Regional and National Identity - TV Programmes
Regional and National Identity
TV Programmes that focus on Regional Identity:
- EastEnders (1985 - Present)
- Ex on the Beach (2014 - Present)
'EastEnders' (produced in 1985 by Elstree Studios) is a soap
drama set in the East End of London. The episode I decided to focus on is
Friday 4th March 2016 which featured the themes of relationships and
betrayal. The director for this episode was Kate Saxon, with the writer being
Dare Aiyegbayo and the original producer and executive producer being Dominic
Treadwill-Collins. EastEnders has a budget of £29.9 million and has won awards
for being the ‘Best Soap and Continuing Drama’ at the BAFTA Awards 2013 and ‘Best
British Soap’ at the British Soap Awards 2015.
In this episode, we see aspects of regional identity shown
as Mick (Danny Dyer) and Linda (Kellie Bright) have a conversation about their
daughter Nancy (Maddy Hill) who has recently left her job as bar maid at ‘The
Vic’ and has left home. As Linda is worried for her daughter, she attempts to
make a phone call to her, Mick then stops her by saying “put down the blower, L”.
By saying this to Linda, he refers to her phone. This is an example of regional
identity shown in this scene as dialect which is not recognised nationwide, is
only recognised within the East End (East London). Also, the accent is of a
cockney accent.
Another example of regional identity in EastEnders is when female characters Kathy (Gillian Taylforth) and Claudette (Ellen Thomas) meet in the Minute Mart (the local corner store). Kathy approaches Gavin and the pair start to have a conversation about Gavin (Kathy's Ex). In a mid shot of the two, we see the example of regional identity through the use of costume. We see Ellen's character of Claudette has a sophisticated and classy style as she is wearing a bright blue blazer, a black and white striped blouse, a gold chain necklace and fashionable earrings. This suggests to the audience that she is of a higher social
class in comparison to the rest of the locals in Albert Square who are of a
lower social class.
On the other hand, Gillian’s character is seen to have a
style which is casual. In the following screenshot she is wearing a Beige
winter coat, a beige/burgundy/black scarf with fashionable gloves. This implies
to the audience that Kathy is of a lower social class in comparison to
Claudette who is identified of being of a higher social class through her
appearance in this scene.
Ex on the Beach
'Ex on the Beach' is a reality TV programme which was first launched on the 22nd April 2014 and is produced by MTV Network. Series 4 recently started in early 2016 which is set in Algarve in Portugal. It is produced by Nina Clement and directed by Luke O'Callanghan. Cast members include Helen Briggs, Naomi Hedman, Joe Delaney and Lewis Good. All cast members are originally from Liverpool, England. The episode I studied was episode six from series four which first aired on MTV UK on the 23rd February 2016, it features the themes of betrayal, relationships, power, revenge and anger.
The show is narrated by an Irish comedian called Andrew Maxwell.
At the beginning of episode six, the audience see the intro of all the cast members on board of a boat, this is presented through a birds eye view. Immediately, the audience get the interpretation that the cast are all of a young age (18 - 25) through their appearance as various close-ups of different members of the cast appear on screen. Additionally, we see most of the females such as Gina and Olivia wear fake tan and have blonde/brunette hair extensions. This conveys to the audience that this is the typical look that females from the Midlands (Liverpool) go for. Additionally, the programme's target audience of old teenagers (16 - 18) who favour reality shows may perhaps inspired by appearance by the females on the show.
Regional Identity in the show can be identified through the cast' accents. As the cast members are originally from Liverpool, England, they all have Scouse accents which alerts the audience that they are loud, energetic and vibrant. Additionally, there is also frequent swearing on the show from characters such as Chet and Naomi which implies/suggests to the audience that it is a well-known part of their a Liverpudlian's dialect, it also increases the stereotype of a Liverpudlian negatively.
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