Heroic affect and structures of national feeling on British television: 1990s Sharpe vs. 2010s The Last Kingdom | Intellect Skip to content
1981
Volume 11, Issue 2
  • ISSN: 2040-6134
  • E-ISSN: 2040-6142

Abstract

This article uses the affective and affecting concept of the hero to trace the structures of national feeling in two British television series: (ITV 1993–97) and (BBC 2015–17). Both series are adaptations of military historical fiction by the bestselling author Bernard Cornwell but were created in and for two different periods in the United Kingdom. Television drama articulates the anxieties, hopes and needs of the time when it is produced. Its multimodal medium enables complex affective arrangements of (heroic) character, plot, genre conventions and televisual style. The article shows that and present occasions for the viewers to perceive their hero characters as affective constructs, and it asks whether the hero affect is linked to an equally affective conception of nationhood. When viewed through the lens of the heroic, the series indicate a shift in structures of national feeling between the 1990s and the 2010s. invited its contemporary viewers to perceive the titular character as heroic, but the aesthetic arrangement in which the character predominantly appears is that of the swashbuckler genre with a focus on stirring adventure; the hero affect is dissociated from an affective concept of nationhood. By contrast, links its hero to the nation in a highly affective and affecting manner, and its aesthetic arrangement draws considerably on the conventions of epic, a genre of national significance and the aesthetics of the sublime.

This article is Open Access under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The CC BY licence permits commercial and noncommercial reuse. To view a copy of the licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/jepc_00020_1
2020-10-01
2024-03-29
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/jepc/11/2/jepc.11.2.105_Korte.html?itemId=/content/journals/10.1386/jepc_00020_1&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

