Britain onscreen
Made in Dagenham has been part funded by BBC Films and if you search for information about it online, you will find many references to it as a 'British film' with an 'all star British cast'. For marketing purposes the film's British identity is important because the term 'British' carries with it certain associations that will attract particular audiences.
Play this clip to hear Made in Dagenham's producer Stephen Woolley talk about the importance of promoting British film.
In pairs, talk through the following questions about your understanding of the terms 'British' and 'Britishness'.
- What kind of people do you think of when thinking of 'the British'?
- What makes these people British?
- Explore both positive and negative aspects of these attributes:
- certain set of values?
- set of related/unrelated ideas?
- set of behaviours?
- anything else?
- What are the good and bad things about the British?
- Are there particular core aspects to British identity that are recognised by everyone?
- What aspects of Britishness do you see in yourself?
- Who do you think 'decides' on what is or is not British? Are there levels of Britishness?
(NB. These questions are adapted from The Commission for Racial Equality's (CRE) report:
Citizenship and Belonging: What is Britishness? (2005)