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Opening our eyes eyes our Opening How How Opening fi lm contributes to the culture of the UK the of culture the to contributes lm our eyes How film contributes to the culture of the UK A report for the BFI by Northern Alliance and Ipsos MediaCT July 2011 What’s inside: How and where we watch films The sorts of films we watch What films do Ju ly 2011 ly The cultural contribution www.bfi.org.uk of individual films What’s inside: About the study team P4 P10 The study was carried out for UK Film Council/ The UK Film Council/BFI steering group BFI by Northern Alliance in association with comprised Carol Comley, David Steele, Ipsos MediaCT. Nigel Algar, Sarah Schafer-Peek and Sean Perkins. Northern Alliance is a Chartered Accountancy All the study team are grateful for the assistance firm that provides accounting, tax, financial, provided by Bertrand Moullier of Narval Media management and business consulting services and the other companies and individuals who to private and public sector organisations and provided advice and information during the individuals, especially to those operating in the stakeholder consultation, David Ettridge for his media, entertainment and creative industries. assistance in sourcing still images and to Mark Executive summary Study method Northern Alliance staff and associates engaged in Errington and Philip Metson of Radley Yeldar the report were Catherine O’Shea, Chris Chandler, for their help in designing the published report. Ian Christie, Mike Kelly and Sarah Beinart. Grateful thanks are also given to all of the rights holders who directly or indirectly provided the Ipsos is one of the UK’s leading market research images used in the report. P14 P24 organisations, ranking fifth amongst global research companies. Its specialist division Ipsos MediaCT helps clients make connections in the digital age. It is a leader in providing research solutions for companies in the fast-moving and rapidly converging worlds of media, content, telecoms and technology. Its research activities What people told us: include measurement of behaviour amongst How and where we What people told us: consumers and advanced analytics for media audience data. Ipsos MediaCT personnel engaged watch films The sorts of films we watch in the study included Adam Sheridan, Eduardo Mena Bahos and Paul Maskell. P32 P54 What people told us: The cultural contribution What films do of individual films Contents: 1 Foreword 24 What people told us: 42 Do films contribute to 54 The cultural contribution 2 Key points The sorts of films our identity, sense of of individual films we watch community and place 4 Executive summary 56 Which films do we 26 What films do we in the world? recognise? 9 Background like watching? 44 Do British films reflect 58 Contesting canons 10 Study method British life? 28 How do we decide what 60 What makes us value 14 What people told us: to watch? 45 Do films help define individual films? How and where we 32 What people told us: our British identity? watch films 62 How individual films What films do 50 Do films give particular affect us 16 How much film viewing 34 What effects do films expression to the do we do? 66 Conclusions have on us? Nations and Regions 17 Where do we watch films? of the UK? 70 Appendices 38 What do we see as the 72 Online appendices 18 How interested are we value of film? 53 Do films help us build in films compared with our individual identity? 72 Films cited in Opening 40 Do we appreciate the other activities? our eyes aesthetic aspects of films? 75 About the study team Cover: This Is England. Courtesy of Optimum Releasing. Foreword Film is arguably the most popular art form This report describes how we conducted today and the attention around its awards, a UK-wide survey of public attitudes to, stories and stars gives it a profile greater than and appreciation of, film – both British and its industrial size. Nevertheless, it is worth a international – viewed in the UK on any platform, respectable £4.5 billion per year to the British from cinema, to television, to digital. economy and generated an overseas trade I think you will agree the results are fascinating. surplus of more than £900 million in 2009. They describe how film moves and inspires From the point of view of public policy, however, the UK public, how it excites the emotions and it is the cultural contribution of film that matters the intellect, how it influences the shape of most. Under European Union competition law, our lives. People are not fussy whether a film government financial support is permitted is a blockbuster, a British comedy or a foreign primarily so that ‘national and regional cultures language hit. Whether it is Avatar, Alfie or Amélie, and creative potential are expressed.’1 As a if a film is well made, tells a meaningful story and consequence British films which access film engages the feelings, it is celebrated by the public. tax relief must pass a Cultural Test covering Many survey respondents spoke of films cultural content, cultural contribution, cultural ‘opening their eyes’ to issues, lives and places hubs and cultural practitioners. Selective they hadn’t known before. This report should do funding, for example Lottery funding, for film the same for any who may doubt that film makes production and distribution must also be directed a vital contribution to the culture of the UK. to cultural purposes. T. S. Eliot observed: ‘To understand the culture How do we capture the cultural contribution of is to understand the people.’2 The findings film? It is embedded in the UK’s way of life and presented here – many expressed in people’s 1 not easily reducible to a single number, financial own words – begin to describe the ways in or otherwise. Nevertheless, understanding, Foreword eyes our Opening which film helps us understand our society, appreciating and assessing cultural contribution our history, our place in the world, our is essential for forward-looking public policy. humanity and, ultimately, ourselves. Amanda Nevill Director, BFI 1 European Commission 2001, Communication on Certain Legal Aspects Relating to Cinematographic and Other Audiovisual Works, paragraph 2. 2 Eliot, T. S. 1948, Notes Towards the Definition of Culture, page 31, cited in Richard Howells 2003, Visual Culture, Cambridge, Polity Press, page 116. Key points Watching films is one of the Films, including mainstream popular films, carry UK’s most popular leisure powerful personal and political messages for activities. Interest in film people and many consider correlates with a higher than films seen in childhood or young adulthood as average interest in other arts influential on their lives. and entertainments and with an active interest in the Film can give world. When asked about its new insights into artistic value, people place other cultures 2 film on a par with literature Key points Key eyes our Opening and other ways and classical music. of life. Two-thirds of people Film is valued highly relative to other activities; people were significantly responding to more interested in film than in pubs the survey had and clubs or watching or playing sport, and more than twice as many people seen films which are interested in films than religion. had that effect. People see value and meaning in all Three-quarters of the survey kinds of films. The films most often mentioned by people in our survey respondents thought that films can as ‘significant’, and those they consider represent the UK best, be a good way of making people often do not appear in box-office, think about difficult or sensitive critical or industry rankings. This points to the many more issues, usually by initially triggering personal ways of valuing film, a strong emotional reaction. A clear which need to be considered alongside ‘critically-approved’ lists majority believe films are a great and those compiled as a result of ‘film enthusiast’ nomination way of learning about people from for example on IMDb. different backgrounds. The potential for film There is strong public support to make a cultural for British filmmaking and contribution is further increased by the people have a high regard for growth of digital access the quality of British films, (broadband in the home higher than Hollywood films. and mobile) which is expanding the means People like the humanity, and ways by which honesty and humour of films are viewed. British films. 3 Respondents were Film has the capacity to make a points Key eyes our Opening interested in the significant contribution to current international success of British films and a clear debates on national identity majority agreed with (British, English, Scottish, Welsh National Lottery support and Irish identity in particular). for British filmmaking. People from minority ethnic UK-wide the public would groups have above-average like to see more British involvement and interest in film. Film is a source of role films telling stories situated models, especially for younger people and members of outside London and the minority ethnic groups. South of England, and more films featuring disabled People recognise films people. This is the view of dating back many the population as a whole, decades, often choosing films released many not just disabled people. years ago as significant for them or for UK society. Executive Opening our eyes summary 4 Executive summary Below: The King’s Speech. Courtesy The Weinstein Company 5 Executive summary Executive eyes our Opening summary This is a report on the UK public’s views on the cultural contribution of film. It was commissioned following the UK Film Council/BFI study.