History Main / BritishStuffiness

* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' has Captain Jean-Luc Picard despite technically being French, still fits the bill, being overly reserved and unwilling to truly connect with the people around him.

* One place that this seems to be inverted, however, is talk shows. On American shows like Letterman or Leno, the host is usually behind a big desk, and everything sounds a little formal (barring certain circumstances like the guest and host being longtime friends, or the guest just being a little wacky, then things will usually go a little off the rails.) On British shows like Graham Norton, the set is made up like someone's living room, there's usually drinks available, and everything seems a little more informal and chatty.

* The general behaviour has been explained by anthropologist Kate Fox, author of ''Watching the English'', as partly down to the fact that the British - especially the English - are actually chronically shy. Discussing [[UsefulNotes/BritishWeather the weather]], for instance, is so common because it's a safe and non-confrontational ice-breaker (as it changes roughly every fifteen minutes). That stuffiness? Yeah, they're just shy.

* The film ''Wild Child'' is looking like a rip-off of ''What A Girl Wants'' in which the British Stuffiness will be even ''worse''.

* ''Film/AnAmericanWerewolfInLondon'' has more than a little of this. Especially the impossible-to-insult policeman. The xenophobic villagers are also worth recognising, as is their 'opening-up' via humour (if we decide to like you, we'll make fun of you).

* John from ''Film/ChristmasInConnecticut'' has the plummy RP accent of Reginald Gardiner, is fussy and uptight in an AmbiguouslyGay way, and says things like "I say!" when catching his fiancee in the arms of another man.

* In ''Literature/HoratioHornblower'', Mr Bush is perplexed when Lady Barbara notes that he's fond of Captain Hornblower because it's hard to fit such a sentimental notion into his fundamentally British way of thinking (although she's quite right).

* Mrs Herriton and her daughter Harriet are this in spades in ''Literature/WhereAngelsFearToTread''. It's PlayedForLaughs although it has tragic consequences.

* ''Series/DocMartin'': Martin, is almost a caricature of the emotionally repressed Brit. From his stiff as a board posture, to his constant inability to handle emotions (well, postive emotions anyway, he has a better handle on the negative ones).

* Whether or not Miles Edgeworth is an example of this is the subject of much debate in the ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' fandom. He spent part of his childhood in America and his teen years in Germany, but there's room to suggest he was born British, and his behaviour and speech patterns certainly fit. His voiceover in ''Dual Destinies'' and ''Spirit of Justice'' even has the right accent. Also, he can get quite emotional but usually keeps it under wraps unless it's sheer exasperation.

* Subverted in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'', where Zero at first seems cold and snarky like this trope, but as time goes on he's shown to be really quite emotional ([[spoiler:shown especially in him eventually becoming a StalkerWithACrush in ''Metal Gear Solid 4'' and ''Peace Walker'']]), and kind of a CloudCuckooLander. The last part's probably based on the ''[[Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus other]]'' stereotype of the British sense of humour.

* Played quite straight in ''Webcomic/ScandinaviaAndTheWorld'' with its ''own'' MoeAnthropomorphism for England. The problem is, this is also his attitude to his kids, which is pretty much the reason they're so screwed up (America being the boisterous rebel, Canada being the intelligent yet weak "favourite" of sons who was adopted from France when he was a teenager, Australia is the wacky problem child, and New Zealand is a ''sheep''). And their being uptight about sex comes across in one strip where England's InternalMonologue berates himself for being a rapist... [[http://satwcomic.com/monster for brushing Denmark's hair with his hand while stretching.]] And according to the Author's Note for that strip, it's apparently TruthInTelevision (though not quite to that extent).

* Mr Herriman (pictured above), from ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'' has never been to Britain, but has a British accent from pure stuffiness.

[[quoteright:221: [[WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/47b0052a8c7560a43d97162e81c8b9c8_removebg_preview_1.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:221:Good luck telling this guy to lighten up.]]

* ''Series/FawltyTowers''' Basil Fawlty, played mainly for comedic effect as he ''tries'' to be this but his constant run of bad luck leads to less desirable results, especially in "the Wedding Party" episode. "You know something? You ''disgust'' me. I know what people like you get up to, and I think it's ''disgusting''!" In another episode he suspects a young couple of sharing the same room together despite his rules on keeping unmarried people separate. He even tries to spy on them to catch them red handed.

