Curating a Stateless Nation: Selection, Access and Issues of National Specificity in the Promotion of Scottish Film Heritage Master Thesis Preservation and Presentation of the Moving Image 30 September 2015 Faculty of Humanities Department of Media Studies University of Amsterdam Stephanie Cattigan (10619046)
[email protected] Supervisor: Dr. Eef Masson Table of Contents Introduction (3) Chapter 1 - Background: Discussing ‘The National‘ (9) 1.1 Defining National Specificity (9) 1.2 Britain & Scotland; State, Nation, Stateless Nation? (12) Chapter 2 - Theoretical Framework: Reading & Interpreting National Heritage (17) 2.1 National Heritage & Canon Formation (17) 2.2 Modes of Interpretation (20) 2.3 Framing & Context (23) Chapter 3 - Case Studies: British & Scottish National Contexts (27) 3.1 Introduction: Two National Archives (27) 3.2 Comparing Title Selections: (29) - Feature Film (30) - Television/Broadcast (32) - Sponsored/Documentary (34) - Topical/Actuality (36) - Amateur/Experimental (37) 3.3 Internal & External Framing (41) Conclusion (50) Works Cited (55) Appendices: A: SSA Exhibition Showreel Titles List (59) B: BFI ‘Scottish Reels’ Titles List (60) 2 Introduction In the run-up to last year’s referendum on Scottish independence the UK media speculated heavily on the possibility of Scotland no longer remaining part of Britain, and the many hypothetical outcomes in this event. Everything from new passports, flags and currency to different dialling codes and time zones were flouted as conceivable side-effects of Britain ‘breaking up’. The status of several prominent British institutions such as the BBC, Tate Britain and the British Museum were also considered1. When asked his opinion on the implications of this the director of the British Museum is quoted as saying, ‘the British Museum is the first cultural evidence of the union.