Representation of Regional Identity

TASK - read the information below and then watch the Doc Martin clip. Make notes on how sound, camera work, mise en scene and editing construct a representation of regional identity. 

Regional Identity refers to the part of the United Kingdom someone is from.  It could refer to a general area such a “north” or “south”, a country such as “English” or “Scottish” or specific towns such as “London” or “Manchester.” (from TES revision guide)

There are several regional stereotypes widely seen on television:

• Scottish – often shown as being money obsessed, won’t pay for anything, drinks a lot of alcohol, loves the outdoors, wears kilts, eats haggis, quite aggressive and violent
• Welsh –Often shown as living in the middle of the countryside
• Irish – often shown as living in the countryside, working in rural areas such as farms, being very religious, being good at dancing and singing, very friendly but less intelligent
• English – often shown as being racist, obsessed with beer and football living in London. Sometimes the stereotype goes in the opposite direction of showing English people as very rich, posh, happy, living in castles and being very “royal.”
• London – There are 2 main stereotypes of Londoners.  One is that they are often shown as being rich, posh, snobby, upper class, Hugh Grant types from central or west london.  The other is that they often shown as being from north, east or south London, poor, common, lower class, criminalistic, violent “Kidulthood” style
• Manchester / Newcastle / Liverpool – Often shown as being “chavs”, wearing fake designer labels, or tracksuits, drinking a lot, being aggressive, uneducated, criminals (e.g. Shameless)
• Essex – often shown as being glamourous but cheap, footballer’s wives, lots of partying, being quite stupid
• Yorkshire – Often shown as living in rural countryside, with rolling hills and cobbled streets, being quite old fashioned (think Coronation Street)
• Cornwall / Somerset – Often shown as being “backwards”, living in rural areas, working on farms
• South England – often shown as being the centre of culture, modern, classy, clever, sunny, richer, doing middle class jobs such as managers etc
• North England – often shown as being poorer, bad weather, lower class, aggressive, less culture, less clever, doing working class jobs such as builders etc...