Olympic show: media and national identity in Jonathan Coe’s novel “Middle England” (2018)

Abstract

This article examines Jonathan Coe’s novel “Middle England” (2018) as a significant phenomenon within Brexlit (Brexit literature). The analysis focuses on Chapter 15, which stands in deliberate contrast to the remainder of the novel. This retrospective episode, centered on the televised broadcast of the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony, portrays the final “happy spectacle” of national unity. Drawing on Benedict Anderson’s concept of the “imagined community”, the study analyzes how Danny Boyle’s directorial vision constructs a narrative of national identity grounded in ideals of progress and collective solidarity, while acknowledging diverse social and cultural identities. The article discusses the historicalcultural context, Coe’s preoccupation with media power, and the shared artistic strategies of Boyle and Coe (montage, counterpoint, allusiveness, immersive effects, multi-perspectival narration, and panoramic scope) as expressions of Christopher Hill’s notion of “radical patriotism”. A comparative analysis of Coe’s literary technique with Boyle’s television show and W. P. Frith’s Victorian genre painting reveals the “mirror of society” effect. The research contributes to scholarly debates on the construction of collective identity and highlights Coe’s self-reflexive stance as an author. Ultimately, “Middle England” operates as a satirical “state-of-the-nation” novel that rejects both the traditional Victorian resolution of class conflict and the seductive media illusion of national unity, offering instead a bitterly realistic depiction of the collapse of Britain’s social institutions and the very ideal of national identity.