What is Britishness? Define regional and national identity. What are the differences between the two?

Regional and National Identity

Understanding regional identity What are the main regional identities we see represented in TV Dramas? You must give examples. What are the stereotypes of these?

Northerners Stereotype= ‘Northern Monkeys’, Loud rude, drink a lot and of a lower status Costume= Track suit or cheap/casual clothes Dialogue/dialect= Vowel sounds over-pronounced Make up= Over the top or minimal Class/Status= Low

Southerners Stereotype= ‘Poncy Southerners’ arrogant and posh - Dialogue/dialect= Well spoken ‘ the rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain’ -Costume= Suit and tie, tailored clothing and dresses -Props= Brief case -Make up= Classy and to a minimum -Class/Status= Middle/Upper

Essex Stereotype= Image conscious, unintelligent, love to shop and party Stereotype coined by TOWIE (The Only Way is Essex) Dialogue/dialect= 'Shut up' 'Oh my God' = common phrases Costume: Girls= Revealing/OTT Boys: Fashionable Location= Clubs and boutiques Props: G Expensive, flashy, tacky handbags, up to date mobile phone Make up= Fake tan, fake eyelashes and hair extensions Class/Status= Lower Middle http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vTzuZk1OHA

Scottish Stereotype= Humourless, hate other nations,alcoholic and violent Dialogue/dialect= Strong accent 'och' 'wee' Costume= Kilt, tartan, Tam o' Shanter Location= Highlands, cold and vast open spaces Props= Bagpipes, haggis, whisky Make up= Ginger hair and freckles Class/Status= Lower class (farmers) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fp-jVwBGUsI

Welsh Stereotype= Small ,dark haired people who play all rugby, sing in choirs, herd sheep or mine coal Dialogue/dialect= Very ‘song-like’ and melodic, slow and exaggerated pronunciation Costume= Rugby shirts Location= Rugby pitch, church, pub, fields with sheep Props= Sheep Make up= Minimal Class/Status= Middle/Lower

Scousers Stereotype= Dangerous ; ‘Why does the river Mersey run through Liverpool? If it walked it would get mugged’ - Dialogue/dialect= Flemmy, difficult to understand; 'like' prominent k's -Costume= Tracksuits, very casual cheap looking clothing -Location= Pub/home -Props= Cheap looking jewellery -Make up= Minimal, or OTT -Class/Status= Low http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STIvNjWobzA

Yorkshire - Dialogue/dialect= 'Ey up’, ‘An' Ah'll tell thi that fer nowt’, don’t pronounce ‘t’s’ Costume= Flat caps, tweed jackets Location= Open fields, country pubs, Local shops Props= Whippets/Yorksire terrier and Yorkshire puddings Make up= Minimal/pale Class/Status= Low (farmers) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzAD2GLfaNU

Geordies Stereotype= Loud, swear a lot, party animals and binge drinkers (help coined by Geordie Shore) Dialogue/dialect= ‘way eye man’, difficult to understand Costume= Revealing, tight clothing Location= Busy town centres, clubs, urban areas Make up= Over the top, fake tan, dark hair Class/Status= Lower middle/ middle http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PVQbnvv79I

Mancs Stereotype= Loud, rude, funny and fond of fighting (Helped coined by Oasis) Dialogue/dialect= ‘Oh, aye’ ‘Nowt’ Costume= Manchester United Shirt Location= Busy town centres Class/Status= Low/lower middle

Brummies Stereotype= Unintelligent and unfriendly Dialogue/dialect= 'Yow' heavily pronunciation the 'ow' of 'You' Costume= Casual/ Cheap Location= Busy, industrialised centres Make up= Greasy hair Class/Status= Low

Londoners (Northern/ more posh boroughs) - Dialogue/dialect= Well spoken, range of vocabulary -Costume= Cashmere jumpers/sweaters and suits -Location= Skyscrapers, swanky bars, posh homes -Props= Briefcase -Class/Status= Middle/upper

Londoners (Cockney/ South London) - Dialogue/dialect= ‘Gorblimey’, Rhyming slang ‘apples and pairs = stairs’,dropping ‘t’s’ -Costume= Flat caps -Location= Busy streets, market stalls -Make up= Minimal -Class/Status= Low

Read the article from Somerset Live Highlight any key ideas as you do so and answer the questions at the bottom of the sheet. What is the overall stereotypical image of country life, which the writer of the article is annoyed with?  What are the stock characters the writer claims you will see?  Think of as many examples of TV shows which adhere to these stereotypes as you can:

Higson argues that; “Representations of national/regional identity are constructed as the narrative of the text unfolds, as characters are pitted against one another, so a sense of identity emerges…but at the same time producers often resort to stereotyping as a means of establishing character and identity.”

Higson goes on to say; “Stereotyping is a form of shorthand, a way of establishing character by adopting recognisable and well established conventions of representation…the stereotype reduces characters to the most basic form and attempts to naturalise them and the more widely recognisable they become the more readily they are accepted. Except that if a stereotype becomes more widely recognisable it becomes comic”.

The satellite map shows us a city sprawl so we know that the programme is set in an urban area. However it is the River Thames than reveals the specific location as being London. Regional Identity can be seen by the views we see in the picture. We can see the countryside in the distance and we can also see an old vehicle of which is only used in the countryside.

You can tell that this is set in the country also because the background of the first picture is the country and in the second picture the house is styled as a country house. Also, what the characters are wearing symbolises ‘the country’ You can tell that this is set in an estate as there are flats in the background and the people look like they aren't of a high class because of the clothes they are wearing therefore we would expect them to live there and if there is a show about them then it would be set here.

Manchester - Mancunians, or Mancs Liverpool – Scousers Cornish Task: As you watch, write notes and then write one P.E.E for each of the following clips

Camera angles/ movement Mise en scene Editing Sound Shameless Brookside Doc Martin TOWIE Vicar of Dibley Monarch of the Glen

Good example clips to look at during revision if you want to practice note taking include; Vicar of Dibley or Doc Martin (middle class/upper class characters do not have regional accents and are presented ‘as intelligent’ while the locals are ridiculed – this obviously links to Marxism).