What are the stereotypes of british people, cultures and place in modern Britain?

Otter

New member
The two representations are very different.

Friends is primarily for an American audience and plays on Americans' preconceptions about Britain. But it's also surreal (the characters are larger than life, you just have to look at the parents of that girl Ross marries). It's full of clichés (punks / flower sellers London buses etc) and doesn't go anywhere near "real life"

Eastenders plays to a UK audience, and like most UK soaps is centred on working class community life. The characters are also larger than life (otherwise it wouldn't make for good drama) but less so than in Friends.
 
Im doing a project for my a level media studies on representations of british people in both eastenders and the two friends episodes when they travel to london. However i would like to gather a bit of background knowledge on the stereotypes of britain today, from both foreign and british people. If you could comment on the soap and sitcom too and how they represent britain, that would be just as useful. thanks
 
I think the Friends episodes in London potrayed British people as posh eccentrics. Eastenders is a bit of a sharp contrast to this, in that the people are the ordinary, 'salt of the earth' types. Eastenders shows much more of family life, etc. Both are certainly better portraya,ls of the British than those of the young Brits on holiday in Mediteranean holiday resorts.
 
coming from a 'black' prospective eastenders doesn't 'represent' us at all. it's full of 'white' speech and a white pov of 'blacks'. friends did a better job
 
those aren't very good examples, being that both are representations of people in London. the UK contains England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland - all vastly different. Those TV shows would never accurately portray the entire of the UK, and different area's have completely different stereo types. I think you should rethink your project.
 
those aren't very good examples, being that both are representations of people in London. the UK contains England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland - all vastly different. Those TV shows would never accurately portray the entire of the UK, and different area's have completely different stereo types. I think you should rethink your project.
 
Back
Top