Gemma Dinham’s project set out to explore the notion of Englishness, a term used to represent the amalgamation of a number of factors related to English national identity, culture and character. The interplay of these elements gives the English people a sense of who they are, or increasingly a sense of who they are not. Humour provides a cornerstone for English national identity, and by using this and appropriating visual clichés commonly associated with the culture, Dinham wanted to explore and parody aspects of national character as a vehicle for a better critical understanding of that cultural identity.
The use of humour is prolifi c throughout almost all social interactions in English society. One of the central factors in the identifi cation of the English sense of humour is the love of irony. Irony has many defi nitions, but perhaps the simplest of these is that it aims to make something understood by expressing its
opposite. Sarcasm is a form of irony thought to be a particularly English brand of humour.
Kate Fox, author of Watching the English (2005), further describes the English sense of humour as a mixture of ‘armchair cynicism, ironic detachment and a squeamish distaste for sentimentality’. Humour is so omnipresent in English society that even the people themselves have become the focus for an ironic and self-referential form of mockery, and this long-standing tradition of self-deprecation and understatement is another feature strongly associated with the culture. To be able to joke about themselves requires a cultural group to closely observe their own society and behaviour, and English culture has a long history of critical and ironic refl ection within the arts, literature and comedy.
The English Scheme Many visual clichés come from commercial goods and packaging.
Equally, many traditionally English brands have an emotive weight far above their intrinsic value as basic commodities. The consumer’s attachment to these traditional products often has as much to do with the visual appeal of their packaging as the quality of their contents.
Following an extensive survey of a wide range of English traditional goods and brand identities, Dinham found a strong sense of national identity and familiarity in the packaging of food and common household products. She initially chose to parody these very strong visual styles through the incorporation of a range of common descriptions of national characteristics (opposite page).
4. Theory in Practice
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4. Theory in Practice
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Case Study 04: The English
Whilst it would make sense to use irony as a method for revealing aspects of national character, it comes with risks: the problem with using irony is that people don’t always notice it – to be ironic in the fi rst place might require a culture in which irony is used regularly and understood. Dinham’s research shows how deeply embedded humour is within the English national psyche, and how it exerts infl uence on almost every aspect of English life.
Dinham began her research by documenting a wide range of largely comic and humorous historical narratives related to national identity and character, giving rise to a number of caricatures and stereotypes that aim to represent the English people and their cultural identity. In order to visualize and parody these national character traits, the designer required a graphic vehicle through which to build a rhetorical commentary. Following an audit of English visual
identity, it became apparent that many people have a particular nostalgic attachment to traditional English brands, and in particular their packaging. By parodying elements of this packaging and using their graphic style as a basis for the creation of new labels on existing products, Dinham was able to control these familiar associations and to build on their unspoken cultural connotations.
It is clear that for humour to work it has to be culturally specifi c both in terms of the situations or behaviours it refers to, and also in the type of humour used to deliver the amusement. English culture relies heavily on irony and self-deprecation, and Dinham’s fi nal ‘products’ simply turn the mirror back onto the culture itself – employing phrases associated with the stereotypical national character and using them as labels on her range of fi ctitious alcoholic drinks.
Bottled Up
Humour is a term that usually refers to some absurdity in human nature or conduct which causes amusement and sometimes laughter. It is found in every culture across the globe, and often relies on subtle social observations and commentary within each specifi c society to work – it can be self-refl ective and referential, understood within the cultural group but not necessarily outside
of it. For this reason, specifi c types of culturally focused humour may or may not translate more widely across other cultures.
As the British broadcaster and journalist Jeremy Paxman has asked, ‘…does any other society put such a premium upon having a sense of humour?’ Humour is central to the English way of life.
It is found in almost every social situation, and is integral to the
national sense of identity and the shared understanding of English culture and values.
Dinham progressed her ironic product labelling to focus on a more specifi c range of brands and types of goods. She chose to work with a selection of generic alcohol products and packages, in order to pass comment on the national association with a number of different types of alcohol
consumption, and the relationship between social etiquette, class, mannerisms and alcoholic drinks.
These packages were stylized as direct parodies of existing graphic conventions, such as the labelling and generic style of real ales and traditional beers (opposite page).
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4. Theory in Practice
Class Character
In order to make the ‘products’
appear as realistic as possible, the designer chose to develop additional product labelling, including details of nutritional information, volume, ingredients, instructions for storage or consumption and other ephemeral elements typically found on each product. This additional space for textual information was utilized to further develop her approach
to satirizing national character.
It could also be more carefully fi ne-tuned toward the stereotypical drinker of each category of alcohol product, and the class associations of those types of individuals (above and right).
To keep the project well within the realms of Englishness, Dinham chose drinks that were either traditionally thought to be closely associated or that had gained
widespread popularity within the culture and had therefore entered the fabric of contemporary English society. For example lager, although not traditional to England like ale, became very popular from the 1960s onwards, and is now the most widely consumed alcoholic beverage in the country. The fi nal range of ‘products’ included packaging for real ale, white wine, cheap cider, strong lager and gin (next page).
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