Abstract
This thesis investigates the ways that British heritage film and television drama productions have shaped their audience’s perceptions and understanding of regional identity through the presentation of regional histories on screen. Specifically, the thesis explores the role played by the adaptations of Catherine Cookson’s novels produced by ITV Tyne Tees between 1989 and 2000, in shaping understandings of South Tyneside in the North East of England and its working-class communities. This involves an analysis of the texts themselves, as well as audience interactions with both the television adaptations, and the public and private sector tourist organisations and institutions associated with them.Contextually, the research is grounded in the existing strand of scholarship that situates heritage drama as “the artful and spectacular projection of an elite, conservative vision of the national past” (Higson, 2016, p. 233). The thesis seeks to both develop and challenge this discourse by shifting the traditional focus on representations of the upper and middle-classes to explore the reproduction of regional past and interrogate the notion of a “working-class heritage”. Theories of class representation (Dave, 2006; Hall 1997) and authenticity (Higson, 2014; Lees, 2016; Vidal, 2012) in period film and television are employed to explore and substantiate this alternative understanding of heritage. Additionally, research on media-induced tourism is used to better understand how the adaptations collaborated with cultural organisations such as the South Shields Museum to reinforce Cookson’s portrait of South Tyneside’s past.
| Date of Award | 22 May 2025 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
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| Supervisor | James Leggott (Supervisor) & Noel McLaughlin (Supervisor) |
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