Question: Benedict Anderson argues that the newspapers are crucial in the construction of the imagined community and national identity. Analyse two newspaper articles that represent the imagined community and/or the nation (possibly through sport, crime celebrity etc.)
Nowadays, when we think of what is relevantly British, we think of such icons such as the Queen and the royal family, bangers and mash, Blackadder, the Union Jack, the BBC, beer, double-decker buses, the class system, football - the list goes on. The reason why these symbols are chosen above other is that they are recognizable all over the United Kingdom as part of some national identity. Every item on that list has a particularity to British culture and therefore to a uniting sense of identity. The media has been instrumental in spreading the popularity of the said products.
Since the collapse of the British Empire and the subsequent declarations of independence of many of the former British colonies, many immigrants have found their way to the UK. This fairly recent influx of people from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Caribbean, and from Hong Kong have all helped change the physical look of Britain. (Mai Bui-Duy media and society New York University 2003)
Britain is clearly changing. No longer is it being restricted to strictly white people strictly speaking English. It is a growing mixture of people eating Caribbean food, listening to Asian hip-hop, and still fascinated by the gossip surrounding the
Cassie Reffold
Monarchy. How is this reflected so that the people may see their reflection and understand it to be representative of them? Through the media, of course!
As recognised in a newspaper article from the guardian “Britain braced for the cold war.” This was the header showing a picture of Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski both British tennis players, but with a slight difference.
Throughout the article Henman is called “the true Brit” born on the 6th September 1974 in Oxford to his English parents Jane and Tony. Gregory Rusedski was born on the 6th of September 1973 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. His mother, Helen was an Englishwoman who left her native town of Dewsbury, Yorkshire with her parents at the age of four to go and live in Canada. His father, Tom, a railway worker, was originally German, with Polish-Ukrainian parents, hence the Polish surname of Rusedski. Greg grew up in Montreal, with his brother Bill who was three year older, and from the early age of seven showed to have enormous liking and aptitude for the game of tennis.
The phrase “true brit” reflects our nation and how they are un-accepting of new cultures and nations coming over and calling Britain their home. This just reflects society and how Britons are proud to be British. And the nature of the article fits into this description mainly due to the fact that although the players are both classed as British players, Henman will always be Britain’s favourite.
Cassie Reffold
“Rusedski claimed he had put that match point behind him as soon as he had left for Israel to help Great Britain win a Davis Cup tie, a discreet reminder perhaps that Henman, the true Brit, whose popularity he could never emulate, had not been there with them.”
From the paragraph above we can defiantly see the rivalry between these two Britons, which again reflects our nation. The national identity of Rusdeski is an obvious dilemma for the writer Richard Jago, I believe that the journalist feels that although Rusedski is playing as a Briton he is not British, and Henman as the ‘true brit’ is better and should beat Rusedski. Plus Tim Henman is often called ‘Britain’s No1’ so Rusedski has no chance of being recognised as a True British tennis player when he has a American accent and a polish surname.
The biggest dilemma in this country at present is immigration. Immigration causes mass problems mainly because there are to many illegal immigrants in this country and the asylum seekers that are seeking safety in this country while a war is on in their own counties, are never actually planning to leave the UK.
Looking through the media I have noticed that much of the press has covered immigration. It is a huge ethical in today’s society; many people have personal opinions on the situation.
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