Understanding Britain: Feb 28, 2010

Bagehot
Heroes of New Labour
Dec 17th 2009
From The Economist print edition

Yes, there have been some—though not perhaps the ones you might expect

Illustration by Steve O'Brien

CHRISTMAS, that Janus-faced season. A moment to look forward to 2010, which, in Britain, will involve a general election. But a chance also for reflection on the outgoing year—and on the past twelve and a half, the long, long epoch of New Labour that seems destined soon to end. Bagehot has been thinking in particular about which of the political figures who have populated it deserve to survive, in reputation, the ignominy of defeat and oblivion of time. Who have been the real heroes of New Labour?
That question raises a prior one, about the nature of political heroism. One criterion, obviously, is to have done the state and country some serious and lasting service: created something new, or driven through valuable change. It helps if the authorship of the policy or institution is clear. For example, the minimum wage will be a positive part of Labour’s legacy; but the idea was an old one with many sponsors and progenitors.
Moreover, to qualify for this pantheon, a hero’s virtues must not be clouded or cancelled by grave mistakes or misdemeanours. That rules out Tony Blair, for all his landslides and longevity, and Gordon Brown, despite the seeming alchemy of his decade as chancellor of the exchequer: their claims foundered in, respectively, the sands of Mesopotamia and the ashes of recession. It is possible, on the other hand, to be a sort of negative hero—by preventing something bad from happening, or taking a noble stand over something important, even if it ended in failure.
It is easy to recall the villains of the New Labour era: the lies, the disgrace, the disappointments. But who are the heroes? Here, in no particular order, is a selection:
1. Lord Adonis. In politics, media profile and genuine expertise are often inversely proportionate. As Mr Blair’s chief wonk, then an education minister, little-known Lord Adonis was the intellectual force behind New Labour’s school reforms, especially the academies programme. He understood how monolithic public services fail those who need them most; his innovations will outlast his government. More recently, as transport secretary and a powerful advocate of high-speed rail, he has exhibited the unusual advantage of genuine interest in that brief.
2. Donald Dewar. Assuming Britain doesn’t go bust, New Labour’s most lasting domestic legacy—and, overall, a beneficial one—may be the constitutional reforms enacted in its first term: the freedom of information act, ejection of most hereditary peers from the House of Lords, devolution and the London mayoralty. Though he will forever be remembered for his expensive wallpaper, Lord Irvine, then the Lord Chancellor, did much of the work. But this column’s accolade goes to Dewar, who oversaw the creation of Scotland’s first parliament for 300 years, then became its (first) first minister; he died in 2000. Devolution seems to have achieved what, for unionists, was one of its main purposes: weakening the case for outright Scottish independence.
3. Lord Mandelson. Co-architect of New Labour, saviour of Mr Brown’s premiership, all-round entertainer, Lord Mandelson makes the list not for his colourful contributions to his party but for his spell as Northern Ireland secretary. One way in which Britain is unequivocally a better place is that republican and loyalist terrorists now murder people much less frequently. The great heroes of the peace process were John Hume and Lord Trimble; but British ministers contributed—and besides Mr Blair, probably none more than Lord Mandelson, until his second resignation and European exile.
4. Sir William Macpherson. Maturing attitudes to race and sexuality have been another big improvement. The introduction of civil partnerships was the main legal symbol of this process: championed by Mr Blair and now entrenched, they have unquestionably increased the net happiness of Britain. But Sir William—admittedly an appointee rather than a politician—is Bagehot’s chosen hero. An unmetropolitan high-court judge, he chaired an inquiry into the Stephen Lawrence case, in which the police bungled their investigation of the racist murder of a black teenager. Not all the ideas in Sir William’s excoriating report of 1999 were sensible; his notion of “institutional racism” has proved troublesome. But he changed the way Britain thinks about race for the better, and for ever.
5. Robin Cook. He made what has become a vanishingly rare act of self-sacrifice. These days most ministers who “resign” are forced out after a scandal or cock-up. Cook, who died in 2005, quit over the Iraq war; in his loyal yet electric resignation speech, he pointed to the lack of international support for the invasion, and said that “Iraq probably has no weapons of mass destruction in the commonly understood sense.” He had been a sound foreign secretary—British foreign policy did indeed have the “ethical dimension” he had promised—and had a hand in devolution too. But he earns his laurels for his brave and ultimately vindicated stance on the most contentious issue of Labour’s time in office.

