Brigadoon, Braveheart and the Scots

Download or read book Brigadoon, Braveheart and the Scots written by Colin McArthur and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2003-09-26 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The films "Brigadoon" and "Braveheart" have an enormous resonance both for Scots throughout the world and the wide audience of non-Scots for whom such films provide general impressions of "Scottishness". This provocative book discusses the films' representations of Scotland and the Scots, looking at that cluster of images and stories whereby Scotland is (mis)recognized and yet often comes to be "known". Colin McArthur explores "Brigadoon" and documents the contempt the film has elicited, particularly from the Scots intelligentsia. He succumbs to "Brigadoon's" charm, but finds no such mitigating features in "Braveheart". Tracing the film's appropriation by political, touristic and sporting figures, he argues that, far from being "about" Scottish history, it is primarily "about" Hollywood and its cinematic traditions. He looks at the way film distorts history and examines "Braveheart's" sinister appeal to the proto-fascist psyche.