Abstract
The Ministry of Education produced 16 films, now held at the British Film Institute National Archive. Southern groups the films into sub-categories and asserts that the experiment comprised several distinct formal and stylistic interpretations of ‘educational’ nonfiction film. Through textual analysis of form, style, representation and ‘voice’, Southern argues that the films all construct a particular kind of ‘Britishness’ that is Anglocentric, exclusive and aspirational, rather than reflective of the majority of the population in post-war Britain, and represent a hierarchical society based on elitism and monetary gain. Southern concludes that the discourse that surrounds these nonfiction films is characterised by authority, control and an ideological project advocating for a hierarchical society.
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Filmography
Bibliography
Casting in Steel at Wilson’s Forge. (1949). Directed by R.K. Neilson-Baxter. London, Ministry of Education [Film: 16mm].
Cine Panorama of South-West County Durham. (1949). Directed by Kay Mander. London, Ministry of Education [Film: 16mm].
England’s Wealth From Wool. (1948). Directed by J.B. Napier-Bell. London: Ministry of Education [Film: 35 mm].
Houses in History. (1946). Directed by H.M. Nieter. London: Ministry of Education [Film: 35 mm].
Instruments of the Orchestra. (1946). Directed by Muir Mathieson. London: Ministry of Education [Film: 35 mm].
Local Studies: Near Home. (1947). Directed by Kay Mander. London: Ministry of Education [Film: 16 mm].
Milk From Grange Hill Farm. (1945). Directed by Basic Films. London: Ministry of Education [Film: 16 mm].
Primitive Iron Smelting. (1949). Directed by Unknown. Produced by Robert Kinston-Davies. London: Ministry of Education [Film: 16 mm].
Science in the Orchestra. (1950). Directed by Alex Strasser. London: Ministry of Education [Film: 35 mm].
The Beginning of History. (1946). Directed by Graham Wallace. London: Ministry of Education [Film: 35 mm].
The History of Writing. (1947). Directed by John Martin-Jones. London: Ministry of Education [Film: 35 mm].
The Making of Woollen and Worsted Cloth. (1948). Directed by Basic Films. London: Ministry of Education [Film: 16 mm].
The Making of Woollen and Worsted Yarn. (1948). Directed by Basic Films. London: Ministry of Education [Film: 16 mm].
The Story of Papermaking. (1948). Directed by Peter Bradford. London: Ministry of Education [Film: 35 mm].
The Story of Printing. (1948). Directed by Peter Bradford. London: Ministry of Education [Film: 35 mm].
Water Supply. (1951). Directed by Andrew Buchanan. London: Ministry of Education [Film: 35 mm].
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Southern, A. (2016). Film Analysis. In: The Ministry of Education Film Experiment. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59230-9_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59230-9_6
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