** It usually blows this away, especially hiring such energetic and expressive actors as Creator/DavidTennant and Creator/CatherineTate, but they did play with it in "The Idiot's Lantern." Lampshaded in "The Unicorn and the Wasp." When Donna wonders about how everyone involved is going to deal with the weirdness of the episode, the Doctor says, "They'll never speak of it again, they're too British."

** William Hartnell, who played the original incarnation of the Doctor, said in the serial 'The Daleks' Master Plan' "I am a citizen of the universe and a gentleman to boot" which was to represent 19th century British ideals.

[[quoteright:263:[[WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mr_herriman_822.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:263:Good luck telling this guy to lighten up.]]

* The character representing England in ''Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia'' is not necessarily "stuffy" as such, but does display a disapproving and often despairing attitude towards his compatriots, with his neurosis usually triggered in reaction to their behavior. He is otherwise a knowledgeable and amiable chap, if a [[{{Tsundere}} bit]] [[ClusterFBomb irritable]]. He does at least ''try'' to be a gentleman. It just doesn't work out with his real personality. However, the English dub plays this straight, making the character speak with a stereotypical (RP) English accent (apparently), and he sounds much "stuffier'' there.

* ''Literature/HarryPotter''

[[caption-width-right:263:Good luck telling this guy to lighten up.[[note]]Actually, Bloo succeeded once. It did not end well.[[/note]]]]

* This sort of response is particularly noteworthy in reaction to terror attacks - in attacks on Britain, the attitude tends to be stubborn determination of the “Keep Calm and Carry On” variety, though mixed with grief (see the response to the Manchester Bombing and the way that “Don't Look Back in Anger” became the slightly wry anthem) and defiance. Attacks on allies, however, [[VitriolicBestBuds (particularly the French)]] tend to arouse a far greater fury, one that blows this trope apart - see the way that after the Paris Bataclan attacks of 2015 an explosion of pure ''rage'' from everywhere north of Calais got Britain off the fence and involved in campaign against ISIS in Syria (which it had previously been reluctant to commit to). This is probably because the former is a “don't let them see you blink” attitude, while the latter is show solidarity with an ally.

* This sort of response is particularly noteworthy in reaction to terror attacks - in attacks on Britain, the attitude tends to be stubborn determination of the “Keep Calm and Carry On” variety, though mixed with grief (see the response to the Manchester Bombing and the way that “Don't Look Back in Anger” became the slightly wry anthem) and defiance. Attacks on allies, however, [[VitriolicBestBuds (particularly the French)]] tend to arouse a far greater fury, one that blows this trope apart - see the way that after the Paris Bataclan attacks of 2015 an explosion of pure ''rage'' from everywhere north of Calais got Britain off the fence and involved in campaign against ISIS in Syria (which it had previously been reluctant to commit to). This is probably because the former is a “don't let them see you blink” attitude, while the latter is outrage on behalf of an ally.

* The whole thing teetered dangerously on the brink of becoming a DeadHorseTrope in September 1997, in the immediate aftermath of the death of Princess Diana. The British population were polarized by her passing. It appeared that one half descended into a crazed grief-frenzy and couldn't stop crying or leaving flowers at any point that had even a tangential relationship with the sainted deceased. The other half, that simply couldn't see what all the fuss was about, retreated into the Stiff Upper Lip as a kind of reaction to all the appalling and unprecedented sentimentality that was going on over the wretched bloody woman, who wasn't even a Royal when she died, so we fail to see what all the fuss is about, ''do pull yourselves '''together''', for goodness' sake!'' Abuse and recrimination was freely hurled by both sides. It is perhaps safest to say that while the wall is crumbling, enough of the British people still adhere to the old ways.

* The VideoNasties media scare of the early 1980s is another example. Many ExploitationFilm pictures were put on a black list because they supposedly depicted gory violence, rape or extreme sexual imagery. A lot of these pictures were forgettable garbage and not half as offensive as their outrageous titles would suggest. But because of MoralGuardians, Prime Minister UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher and campaigns by British tabloids to "[[ThinkOfTheChildren protect the children]]" they all got banned anyway.

