GRITTY BRITISH REALISM

By Christine Tran

TRADITIONAL BRITISHNESS

The images below show the traditional side of Britain and how people

see/believe Britain is really like. Unlike most countries, Great Britain has a

Queen. She lives in Buckingham Palace which is located in London, UK.

Everyone sees Britain as a posh and rich area where everyone enjoys drinking

tea and eating biscuits at their tea party. This is because this is how some

movies portray Britain, being all posh and rich. A traditional breakfast is

known as a English Breakfast, which usually includes, sausages, eggs, beans,

mushrooms and toast.

REAL BRITISHNESS

However, this is the real Britain. From protesting to crime to riots. People

believe that Britain is all about the posh rich areas but this is the real Britain.

In 2011, there was a riot that happened in London that took place across

different areas in London from Hackney to Brixton etc. The riot caused

houses getting burnt down, store items stolen etc. f people came down, this is

what they would see. Gangs and druggies who live in London are the main

cause for crime. The 4 guys in the 3rd photo was taken from Telegraph about

gangs increasing in Britain. The last photo shows the protest that took place

in London. This is how Britain is however people don’t see it like this.

This is Queen Elizabeth II. She is known as the

Queen of the United Kingdom. She is well

known in Great Britain and other countries. This

is because Great Britain is the only country that

has a Queen. Her family is known as the Royal

Family.

QUEEN

This is David Cameron. He is the Prime

Minister of the United Kingdom. He is part of

the Member of the Parliament (MP). He won in

the 2010 general election that was held on 6th

May 2010 with the Conservatives winning 307

seats in the parliament. He became famous for

winning the election and becoming the youngest

British Prime Minister. However, not everyone

in the UK is fond of him as he:

• Raised the tuition fees to £9000 per year.

• Stopped EMA which meant that a lot of

students have dropped out of college.

DAVID CAMERON

This is Alan Sugar. He is a British business

magnate (an entrepreneur) from East End of

London. He started of selling car aerials and

electrical goods out of a van for a living in his

early years. He became famous from selling his

remaining interest in the consumer electronics

company Amstrad (his largest business venture).

He now has around £770million and has his

own shows such as Young Apprentice and The

Apprentice.

ALAN SUGAR

This is Rylan Clark. He is known as finishing 5th place on The X Factor in 2012. Everyone knows

that he is homosexual as he tells the public that he is. He’s proud and not ashamed. If this was 30years ago, everyone would dislike him and not allow him

in town as they thought it was wrong. However, now people accepts different sexualities as time has progressed and they learnt to accept that everyone

is different. TV dramas now show different sexualities but portrays them how they want the

media/society to believe how the different sexualities really are (TV dramas may be extreme or true – mostly portraying them how they want

the society to see).

RYLAN CLARK

Gritty British Realism:

Gritty British Realism is seen as the bad side of Great Britain. It is the side where

no one outside Great Britain would think of as they believe its all posh and green

but in fact it’s all about the crime where police officers are always on their feet to

find criminals and stopping crime. That is the real Great Britain. From good posh

tea parties to gangsters and gunshots everywhere in each alleyway of London

corners. But Britain can be about all the fairytales (magic) or zombies apocalypse.

Film examples:

• Harry Potter Sequels

• Slumdog Millionaire

• 28 Weeks Later

• This is England

GRITTY BRITISH REALISM

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

This is a fantasy British movie sequel from 2001 to 2011. It was originally a novel but got adapted into films. The film was shot at Leavesden Film Studio and historical places in the UK. Most people get mistaken that Harry Potter films are mistaken but it’s in fact British starring British actors and actresses e.g. Daniel Radcliffe. This is a fantasy/magic based

movie. It represents the magical side of Britain, where wizards and witches exist according to novels and ancient stories. The actors and actresses who starred in the movie all have British accents which most people will recognize and assume that they are British due to

their tone of voice.

28 Weeks Later

28 Weeks Later is a British/Spanish movie that was shot in London and 3 Mills Studio. Some scenes were shot at Wembley Stadium located in London and some in Wales. The actors and actresses involved in the movie are the typical British type of people would expect. Their accents, house areas and the location – a typical British movie will all the

basic and common locations where people would know it’s the UK. Both movies are the same background by aimed at different audiences; from magical/fantasy type audiences to

thriller/horror audiences. Both filmed in the UK but filmed for different audiences and purposes.

COMPARING THE BRITISH FILMS

Some clips from the movies to show

the different locations and aim of

movies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=OSUgvbgHaV4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=wHf6Th-E3kE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=IpYHbdh9yTM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=50N2eB0JI80

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