The British film industry: blog tasks

Use our brilliant Media Factsheet archive on the M: drive Media Shared (M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets) to find Media Factsheet #132 on British Film. You can find it online here - you'll need to log in using your Greenford Google login. Read the whole of Factsheet and answer the following questions:

1) Write a one-sentence definition of what makes a film British.

British films usually depict British culture and are usually directed by a British producer.

2) What is the difference between a Hollywood production context and production context of a British film? 

British film as a production context also tends to be varied but idiosyncratic to the story being told within the film. Hollywood production context means that most films made by Hollywood studios have high budgets, a heavy reliance on celebrities both in the cast and crew and spectacle driven stories.

3) When did the James Bond franchise start?

1960s

4) In terms of film censorship and graphic content, what began to change in British film in the 1970s and 1980s?

The 1970s sees a rise in British Films of sexual content, both the act of sex and sex linked to violence with films like A Clockwork Orange coming under a lot of scrutiny. The 1980s see the rise of videos and the ‘video nasty’s scare where filmmaking was becoming more accessible and more extreme content was being created and finding its way to Britain.

5) What groups are often represented in British film? Give examples of films these groups feature in.

Youth is portrayed in movies such as A Clockwork Orange. The focus is on violence, anti-establishment and a compulsion to act in an anarchic way. This is echoed through British Cinema and into current films such as Eden Lake, where we see a similar, (if not less fantastical) set of values being given to the youthful antagonists of the film. Both play into the stereotype that youth are rule breaking rebels that are somewhat violent.

6) What does the Factsheet suggest might be the audience appeal of British film

The overwhelming characteristics that will most appeal to a British audience is the social theme that provides the through line for many British film narratives. The British audience has a keen interest in British films that focus on class, social strife, education and more.

Factsheet #100: British film industry

To complete our introduction to the British film industry, we need a little more background to the industries context.

Find Media Factsheet #100 on the British film industry. You can find it on the same link as above. Read the whole of the Factsheet and answer the following questions:

1) What is the 'cultural test' to see if a film counts as British?

The Cultural Test is divided into four sections and a film must score at least 16 out of a possible 31 points to be classified as British.

2) Complete the task on the Factsheet - choose three of the films listed and research them to work out what they score on the cultural test: The Sweeney (2012), Attack The Block, The King's Speech, We Need To Talk About Kevin and Skyfall.

The Sweeney: International box office- $7,974,021
Cultural test: 24

Attack the Block: International box office- $5,435,008
Cultural test: 24

The Kings Speech: International box office- $317,374,750
Cultural test: 23

3) What is the main problem for the British film industry?

In the past, the British film industries have prioritized production over distribution. This means that a lot of UK films are produced, but in order to have them shown, the directors must give up the distribution rights by selling the movie to a distribution company.

4) What are three of the strengths of the British film industry?

Outstanding creative skills of practitioners, outstanding facilities

5) What are the two options for the future of the British film industry?

-Rely upon co-productions with American studios

-Make low budget films targeted at a niche, British audience.

6) In your opinion, which of these two options would best safeguard the future of the British film industry?

I think that the first option would safeguard the future of British film because it has a higher success rate that the second one since it targets a wider number of people. The second one is targeting a smaller audience which will make British films become less popular and known which is why I think the first one is better.