Factsheet #132: British Film

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

If the movie is filmed in Britain, if the people filiming are british, if its funded within Britain, If the cast is british and or if the films subject matter is british or about british culture.

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

Hollywood production context means that most films made by hollywood film studios tend to be high budget productions with heavy emphasis on famouns celebrities in both cast and crew and are spectacle driven stories. While the independent productions tend to be low budget character rather than spectacle focused stories and have a heavier word of mouth and viral advertising. British Film on the other hand have no 

specific clearly defined chracteristics.

3) When did the James Bond franchise start?

The James Bond franchise started in the 1960's

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

After each decade, there was an apparent tipping point on what content was to be shown. The 1970's saw to there being more sexual content being introduced in film, and In in the 1980's more extreme flim making began to appear due to the fact that film making became more accesible to the public. This introduction of new more extreme content prompted the creation of the BBFC (British Board of Film Certification) reulting in the introduction of 7 (there are actualy 8 but the R18 rating is rarely ever used).

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

One major group that is represented often in British film are the youth. 1950's onwards the youth became a popular topic amongst film makers and often represented them as lawless reckless indviduals e.g. Clockwork Orange is movie that shows the youth as violence driven people that follow a very socialy unnaceptable way of life, these films often create the youth as more 1 dimensional chracters that does not fully represent the youth. In more modern day and contemporary films filmakers have tried to show the youth as more 3 dimensional characters that have more to them than given at first sight (e.g. Attack the block (2011) battles the stereotypes surrounding the youth and focuses on trying to represent the youth in a more 3 dimensional manner).

Another group often represented in British Film are women. The representation of women have seen the same changes as the youth in british, orginaly women in movies provided three purposes, to play the mother, the whore or the vigin in most movies. After the increase of womens rights in the 1970's, women have seen a more 3 dimensional representation to how their chracters are created and written.

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

The factsheet suggests that British Film audiences main form of appeal when it comes to movies are movies that focus on more social narractives e.g. movies about social change, education equal rights etc.