The nearly men
A few others deserve honourable mentions. Bagehot’s heroes, second class (no bar), include James Purnell, who revitalised welfare reform, then went over the top in a bid to unseat Mr Brown, only to discover that his colleagues were dawdling in the trenches. By stubbornly keeping his job, Alistair Darling, the unfortunate chancellor, probably prevented a desperate fiscal plight from becoming even worse under a putative successor. Bill Clinton taught Mr Blair and his crew about governing from the centre.
This is a short list. There are, regrettably, no women on it. All the same, it is perhaps a reminder that politicians and their henchmen are not always chancers and charlatans, and that not every achievement since 1997 has turned out to be a mirage. Raise a Christmas toast to the heroes of New Labour.

I've just found an article which affirms my suspicion that there has been a certain tendency to cast actors speaking a British accent in villainous roles. The article itself is brutally biased, a bit anti-American and there are some factual mistakes in it, however, it raises many interesting points. Enjoy with my inserted comments, pictures and links.

Why Villains in Movies Have English Accents
It has often been asked why the bad guy in (chiefly American) movies always speaks with an English accent. The answer has to do with two interlocking concepts: that of stereotype and that of the connotations of the English accent in America.

The Power and Convenience of Stereotypes
Most of the biggest-grossing Hollywood movies, for all their merits, are generally not replete with plotlines driven by unique or complex characters. The age of such productions as Lawrence of Arabia (directed by David Lean!), in which the character of one of the most fascinating men ever to have lived is explored over the course of nearly four hours of film, is decidedly over. Today's moviegoing audiences won't stand for it, and even if they would, the big movie production houses are rarely willing to take the risk. They prefer to populate their movies with characters that are instantly recognisable: The Down-and-out Little Brother, the Amusing Ethnic Guy, and the Tough, Bitchy Battleaxe Who Is Revealed To Be Warm-Hearted At The End, Coming To The Aid Of Our Less Experienced Heroine. These are stereotypes, massive distillations of recognisable trends and tendencies. You may know people like this, but stereotypes have none of the uniqueness that makes the individual. Real battleaxes and ethnic guys you know are real and individual. Stereotypes provide the audience with prepackaged characters, often accessorized with easily recognisable motivations and predictable one-liners, sparing everyone (producers and audience both) the need to develop and understand a unique persona. With the valuable screen minutes thus saved, moviemakers can add more explosions and gratuitous sex scenes.
However, one stereotypical character you've probably never met in real life is the Evil Genius. And this presents a problem for filmmakers.

The English Accent in America
The solution they came up with was admirably clever. Drawing on the legends of such gentlemanly criminals as Edward Pierce, and combining them with the American perception of the English accent⁽¹⁾, the Sophisticated Evil Genius was born, to populate villainous roles in film on countless occasions.
The accent most commonly employed in this manner is received pronunciation (or RP). This and other English accents, and sometimes even Scottish or Welsh accents as well⁽²⁾, in America have a ring of sophistication and intelligence. This association possibly stems from frontier times, when among the rough and tumble talk of the wild west the less altered speak of genteel folks from the east stuck out conspicuously. It may have to do with the general impression of Great Britain as the 'Old World': a place of tradition and schooling and nobility. Also, the concept of the British as the 'old masters' and British influence as an unjust yoke to be thrown off is deeply ingrained in American cultural history. In any case, though most Americans don't know what RP is, it sounds smart to them.
This phenomenon has led to the creative use of accents to be found in Robin Hood movies. Beginning with Errol Flynn's classic portrayal, and leading up to Kevin Costner's laughable (and anachronistic) accent in Prince of Thieves⁽³⁾, Hollywood Robin Hoods have had American accents. The Sheriffs of Nottingham have, naturally, spoken with English accents.