References

  1. Anon. ( 2016;), ‘ How ancient classic Beowulf suits the era of Isis. ’, Radio Times, 3 January, https://www.radiotimes.com/news/2016-01-03/how-ancient-classic-beowulf-suits-the-era-of-isis/. Accessed 8 April 2020.
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Anon. ( n.d.;), ‘ BBC Two – The Last Kingdom, Series 1 – An introduction by Bernard Cornwell, author of The Last Kingdom and The Pale Horseman. ’, https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4zbQDtc2SMCS6fY9Zh1s2QC/an-introduction-by-bernard-cornwell-author-of-the-last-kingdom-and-the-pale-horseman. Accessed 8 April 2020.
  3. Baker, J. F.. ( 2005;), ‘ Bernard Cornwell: Old English made new. ’, Publishers Weekly, 14 February, p. 49.
    [Google Scholar]
  4. BBC America ( n.d.;), ‘ About the show. ’, http://www.bbcamerica.com/shows/the-last-kingdom/about. Accessed 8 April 2020.
  5. Black, J.. ( 2018), English Nationalism: A Short History, London:: Hurst;.
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Brown, M.. ( 2015;), ‘ Bernard Cornwell: BBC made The Last Kingdom due to its “interesting echoes of today”. ’, The Guardian, 17 October, https://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/oct/17/bernard-cornwell-bbc-last-kingdom-interesting-echoes-today. Accessed 8 April 2020.
    [Google Scholar]
  7. Burke, E.. ( 1757), A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful, London:: R. and J. Dodsley;.
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Campbell, J.. ( 1968), The Hero with a Thousand Faces, , 2nd ed.., Princeton, NJ:: Princeton University Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Casey, B.,, Casey, N.,, French, L.,, Calvert, B., and Lewis, J.. ( 2008), Television Studies: The Key Concepts, , 2nd ed.., London:: Routledge;.
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Chapman, J.. ( 2015), Swashbucklers: The Costume Adventure Series, Manchester:: Manchester University Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Comer, T. A., and Vayo, L. I.. ( 2013;), ‘ Introduction: Terror and the (post)cinematic sublime. ’, in T. A. Comer, and L. I. Vayo. (eds), Terror and the Cinematic Sublime: Essays on Violence and the Unpresentable in Post-9/11 Films, Jefferson, MO:: McFarland;, pp. 513.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Cornwell, B.. ( 2016), The Last Kingdom, London:: Harper;.
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Cubitt, G.. ( 2000;), ‘ Introduction: Heroic reputations and exemplary lives. ’, in G. Cubitt, and A. Warren. (eds), Heroic Reputations and Exemplary Lives, Manchester:: Manchester University Press;, pp. 126.
    [Google Scholar]
  14. Cuddon, J. A.. ( 1992), The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory, , 3rd ed.., London:: Penguin;.
    [Google Scholar]
  15. Davies, W.. ( 2018), Nervous States: How Feeling Took Over the World, London:: Jonathan Cape;.
    [Google Scholar]
  16. De Groot, J.. ( 2009), Consuming History: Historians and Heritage in Contemporary Popular Culture, London and New York:: Routledge;.
    [Google Scholar]
  17. De Groot, J.. ( 2010), The Historical Novel, London and New York:: Routledge;.
    [Google Scholar]
  18. Donald, S. H.. ( 2009;), ‘ Anachronism, apologetics and Robin Hood: Televisual nationhood after TV. ’, in G. Turner, and J. Tay. (eds), Television Studies After TV: Understanding Television in the Post-Broadcast Era, London and New York:: Routledge;, pp. 12536.
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Doran, R.. ( 2015), The Theory of the Sublime from Longinus to Kant, Cambridge:: Cambridge University Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Frend, C.. ( 1948), Scott of the Antarctic, UK:: Ealing Studios;.
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Frye, N.. ( 1957), Anatomy of Criticism, Princeton, NJ:: Princeton University Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  22. Genzlinger, N.. ( 2015;), ‘ Review: “The Last Kingdom” offers a fight, with swords, for identity. ’, New York Times, 9 October, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/10/arts/television/review-the-last-kingdom-offers-a-fight-with-swords-for-identity.html. Accessed 8 April 2020.
    [Google Scholar]
  23. Hughes, S.. ( 2014;), ‘ Sharpe is an action-packed alternative to the World Cup. ’, The Guardian, 23 June, https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2014/jun/23/sharpe-action-packed-alternative-world-cup. Accessed 8 April 2020.
    [Google Scholar]
  24. Ingham, S.. ( 2014), The Military Covenant: Its Impact on Civil-Military Relations in Britain, Farnham:: Ashgate;.
    [Google Scholar]
  25. Jackson, P.. ( 2001–03), The Lord of the Rings, New Zealand and USA:: New Line Cinema, WingNut Films;.
    [Google Scholar]
  26. Jackson P.. ( 2012–14), The Hobbit, New Zealand and USA:: WingNut Films, New Line Cinema, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer;.
