British Culture: An Introduction

240 Pages·1999·2.09 MB·English

by  David Christopher

British culture
British Culture: An Introduction explores the highly varied nature of
culture and the arts in Britain today, using a factual approach to locate key
elements within a clear, historical context.
Topics include:
• the social and cultural context: politics and society from 1950 to
present day, including immigration, feminism, Thatcherism and ‘new’
Labour, and their effects on the arts
(cid:127) language and culture: regional accents, minority languages and
received pronunciation
(cid:127) the novel and poetry
(cid:127) theatre: political drama, comedy, musicals
(cid:127) cinema: Hammer Horror, Ealing comedies, black British productions,
heritage film
(cid:127) television and radio: crime series, sitcoms and soap operas
(cid:127) popular music and fashion: The Beatles, punk, BritPop, subculture and
style
(cid:127) art and sculpture: Pop Art, BritArt, Bacon, Freud, Hockney, Hirst
(cid:127) architecture and interiors: Modernism, post-Modernism, new towns
and conservation
Each chapter focuses on key themes and movements of recent years, and
gives special emphasis to outstanding artists within each area. The book
also strengthens study skills, through follow-up activities and suggestions
for further reading.
David Christopher works for the British Council and has lectured on
English and British Studies at the Universities of Edinburgh, London and
La Rioja in Spain.

British culture
An introduction
David Christopher
London and New York
First published 1999
by Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
This edition is published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2002.
© 1999 David Christopher
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Christopher, David, 1958–
British culture: an introduction / David Christopher.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Great Britain – Civilization – 20th Century. 2. Popular culture –
Great Britain – History – 20th century. I. Title.
DA566.4.C46 1999
941.082–dc21 99–36124
CIP
ISBN 0–415–22053–X (hbk)
ISBN 0–415–14218–0 (pbk)
ISBN 0-203-01973-3 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-16057-6 (Glassbook Format)
Contents
List of illustrations vii
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction xi
1 The social and cultural context 1
2 Language in culture 23
3 The novel and poetry 35
4 Theatre 59
5 Cinema 79
6 Television and radio 105
7 Popular music and fashion 131
8 Art and sculpture 157
9 Architecture and interiors 179
Name index 201
Subject index 209

Illustrations
Figures
4.1 Shaftesbury Avenue, at the heart of London’s West End 60
4.2 The Barbican Centre, London 61
5.1 The classic Bond film Goldfinger, starring Sean Connery 86
5.2 Carry On Up the Khyber 87
6.1 Sir Winston Churchill during an epic speech relayed to the
world by the BBC, 14 July 1941 108
6.2 A British family views one of the first experimental
transmissions of colour television 110
6.3 ‘Evening all … ’: Dixon of Dock Green 112
6.4 Basil Fawlty ‘explains’ to his Spanish waiter Manuel in
an episode of Fawlty Towers 119
7.1 The Beatles: John, Paul, George and Ringo 137
7.2 The Spice Girls: Sporty, Baby, Ginger, Posh and Scary 154
8.1 David Hockney, ‘Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy’ (1970–1) 165
8.2 Damien Hirst, ‘Some Comfort Gained from the Acceptance
of the Inherent Lies in Everything’ (1996) 173
9.1 Vermuyden School, Goole; a fine example of Georgian-Style
architecture 181
9.2 The Royal Festival Hall, South Bank, London 183
9.3 Canary Wharf, Docklands, London 193
VII

Acknowledgements
This book describes some of the most significant features of cultural and
artistic life in modern Britain. Such a work is necessarily indebted to a
wide variety of descriptive and analytic texts, and some of those used in
the compilation of each chapter can be found in the further reading
sections.
Alargenumberofpeoplehavemadethisbookpossibleindifferentways
andIwouldliketothankRawwaidaBaksh,G.ElisaBussi,DaleGunthorp,
Ellen Frivold, Ana Halbach, Oddvar Holmesland, Joyce Pederson and
TimothyWhitton,whoallprovidedcriticismsofearlierdrafts.
Among the many I pestered for information and advice, I would partic-
ularly like to thank Carol Wallace and Terence Morris. I am also extremely
grateful to all at Routledge for their commitment to the book and to
Heather McCallum for her patience and encouragement.
Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to those who tolerated me
while I wrote it, especially Carmelo Cunchillos, Rosamaria Lombardo and
my parents.
Photo credits
Photo illustrations are courtesy of:
Arcaid/Alex Bartel (4.2), Arcaid/Martin Jones (9.2), Arcaid/Richard Bryant
(9.3), BBC (6.3, 6.4), Hulton Getty (6.1, 6.2), Lamplight, Wakefield (9.1),
Redferns/Paul Fenton (7.2), Redferns/Val Wilmer (7.1), Ronald Grant
Archive (5.1, 5.2), Simon Kemp (4.1), Stephen White (8.2), Tate
Gallery/David Hockney (8.1)
Every effort has been made to obtain permission to reproduce copyright
material. If any proper acknowledgement has not been made, I would
invite copyright holders to inform me of the oversight.
IX