Hot Fuzz and and the transnational deployment of American aesthetics against British settings to create comedy
Contemporary British cinema stands at a difficult point between the need for profits and universal appeal, and the requirement for the director’s film to remain ‘British’, and highlight the known aspects of the nationality. If, as identified, current ‘attempts to please the American market lead to the ironing out of British idiosyncrasies and the reliance on settings and subjects that feel universal’ (Murphy, 2009, p. 26), then where can we place Edgar Wright’s Cornetto Trilogy? Delving into genres of worldwide significance, whilst directed from a profoundly global stylistic milieu, though still branching into relatable British topics, and set within the small-towns and suburbs of England, both Shaun of the Dead (2004), Hot Fuzz (2007), and The World’s End (2013) could be said to be a global property, just as far as they are seen as a British one.
First, some contextual information about the, as-defined, ‘common’ British Film. We might consider the monetary element. Financial backing for the trilogy comes from a mixture of StudioCanal (a French company) and Working Title (the British funders), which might immediately call into question the true British nature of the movie, if a percentage of their funding comes from a non-English source. Though, we can see this has little effect towards the cultural standing of the finished product, referring here in relation to the BFI cultural test (2022) for what constitutes a British Film. Thus, StudioCanal is not as relevant to our discussion here.
Looking instead to the British backing, the Cornetto Trilogy marks a departure from Working Title’s usual filmic output. This company has often produced many a British film which, at its core, ‘presents a middle-class, London-centric view of Britain’ and utilises ‘romantic comedy conventions’ to exhibit a romanticised, fictional view of England and it’s cultural standing, which is generally ‘tremendously popular globally’ (Fitzgerald, 2010, p. 48) - famously, we may associate these labels and production notes with the films of Richard Curtis - Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), which he wrote, and Love Actually (2003), which he wrote and subsequently directed.
In contrast, whilst remaining a comedic franchise, the construction of the Cornetto Trilogy is primarily a ‘hybrid of forms, traditions and texts’ (Stokes, 2010, p. 67), which results in a genre-hopping final product that blends American genre filmmaking with specifically British humour and setting, to provide a base of reference for visual aids and writing. Though this could present an issue deriving from the lack of subjects that ‘feel universal’ (Murphy, 2009, p. 26), alienating the global audience who were used to exploring (and thus, constructing comedy within) ‘the possible tensions between English and American culture through their stories and characters’, it is instead through the ‘level of style and its relationship to content’ (Archer, 2015, p. 35) that Wright explores, and exploits, this concept. By avoiding the often-replicated ‘chocolate-box Britain’, and calling attention to the almost social-realist representation of suburban middle-class London and small-town England, Wright brings the focus towards the mundanity of regular life to provide the backdrop for the comedic footing, highlighting the absurd situations behind each film’s premise by ‘importation of scenarios commonly associated with either American or historically-set UK horror into the kinds of landscapes familiar from British dramas and television soap operas’ (Leggott, 2008, pp. 58 - 59). This is a method Wright almost certainly finds inspiration in An American Werewolf in London (1981), within all three of the films.
