Axinte Delia-Georgiana, CCBCG,II

Joining the Dots of Britishness in 'Shadowlands'

The term Britishness has long been disscused, its ambivalent meaning caused problematic, political and social issues throughout history, Tom Nairn in The Break-up of Britain depicts two distinguished representations; the unification of diverse people, thus it can be seen as a citizenship, not a way of life associated with an ethnic group, it is moderate, orderly, decent, peaceful and tolerant, constitutional;whereas the second image shows an imperialist portrayal- backward-looking, complacent, insular, class-ridden, inefficient, imperialist. If we take into consideration these opposite perspectives the movie Shadowlands presents elements of both views, from the utopic image of the English landscape to the ethnic dominant conceptions of national identity. To begin with, the first instance of Britishness is highlighted early in the movie, the rural myth has an important part to play, as it reastablishes the English value of national identity.Critics argue about the basis of the rural myth which implies a dichotomous understanding of the world separating elements such as rural-urban, old-modern, natural-artificial. The idyllic image of the countryside in opposition to the artificial city is a biased interpretations The countryside is somehow special-the feeling that life is better, the people kinder, and the existence truer there-although the rural myth is considerably more complex than just this basic eulogy of country life. (Adam, Allan, 1995: 216).Whenever the main protagonist is located in the natural environment; we can observe a tendancy towards tranquility, balance and happiness. Moreover there are many scenes in the film where Jack and Joy are seen in the small cottage, the garden, driving through the countryside or near a lake, where they mention the English poet Shelley. Another element of the first definition of Britishness is underlined by the national stereotypes the tea servings, philosophical debates, as well as the the main characters ethnic background, Irish, respectively Jewish American, symbolic if we are to take into consideration the idea of tolerance.There is the Britishness of C.S. Lewis. Lewis evokes for the Americans all the sophistication quaintness of England. To read Lewis is to enter a world where schoolchildren wait on railway platforms at the end of their holidays or crawl from attic to attic in London row houses.( Judith Wolfe,Brendan N. Wolfe, :175).

If this image of Oxford has begun to fade from American consciousness, then the movie Shadowlands, with its scenes of quiet Magdalen cloisters, sophisticated Randolph teas, jocular High Table debates and raucous undergraduates hurling themselves into the Isis helped to perpetuate the Oxford mystique for another generation(Judith Wolfe,Brendan N. Wolfe: 175)

On the other hand, the second picture of Britishness, with its imperialist, class-driven manner is also suggested in some parts of the movie. Such an example is found in the scene where C.S. Lewis is giving a lecture on the ideal of love, the student did not share his opinion, as a result he shows an arrogant and superior side Im liable to win. It is interesting that the moment he meets Joy he states that he does not know what to reply to her statements; when they attend the gathering there is a ethnic struggle when the debate on different cultures appears, we can observe once again the imperialist British manner as it desires to subdue the other. Furthermore this distance and need to control is emphasized the moment Joy argues with Jack about the his way of building a wall between him and the rest of the worldeveryone thats close to you is younger than you, or weaker or under your control.

We think we are civilized, warm-hearted people, but abroad, they think Britons of all classes are just naturally violent. Britannia is perceived to be cruel abroad; a blow to a self-image based on a vision of warm hearts bobbing about benignly on a moderate intake of warm beer. As some foreigners see it, the country wallows in a left-over, upper-class imperial pride; others see it as a leading exporter of yobs. (Lloyd John, The making of cruel Britannia, 1998)

In conclusion the movie Shadowlands can be perceived in both the imperialistic and unified images of the term Britishness. It is a depiction of Britishness as seen in a positive, nationalistic way, with underlining tones of its opposite side through the elements discussed.

References

Adam Barbara, Allan Stuart, Theorizing Culture: An Interdisciplinary Critique After Postmodernism. Routledge, 2006

Bassnett Susan, Studying British Cultures: An Introduction. Routledge, 2004

Gamble Andrew, Britishness: Perspectives on the British Question. John Wiley & Sons, 2009

Naim Tom, The Break-up of Britain: Crisis and Neo-nationalism.Common Ground, 2003

Wolfe Judith, Wolfe Brenden, C.S. Lewis and the Church: Essays in Honour of Walter Hooper. A&C Black, 2011