Britishness is the state or quality of being British, or of embodying British characteristics, and is used to refer to that which binds and distinguishes the British people and forms the basis of their unity and identity, or else to explain expressions of British culture—such as habits, behaviours, or symbols—that have a common, familiar or iconic quality readily identifiable with the United Kingdom.

Dialogue about the legitimacy and authenticity of Britishness is intrinsically tied with power relations and politics; in terms of nationhood and belonging, expressing or recognising one's Britishness provokes a range of responses and attitudes, such as advocacy, indifference, or rejection. 
  

AREAS TO LOOK AT WHEN THINKING ABOUT BRITISHNESS AS COLLECTIVE IDENTITY:

- the ways in which Britain is represented in media are hugely influenced by economic and political contexts, such as funding, relationships with the USA and Europe, culture to commerce etc.
- British films are cultural products
- how British films represent the changing nature of Britain and its people - and how the notion of being British has changed
- does British cinema suffer from a 'burden of representation'
Watch the clip from the Minions movie (2015). How is British identity portrayed in the film? Is this how the world sees British people?