The disconnect present between genre aesthetics and classically realist settings is further exacerbated (00:01:40) by Wright’s method of stylising the mundane through expressive and referential camerawork and editing. Borrowing from global generic influences to implement into his own filmmaking style, Wright uses a variety of evocative symbols and aesthetic mimicry to invoke a memory response in his viewers: whether this is through retooling known lines into a new context - Night of the Living Dead (1968, 00:06:06) and Shaun of the Dead (00:36:57); actively deciding to directly recreate shots and framing from the films he is consciously copying - Hot Fuzz (01:37:42) and Bad Boys II (2003, 01:57:27); or thematically referencing the common conventions of the genres within which he is creating. Similarly, through the commonality of ‘vehicles and objects travelling outwards, towards, or past the camera, camera judders and whiplash pans’ (Purse, 2011, p. 60) that are found in most contemporary action cinema, the kinetic quick-cuts for tool-up montages reminiscent of Raimi’s Evil Dead II (1987, 01:06:30), or perhaps the general sense of ‘intensified continuity’ lent by the ‘rapid editing, bipolar extremes of lens lengths, reliance on close shots, and wide-ranging camera movements’ (Bordwell, 2006, p. 108) found within modern Hollywood filmmaking, the Cornetto Trilogy distinctly stands out from the traditionally historic British comedic output. Generally, Britain’s more ambitious directors who remained in the UK were left ‘frustrated in their aims’, or, in some cases, simply ‘went to America’ (Murphy, 2009, p. 106), where their style and methods were better received - in the Cornetto Trilogy, Wright instead brings America to the UK. If Wright is able to authentically duplicate the aesthetics found within these genre movies, with complete sincerity, we can then see confirmation that the underlying comedic material, meaning that which is outside of the explicitly presented comedy, actually derives from the contrasted British setting. Here, the spectator is consistently aware of this uncommon generic relocation, unable to ‘take it seriously’ through the ‘trans-contextualisation’ (Archer, 2015, p. 49) of a usually-applicable generic aesthetic to the unlikely location and characters. In this way, the transplanted global style to a decidedly British setting allows the films to ‘acknowledge the influence of both Hollywood and the national contexts’, and present themselves as commercially receptive cinema ‘without compromise’ (Archer, 2015, p. 76).
Wright also utilises his global-cultural influences past the aesthetic attributes and into the writing process to form a recognisable basis for the trilogy’s British comedy and narrative beats. Much like Romero’s commentary on consumerism within Dawn of the Dead (1978), similar allegorical underpinnings behind Shaun of the Dead have been updated for the modern day, metaphorically presenting issues on the ‘debasement inherent in a service economy’ within the cultural context of ‘the dominant economic system that emerged after the Thatcher government privatised, and devastated, British industry’ (Decker, 2016, p. 72). This national and cultural context would have a significantly less impactful effect on a global audience divorced from this state of affairs, if it weren’t able to transcend these with ‘universal themes’ – such as, the ‘fear of growing up, of commitment, of loss, of being trapped in a life the characters don’t want’ (Fitzgerald, 2010, p. 209). These themes consistently materialise in different ways throughout the entirety of the trilogy through Simon Pegg’s various protagonists.
The characterisation of Wright’s leading characters, within their unique social contexts, appear to directly comment towards the contemporary commonality found in surrounding British media - in all three films, they tackle the varying influences of the American Genres they are inspired by. Though Shaun begins the film reflecting the ‘stumbling but endearing style’ (Sweeney, 2001, p. 57) of man, made successful by Hugh Grant in Richard Curtis’ films, as the film continues and the American-Generic influences (coming through both the style and writing) overpower the narrative British romantic-comedy background, Shaun develops into a reluctant hero, more representative of the ‘hyper-American action stars’ expected within their genres output – thus, utilising the situation as a metaphor for his growing maturity and responsibility.
The same could be said for the protagonist of Hot Fuzz, Nicholas Angel, a serious and committed policeman-officer (00:46:08) who is first presented as a contrasting foil to the usual protagonists often found within the popular ‘world of masculine competitive sociability we might call Ladland’ (Murphy, 2009, p. 377), inspired by a saturation of British gangster films released in the early 2000s, such as Matthew Vaughn’s Layer Cake (2004). A similar generic development is seen from Sergeant Angle (00:24:55) over the course of the movie, as he is inspired to embrace the American-Generic influences (with help and direct reference from Danny and his extensive knowledge of contemporary action cinema), and finishes the film as much a part of the aesthetic as the style of camerawork and editing - though here, his development presents a rejection towards the expected maturity. Unlike with Shaun’s character, this is closer to our understanding of ‘New Laddism’, operating as a ‘regressive escape from the demands of maturity’ (Murphy, 2009, p. 377), and highlighting a commonality with the popular masculine representations, despite initial differences.