Star Wars: a Case Study
The original Star Wars trilogy⁽⁴⁾ (the pattern continued in the prequels as well) is an interesting case. On the side of evil we have the Empire, whose officers sound quite British. The baddest of the bad, however, is Darth Vader, voiced by James Earl Jones, an American. It is interesting to note, though, that casting Jones was a decision that came late in the film and he merely overdubbed the lines of the British actor who played Darth Vader. Also, Vader was redeemed at the end of the Return of the Jedi, and imperial officers were not. On the side of good, most of the characters had American accents, including the über-American, space cowboy Han Solo. But there is an exception in the Star Wars movies, as well. Sir Alec Guinness gives the role of Obi-wan Kenobi his most deliciously wise English voice. (Something Ewan McGregor took on beautifully in later episodes - when asked about how on earth could he manage to give such an exact rendering of the Alec Guiness-style acting, he bruskly retorted, "Well, you know, I'm an actor, that's my job".) He is a remnant of the old order, a mentor guiding our young brash hero, and is still in line with the prevailing stereotypes. (Plus the arch-Sith emperor was played by Scottish actor Ian McDiarmid, who spoke textbook RP, especially before he turned into a rattling frog in Episode 3.)

History of the Villainous Accent in American Film
In previous times, Hollywood stars were American, while character actors came from everywhere else. Your American star carried the film, and never played a villain because it might tarnish their image. The role of the villain was handed to a stock of character actors. Any US actor wanting to be a star some day might avoid the villainous role, whereas British character actors have always been more flexible. The same applied with crossing media. Once an American actor broke into films, it used to be seen as career death to go back to TV, but this limitation was rarely applied to the British.
The English accent in film has had a unique history. The casting of bad guys has often been politically motivated. During the first half of the century, they often had German accents, and during the Cold War, the thrillers of the era naturally had Russian bad guys. However, ever since film has become a popular medium has there been an overt political need to cast Britons as baddies. As mentioned above, the connotations of the accent come from centuries of anti-imperialistic fashionable thought. Even so, modern Americans don't necessarily associate modern Britons with the big, bad Empire of yesteryear. It's the accent that's seen as evil, not the nationality⁽⁵⁾. It has become merely a stereotypical way of indicating the bad guy, a job once done by white and black cowboy hats or the glow of a cigarette in a dark alley.
While some people who speak with British accents in real life find this phenomenon offensive and yet another example of American arrogance, others see it differently. To quote one Researcher:
As an Englishman born and bred I have to say that I'm quite fond of the American tendency to cast my countrymen as the villain of the piece. He might always fall foul of the hero and/or his own devious plots at the end of the film, but he always gets the best lines and brings an impeccable style to the dance that you just can't get with a US accent. Alan Rickman, Charles Dance, Jeremy Irons and many others always steal the scene away from the likes of Kevin Costner, Bruce Willis and Tom Hanks every time.
Some Examples
Please note - the following list contains potential spoilers, as even with the strong signifier that the character is English, the villainy of some of the ones listed below is only revealed as a late twist in the plot.

Gone in Sixty Seconds (probably Vinnie Jones?)

Tango and Cash (The only thing I remember from this is when Sylvester Stallone spurts in the ugly trugh: "Rambo? Rambo's a pussy". Tell me if you remember any British-sounding characters.)

The Aristocats

Alan Rickman in Die Hard (a case of an English actor playing a Germanic character with a slight accent), Help! I'm a Fish, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (this case, an English actor playing an English villain with an English accent is not exactly surprising, the film falls in the pattern of American actors - good guys, British actors - bad guys, though) and Quigley Down Under.

Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs⁽⁶⁾.

Basil Rathbone in Anna Karenina, David Copperfield, Son of Frankenstein and The Mark of Zorro⁽⁷⁾

Ben Kingsley in Sneakers (and in Sexy Beast).

Betty Lou Gerson as the definitive villainess, Cruella De Vil in 101 Dalmatians (see also American actress Glenn Close playing the same role for the live-action remake) (As far as I know, Betty Lou Gerson was also American and I haven't found anything to the contrary).

Charles Dance in Last Action Hero (and also in the Golden Child, he was playing the devil, eventually outsmarted by Eddie Murphy).

Christopher Lee in (among many others) Star Wars: Attack of the Clones and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

Claude Rains in Notorious⁽⁸⁾ (Hitchcock!). (This picture is from Casablanca (directed by Hungarian-born director Michael Curtiz), probably his best-known part, where he played the French Captain Renault, but what's surprised me about it was that, after watching Casablanca for like eight times, it never occurred to me that he wasn't French, but, in fact, English. A marvelous "character actor", his roles are well worth watching.)