* The image of British stuffiness goes back to the days of UsefulNotes/VictorianBritain, when many upper and middle class people expressed prudish behaviour. Since the British Empire was so huge many locals across the world witnessed this British prudency and the stereotype stuck.
* Even as far back in the 1960s Music/TheBeatles' song "I Am The Walrus" (1967) didn't receive airplay on the Creator/{{BBC}} merely because the word "knickers" was mentioned.
* Censor crazy British activists like Mary Whitehouse have also fed this stereotype.
* The VideoNasties media scare of the early 1980s is another example. Many ExploitationFilm pictures were put on a black list because they supposedly depicted gory violence, rape or extreme sexual imagery. A lot of these pictures were forgettable garbage and not half as offensive as their outrageous titles would suggest. But because of MoralGuardians, Prime Minister UsefulNotes/MargaretThatcher and campaigns by British tabloids to "[[ThinkOfTheChildren protect the children]]" they all got banned anyway.

* Oddly enough, Europeans - or at least, the French - also have the impression that the English often are far more lewd in their private life. The French idiom "to spank", for instance, is literally called "Le Vice Anglais" (translation: "The English Vice"). The British, meanwhile, are firmly convinced that the French are all debauched libertines. However, there is some basis for this - many Britons with a dignified, stuffy, chaste, conservative public image are often caught in surprisingly saucy sex scandals. Historical examples are John Profumo,[[note]]A British Minister of Defense who was caught committing adultery in 1963 with call girl Christine Keeler. If that weren't bad enough Keeler also had contacts with a well known London gangster and a member of the Soviet embassy. As a result Profumo had to resign.[[/note]] Stephen Milligan [[note]] a Conservative politician found dead in 1994, from having auto-erotic asphyxiation sex with his secretary [[/note]] and UsefulNotes/JohnMajor [[note]] A former British Prime Minister who, in 2002, turned out to have had an extramarital affair with politician Edwina Currie, though this happened way before he even became PM. The amusing thing about this was that ''Series/SpittingImage'' had spoofed the ludicrous idea that someone as stuffy as Major would have an extramarital affair in the past, and even picked a different female member of the cabinet - Virginia Bottomley - as the target of a very much un-acted-on crush. [[/note]]. While British tabloids exploit these stories to death the foreign press is especially interested in them. Not because they are above this sort of thing either, but "because it's those "stuffy Britons" we're talking about."

** This is particularly noteworthy in response to terror attacks - in attacks on Britain, the attitude tends to be stubborn determination of the 'Keep Calm and Carry On' variety, though mixed with grief (see the response to the Manchester Bombing and the way that 'Don't Look Back in Anger' became the slightly wry anthem) and defiance. Attacks on allies, however, [[VitriolicBestBuds (particularly the French)]] tend to arouse a far greater fury, one that blows this trope apart - see the way that after the Paris Bataclan attacks of 2015 led to an explosion of pure ''rage'' from everywhere north of Calais and got Britain off the fence and involved in campaign against ISIS in Syria (which it had previously been reluctant to commit to). This is probably because the former attitude is a 'don't let them see you blink' attitude, while the latter is outrage on behalf of an ally.

!!Examples

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* Excalibur from ''Manga/SoulEater'' (who's at the very least [[GratuitousEnglish From United King]][[note]]I'm looking for him! I'm going to California![[/note]]) has a list of 1000 conditions anyone who wants to [[EquippableAlly wield him]] must follow. As such, there are two known people who could put up with this madness. One of them [[spoiler: finally got rid of him because [[MinorFlawMajorBreakup he couldn't put up with his constant sneezing]]]]. The other was Myth/KingArthur himself. Lord only knows how he did it.

