"Britishness"

British films often adhere to certain stereotyped settings and styles so they are easily identifiable as British, these include: countryside/ rural setting, council estate and cities with easily recognisable landmarks. There's references to british cultural experiences and phenomena. These are often self depricating allowing others a clichéd view of Britain or the opportunity to laugh at us.

The hints of "Britishness" in the film start before it the films even begins to run, the Universal logo is backed with a meddly of whistles and sirens that are getting more and more recent in a sense showing the evolution of the police force as well as making it identifiable as a british film before it begins. The opening scene is set  in London. This is easy to identify because of the Thames river in the background, there is also derelict factories as well as a quintessentially british type of crime, knife crime.  Then you see Constable Angel dressed in modern police uniform, He also identifies himself as a constable which is a british rank of officer as well as seeing the Queens crown on his badge. Throughout the entire first scene the music in the background is the british 80's band adam and the ants.

The following chapter is when Angel moves to a countryside village arriving is stereotypical english weather, rain. The hotel he stays in is outdated and a "classic" style hotel as well as the surrounding area being cobbled and a stereotypical british pub containing things like oak beams and brass saddles. All of these you would expect to see in a country side village.

Generally i liked hot fuzz and think it did a good job of representing britishness with the soundtrack and mise en scene. It made it easily recognisable to british people as well as a wider world audience.