David Bowie in Labyrinth and The Last Temptation of Christ (in which all the non-Roman biblical characters are played by Americans). (You may know him better as a composer and musician, but he's actually a good actor, making surprise appearences in key roles of important movies, like this one. Of course you can ponder on whether Pontius Pilate is indeed an evil character, or just... a rationalistic politician. Watch the scene!)

Dougray Scott in Mission: Impossible 2.

George Sanders in Rebecca and Walt Disney's The Jungle Book (I think you guessed it already, he was Shere Khan).

James Mason in North by Northwest (Hitchcock!), Salem's Lot and The Verdict. (Apart from that, he played Humbert Humbert in Stanley Kubrick's 1962 version of Lolita. And many other "protagonists of a decidedly hard-bitten or melancholy stripe" (via imdb).)

Jeremy Irons in Die Hard With a Vengeance (where again, it's an English actor playing a Germanic character), The Lion King (Scar!) and The Time Machine.

John Lithgow in Cliffhanger and Shrek (American actor hamming as British, though Lithgow has also played his fair share of homegrown villains, too).

Jonathan Hyde in Jumanji

Joss Ackland in Lethal Weapon 2 (British actor, South African accent!)

Pam Ferris in Matilda

Patrick Stewart in Conspiracy Theory (he is famous for one of his television roles, Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation, and his name became identical with science fiction, although he is a versatile actor, appearing in various roles on stage.)

Peter Cushing in Star Wars⁽⁹⁾ (an example of the Imperialism mentioned above being used as short-hand to differentiate between the old order (Jedis and the Empire) and the new (the Rebellion Alliance).

Pierce Brosnan in Mrs Doubtfire⁽¹⁰⁾.

Ray Milland in Dial M for Murder (Hitchcock!).

Richard Attenborough in Jurassic Park (although his character in the film version was much more benign and unconsciously dangerous than in the books).

Sir Ian McKellen in X-Men⁽¹¹⁾

Steven Berkoff in Beverly Hills Cop.

Tim Curry in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (alongside Richard O'Brien and Patricia Quinn, both sporting East-European accents) (He's the constant laughable bad guy in B-category American movies, but the Rocky Horror Picture Show is really something. You can learn useful English expressions like time-warp from it.)

Tom Wilkinson in Rush Hour. (And also in Batman Begins!)

To this list, I'd add Ralph Fiennes in Schindler's List and Red Dragon, Gary Oldman in many-many movies, like Dracula, Léon, The Fifth Element, Lost in Space, Hannibal and Peter Sellers in Lolita and Dr. Strangelove. Oh, yes, and Christian Bale, for, for example American Psycho. You may not know that he is Welsh, although in most of his American movies he speaks with an American accent, on which opinions differ.

¹ Though we use the term 'English' throughout this entry, accents ranging from Scots to Boston Brahmin have been used in this manner.
² The distinction between these is often difficult for American ears to discern.
³ This was later spoofed by Cary Elwes in the film Robin Hood: Men in Tights when he speaks the line 'Unlike some Robin Hoods, I can speak with an English accent!'
⁴ Episodes IV-VI. While Episodes I and II (at time of writing) do present some interesting use of accents that are worthy of analysis, that is beyond the scope of this entry.
⁵ An exception to this use of accents occurs in historical dramas, such as Pocahontas, Braveheart or The Patriot (which all coincidentally star Mel Gibson) in which the British actually are the bad guys.
⁶ Although Hopkins is playing Lecter with an Anglicised American accent, to most he just sounds English. Which is strange, considering he's Welsh
⁷ Though he more than made up for it by playing good guy Sherlock Holmes in lots of movies, too.
⁸ Though the hero, Cary Grant, is also English, his accent is not... quite.
⁹ The first film, later subtitled 'A New Hope'.
¹⁰ An Irish actor 'playing' an Englishman.
¹¹ Here, McKellen continues the tradition of playing Eastern-European characters with a cut-glass English accent, whereas his character in Apt Pupil, former Nazi officer Dussander, has a strong German accent. McKellen's casting in both films was, however, almost certainly down to having a theatrical English knight for the respective parts.