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* Franchise/{{Batman}}'s butler Alfred often comes across as a Stuffy Brit, which carries over to most adaptations. The most prominent exception is ''Film/BatmanBegins'', where he's given a British army sergeant's accent and backstory. In the comics he also had plenty of backstory: at one point it was that he was an SOE agent/saboteur for England during WWII and had a kid with a beautiful French Resistance named Mademoiselle Marie, but that's been dropped because of [[ComicBookTime timeline considerations]]. (Humorously, one of the standard portrayals of Alfred was on ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' - where, except for the first few episodes, he was voiced by [[FakeBrit an American actor]]!)
* From ''Comicbook/AdventuresInTheRifleBrigade'', Capt. Darcy is the typical stuffy British officer type, or at least tries to keep the front up. Best example, he does his best to maintain a stiff upper lip among all his men, while the German halftrack in which they are currently riding is ''raped by an elephant''.

* ''Comicbook/{{Asterix}}'': In ''Recap/AsterixInBritain'' the Britons are utterly stiff except in the presence of ball games or young bards [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed who look suspiciously like]] ''Music/TheBeatles''.
** Averted in the cases of some of them -- for example, the BadAssNormal British gardener. (Approximate dialogue.)
--->'''Centurion''': Briton! You dare challenge the greatness and authority of Rome?!
--->'''Gardener''': My garden may be smaller than your Rome, [[BadassCreed but my pilum is harder than your sternum!]]
** Even then, he's only angry because people keep ''[[FelonyMisdemeanor walking on his lawn!]]''

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[[folder:Film - Live-Action]]
* ''Film/LastOfTheMohicans'': Steven Waddington is contrasted with his free-livin' Amerindian compatriots as Redcoat Maj. Heyward in the American frontier, already a [[DeathOfTheHypotenuse fatal]] [[JustForFun/HowToSurviveAWarMovie occupation]]. "with that priggy nose of his!" as [[DieForOurShip one reviewer]] put it.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''

-->'''Roger:''' Why would he say anything?!
-->'''Lane:''' BECAUSE [[spoiler: HE WAS CAUGHT WITH CHEWING GUM ON HIS PUBIS!]]

--> ''English girls they're so prissy''
--> ''I can't stand them on the telephone''
--> ''Sometimes I take the receiver off the hook''
--> ''I don't want them to ever call at all''

* ''Radio/BleakExpectations:''

** Also also done when one of BigBad Mr. Benevolent's schemes is to have British explorers melt the Antarctic, by exposing them to London call girls - their embarrassed awkwardness is what's going to melt the ice.

* Played quite straight in ''Webcomic/ScandinaviaAndTheWorld'' with its ''own'' MoeAnthropomorphism for England. The problem is, this is also his attitude to his kids, which is pretty much the reason they're so screwed up (America being the boisterous rebel, Canada being the intelligent yet weak "favourite" of sons who was adopted from France when he was a teenager, Australia the wacky problem child, and New Zealand a ''sheep'').
** And their being uptight about sex comes across in one strip where England's InternalMonologue berates himself for being a rapist... [[http://satwcomic.com/monster for brushing Denmark's hair with his hand while stretching.]] And according to the Author's Note for that strip, it's apparently TruthInTelevision (though not quite to that extent).

[[folder:Web Original]]
* In his review of ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'', [[WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation Yahtzee]] admits to this:
--> "Fortunately, being English, and therefore utterly repulsed by the slightest sexual urge in myself and everyone around me, I am immune from any callous attempt to touch my heart via my wrinkly undercarriage, and Bayonetta looks about as sexy to me as a pencil stuck through a couple of grapes."
** This doesn't save him from {{Freudian Slip}}ping [[FreudianSlipperySlope several times]] throughout the review.
** During a Let's Play of the adventure game ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAG32E0BunQ&t=25m53s Normality,]]'' Gabriel got him to crack up by simply singing a fake [[Music/BlackEyedPeas Will.i.am]] lyric.
--->'''Yahtzee:''' It's my oppressive British upbringing.\\
'''Gabriel:''' All this intellect, all this analysis, all this critique, '''brought to its knees''' by "boobie boobie bum bum." He's literally ''crying!''

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' where the Fentons had the usual stiff British butler.

