Discuss English band Blur's textual representations of British national identity, and analyse to what extent these representations are ideologically constructed.

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DESCRIPTIVE OUTLINE

PROPOSITION: Discuss English band Blur's textual representations of British national identity, and analyse to what extent these representations are ideologically constructed.

PLAN: 1000 words in five paragraphs, in ordered reasons structure.

PARAGRAPH 1

STRATEGY: Problematic nature of national identity.

SUMMARY: Discusses the problematic nature of defining national identity by defining the terms identity and culture. Suggests that in terms of cultural identity, the cultural concepts class, gender and ethnicity are the definitive factors.

PARAGRAPH 2

STRATEGY: Demise of nation, thus national identity.

SUMMARY: Discusses globalisations effect on the concept of nation and on ethnic cultures. States Blur reject the dominance of global culture, thus texts are resistant to the dominant ideologies within our culture.

PARAGRAPH 3

STRATEGY: Ideological representations of class and age constructed through semiotics.

SUMMARY: Analyses text A and discusses the representational strategies from a semiotic point of view. Explores the ideology of youth that is at work within the text and discusses the irony of this ideology's implications.

PARAGRAPH 4

STRATEGY: Blur's paradigm alludes to a Britain of the past, in terms of ideologies.

SUMMARY: Briefly discusses the state of Britain's economy in the late, modernist period and concludes Blur are aligning themselves with, and supporting the class structures of this time, by drawing upon ideologies relating to national pride.

PARAGRAPH 5

STRATEGY: Blur's paradigm creates a representation of British identity that is very exclusive and is therefore inaccurate.

SUMMARY: Critiques Blur's representation of national identity and concludes that its exclusivity makes it inaccurate. Omission of racial minorities, women and those outside of the working classes does not portray accurately what it means to be British, or therefore, Britain's identity. States that all representations are, simply that, mere representations.
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Discuss English band Blur's textual representations of British national identity, and analyse to what extent these representations are ideologically constructed.

National Identity has become increasingly problematic to define. Hartley: "The concept of identity is now often viewed as relying on shared characteristics that are cultural rather than natural/biological." (Communication, Cultural and Media Studies, The Key Concepts, p101) Thus, the major factors defining identity are the culturally constructed concepts of class, gender and ethnicity. Blur draw upon these concepts, as well as that of race, which is understood to be a biological constraint. Representations of race however, are ...

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