Today, my media class took a trip to the London BFI for a film conference on UK cinema, audiences, and institutions. It was packed day full of interesting facts and I believe that I, as well as my class, learnt a lot from it.
We first had a talk on audiences and institutions. We learnt that many films will be watched by a UK audience if there are familiar characters and situations which the audience can relate to, the film is full of 'Britishness', being marginally stereotypical and reaching out towards the UK's patriotic pride. They also like crowd pleasers and films that have had film nominations, being full of glamorisation, spectacle, escapism, adrenaline and catharsis. We then compared the expectations and preferences of a UK audience to an American audience. It showed that alike to a UK audience, the American audiences loves historical and literary figures, crowd pleasers and films that are award nominees, as well as portraying the subcultures and spectacle, escapism, adrenaline and catharsis. It also showed that American audiences like to have characters alike to contemporary celebrities or royalty. For instance, the Americans love British novels such as Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice'. They have now gone and made a film out of the spoof novel 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies'.
We also looked at films which are considered to be UK films such as 'The Man from UNCLE', 'The Imitation Game' and 'The Avengers'.
We then evaluated how British the film 'Kingsman: The Secret Service' was. Ideas that I noted down were that it appealed to a young adult audience, it combined elements of the UK such as the lower class and upper class and that it was full of adrenaline and patriotism.
We then looked at the film 'A Royal Night Out' which would have appealed to a UK audience due to its historic and patriotic themes. This would have also appealed to an American audience as well as being full of characters that were part of royalty and links to Americas origins from the UK. This film fitted under the heritage category, meaning that it would stereotypically have a museum aesthetic.
After this, we looked at a film which came under the category of social realism called 'The Selfish Giant'. This means that it would be critical of British life, challenge the comfort zones of day to day life as well as portraying an explicit, dark side of human nature. I noted down that the film would appeal to a UK audience as it was full of colloquial terms, had links to the lower classes of people such as gypsies. It was also dark and serious, exposing the harsh reality of the UK as not as posh and peaceful as many people believe. It would also appeal to an American audience as it is full of catharsis (emotional intensity) and marginalised groups are represented.
We took a look at 'The Woman In Black'. This film fitted under the horror category meaning that stereotypically it is traditionally gothic. It would appeal to a UK audience as it is full of adrenaline and horror, as well as being influenced by national pride and containing patriotic, historical edwardian/victorian elements which fit well under the gothic genre. It would also appeal to an American audience as it was a successful novel and screen play in both the UK and America as well as being a crowd pleaser.
We finally took a look at the film 'One Day' which fits under the urban fairytale rom-com category. This means that is a romantic comedy and that it is stereotypically about a close group of friends who don't immediately get on before the film transforms into a love story and throws obstacles at the romantic relationship within urban life.
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