Political Britain and the Media.

In today's lesson i learnt about the ideologies of political Britain including the French revolution and Marxism.

In 1789 the french revolution represented enlightenment and brought about a new way of thinking; freedom of thought. The working class in France at this time wanted an equality and so they killed the aristocracy and anyone involved with them. They wanted liberty and fraternity as the peasants had always remained at the bottom of the hierarchy. This was the beginning of scientific rationalism (Erasmus Darwin) and the rejection of religious beliefs which had been believed as true for centuries. Knowledge was now the key to explanations and there was a scientific answer for everything. Erasmus Darwin's grandson Charles Darwin wrote the 'Origin of Species' and this was the 'Theory of Evolution'.

Another ideology came from Karl Marx, a socialist, who developed the idea of marxism. He also invented the idea of communism however did not support it. The idea of Marxism is that the wealthy, owners of capital and means of production, were the ones who controlled society. He argued that the elite class were at the top of a heirarchy followed by the middle class and then the lower class who had no money and therefore no power.

From this came the Whigs who are now the liberals and the Tories. These made up the British government in Victorian times. However they were all part of the aristocracy or factory owners.

By the end of the 19th century there were three major groups. The liberals, conservatives and labour had been formed as a way of supporting the working class, they wanted an equal state. Labour had been influenced by socialism and marxism. The Liberals were influenced by economists such as Adam Smith; they wanted a free enonomy with no regulation and no minimum wage. Whereas Conservatives believed in pragmatism and the protection of old values.

A similar revolution had occured also in Russia, however instead of the working class killing off the aristocracy it was the intelectual class.

The portrayal of Britishness in Sense and Sensibility

Sense and sensibility is a British Drama film based on the novel by Jane Austen and was released in 1995. It was directed by Ang Lee and written by Emma thompson who also stars in the movie. The movie shows the situations needed to be dealt with when concerning family inheritance. During the time period of which this movie is set, 1811, wealth was passed down to the son in the family and not the women and therefore a widow and daughters, the Dashwoods, are left with only £500 a year to live on when the majority of money and a household is left to John Dashwood, Mr Dashwoods son. He is told by his father he must look after them.

The family are middle class and the ethnicity in the movie are white british people which is most likely to be because of the time period. It is shown that the family are not lower class as they do have their own servants, who they have to let go when the household is taken over.

Hugh Grant, who plays a large part in both films, plays the brother of Fanny who is Johns wife. She is more snobby and therefore quite rude as she picks faults within the family. Edward, Hugh Grants charcter, is the opposite to his sister as he is more understanding of the family who have just lost a dad and husband. He is also very comical and unique as he plays with one of the youngest daughters suggesting he is quite youthful and fun. His character in Four Weddings and a Funeral is very much the same as he is unreliable and always late out of bed suggesting his childish ways but is an amusing charcter in both films.

However Four weddings and a funeral has more of an diverse ethnicity as there are charcters from across the world, such as America. The focus more on younger adults whereas sense and sensibility concentrates on middle-aged adults or kids. The kids in the film however, do not understand the law and show the uncomfortability in the situation which has occured by asking questions and hiding.

Four Weddings and a Funeral was directed by Mike Newell and written by Richard Curtis who used Hugh Grant in many more films after this one. It was produced by Duncan Kenworthy, Working Title Films and Channel 4 films; which may indicate the swearing used. If another institution had produced the film it wouldn't be as direct for example with the swearing used. The film follows a group of young adults at four different weddings and a funeral and suggests marriage happens when there is nothing else for a couple to do, whereas sense and sensibilty sees marriage as a sign of love and security not just simply for something to do.

Comparison of Slumdog Millionaire and Somers Town.

Slumdog millionaire, directed by Danny Boyle, raises awareness for a lower economically developed country such as India. Channel 4 funded the film whereas Eurostar funded Somers Town. Slumdog millionaire is based in India whereas Somers Town in based in central London therefore Slumdog Millionaire is not thought of as an entirely British film. Slumdog was distributed by Pathe Pictures international, Fox Search Light Pictures who teamed up with Warner Bros.

Dev Patel plays a the protagonist in Slumdog Millionaire. He is a known actor for teen dramas such as Skins. Freida Pinto also plays a large part, she is best known for this, however also has a modelling career. Ayush Mahesh Khedekar was the yonger actor in the film playing a younger version of the protagonist, Slumdog was hs film debut but he has also been in advertisements such as kelloggs. Freida Pinto's younger self was played by Rubina Ali who since has a offer of films in Bollywood. Rubina was an ordinary child living in the slums of India; this has caused controversy to whether she was paid enough.

Somers Town stars Thomas Turgoose who is a well known film and television actor. He played in 'This is England' and 'Eden Lake'. He was born in 1992 and is still attending further education. Somers Town was distributed by 'Film Movement' and directed by Shane Meadows.

Representing Contemporary Britain-(article summary)

This is an extremely detailed article which discovers the uses of different factors in the british film industry in recent years. The factors include, sexuality, class, ethnicity and gender. The writer states that 'few films are made with the sole purpose of exploring one particular aspect of cultural identity.

Sexual desire is thought to be an issue used throughout british cinema right now however is thought to be a more recent subject as times, traditions and also industries themselves, have changed. It talks about how sexual issues are uses, for example the writer says that it is usually 'over flippant' or 'joylessly earnest' meaning it is rather humourless. Homosexuality is a sublject which has only recently been touched and is almost an uneasy issue.

Class is still divided throughout films and this has been 'imbedded in a number of films'. Notting Hill for example, postitions itself within an area of social and also ethnic diversity. The writer uses the 1990's in particular as an example to show the importance of current issues and class differences in the real world. Films in this decade have a representation of the working class and films had the same issues of unemployment.

The article mentions of how Britain has been accused of not documenting ethnic minorities. They are accused of lacking a full view. This issue is discussed in further detail and it is argued that Films do explore cultural issues such as racism but then are claimed as not to be political enough.

Gender is discussed and Males coem across as the more dominant but also they have more demands in films of their characteristics.

To conclude the article it states that 'British cinema has always drawn upon the nation's cultural and historical heritage.

"A shiny, happy place, relaxed about the filthy rich, insatiable in its optimism, in love with happy endings,and very New Labour Welcome to Curtisland

The reading i completed about Curtisland showed me that films by Richard Curtis such as four weddings and a funeral and Notting Hill were related to politics in England quite closely. It also shows that Richard Curtis is talented in writing short sketches and sitcoms, however needs partnership to help smooth out each sketch within a film. Without partnership Curtis hasn't been so successful with his films as his latest release didnt go down too well with reviews. It was described as having a tone between 'college skit and big-budget disaster'. This is also the case in the first series of Black-adder as the work wasn't as'precise' as the later work with Ben Elton.

This article also compares Tony Blair to Richard Curtis by saying they both have thich skin as they have taken stick for what they do in their career.