British Cinema and Television

Abstract

First paragraph: British television has had a major impact on British cinema, but the nature and value of their relationship have been fiercely debated. Understanding the financial, industrial and aesthetic convergence between cinema and television still requires the analysis of ‘the consequences [of television finance] for the types of films made’, the survival of ‘distinct film and television aesthetics’ and ‘the possibilities of cultural address’ outlined by John Hill and Martin McLoone (1996, pp. 2-6), even though convergence has increased and diversified in the 20 years since their study. These issues are productively revealed when, as Andrews (2014, p. 22) observes, convergence is ‘met with powerful discursive and presentational acts of divergence’. Therefore, in order to discuss the relationship between cinema and television, and the tensions raised by it, this chapter will focus on examples of convergence and divergence.