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.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsFilmography
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].
Barthes, R. (1977). Image music text (trans. Heath, S.). New York: Hill and Wang.
Bentley, N. (1946). Correspondence to Mrs J. Hawkes. 2nd January 1946. The National Archives collection: ED 121/558.
Boon, T. (2010). People, productivity and change: Peter Bradford. In P. Russell & J. P. Taylor (Eds.), Shadows of progress. Documentary film in post-war Britain (pp. 118–140). London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Bordwell, D., & Thompson, K. (Eds.). (1997). Film art. An introduction (5th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Buchanan, A. (1951). The film in education. London: Phoenix House.
Carroll, N. (1996). Nonfiction film and postmodernist scepticism. In: Bordwell, D. and Carroll, N. (Eds) Post-theory. Reconstructing film studies (pp. 283-306).
Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. Commission on Educational and Cultural Films. (1932). The film in national life. London: Allen and Unwin.
Crossley. (1946). Copy of letter from Mr Crossley, Finance Division COI to Mr Lees, Treasury. 28th October 1946. The National Archives collection: ED 121/547.
Currie, G. (1996). Film, reality, and illusion. In D. Bordwell & N. Carroll (Eds.), Post-theory. Reconstructing film studies (pp. 325–344). Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
Dance, H. E. (1945b). Correspondence to Mrs J. Hawkes. 3rd August 1945. The National Archives collection: ED 121/567.
De Mouilpied, H. (1946a). Correspondence to Mr A. Shaw. 1st July 1946. The National Archives collection: INF 12/260.
De Mouilpied, H. (1946b). Correspondence to Mr Davidson and Mr Bussey. 27th May 1946. The National Archives collection: INF 12/260.
De Mouilpied, H. (1946d). Correspondence to Mrs J. Hawkes. 10th May 1946. The National Archives collection: ED 121/563.
Films of Fact Ltd. (1947a). Report on visual unit to illustrate the development of printing. The National Archives Collection: ED 121/570.
Forman, D. (1948b). Correspondence to Mrs J. Hawkes. 5th April 1948. The National Archives collection: ED 121/559.
Grayson, D. (1948a). Correspondence to Mr B. Smith. 24th April 1948. The National Archives collection: ED 121/559.
Grayson, D. (1948b). Visual Unit on Music. Some relevant educational points. The National Archives collection: ED 121/559.
Hawkes, J. (1944c). Correspondence to Kay Mander. 2nd October 1944. The National Archives collection: ED 121/550.
Hawkes, J. (1946a). Correspondence to Miss H. de Mouilpied. 12th June 1946. The National Archives collection: INF 12/260.
Hawkes, J. (1946j). Correspondence to Mr Dance. 19th February 1946. The National Archives collection: ED 121/549.
Hawkes, J. (1948c). Correspondence to Miss R. Power. 3rd February 1948. The National Archives collection: ED 121/565.
Jenkins, C. R. W. (1944). A local study, as a film. The National Archives collection: ED 121/550.
Jones, C. R. (1946). Correspondence to Mrs J. Hawkes. 4th May 1946. The National Archives collection: ED 121/558.
Mander, K. (1945). Local studies. Notes on the film script etc. The National Archives collection: ED 121/550.
Ministry of Education. (1948a). Local studies. London: HMSO.
Nichols, B. (1991). Representing reality. Issues and concepts in documentary. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Nichols, B. (2010). Introduction to documentary (2nd ed.). Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Plantinga, C. R. (1997). Rhetoric and representation in the nonfiction film. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Realist Film Unit. (1947b). III “Looking at sounds”. The National Archives collection: ED 121/559.
Realist Film Unit. (1948a). I “How we hear” Revised and amplified shooting script. The National Archives collection: ED 121/559.
Realist Film Unit. (1948b). The physics of music. Treatment. The National Archives collection: ED 121/559.
Roseveare, M. P. (1946b). Ref VU1 first draft for consideration. Memorandum on the distribution of visual material for experimental use. The National Archives collection: ED 121/549.
Scientific Film Association. (1947). Teachers’ notes. The National Archives collection: ED 121/567.
Shore, B. (1946). Teachers notes for the Orchestra. The National Archives collection: ED 121/558.
Sumner, W. L. (1956). Visual methods in education. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
Tubbs, R. (1945). Revised treatment for a film entitled “An Englishman’s Home”. The National Archives collection: ED 121/552.
Winston, B. (1995). Claiming the real. The documentary film revisited. London: BFI.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2016 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
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
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59230-9_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-59229-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-59230-9
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)