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The Falkland Islands (or Islas Malvinas to the Argentinians)
are located in the South Atlantic, 300 miles off the
coast of Argentina and 8,000 miles from Britain. This
geographical distance made the media's assertion of
the 'Britishness' of the Falkland Islanders all the
more important. It was imperative that the British cause
be presented as just and so the assertion of Britain's
historical claims on the islands also came into play.
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| Intensify
own 'good' |
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Downplay
others' 'good' |
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Downplay
own 'bad'
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Intensify
others' 'bad' |
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The
use of language
Gotcha!
Wallop!
High Noon
Stick it up your Junta
Argies
Our lads
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The
phrases on the left featured in the tabloid press
during the Falklands Conflict.
Examine
the use of language with your class
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Newspaper
Coverage
There was very little news from the Falklands and the
press filled the vacuum with human interest and home
front stories. Stories of wives and family waiting,
home-comings and tragic coincidences (such as "widow
mourning husband of three weeks", "8 hour
bride who became a widow", "the wives who
wait" and "the agony and the hope").
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Britishness
The media emphasised the 'Britishness' of the Falkland
Islanders. A photograph of soldier being given a cup of
tea by a liberated Falklands Islander was widely used
in the press: the 'cuppa' being a symbol of Britishness.
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The
use of language
See our suggested classroom activity
examining the use of euphemisms.
 Leeds
Postcards
Leeds
Postcards have been publishing radical and political postcards
since 1979. They often support an oppositional stance to the
mass media. The postcard above, from 1984, is LP148 The Belgrano
File No: 2, Gotcha! The
postcards below were also published by Leeds Postcards (Click
on images for larger view).
Belgrano
File No.1: Ye Hypocrites LP143 (1983)
Belgrano
File No. 4: England's Glory LP384 (1987)
See the
Leeds Postcards
website.
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