Grand Oral d’Anglais Monde Contemporain

How could art be a way of representing and denouncing the British Class System ?

Before the industrial revolution, the british society was divided into groups depending on what kind of
family you were born into. We use to call that « the british class system », it is a system that takes into
account wealth, class and occupation showing one’s status in the society.

We will see that artistic domains like cinema and television are used as a way of representing and
denouncing this really unequal system. Later I will show you that nowadays the british class system remains
a subject of major concern in modern britain’s society.

Avant la révolution industrielle, la société britannique était divisée en groupes selon le rang social de sa
propre famille. On appelait cela “Le British Class System”, c’est un système qui prend en compte la richesse,
le rang social et la profession de chacun. Au cours de cette présentation nous verrons que l’art a souvent
été un élément fort pour la lutte contre les classes sociales en Grande Bretagne.

Nous nous demanderons alors comment l’art peut il être un moyen de représenter mais surtout de
dénoncer le « british class system ».

Dans un premier temps nous verrons que les domaines artistiques du cinéma et de la télévision sont utilisés
afin de représenter mais surtout de dénoncer ce système fortement inégalitaire. Par la suite nous
constaterons que ce “British class system” est un sujet qui est toujours d’actualité dans la société
britannique actuelle.

I. The British class system represented and denounced through art.

The British class system was a subject that really mattered in Britain and the artistic industry found a way to
highlight it.

First, when you think about an artistic domains like cinema and television, there are many examples
possible.

We can focus on one famous british series entiteled Downtown Abbey. This series takes place in the 20th
century, it is a great example of class divisions, highlighting two opposed social groups living in the same
castle. Here, the social distinction becomes physical following the rich and aristocratic family’s life in the
beautifully decorated castle and the servants living in small and dark rooms of the basement.

Another aspect of social classes through art is a famous British sketch brodcast in 1966. This sketch is called
« the class sketch », at first in this sketch you can only see another physical distinction between three
characters aligned from the tallest to the smallest. Each character in turn describes their social advantages
and disadvantages in a satyrical speech denouncing the class system.

They look up and down on each other until the shorter man sais « I know my place », he is from lower class
and just knows where he stands.

II. The current british class system and its consequences on the modern british society

These are two représentations of social classes through art in the 20th century. But, What about today ?
Has the class system changed in modern britain’s society ?

As Richard Hoggart a famous british sociologist wrote it : « Class distinctions do not die, they merely learn
new ways of expressing themselves. »

Nowadays, we can say that the class system hasn’t disapeared but it has clearly evolved and changed its
structure. The famous « british class survey » even lead to the conclusion that there are now seven
different social classes existing in Britain.

Reports from many sociologists, such as Erszebeth Bukodi, have concluded that unfortunately, most of the
british population experience downward mobility rather than upwards mobility.

James McAvoy a famous actor has once denounced the problem of the acting industry favouring people
from upper classes. This « class ceiling » denounces here an educational system that cuts founding of the
arts for people of lower classes.

En conclusion, nous pouvons dire que le “British class system” ce système de classes sociales en grande
Bretagne est un système physique qui classe chaque citoyen et l’enferme dans une case. L’industrie
artistique a trouvé un moyen de lutter contre les classes sociales en les mettant en avant et montrant au
monde entier le problème dans ce système fortement inégalitaire. Je pense que dans les générations
futures nous trouverons des solutions pour mettre de côté ces problèmes et nous réussirons a évoluer sans
inégalités.

We can finish saying that the british class system is a physical system that classifies you and locks you up in
a pigeonhole. It is as much about attitudes than it is about circumstances and we have to remember that at
the end of the day we get by just by being humankinds. The artistic industry found a way in this fight
against social classes by hilighting it and making sure that the world sees the problem in this really unequal
system. Surely, in the next generations we will find ways to put those issues aside and evolve without
inequalities.