How is Britishness represented

in Notting Hill and The

Holiday?
CONNOR FITZGERALD, 10C

On the surface, Notting Hill and The Holiday seem like the
typical run-of-the-mill romantic comedy, but digging deeper
these movies test out the general perceptions of their
audiences of both Americans and especially Britons and dare
them to look deeper at the characters theyre watching develop
on the screen in front of them. Being, essentially, an
oversimplified idea of a type of people or culture, stereotypes
are a common tool utilised in different forms of media, from
movies, TV, and written. For example, take Homer Simpson
from the popular TV show The Simpsons; his big and simplistic
appearance with his lazy and idiotic mentality is now
associated with the average American man. British culture is
one of the more popular stereotypes to take advantage of, from
the wealthy and rude posh citizens to the lazy and disorganised
chav, and even to establish scenery, with iconic imagery like
Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament instantly linked with
London. These stereotypes arent implemented for the odd
joke, but for several different reasons, the most common of
which being that stereotypes help the audience have a slight
understanding of the character or groups background, with
these stereotypes sometimes being twisted to catch the
audience off-guard. Other reasons are that they can make an
audience have a reaction, whether it be that a Briton is
offended by the inaccuracy of the stereotype or that theyre
amused by the filmmakers attempts to imply their own opinions
onto the audience, whilst Americans may buy into the
stereotype, and stereotypes can also be used to make the film
feel more personal, relating either themselves or - in most
cases someone that they know, and thus creating a bond with
the audience. Writers even use two stereotypes to juxtapose
one another, where a British character can be quiet, well-

spoken and hiding in the crowds, whilst an American character

could be loud, slurring their words and determined to make
their point, therefore highlighting the differences in the
stereotypes and enhancing the general perception of the
audience.
The two films The Holiday and Notting Hill share their genre,
being a romantic comedy, a genre guilty of having traditional
conventions such as overcoming seemingly impossible hurdles,
having two people with different lifestyles falling in love,
calming and passionate non-diegetic sounds and where,
eventually, love conquers all. The rom-com is arguably the
most well-known hybrid genre, where a movie applies to
different genres, thus having its own dedicated genre,
appealing to a larger audience than one specific genre by
merging the interests of two separate audiences. The Holiday,
written and directed by Nancy Meyers in 2006, where an
American woman and a British woman swap houses over
Christmas to escape their troubled love lives, only to be met by
new relationships, whilst Notting Hill, written by Richard Curtis
and directed by Roger Mitchell in 1999, is where a struggling
Briton and a global superstar actress fall in love and try to cope
with the differences in their worlds. From characters like the
posh but mumbling William Thacker (Hugh Grant) and the rude
and outspoken Welsh Spike (Rhys Ifans) in Notting Hill to the
pathetically loved-up Iris (Kate Windslet) and the smooth
talking brother Graham (Jude Law) in The Holiday, the British
stereotypes are displayed through their characteristics and
their settings, from Iris quaint cottage to Williams house in the
centre of a busy London high street, and the overall typical
rom-com convention is on display; They all find love in the most
unlikely and unexpected of places. With British culture having
such a strong presence in both films, this essay will analyse the
representation of it and the effect it has on the audiences.
Conventions of the romantic comedy genre spans from meetcutes and advice from friends to awkward confrontations and
changes of mind, all of which appear in both The Holiday and

Notting Hill. In some romantic comedies, characters who are

struggling in their relationships resort to advice from their
friends, like in Notting Hill, where after Anna (Julia Roberts)
confesses her love to William, with him rejecting her, William
then confides in his friends, who then help him realise his
mistake. This makes the audience feel a bigger part of the
movie, as the actions they would take and the things they
would tell William are conveyed through the supporting
characters. Another generic convention of romantic comedies is
a changed decision which results in a character giving
something up to be with the one they love, as seen in The
Holiday. As Amanda (Cameron Diaz) leaves Rosehill Cottage for
the final time, and therefore leaving Graham. As she begins to
cry, she realises how much she had fallen for him, then
ordering the car to turn back, and runs in the snow, which
juxtaposes the beginning of the movie where she finds the trek
to the cottage difficult, before being met there by Graham. The
original decision wouldve made the audience feel upset and
regretful, yet the true outcome wouldve had the audience
rooting for the characters in their conquest for love. Both of
these examples are clear exploits of generic conventions from
the rom-com genre.
Arguably the most memorable factor in any movie, particularly
in romantic comedies, is the characters that the audience can
fall in love with, from the unlucky in love such as Iris in The
Holiday to the hopeless but faithful best friend like Spike in
Notting Hill. The majority of characters throughout each story
are representation of a certain stereotype, though the two
movies characters can contradict one another. Take William
from Notting Hill and Graham from The Holiday both are
well-speaking gentlemen (except for when they have to speak
to their crushes, causing them to look more nervous and sound
more nervous, using fillers such as um and err), whose
costumes, an essential part of a mise-en-scene, are dressed
casually yet maintaining a sophisticated look, are also in love
and care deeply about the ones around them. However, whilst

