian. The use of icons like London, Pubs, etc also help to establish the British "normal" life, as how these people live.Soaps are always good for creating colective identity because they seem like real live people, as we see them everyday and therefore care about them. Therefore, we are inclined to be worried about what they are worried about. (disocurces)
Cranford/Larkrise to Candleford
these two period peice TV series are examples of representations of historic Britian- the times when there were good morals. The characters in them are often thorughtful and intelligent, and there are string morals which run through each episode, and the whole series. (family is a large one) These show a collective of nostligia, and a presntations of the "right" morals of britian. (community, family etc. They dont show witch burning for example, as people today wwould just scorn it.) It also documents the history of Britian-which the British are "meant to be proud of" which presenst England as quaint and polite.
Robin Hood.
Although an awful peice of TV, Robin Hood is also important in the culteral identity of the British. Robin Hood is a traditional tale, which has always been held as valued, as it is an example of the "good poor" standing up against the totalitarian, evil rule. This movement for poor rights, or for evil leaders is a dominent ideolgy in Britian, which is still apparent today-there are robin hood characters everywhere (secret millionaire) etc. The ideologies of British being brave, quirky, intelligent and moral are all displayed by the central character. These create a British collective as being like him, or against the "evil rich." It also anothe rimportant part of the british history. The recent series is pretty bad, mostly because they are creating a "false history" by having 21st century like characters appearing. One even said "sugar and spice and all things nice" to another. this is proba
bly an effort to attract a young audience.Skins
The best example of the stereotype. There are a cast of all teenagers, who rave alot. This plays on the British dominet ideology of teenagers and also dominent concerns about their actions. this of course creates a collective identity for all british teenagers and for all older people with this worry. And for people who reject the stereotype. Hollyoaks is a cross between this and eastenders, creating the "normal youth/current concerns" storylines, which create common disocurces about youth- as they back up more ludicrous ones like in Skins.
The Mighty Boosh
although a postmodern case study, this can also be considered for collective identity. As a british comedey, it reflects the british idelogies, or stereotypes, and mocks these.For instance, the stereotyped views of other nations from britians POV- the whingey, power-hungry American, the tribal austrailians, etc. It is also a good example of british humour.
Doctor who
Not really an example of britishness, however, it does show common discources about british values- bravery, peacefulness, intelliegnce, morals, democracy, etc. These are dominet ideolgies, and shown as the right course of action-therefore they create british collective identitiy to act like this. the various representations of the "average person" also elevate all people to individual and good posistions-a collective the British identify themselves with (the romantic movement). It, like many other series, shows the power struggles between Americia/Britian.
Big Brother
Not exactly a TV series as such, but very important to British identity. The series again aims to show the "common people" and their trials in having to cope in a house. It creates a collective for the people watching, about what british are like, and what people they react to. It has brought issues such as racism and sexuality into light-which breaks down common discources (or builds them) Therefore is important in how a culture veiws themselves and how they are viewed.
Others which i might go into later: Life on Mars, Hustle, My Family, Father Ted, Vicar of Dibley,the Sweeny, whose line is it anyway? Who wants to be a millionaire (ish) X factor, Catherine Tate show, Spaced, Little Britian, Gavin and Stacy, Casulty, Holby City, Grange Hill, Biker Grove, etc.
Any from this list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_British_television_series
thats it for now. I may expand sometime.
No comments:
Post a Comment