This document discusses themes of genre, narrative, representation, gender, age, ethnicity, nationality, social class, and immigration as depicted in the film Paddington. It analyzes how the film represents these concepts through characters like Paddington the bear, the Brown family, Mr. Curry the neighbor, and Millicent. It also examines how the film potentially challenges xenophobic attitudes towards immigrants expressed by some characters.

1. Genre, Narrative & Representation

2. Adventure –
Journey
Exotic places

3. Adventure
– Quest
Prize

4. Action: Chases/
Stunts (Jeopardy
and
Suspense)/Explosio
ns

5. Action – Weapons/ Threat of
death or harm

6. Spy

7. Comedy
“A
modest
time
piece and
a travel
piano”

10. Fantasy

11. Romance

12. Drama

13. Intertextual references

14. Narrative

15. Non-Linear
Flashback

16. Todorov

17. Propp’s 7 Spheres

18. Strauss
Exotic v British Good v Evil

19. Strauss
Male v Female

20. Barthes

22. Gender:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V
Bku6tXLDo4
• Male = Dominant – tries to put his foot down
• Female caring/nurturing

23. Gender roles – employment
25 mins
Reinforces
patriarchal/domina
nt ideologies?

24. 32 minutes in
• Gender again
• 1:06:00 in

25. Gender…
• How Mr Brown arranges his stationary…
• The strange objects Mrs Brown finds in her
handbag
• Mrs Bird has a hoover for every occasion

26. Gender – countertype?

27. Male gaze?
• Is there any evidence of the Male
Gaze?Consider why this may be.

28. Gender roles
Queer Theory or Sexuality…LGBT? 55 mins
• Paddington: “Mr Brown dressed up as a lady”
• Jonathan: “In a dress…?”
• Mr Brown: “No! It was more of a house coat.
It was quite liberating actually.”
Judith Butler = Queer theory
(term coined by Teresa de
Lauretis) is a set of ideas
based around the idea that
identities are not fixed and do
not determine who we are.

29. Age
• Younger:

30. Age
• Teenagers – Judy: “So embarrassing”

31. Age
• Middle Age:

32. Old age

33. Old age

34. Ethnicity –Darkest Peru
• Alvarado (1987) – Exotic (expedition)

35. Ethnicity –Darkest Peru
• Alvarado – Exotic

36. Ethnicity –Darkest Peru
• Alvarado – Dangerous.
“Stranger Danger… Keep your eyes down.
There’s a strange looking bear over there.”

37. Ethnicity – unaware of ways things are
done
• Alvarado – Humorous

38. Ethnicity – Homeless/Orphaned
• Alvarado – Pitied

39. Ethnicity
• Mr Gruber = Humorous. Eastern European –
quirky/odd & Pitied – had to leave his family.

40. Regional/National Identity

41. National Identity

42. Multi-culturalism

43. Paddington offers a shameless
celebration of Britishness:
Matt Lucas’ cabbie pokes a jibe at extortionate drivers;
Paddington interprets literally the officious rules of the Tube Station in
hilarious fashion;
the Geographer’s Guild flashbacks parody the well-spoken, outdated
colonials to surprisingly acerbic effect.
Paddington recognises London and, more widely Britain’s inadequacies
while simultaneously celebrating its rich cultural heritage in the
magnificent backdrops of London architecture, in the enduring intrigue
of institutions like the Natural History Museum, in the distinctly English
wit and pompous pretence of the bumbling Mr. Brown.
It also clearly celebrates multicultural London, through the calypso
soundtrack. King states "It adds to the magic of our London that
there's always a band playing the song that happens to reflect your
feelings," says King.

44. Social Class
I travelled light, carrying only the absolute
essentials… maps, rations, modest timepiece
and travel piano.

45. Social Class
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKWGB-
0yUso

46. Social Class
• Hippie rockers to middle-class bores

47. Millicent (Upper Class)
Spoilt rich kid – whose father’s membership to
the prestigious Geographer’s Guild was
renounced. Felt working class life was a
hardship and that she deserved what was
rightfully hers – recognition, fame and fortune.

48. Mr Curry (Lower Class?)
• Cockney-accent (sort-of), nosy neighbour.
Self-interested, living in late mum’s house.
Xenophobic?
• “I have some meat paste sandwiches and
pickles… they went off on Tuesday, bust you’re
usually alright for a week.”

49. Immigration
• 7.35 – 10.55

50. Immigration
Paddington’s status as an illegal immigrant is
quickly established when he responds to the
Browns’ questions about where he has come
from.
The use of the nominalisation ‘stowaway’ carries
connotations of romantic adventure - an
interesting representation by the film producers.

51. Telegraph
“I'm sure that UKIP will respond that while this is
all very well, it comes down to a question of
numbers. One well-spoken and polite bear
turning up is fine. What if 260,000 turn up every
year? It is a fair question. Within a decade we
would have to build a city two and a half times
the size of Birmingham simply to house all the
Peruvian Bears. Could Britain's marmalade
industry cope with the demand? Probably not.”

52. Xenophobic attitudes are seen through
Mr Curry and Millicent
Mr. Curry worries about the “jungle music” and
Millicent warns that one bear will result in more
bears arriving and the whole street will be
subject to their “all-night picnics”.

53. Stony Book Press
The anti-immigrant dialogue in the film should
sound familiar to most people who live in the West.
Mr. Curry’s lines about “jungle music” and “all-night
picnics” are references to people’s fears about the
contamination of their culture and lifestyle. People
fear cultures that are not their own, especially
when they have to confront them and there is a
chance their own culture will be changed. …
By having Paddington, a cute and benign bear,
represent an immigrant, the film attempts to show
that people should not be scared of immigrants.