This document discusses British cinema and provides questions and examples to explore media representations of groups. It defines different categories of British films based on financing and production elements. It notes that while British film has its ups and downs, the British film industry has never been large enough to consistently produce Hollywood-style blockbusters due to the major influence and success of Hollywood. The document concludes by outlining a group task to research and present on British cinema from different decades between the 1930s to 2000s.

1. British Cinema

2. Media and Collective Identity
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How do the contemporary media represent nations, regions and ethnic / social / collective groups of people in different
ways?
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How does contemporary representation compare to previous time periods?
•
What are the social implications of different media representations of groups of people?
•
To what extent is human identity increasingly ‘mediated’?
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Candidates might explore combinations of any media representation across two media, or two different representations
across two media.
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Some examples are:
National cinema, television representations, magazines and gender, representations of youth and youth culture, post-9/11
representations of Islam, absence / presence of people with disability in two media.

3. What makes a film British?

4. What do you expect from a British film?

5. Defining British Film
The British Film Institute divides films into the
following categories:
• Category A: films made with British
money, personnel and resources
• Category B: films co-funded with money from
Britain and from foreign investment, but the
majority of finance, cultural content &
personnel are British

6. Defining British Film
• Category C: films with mostly foreign (but
non-USA) investment and a small British
input, either financially or creatively
• Category D: films made in the UK with
(usually) British cultural content, but financed
fully or partly by American companies
• Category E: American films with some British
involvement

7. How many British films can you
think of?

8. British film has always had its ups and downs

9. Unfortunately, the British film industry has
never been capable of generating
worldwide commercial success on its
own.
This is partly down to the major
power, success and control of…

11. The basic fact is that the British cinema market is too small
for the British film industry to successfully produce
Hollywood-style blockbusters over a sustained period
UK Film
Industry
Hollywood

12. Task…
• In pairs you will be given a decade from the 30s to the 00s
• You will produce a short presentation about British Cinema in
your decade
• You must look at extracts from at least 2 of the major films
from your time period
• Who produced them? Who directed them? Who starred in
them? What genre of films were they? Were these type of
films popular during that decade and if so why?
• How commercially & financially successful were British films
during this time? Can you find any stats and facts to back this
up?
• Were there any government laws or acts passed during your
10 year period that were designed to help the British film
industry?

13. The 1930s
•The 39 Steps
•As You Like It
•The Edge of the World
•The Man Who Knew
Too Much

14. 1940s
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The Red Shoes
The Third Man
Brief Encounter
Kind Hearts and
Coronets

15. 1950s
• The Bridge Over The
River Kwai
• The Dam Busters
• The Lady Killers
• Richard III

16. The 1960s
•Saturday Night and
Sunday Morning
•Carry On Cleo
•Dr. No
•Lawrence of Arabia

17. The 1970s
•A Clockwork Orange
•Don’t Look Now
•The Life of Brian
•Kes

18. The 1980s
•Chariots of Fire
•My Beautiful Laundrette
•Withnail & I
•Educating Rita

19. The 1990s
•Trainspotting
•Four Weddings and a
Funeral
•The Full Monty
•Lock Stock and Two
Smoking Barrells

20. 2000 and beyond…
•Bridget Jones
•Slumdog Millionaire
•This Is England
•Shaun of the Dead

21. Useful Websites
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http://www.screenonline.org.uk/
http://www.bfi.org.uk/
http://www.imdb.com/
http://www.britmovie.co.uk
http://www.britishcinemagreats.com/