Rule (out) Britannia!

With COVID-19 tearing apart our social calendar, we look with even more enthusiasm towards what few events remain open for live streaming.

One of the UK’s cultural highlights going digital during this pandemic is the BBC Proms, an annual celebration of orchestral music from London’s Royal Albert Hall.

However, controversy has been sparked over the BBC’s decision to strip the lyrics from Rule, Britannia! and Land of Hope and Glory, choosing to play orchestral versions instead.

Why? Well it has been alleged that the conductor of this year’s finale, Dalia Stasevska, thought COVID-19 restrictions would provide a good opportunity for change. For these songs, with their rousing melodies and rhythmic tunes, contain an uncomfortable message.

As the hearty chorus chime together with “Rule, Britannia! Britannia, rule the waves! Britons never, never, never shall be slaves,” audiences resurrect Britain’s defiance to falling under French rule during the Second Hundred Years War during which this song was written in 1740.

Yet on second glance, this song can also be said to glorify Britain’s colonial empire. Whereas this is debated for Rule Britannia!, the reference couldn’t be any more explicit in Land of Hope and Glory; 

By Freedom gained, by Truth maintained, 
Thine Empire shall be strong.

Although, Rule Britannia! goes further with;

The nations not so blest as thee 
Must, in their turn, to tyrants fall, 
While thou shalt flourish great and free: 
The dread and envy of them all. 

Through my eyes, this song seems to try and subtly undermine the strength of other nations by portraying them as weak and oppressive, in contrast to a great and powerful Britain. Isn’t this what bullies do? Push others down in order to make themselves feel better? 
Even though these songs do not directly refer to Britain’s involvement in the slave trade, they neither talk about equality nor emancipation for all. In fact, they perpetuate the idea of a dichotomy, of a hierarchy of power in which slavery is justified, with Britain forever striving to be the ruler, the controller, the tyrannical dictator.

Photograph: The BBC Proms, PA Media, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-53888209

Are these songs, as Kehinde Andrews (2020), professor of Black Studies at Birmingham University, describes them, pieces of “racist propaganda”?

I am sure that when many sing along at the Proms, they do not do so with such an intention. I myself used to swing along to the tune, enlivened by the crowd waving their flags on the telly. However, I now find the sight discomforting. I am sickened by the substance of their words; the power of music to blind. 

Even if these songs weren’t created for the purpose of discrimination, the consequences of normalising this type of language is profound. They kindle British patriotism through racist discrimination and the alienation of people from nations outside of Britain. They also foster racist stereotypes, making it harder to empathise and communicate between groups.

Some say that even if these songs were once intentionally used as racist propaganda, this is no longer the case and that they have now “become part of a new story that represents pride” (Folarin, 2020). Although I wonder, pride in what? A Britain overcoming adversity, turning to embrace a strong, cohesive and diverse society? Well if this is the case, I am all for a celebration! Nevertheless, true or not, the meaning behind a song cannot simply be replaced, let alone erased. These songs would need reclamation, alteration, to turn them into something new. “How are we going to break down the institutional system, if we hang on to these [songs]?” says Chi-chi Nwanoku, who runs the Chineke! Foundation, an organisation that aims to provide opportunities to BAME classical musicians in the UK and Europe. 

Perhaps there will come a time when these songs can be commemorated, remembered and celebrated for a progression since their curation. Yet at the moment, the stories of marginalised peoples are neither equally understood nor represented in society. Moreover, people continue to refer to the ‘glory days’ of empire through these songs, whilst failing to acknowledge the abusive injustice that has perpetuated ever since. Thus, these songs continue to feed into the unconscious biases of the nation. They erase the histories of already marginalised peoples, whilst normalising a discourse that many find offensive. Something has to change.

And something has. The BBC’s decision to play orchestral versions of these songs emerged just after rumours that Stasevska wanted to bring a change to the Proms. Yet I feel that the BBC has delicately skipped around the core of this issue; they have placed their entire reasoning on COVID-19 restrictions, for the songs wouldn’t work with only a sparse audience to sing along live, rather than the messages embodied in these songs.

Moreover, the BBC intends to bring back the singing versions of Rule Britannia! and Land of Hope and Glory next year. 

This is appalling. With this reasoning, the BBC has eased the anxieties of attentive Proms listeners, whilst shunning the conversation on colonialism. Regardless of whether you think the songs should be changed or not, I’m sure we can all agree that the BBC’s ‘justification’ reflects Britain’s inability to reconcile with its past. How on earth can the BBC claim to support the Black Lives Matter movement if they fail to acknowledge the elephant in the room?

They say that we should not run away from our past, as we could forget about past injustices and fool ourselves into thinking that present ones are solved. Yet I re-emphasise the point I made earlier; if the stories of marginalised groups are not equally represented in society, those which dominate will foster discrimination.

The BBC needs to address the issue face on, as well as provide platforms which promote the works of those from minority groups. Discriminatory and offensive pieces need to be removed, until they are reclaimed. At the moment their inclusion is a sign of stagnation, but in reclaiming them, the Proms can become a symbol of progression.

I will be honest with you and say that I am apprehensive about speaking too much about my opinion, for I do not want it to come across as if I am speaking for ethnic minorities. This was something brought to my consciousness when I read a quote from Ms Folarin (2020), who has spoken out about this topic, saying that “many things are done in the names of ethnic minoritiess […] when that’s simply not how they feel”. I am white, and so my views are not informed by the real life experiences of other racial groups, and I encourage you to seek out other voices and allow them to inform your own opinion. However, I think it is worse to be silent. I would much rather foster conversation and risk confrontation than have someone interpret my silence as acceptance of the way things are. 

We need to address racial biases, and we cannot do this without conversation. I feel that the BBC has failed to listen, properly listen, to the concerns of the public on this occasion, and has thus dismissed the seriousness of racism and colonial legacies. It doesn’t have to be this way. I would like to see the BBC publicly acknowledge the issues brought by these songs, and seek a diverse range of opinions in how to move forward.

H _ M
    :)

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