Graham is a smooth and seductive Briton with two children,

William is more of a mumbling mess trying to keep together
everything that he has. This being said, not all the stereotypes
in the two movies are the mainstream Posh Brit. Spike is a
loud, carefree and bubbly Welsh personality who maintains his
companionship with William, as although hes not the most
helpful friend, hes certainly a trustworthy one. Then theres
Iris, who is apologetic towards her friends and for her actions
despite hardly ever needing to, as well as a woman who is
trying desperately to hide her emotions and suffering because
of them. Throughout all these stereotypes, class is a major
factor in deciding the attributes of both British stereotypes and
romantic comedy staples. In Notting Hill, the class divide is
clear to see, particularly when Anna Scott goes to Williams
sisters birthday party, being greeted by his friends and family.
Anna Scott tells one of Williams friends that she earned
$15,000,000 in her last movie, and with her variety of
costumes throughout the film, she has a clear celebrity status,
being someone that people aspire to become like. On the
contrary, Williams friends and family are middle class, and at
the dinner table looking back on what they see as a failed life,
where William is struggling to keep his shop open, and where
his friends are dismissing their lifestyles, jobs and past. Their
behaviour towards the situation, being that they are happy to
mock themselves and each other, tells the audience that the
British dont take themselves too seriously and are willing to
have a laugh at the expense of one another. Another of
Williams friends, being Spike, is working class, and is shown to
be this in his lack of diction, his strong Welsh accent leading to
the inferences of the audience to turn to a stereotypical
Welshman, being loud and proud but also not short on the
insults that he can offer, and his overall appearance making
him seem like a bit of a slob. Meanwhile, in The Holiday,
Amanda establishes her wealthy class by the luxurious home
that she lives in, as she has several maids who tend to her
housework, and that she dresses very professionally with
assumedly expensive clothing, whilst Iris is, just like William,

very working class, shown by the quaint town that she is a part
of and her reaction to seeing Amandas house that she will be
living in. There is a clear comparison made to the pairs
difference in class, mainly shown by the two scenes in the
aeroplane, where Amanda is relaxing peacefully in first class,
whilst Iris is stuck between two others for the long haul flight,
which could be seen as a metaphor for the two lifestyles being
that Amanda has a relatively easy ride in life as Iris is struggling
in the tight spot that she finds herself in with her love life. The
addition of detail to class develops characters further and
provides more dimensions to the people that theyre affiliated
with.
The setting of a film is vital to establish characters, tone, and a
story. In Notting Hill, the scenery plays on the audiences
stereotypical mind-set, with red buses and taxis spotted on
several occasions, allowing the audience to relate the scenery
to London. Along with the public transport seen, youre also
able to see the bustling marketplace operating throughout all
weathers (shown through a montage), commonly connoted with
a British high street, as well as The Travel Book Shop, run by
William, further increasing its Britishness by its quaint
appearance. In The Holiday, it shows a much more varied
outlook on Britain, as although it maintains the quaint features
of Notting Hills shop in Iris Rosehill Cottage, seemingly
isolated by being hidden away in the middle of nowhere and a
real struggle to even reach the houses whereabouts, tit also
displays iconic landmarks of London, most notably Big Ben. It
even uses a well-known brand to make its audience aware of
the setting, being the Daily Telegraph, which relies on the
viewer to use their common knowledge of Great Britain. Though
setting plays a part in establishing a story, the sounds that are
used, both diegetic and non-diegetic, makes sure that the mood
being created through the storyline is maintained. With
Notting Hill two types, jazz and gentle, of music are shown off
to make sure that the different scenarios are enhanced. In a
montage where William is walking through the marketplace

after leaving Anna, the seasons pass him by and different

peoples situations are evolving, such as peoples relationships
getting tenser and a woman who started the montage pregnant
now holding a baby, the music playing is Aint No Sunshine,
giving off a sombre feeling and reflecting the thoughts of
William, who always stays in shot and never changes his
appearance in any of the transitional seasons, and the lack of
diegetic sound adds to this as he is blocking out the sounds
around him and can only hear his thoughts. In another market
scene, diegetic sound is used when having an establishing shot
to make the shops and the people sound livelier, leading the
audience to believe that it is always a busy place to be. The
more gentle music is when something genuine and emotive
happens, like when William announces his love to Anna after
twisting the words of her Im just a girl moment earlier on, as
it gives a more moving and subtle impact and allows the
characters to be heard clearer as the dialogue is more
important than before in the overall plot. The Holiday takes a
similar approach, as the music is often gentle, though also has
the occasional uplifting tune and narration to see how different
characters are thinking, as well as using diegetic sounds in
order to establish the time of year that the movie is set. Both
films use gentle sounds in very similar ways, like the moment
where Iris rejects Jasper, and realises that she is no longer in
love with him. Another moment like this is where Arthur, an old
and stern man with a history in film, goes up to receive an
award for his efforts in films, with an uplifting soundtrack
playing in the background to signify the sense of achievement
and making it feel that all the turmoil that he had endured by
denying the chance of getting the award was eventually all
worthwhile. One other use of diegetic sound is when Iris is
narrating the story of her relationship with Jasper in the past
and how she feels about it, offering a greater insight into the
thoughts and regrets for the audience to hear, meaning a
greater character development from the offset. The use of nondiegetic sounds is equally unused in both films, though in The
Holiday its used to determine the time of year, with bells

