Kiszely, P (2021) ‘Englishmen could be proud then, George’: Echoes of Empire in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (BBC 1979). The New Review of Film and Television Studies, 19 (4). pp. 510-532. ISSN 1740-0309
Abstract
This article considers attitudes towards the British Empire as depicted in the BBC television mini-series Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (BBC 1979). Broadcast at the end of the 1970s, the decade in which the post-empire era drew to a close, the series shares with its mass audience complex emotions which relate to a pervading sense of national decline. The substance of this exchange – the message of the text and the nature of its reception – indicates a multi-faceted response to the empire grand narrative, especially its final chapter and postscript. How does Tinker Tailor broach the theme of post-empire loss? To what extent does series protagonist George Smiley represent a particular attitude towards empire? In answer to these questions, this article maintains that meditations on the past helped television audiences make sense of their fractured, post-empire present. And that in his quest to unmask a traitor, or Kim Philby-esque ‘mole’, within MI6, Smiley is as much concerned with conserving aspects of tradition and identity as he is with conflict in purely ideological and geopolitical terms.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an author produced version of an article, published in The New Review of Film and Television Studies. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | 1970s television, empire, post-war, espionage, conservatism, Cold War |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures (Leeds) > Performance and Cultural Industries (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 21 Aug 2020 10:37 |
Last Modified: | 01 Aug 2022 14:45 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Taylor and Francis Group |
Identification Number: | 10.1080/17400309.2021.2006547 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:164536 |