What makes a British film a British film?

One thing that Media practitioners often argue about is exactly where a film, television program or indeed any media text actually comes from. This is a much harder question to answer than you may think.

For example, Aliens (Cameron, 1986) features an almost exclusively US cast blasting their way through an array of adversaries. The otherworldly special effects were masterminded by an American company, and the plot, featuring a gang of tough yet futuristic US marines trying and failing to conquer a foreign land is pure Americana.

However, despite being such an American film, it was exclusively shot in two locations in West London. So is it American, or is it British purely by virtue of being filmed here?

Things get even more confusing when you research the Harry Potter series. And with producers now routinely trying to tap in to the huge potential East Asian market, cinema is becoming more and more transnational.

Transnational media 

"The ever increasing ways in which media products are produced by producers from different countries and targeted towards audiences from several different countries."

As transnationalism becomes a dominant model of Media production, this throws a spanner in works for awards ceremonies, where films are often categorized by nationality. This article outlines the precise criteria the BAFTA awards uses to define if a film is British or not. Do you agree with it?

Thanks to Nathan in AS Media U block for finding this article! If you find anything interesting in your wider reading, please let your teacher know, and we can link to it on the blog.