British Cinema

The ways in which Britain is represented on screen are hugely influenced by economic and political contexts, e.g funding, the relationship between USA and UK film, dilemmas for producers, audience shifts and government agendas.

We need to consider:

• British films as cultural products
• A range f commercially successful and critically acclaimed films on release with regard to directors, styles and audience responses
• How films represent the changing nature of Britain and it's people
• Does British Cinema suffer from a 'burden of representation'?

The British Film Industry

British films are split into four categories:

• Category A - an entirely British film funded by UK finance
• Category B - majority UK funded
• Category C - co-funded by the UK and the US
• Category D - US films with some creative input from the UK

UK films share a language with Hollywood...but is this a benefit or a stumble block? Roddick argues, "Every memorable achievement to come out of UK cinema since the war has come out of some one's desire to sell something, not to sell" (1999).

Our government defines success on the Hollywood model: 'bums on seats'. Films get money from the Film Council and the National Lottery if they seriously set out to or actually achieve this.

Film directors such as Mike Leigh, Shane Meadows, Ken Loach and Michael Winterbottom face the dilemma summarised by Stafford (2002), "The choices for British producers are: make low budget British films directed at mainstream British audiences, hoping that the 'peculiarly British' subject matter will attract overseas audiences who will see films as unusual.

The Burden of Representation

Linking to British Film in relation to collective identity, the 'burden of representation' describes the way that the history of social realist British film can weigh on the shoulders of new film makers and producers. E.g, 'Bend it Like Beckham' blends realism, authenticity and stereotyping. Where as some British films, such as 'East to East' have concerned Muslim critics about the representation of 'traditional' Muslim values through the depiction of inflexible patriarchs, 'Beckham' represents Punjani identity through a well-worn depiction of a wedding and 'Jess' breaks away from the stereotype by wanting to play football.