Film Britannia! National Narratives in a Globalised Environment

Defining what constitutes a British film has been a thorny issue throughout the history of British cinema. It involves examining a range of industrial, technological and artistic factors interconnected with legal, economic, political and cultural considerations, in an environment marked by the globalisation of the film industry. What is particularly fascinating is how this question has persistently been debated in terms of national identity, by politicians as well as film practitioners, critics and academics. With reference to Benedict Anderson’s concept of “imagined community”, this chapter analyses the role of cinema in constructing a mirror supposed to reflect the idiosyncrasies of the British in their diversity, thereby stressing that the issue is as political as it is cultural. Drawing parallels with literature, theatre and television, it scrutinises the performative dimension of debates and discourses about the very existence and defining features of a specific national cinematographic culture.