Representation of Scotland on screen: Symbols of Scottish identity in the cinematography of the 21st century
| Thesis title in Czech: | Reprezentace Skotska ve filmu: Symboly skotské identity v kinematografii 21. století |
|---|---|
| Thesis title in English: | Representation of Scotland on screen: Symbols of Scottish identity in the cinematography of the 21st century |
| Key words: | identita, reprezentace, stereotypy, film, Skotsko |
| English key words: | identity, representation, stereotypes, film, Scotland |
| Academic year of topic announcement: | 2013/2014 |
| Thesis type: | Bachelor's thesis |
| Thesis language: | angličtina |
| Department: | Department of Anglophone Literatures and Cultures (21-UALK) |
| Supervisor: | Colin Steele Clark, M.A. |
| Author: | hidden - assigned and confirmed by the Study Dept. |
| Date of registration: | 22.09.2014 |
| Date of assignment: | 22.09.2014 |
| Administrator's approval: | not processed yet |
| Confirmed by Study dept. on: | 25.05.2016 |
| Date and time of defence: | 20.06.2016 00:00 |
| Date of electronic submission: | 25.05.2016 |
| Date of proceeded defence: | 20.06.2016 |
| Submitted/finalized: | committed by student and finalized |
| Opponents: | PhDr. Zdeněk Beran, Ph.D. |
| Guidelines |
| a) Subject: Yes Scotland or Better Together? The September referendum has raised discussions about Scottish national identity to the utmost interest. Scotland has been a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain from 1707, at the same time it has been able to preserve its uniqueness and sense of national identity in the popular culture, such as literature, films or music which is shared among the Scottish inhabitants and spread also worldwide.The Scottish National Party was founded in 1934 with the aim of uniting the nationalist movement. The gains being made by the nationalists led the Labour Government in 1960 to set up the Kilbrandon Commission to draw up plans for a Scottish Assembly, and Conservative leader Edward Heath to promise to support plans for devolution. The Scotland Act 1978 made provision for a referendum on devolution. Under the Conservative Thatcher and Major governments there was little impetus to revive the devolution project, but it remained part of Labour's agenda. On its return to power in 1997, Labour set out its plans for a Scottish Parliament and a referendum in September that year. The Scottish Parliament was established in 1999. Following several years of further discussions, an agreement was finally signed on 15 October 2012 between Prime Minister David Cameron and Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond granting Holyrood the power to hold a referendum on independence.The Scotland Act, passed in May 2012, implements changes to the devolution settlement as recommended by the Calman Commission and, amongst other things, enables the Scottish Parliament to legislate on taxation. Despite having considerable powers, Westminster reserves a wide range of policy areas, including defence and foreign policy, which are generally thought to be necessary for independent statehood. Key issues deriving from intense debates whether Scotland should or should not be an independent country include questions on currency, North Sea oil and gas, EU membership, pensions and welfare, citizenship and immigration, or broadcasting. After the referendum, significant impact could be also expected in the production of art.The aim of the bachelor thesis called “Representation of Scotland on screen: Symbols of Scottish identity in the cinematography of the 21st century” is to analyse what is the portrayal of Scottish identity and culture in the contemporary film production. This bachelor thesis will be concerned with the employment of recurring motifs and thematic links in Scottish film from the year 2000 until present and will analyse how both film-makers, native and foreign render Scottish culture in their productions and the relative effects this has on contemporary culture. Existing research into the representation of Scottish culture on screen analyses mainly historic trends of remythologizing the Scottish past and using traditional stereotyping symbols that still appear in some of the films. Many authors, such as Murray (2009), however point to the establishment of new Scottish representation by leaving those symbols behind and focusing on contemporary Scotland with its political debates and social relationships. This thesis contends that contemporary directors are no longer retrospective and are concerned primarily with the contemporary political and social dispensationof modern Scotland .The lexicon of Scottish film history is still present but no longer central and usually problematised by ironic employment, and is complemented by a new referential/generative mode which is connected with Independence and the debate over identity in the Scottish Community, imagined or otherwise..The author follows her personal interest in Scottish culture and fulfils her ambition to devote the thesis also to the topic connected with film studies.
b) Method: The practical part will focus on twelve films, both from Scottish and non-Scottish production in the 21st century. The research will be led according to the principles of a qualitative content analysis. It will examine the films with the reference to the theoretical part and enquire what patterns of the Scottish identity are projected, whether they share any common features and what features appear as the most frequent. The individual films were selected with respect to several criteria: the date of the release falls into the 21st century and the director of the film is either of Scottish origin or provides parts of his/her product with a Scottish theme.Frequent use is made of established secondary texts and criticial research into Caledonian Filmography. c) Structure: The introductory chapter will deal with the origins of the cultural identity in Scotland and sets the topic into a historical context. The following chapter will clarify the characteristics of myths that abide the Scottish identity, such as the image of Tartanry which consists of often exaggerated representation of the Scottish symbols such as the clans, the tartans and kilts, the bagpipes, or the Highland games. Further, the work will deal with the representation of a national identity in a popular culture, specifically in a film. One chapter will also introduce the Scottish film industry, its famous directors, actors and actresses. The main part will provide an analysis of individual films and comparison of directors’ approaches. d) Expected time of the submission of the thesis: As the proposal of the thesis has to be submitted one year prior to the defence of the thesis, this bachelor thesis is expected to be submitted by the end of the summer semester 2014/2015. |
| References |
| a) Primary sources:
Aberdeen. Dir. Hans Peter Molland. Svensk Filmindustri, 2000. Morvern Callar. Dir. Lynne Ramsay. Alliance Atlantis, BBC Films, 2002. Sweet Sixteen. Dir. Ken Loach. Icon Film Distribution, 2002. Wilbur wants to kill himself. Dir. Lore Scherfig.Zentropa Entertainments 6, 2002. The Magdalene Sisters. Dir. Peter Mullan. Magna Pacific, 2002. Young Adam. Dir. David Mackenzie. Warner Bros., 2003. Ae Fond Kiss. Dir. Ken Loach. Icon Film Distribution, 2004. The Angel’s Share. Dir. Ken Loach. Entertainment One, 2012. Brave. Dir. Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 2012. The Wee Man. Dir. Ray Burdis. Carnaby International, 2013. Filth. Dir. John S. Baird. Lionsgate, 2013. Sunshine on Leith. Dir. Dexter Fletcher. Entertainment Film Distributors, 2013. b) Secondary literature: Blandford, Steve. Film, Drama and the Break-up of Britain. 2007. London: Intellect Ltd., 2007. Crawford, Robert. Bannockburns: Scottish Independence and the Literary Imagination, 1314-2014. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2014. Frank, Jan. Skotsko. Praha: Libri, 2007. Hall, Stuart. Representation: cultural representation and signifying practices. London: Open University Press, 2003. Hardy, Forsyth. Scotland in Film. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1990. Monaco, James. How to read a film: movies, media, and beyond: art, technology, language, history, theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. Murray, Jonathan. Scottish Cinema Today. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars, 2009. Pittock, Murray. Scottish nationality. Houndmills: Palgrave, 2001. Richards, Jeffrey. Film and British National Identity: From Dickens to Dad’s Army. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1997. Trevor-Roper, Hugh. The Invention of Scotland: Myth and history. Cumberland: Yale University Press, 2008. |