Identity, Interculturality, and Language Learning on British Television: A Case Study of International Crime Drama and Its Reception in the UK

Abstract

A recent article in the 'Evening Standard' posed the question, “Is it a coincidence that just as governments are seeking to close their borders, television is opening them? […] With the boom in streaming services, a single TV drama can cross borders like never before. Yet still, telling local stories appears to be the secret to international appeal”. Indeed, in post-Brexit Britain, television viewers have access to an ever-increasing number of foreign-language programmes. But what is the relationship between the local, national, and transnational presented on screen? And how do these dramas influence viewers’ perceptions of the countries, nationalities, and languages depicted? This article addresses these questions by focusing on popular crime dramas from France, Italy, and Germany as case studies, and analysing their reception amongst UK audiences. The programmes taken into consideration here are: 'Spiral, Mafiosa, Inspector Montalbano, Maltese: The Mafia Detective, Inspector Falke, Dark'. All are readily available in the UK through the BBC, Walter Presents, and Netflix. In order to explore how these programmes are received by the UK audience, viewing groups were held in Hull, between September and November 2018. Members of the public were invited to watch examples of the series and discuss the presentation of themes such as national identity and nationhood, and to reflect on the ways in which these programmes challenge or reaffirm preconceived ideas about languages and European cultures. This article presents the findings of these viewing groups, exploring how these programmes promote and challenge national cultural and linguistic stereotypes. The article ultimately sheds light on the extent to which international crime drama can function to encourage language learning and intercultural awareness in the UK in the twenty-first century.