Term Paper on "Heritage British Cinema and Thatcherism"

Term Paper 13 pages (5866 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Heritage British Cinema and Thatcherism

The book, "British Cinema in the 1980's" by John Hill, has given detailed accounts of both heritage as well as Empire films, but however, happens to convey the mistaken message that filming the past is all completely an escapist and a reactionary idea, and that it has to actually look extremely ugly. It is a fact that British cinema has always managed to pose a real problem to the comprehension of Americans and others all over the world, and when contemplating British cinema, several issues automatically come to the fore, among them the question of what exactly British Cinema is about, what exactly does it depict and discuss, what has it contributed to the cinema of the world, except maybe some 'kitchen sink realism', and what are the various genres that it depicts, and so on.

In short, it is often stated that British cinema has basically lacked a sense of focus, and this is perhaps the reason that in comparison to other world cinema, like French and German, for example, British Cinema has often been rejected outright, and has therefore been out of the limelight, and the consequent lack of critical acclaim. There have been a lot of books written o the subject, wherein the authors have attempted to put things into their right perspective, and show that it is indeed a fact that British cinema too warrants attention form the world, John Hill being one of them. He addresses such issues as the changing role of British cinema during the 1980's, and the way in which it managed to deal with the question of identity. This is the reason that Hill starts his book with the time when Margaret Thatcher was the Prime Minister of England, during the years from 1979 to 1990, and John Hill analyses her method of government, and all her various ideologies.

The picture that he paints however is quite a negative one, and he reveals the fact that more often than not, British filmmakers were completely unsympathetic and uncaring about Thatcherism, and challenged many of the values therein. The reason for this feeling was, according to Hill, because the entire system was deteriorating at a rapid rate, probably as an inevitable result of the Thatcher policies, which managed to weaken further the already weakened state of the film industry of Britain. This is seen by the fact that by the end of the 1970's, the Rank, Associated Productions, and EMI were all pulled out of production, and these were the literal giants of the film industry of the time. Soon, Thorn had alos downed its shutters, followed by Goldcrets, of 'The chariots of Fire' fame. This is the ersaon that the film industry had to finally succumb and turn to television for sustainance, and it is widely believed that this was the reason that the genre of British 'Art Cinema' developed.

In general, British heritage films of the 1980's are treated as being in compliance with the existing and predominating Thatcherism of the day, and most of the films created at that time were also seen as being literal vessels of a complacent and bourgeois idea of quality on the part of the British filmmakers, and that they revealed a sort of a British cultural Imperialism. British heritage films also generally reveal a significant predomination of the male character, and they appeal to a so-called non-dominant or a feminine sort of spectatorship.

One of the more popular heritage films of the 1980's is the 'Room with a View', made in the year 1985. The movie being a Merchant Ivory production was indeed a big hit. The star cast was Maggie Smith as Charlotte Barlett, Helena Bonham Carter as Lucy Honeychurch, Denholm Elliott, as Mr. Emerson, Julian Sands as George Emerson, Daniel Day Lewis as Cecil Vyse, Simon Callow as reverend Arthur Beebe, and Judi Dench as Miss Eleanor Lavish, among others. The movie 'Room with a View' was one of the three adaptations of EM Forster's novels, which were taken by Merchant Ivory Productions to be made into a delightful heritage film. Literary heritage is one of the predominating features of the film, and it even utilized the actual novel's 1908 chapter headings as its intertitles.

Most of EM Forster's wit and humor and language and even the tone of novel has been captured in the film by the talented scriptwriter, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. The film pokes fun at the English abroad and all the preoccupations that they exhibit with issues such as etiquette, manners, class, and social conventions and what to do and what not to do. At the same time, it must be stated that the film is indeed a social satire, and at the very heart of the movie, just like in EM Forster's novels, is the very real conflict that always arises between the desire of the human heart, and the various moral codes as dictated by the society, in this case, English. The various characters become the most important part of the film, and the characterization of the film is shown as a series of dynamics, and the relationships of the characters with one another also forms the essence of the movie.

This is where the culture clash between two different generations comes into play, and this issue is examined in great detail. Victorian morality and old fashioned values, which the older generation still believes in, and the changing moral values of the younger generation, which desires to follow a more Edwardian tradition of free and fair, are shown in great contrast with each other. While the elders represent unchanging and traditional values, the youth represent the changing times and the modern age. Quite inevitably, there is great friction and tension among the characters and this is encapsulated in Lucy Honeychurch, the sheltered and protected girl, who is faced with the extremely difficult choice between passion and security, and she is torn in her desire to finally break free of tradition and convention and the hypocrisy associated with it. What happens is this, the sheltered and protected Lucy Honeychurch, who is holidaying with her spinster aunt in Florence, happens to be kissed by the completely unconventional George Emerson.

Subsequently, Lucy is frightened and completely confused, and she finally returns to her own England in order to accept a proposal from the incorrigible and stuffy Cecil Vyse. However, George soon reappears, and what happens next is that Lucy starts to question her real feelings for both Cecil as well as for George Emerson. How will this experience manage to affect all her marriage plans? What must be done next? It must be remembered that British cinema, at the time that the Room with a View was filmed, seemed like it was probably in the last stages of its ultimate demise. This was the time when the number of people who would actually go to a theatre and watch a film was declining at a rapid rate, and a lot of British production houses were all closing down their businesses.

The 'Room with a view' was one of the most visible depictions of the production trend of the time, when quality costume drama or the so-called heritage films came into being. Some of the other important productions of the same time were 'The Chariots of Fire', made in 1981, the Golden Bowl, which was made later, in the year 2000, the Madness of King George, in 1995, sense and Sensibility, 1996, Shakespeare in Love, in 1998. All these films were based on costume drama, and this genre happened to become a large success, initially in Britain, and later in America as well. The charm of heritage films lies in the fact that they engage with certain subject matter and dialogue that have normally played a major role in determining the understanding of British heritage and the English traditions and customs of previous years.

The reason is that these are all films that are set in the past, and they inevitably tell the stories of English nobility, their manners and their various proprieties, their various and several romantic transgressions, and all their entanglements. All these issues are examined in great detail and depicted in carefully detailed, and also visually splendid and impressive period detailing and reconstructions. Some of the more common visual images painstakingly reconstructed in heritage or period films are the luxurious country house settings for the film, the beautiful and picturesque 'rolling green' landscapes of England, the very impressive costumes that are worn by the characters in the film, and the various canonical reference points to be found throughout the film, are all some of the attractions and a part of the innate charm of heritage films.

There are, of course, exceptions, and certain heritage films have not indulged in great expense or time to research and create costumes and period sites for their films. It was in the same period that cultural commentators were able to identify what they assumed was the consolidation… READ MORE

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