    [Google Scholar]
  27. Jones, M.. ( 2007;), ‘ What should historians do with heroes? Reflections on nineteenth- and twentieth-century Britain. ’, History Compass, 5:2, pp. 43954.
    [Google Scholar]
  28. Jones, M.. ( 2014;), ‘ “The truth about Captain Scott”: The Last Place on Earth, debunking, sexuality and decline in the 1980s. ’, Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, 42:5, pp. 85781.
    [Google Scholar]
  29. The Last Kingdom ( 2015a), Nick Murphy. (dir.), Season 1 Episode 1 (10 October, UK:: Carnival Film in co-production with BBC America for BBC;).
    [Google Scholar]
  30. The Last Kingdom ( 2015b), Anthony Byrne. (dir.), Season 1 Episode 3 (24 October, UK:: Carnival Film in co-production with BBC America for BBC;).
    [Google Scholar]
  31. The Last Kingdom ( 2015c), Peter Hoar. (dir.), Season 1 Episode 8 (28 November, UK:: Carnival Film in co-production with BBC America for BBC;).
  32. Lean, D.. ( 1962), Lawrence of Arabia, UK:: Horizon Pictures;.
    [Google Scholar]
  33. McElroy, R., and Noonan, C.. ( 2019), Producing British Television Drama: Local Production in a Global Era, London:: Palgrave Macmillan;.
    [Google Scholar]
  34. Murrell, R.. ( 1996), Sharpe’s Story: The Making of a Hero, London:: Carlton Books;.
    [Google Scholar]
  35. Parker, J.. ( 2004;), ‘ Hits and myths: Bernard Cornwell concocts a Saxon king fit for the 21st century. ’, The Guardian, 16 October, https://www.theguardian.com/books/2004/oct/16/featuresreviews.guardianreview13. Accessed 8 April 2020.
    [Google Scholar]
  36. Rippl, G.. ( 2013;), ‘ Introduction: Towards a new monumentalism?. ’, Anglia, 131:2&3, pp. 20717.
    [Google Scholar]
  37. Runcie, C.. ( 2015;), ‘ The Last Kingdom, BBC Two, review: “The thinking person’s Game of Thrones”. ’, The Telegraph, 23 October, www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/tv-and-radio-reviews/11948970/The-Last-Kingdom-BBC-One-review.html. Accessed 8 April 2020.
    [Google Scholar]
  38. Sharma, D., and Tygstrup, F.. (eds) ( 2015), Structures of Feeling: Affectivity and the Study of Culture, Berlin:: De Gruyter;.
    [Google Scholar]
  39. Sharpe’s Company. ’ ( 1994), T. Clegg. (dir.), Sharpe, Season 2 Episode 1 (25 May, UK:: Celtic Films and Picture Palace Films for ITV network;).
    [Google Scholar]
  40. Sharpe’s Justice. ’ ( 1997), T. Clegg. (dir.), Sharpe, Season 5 Episode 2 (14 May, UK:: Celtic Films and Picture Palace Films for ITV network;).
    [Google Scholar]
  41. Sharpe’s Regiment. ’ ( 1996), T. Clegg. (dir.), Sharpe, Season 4 Episode 1 (1 May, UK:: Celtic Films and Picture Palace Films for ITV network;).
    [Google Scholar]
  42. Sharpe’s Rifles. ’ ( 1993), T. Clegg. (dir.), Sharpe, Season 1 Episode 1 (5 May, UK:: Celtic Films and Picture Palace Films for ITV network;).
    [Google Scholar]
  43. Sharpe’s Waterloo. ’ ( 1997), T. Clegg. (dir.), Sharpe, Season 5 Episode 3 (21 May, UK:: Celtic Films and Picture Palace Films for ITV network;).
    [Google Scholar]
  44. Slaby, J.,, Mühlhoff, R., and Wüschner, P.. ( 2017;), ‘ Affective arrangements. ’, Emotion Review, 11:1, pp. 120.
    [Google Scholar]
  45. Slaby, J., and von Scheve, C.. ( 2019;), ‘ Introduction: Affective societies – Key concepts. ’, in J. Slaby, and C. von Scheve. (eds), Affective Societies: Key Concepts, London and New York:: Routledge;, pp. 124.
    [Google Scholar]
  46. Structures of feeling. ’ ( 2002), in C. Calhoun. (ed.), Dictionary of the Social Sciences, Oxford:: Oxford University Press;, https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195123715.001.0001/acref-9780195123715-e-1614?rskey=GsZzvi&result=1611. Accessed 8 April 2020.
    [Google Scholar]
  47. Thane, P.. ( 2018), Divided: A History of Britain, 1900 to the Present, Cambridge:: Cambridge University Press;.
    [Google Scholar]
  48. Turner, G.. ( 2009;), ‘ Television and the nation: Does this matter any more?. ’, in G. Turner, and J. Tay. (eds), Television After TV: Understanding Television in the Post-Broadcast Era, London:: Routledge;, pp. 5464.
    [Google Scholar]
  49. Williams, R.. ( 2015;), ‘ Structures of feeling. ’, excerpt from Marxism and Literature , in S. Sharma, and F. Tygstrup. (eds), Structures of Feeling: Affectivity and the Study of Culture, Berlin:: De Gruyter;, pp. 2025.
    [Google Scholar]
  50. Wood, D.. ( 2005;), ‘ Return of the heroes. ’, Broadcast, 25 November, p. 15.
    [Google Scholar]
  51. Korte, Barbara. ( 2020;), ’ Heroic affect and structures of national feeling on British television: 1990s Sharpe vs. 2010s The Last Kingdom. ’, Journal of European Popular Culture, 11:2, pp. 105117, doi: https://doi.org/10.1386/jepc_00020_1
    [Google Scholar]
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journals/10.1386/jepc_00020_1
Loading
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error