From a newspaper article in the Daily Telegraph by Stephen Pile, 18.06.07 (full article can be seen through link above)
The author argues that the TV show 'Britain's got talent' goes against recent reality TV trends and re-affirms some old stereotypes that perhaps we should be proud of...
1. "after years of market-led streamlining, the British are still a nation of cheerful eccentrics who do not give a damn (along the lines of Charles Dickens)"
2. "[the contestants on the show] were all unfashionably modest in an age of spin and self-promotion"
3. "nobody was interested in money... the real reward was the chance to appear before the Queen at the Royal Variety Show"
4. "our love of failure still lingers beneath the recent obsession with pseudo American success"
5. "British democracy has reasserted itself in the sort of robust mob behaviour first depicted by Hogarth"
6. "alongside our fiercely outspoken side there is a gentle tolerance and a good humour about us... that enables us to take criticism and rub along together on a small island"
7. "it has reminded us that there is such a thing as society"
This article really struck a chord with me because the issue of 'Britishness' is always in the news, especially regarding multi-culturalism and immigration. The meaning of the term 'Britishness' was never really clear to me and I havn't felt particularly proud to be British in the way that other nationalities really value their country and culture, so Im glad this journalist at least has decided to celebrate the qualities found in the national stereotype and change my slightly apathetic view of my country.
Also, from a design perspective, you need to be familiar with stereotypes in order to subvert the norm. Like the HSBC adverts that stress the importance of local knowledge, an advertiser needs to be aware of how a target market thinks and feels in order to influence those thoughts and feelings- whether that campaign is launched on a regional, national or international stage.
1 comment:
I think your post highlights an important issue that seemed to have drifted away from the media spotlight after Tony Blair's idea of "cool Britannia" inevitably faded.
For me as an Irishman I have never struggled with my national identity, it is to me clear what it means to be Irish and who we are as a people. I'm proud of my country and feel protective of it's values.
When I first came here I started to notice that people were not that overtly proud of their country and many didn't feel a strong national identity. This is not always the case though, I have very many Welsh friends having lived there for sometime and they do have a real and strong sense of national identity, not a British identity but a Welsh Identity. the same has been true for the Scottish people I have met, but with English people this sense of Identity seems more diluted or less celebrated. It seems to me that countries that have been oppressed or ruled seem to have stronger identities, as a result of wanting to disassociate themselves from the ruling country or oppressor. Of course there are inherent differences in all of the countries I have mentioned, but I feel that all but the English cherish these differences.
It is a complicated issue and I do feel that to be British is not so easy in terms of identity, yes there are bad things in your past (colonialism, slavery, etc) and yes there is a negative perception of Britain in many countries (But there is still a respect). I do feel that there are positive achievements in British history to be proud of, for instance most things that surrounds us in our modern age can in some way trace their roots to inventions and discoveries by British people... okay you make some crap television about British talent but I think you have the right to, you did after all invent television.
P.S. Yes, John Logie Baird was Scottish but that still means he was British.
P.P.S. I'm sure there is a dissertation topic in this issue that could relate to graphics in some way.
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