Mar 31: 2021 - a good year for the film industry

An interesting piece in 'The Guardian' from the 5th of February 2022.

It was originally added to the website on the 4th, and written by Mark Sweney. 

He points out that after a period of closure and problems for the arts during the pandemic, the industry has bounced back and now has a wealth of projects in production in the UK.

A record £5.6bn was spent in the UK in 2020.

More than 200 films were shot in the UK last year with £1.55bn spent on production, up 13% on 2020 but down on the £1.95bn in 2019. However, just nine Hollywood blockbusters, including The Batman, Aquaman 2 and The Marvels, accounted for £1bn of that spend.

A unit on the Geography of Film is in preparation and the nature of the industry and the 'soft power' that it creates will certainly be included.

Coined by political scientist Joseph Nye in 1990 in an attempt to rethink the USA’s position and future in global politics, soft power refers to the ability of a country to influence through attraction rather than coercion, whereas coercion, or hard power, consists of military intervention, economic sanctions and so on (Nye 1990). 

The 2014 Monocle report and 2015 Portland report on soft power identified the UK as one of the world’s leading soft powers, both citing the Bond films as contributors to that status. Around the same time, the Bond films were also roped into VisitBritain’s promotional campaign to make Britain seem an attractive place to visit, with the slogan ‘Bond is GREAT Britain’.