being heard and the snow crunching beneath feet in a wintery

London to show the audience that its currently Christmastime,
adding to the Britishness of the movie. These sounds and
settings not only add something to display its British roots, but
is also used to enhance the viewing experience for the
audience and to make them feel more for the characters and
situations in the film.
An ideology is an idea or a belief that a person or a group will
live and operate by. With every movie, ideologies are
intertwined with the plot in order to deliver the message of the
story, and The Holiday and Notting Hill are no exceptions.
One key ideology present throughout both films is that of the
need of companionship, from friends and family to the two
people in love. In The Holiday, Graham introduces Amanda to
his two younger daughters, who only he looks after following
the death of his partner. Amanda, following her troubled past
with family ordeals, accepts into the values that Graham
proposes to her and buys into the idea of a broken family
repairing itself. Family values are a special factor in British
minds, such as families meeting up for birthdays or other
special occasions such as Christmas and Easter, which shows
innocence and a caring side sometimes associated with British
characters in rom-coms, and also makes an emotional
connection with the audience. Although we see no family of
Amandas, we quickly see Grahams, demonstrating a quaint,
warm and family-orientated lifestyle. Meanwhile, in Notting
Hill, this need for companionship is built upon through a desire
to be with one another, as shown through Will and Anna. When
turning up to Wills shop for the first time since talking about
him behind his back with a co-worker, Anna confesses her love
to him and begs him to take her back despite the pain he still
may feel regarding the situation, insisting that despite all of
their differences of jobs and incomes and overall lives, she is
just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.
This simple outlook in life gives us a greater insight in the
thinking of Anna, and suggests that she has struggled with

relationships before due to her successful career and just wants

to be with someone because they love each other enough in
order to make some kind of partnership work out, and
abandons the desperation against aspiration stereotype of the
Britons being miserable with their lives whilst Americans
believe that they are too good for others that care about them
around them. Wills reaction to this is also stereotypically
British, as he finds it hard to trust someone who he feels as
though have let him down, showing the British stubbornness
through a difficulty to forget a previously experienced
heartbreak. Another ideology present in both films is that of
finding a group or a person that you are willing to trust and
take guidance from. An example from this comes from The
Holiday, where Myles is discussing his girlfriend cheating on
him with another man and seeks out Iris for help. Iris talks him
through her own struggles with love life, namely that with
Jasper, and how she tried to move on, though offering
understanding of the problems hes facing and giving him
assurances of her support for him. This displays the ideology of
trust as the person that Myles consoles in is Iris, and she herself
shows signs of trust towards him as she discusses previous
experiences personal to her, and is stereotypically British
thanks to Iris being supportive and the typical Briton being
fairly outgoing for those that they have time for and know that
that person will also have time for them in their own hour of
need. One other example is from Notting Hill, where Will
discusses the conversation that hed had with Anna in the book
shop where she confesses her love for him before he refuses.
He informs his friends that he is now having second thoughts
regarding this decision and is now regretting potentially letting
her go for good. His friends make him aware of his mistake and
suddenly go on a chase to try and find Anna before it is too
late. This showcases not only his trust in them as friends by
revealing something personal and now expressing his feelings
about the circumstances to them, but how the friends were
quick to be honest in their own opinions and helping their friend
out by aiding him in trying to find someone that he truly loves.

This also mirrors the essence of spontaneity in the stereotypical

barmy Briton mind set establishes by viewing Spike, who is
involved in the hunt for Anna in the closing moment of the film,
and also showcases once more the desperate Brit and the
aspirational American stereotype, though this plays truer to the
original stereotype than the example earlier in the film. Not
only are ideologies something that can be the focal point of any
story, but it can also be something that bonds an emotional
connection with the audience that would make them feel more
invested in the movie.
The general public as a whole is now dominated by an intense
media presence, and whatever someone sees is what someone
in the media wanted them to see, leading the problem of
stereotyping into a more dangerous territory than seen before.
If a group of people or a culture is represented in a certain
fashion which is then adopted by more and more people, it
could have potentially damaging consequences such as
prejudice and discrimination being tagged with people
associated with the targeted group. However, media can be
used in much more positive ways than just enforcing negative
stereotypes onto people, such as reimagining cultures that had
been unfairly put into disrepute, or give more of a serious
reflection on a situation that had perhaps been brushed over.
Britishness has been discriminated against for many years, with
its posh tea drinking nation stereotyped throughout the media,
but that problem will only be solved if the media uses its
powerful influence for the better.