Drake, Philip and Smith, Angela (2016) Belligerent broadcasting, male antiauthoritarianism and anti- environmentalism: the case of Top Gear (BBC, 2002–2015). Environmental Communication, 10 (6). pp. 689-703. ISSN 1752- 4 0 3 2 Downloaded from: http://sure.sunderland.ac.uk/id/eprint/6668/ Usage guidelines Please refer to the usage guidelines at http://sure.sunderland.ac.uk/policies.html or alternatively contact
[email protected]. Please note, this article was submitted before the presenting team of Top Formatted: Left Gear were dismissed by the BBC. The published article, that considers Formatted: Font: Italic these changes, can be found here: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17524032.2016.1211161 Belligerent broadcasting, male anti-authoritarianism and anti- environmentalism: the case of Top Gear (BBC, 2002-) Philip Drake and Angela Smith Abstract This article considers the format and cultural politics of the hugely successful UK TV programme Top Gear (BBC 2002-) analysing how it constructs an informal address predicated around anti-authoritarian or contrarian banter and protest masculinity. Regular targets for Top Gear presenter's protest – which are curtailed by broadcast guidelines in terms of gender and ethnicity -- are reflected in the 'soft' targets of government legislation on environmental issues or various forms of regulation ‘red tape’. Repeated references to speed cameras, central London congestion charges, and 'excessive' signage, are all anti-authoritarian, libertarian discourses delivered through a comedic form of performance address. Thus the BBC's primary response to complaints made about this programme is to defend the programme's political views as being part of the humour.