Case Studies - National and Regional Identity

Britain

Friends

• Polite, formal, well spoken - Very upper class
• Based in London - high usage of landmarks, Red buses & houses of Parliament
• Very stereotypical - comedic effect - easily recognisable only have 22 mins. to set the scene
• Comedy

Nottinghill

• Quaint
• Charming
• Classic Britain, books etc
• Other Britain - hidden by the mainstream fitting to the film.
• Constructed to get the identity across quickly due to small amount of time to portray it.
• Rom com

Working title

Appeal to a mass audiences - Transatlantic, stereotypes - appealing to many. Very popular image to world wide audiences. Tradition - projection of our country, very traditional and stereotypical.

Harry Brown

• National / regional Identity - London the other side - estates - not land marks, council estate, rough - reoccurring violence.
• Realistic - "happy slapping" - Hand held camera - British product, own viewpoint (exaggerated for film) - Links in with news - knife crimes
• Class based - setting - hard low key - "Not glossy"
• Relating - Smaller audiences, not transatlantic - Mainly British audiences, not brought to the mass due to fear of decline and unfair representation of the city as a whole.
• Hybrid - Action, crime and drama.
• Colloquial  language - 18 - swearing, the bitter truth
• Social class - lower social economic
• Pathetic fallacy - gloomy - low key lighting, grime
• Negative portrayal - Britain at war, cult, war zone - old v. youth
• Subject matter - crime, drugs and violence.
• Brown is a counter type - killing the youth - active and ex. marine - Hybrid genre.

The Sun - Let's make Britain great

• All jobs, small jobs making Britain great - Stereotypical jobs, fireman etc.
• Uniting as one - great Britain - all jobs
• Britain - Diversity, ethnicity, cultures etc.coming together, multicultural Britain - united, many representations.
• Proud / patriarchal - sport, coming together - National flag
• Who is being aimed - nation, mass audience 
• Chariots of fire - non digetic - inter-textual
• Stereotypical link to sea side - sea, island + tradition
• Against adversity - coming together and rising against it, ideologies
• Diversity, resilience + bravery - WW2
• EDF Energy - Patriarchal & pride

Regional identity

• Nottinghill - Wales + Ireland
• London - Friends, Made in Chelsea, south vs. north

North

• Villages
• Industries - historical perspective - working class
• Tougher - "Hard"
• Strong accents
• Rival settings - communities
• Traditional viewpoints

Heartbeat

• Farms, communities
• Older demographic - Jobs within communities
• Very traditional values - romantic view of the north

Plusnet

• Honesty, trustworthy - they are northern
• comedic take on stereotypes
• Britain is best
• United, support care etc.

Shameless - Manchester

• Lower economically developed areas - Derelict - Juxtaposition
• Always drunk, unemployed
• Strong language - swearing intelligent - Frank
• Fights
• Themes - family, crime, tight knit - community
• Lower class