Finally, Wright then rejects his own model of growing development through American-Generic influences in The World’s End with Gary King, his final and most complex protagonist. Gary begins and ends the story in a state of ‘perpetual adolescence’ (Nolan, 2014, p. 294), as found within the other protagonists, though here, the development that takes place is within this relationship between genre and character. Unlike both Shaun and Angel, Gary is unphased by the impossible situation and the American-Generic influences this brings, and actively decides to ignore its invasion by focusing towards completing the Golden Mile and the British-dramatic narrative running through the film’s background – a narrative influenced and inspired by a ‘very British national myth’ (Nolan, 2014, p. 295) in the Medieval Arthurian tales and British folklore it borrows from. By the film’s conclusion, when the characters reject the aliens influence, and thus, that which stands for the American genre aesthetics, and are “left to [their] own devices” (01:34:24) it is exactly because of Gary’s adolescence – finding a conclusion to the British narrative instead of the American genre, and a return to the Arthurian ways through the post-apocalyptic representation of the epilogue.
When we ask the question of national cinema, we have to consider a variety of ‘sometimes overlapping but often totally independent aspects’, and when we look towards Wright’s Cornetto Trilogy neither it’s ‘economics, exhibition and consumption, evaluation or representation’ (Archer, 2015, p. 58) can be said to be fundamentally British. However, as identified, it is through this complex construction of global cinematic presentation that Wright is able to create an entirely British film, without needing to ‘assert its nationality’ (Archer, 2015, p. 76) in the ways British cinema commonly does. The films are as British as they may be globally influenced, but within the current creative milieu, this is to be expected of most films – where Wright differs is in his application of this context. The location and characterisation are key to the creation of the comedic elements, just as the genre’s aesthetics are key to the story and global appeal, transcending the ‘universal’ (Murphy, 2009, p. 26) barrier through thematic, aesthetic and economic translation. The dichotomous relationship at the heart of his global films is entirely reliant upon the American aesthetic to be deployed against the British setting, resulting in a trilogy that is neither wholly British, nor American, but globally constructed, received and enjoyed.
Written Bibliography
Archer, N. (2015) Studying Hot Fuzz. London: Auteur Publishing.
BFI, Summary of points – cultural test for film, at https://www.bfi.org.uk/apply-british-certification-tax-relief/cultural-test-film/summary-points-cultural-test-film [accessed 27 January 2022].
Bordwell, D. (2006) The Way Hollywood Tells It. California: University of California Press.
Decker, L. (2016) ‘British cinema is undead: American horror, British comedy and generic hybridity in Shaun of the Dead’, Transnational Cinemas, 7 : 1, pp. 67 – 81.
Fitzgerald, J. (2010) Studying British Cinema: 1999-2009. London: Auteur.
Leggott, J. (2008) Contemporary British Cinema. London: Wallflower Press.
Murphy, R. (2009) The British Cinema Book. London, BFI.
Nolan, V. (2014) ‘The World’s End: Review’, Science Fiction Film and Television, 7 : 2, pp. 294 – 298.
Purse, L. (2011) Contemporary Action Cinema. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Stokes, J. (2010) ‘Ghouls, Hell and Transcendence: The Zombie in Popular Culture from Night of the Living Dead to Shaun of the Dead’ (unpublished doctoral thesis, Brigham Young University).
Sweeney, G. (2001) ‘THE MAN IN THE PINK SHIRT: HUGH GRANT AND THE DILEMMA OF BRITISH MASCULINITY’, Cineaction, 55, pp. 57 – 67.
Filmography
An American Werewolf in London, 1981. [Film]. Directed by John Landis. US: Universal Pictures.
Bad Boys II, 2003. [Film]. Directed by Michael Bay. US: Sony Pictures Releasing.
Evil Dead II, 1987. [Film]. Directed by Sam Raimi. US: Rosebud Releasing Corporation.
Four Weddings and a Funeral, 1994. [Film]. Directed by Mike Newell. UK: Rank Film Distributors.
Hot Fuzz, 2007. [Film]. Directed by Edgar Wright. UK: Universal Pictures.
Layer Cake, 2004. [Film]. Directed by Matthew Vaughn. UK: Columbia Pictures.
Night of the Living Dead, 1968. [Film]. Directed by George A. Romero. US: Continental Distributing.
The World’s End, 2013. [Film]. Directed by Edgar Wright. UK: Universal Pictures.
Shaun of the Dead, 2004. [Film]. Directed by Edgar Wright. UK: Universal Pictures.
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