* Bizarrely enough, in ''Series/{{Thunderbirds}}'' (which is a ''[[SelfDeprecation British]]'' [[SelfDeprecation made programme]]), many of the British characters were quite stereotypically uppercrust, like Lady Penelope.
** "I say, open this door at once; we're British!", Sir Jeremy Hodge, ''The Perils of Penelope'', a brilliantly bad example.
** Parker, Lady Penelope's driver and manservant may be a subversion. He affects what he may believe is a 'posh' accent, but only indicates his London cockney origins. He's based upon a real man the ''Thunderbirds ''production members met running a pub.
** Jeff Tracy wears morning dress and affects a British accent to go to an airshow in one episode. 'Oh, bang on; jolly good show!' Wonderfully wrong. Penny is too pleased to correct him.
*** All the more impressive since Jeff was played by Peter Dyneley, a British actor with a Canadian accent, playing an American trying to affect a stuffy British accent and doing it badly.
*** Not so bizarre when you consider ''Series/{{Thunderbirds}}'' was an expensive show to make - Lord Grade, as with so many shows he commissioned, saw first showing in Britain as irrelevant compared with lucrative resale to the USA, and insisted it be made primarily with the American market in mind. Therefore all the action heroes speak with American accents and the British characters were tailored to American expectations - toffs and Dick van Dyke cockneys. ''Series/TheMuppetShow'' was a later example: the guest star was nearly always an American celebrity, often virtually unknown in Britain.

--> '''British Man:''' You know Margaret, we could have sexual intercourse right now.
--> '''British Woman:''' Yes, yes we could.
--> '''British Man:''' Hm, but let's not. ''*Goes back to reading his novel*''

* ''WebVideo/LeftPOORDead'': Reginald and Tippy have this in spades.

* ''WebVideo/LeftPOORDead'': Reginald and Tippy have this in spades

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* Played quite straight in ''Webcomic/ScandinaviaAndTheWorld'' with its ''own'' MoeAnthropomorphism for England. The problem is, this is also his attitude to his kids, which is pretty much the reason they're so screwed up (America being the boisterous rebel, Canada being the intelligent yet weak "favourite" of sons, Australia the wacky problem child and New Zealand a ''sheep'').

[[caption-width-right:263:Good luck telling this guy to lighten up.]]

* Often lampshaded by Max on ''Series/TheNanny'' when he uses this as an excuse for why he is unable to show his feelings.He and his entire family are perfect examples of this, with the exception of his brother Nigel, who has been shown to be very passionate and exuberant, although he was considered the black sheep of the family, and supposed to be the exception that proves the rule.

* ''Film/{{The Circle|1925}}: Elizabeth describes her husband Arnold, an English lord, as "an old woman." He tries to talk her out of leaving him by saying "You might force me to do something rash—and I'd dislike that frightfully."

* Oddly enough, Europeans - or at least, the French - also have the impression that the English often are far more lewd in their private life. The French idiom "to spank", for instance, is literally called "Le Vice Anglais" (translation: "The English Vice"). The British, meanwhile, are firmly convinced that the French are all debauched libertines. However, there is some basis for this - many Britons with a dignified, stuffy, chaste, conservative public image are often caught in surprisingly saucy sex scandals. Historical examples are John Profumo,[[note]]A British Minister of Defense who was caught committing adultery in 1963 with call girl Christine Keeler. If that weren't bad enough Keeler also had contacts with a well known London gangster and a member of the Soviet embassy. As a result Profumo had to resign.[[/note]] Stephen Milligan [[note]] a Conservative politician found dead in 1994, from having auto-erotic asphyxiation sex with his secretary [[/note]] and UsefulNotes/JohnMajor [[note]] A former British Prime Minister who, in 2002, turned out to have had an extramarital affair with politician Edwina Currie, though this happened way before he even became PM. The amusing thing about this was that ''Series/SpittingImage'' had spoofed the ludicrous idea that someone as stuffy as Major would have an extramarital affair in the past. [[/note]]. While British tabloids exploit these stories to death the foreign press is especially interested in them. Not because they are above this sort of thing either, but "because it's those "stuffy Britons" we're talking about."

* Pumbaa's "smart" version from ''WesternAnimation/TimonAndPumbaa'' (which Timon accidentally turns the "normal" Pumbaa into in the episode "[[FantasticVoyagePlot Beetle Romania]]" by [[ItMakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext plugging his brain back in]]) turns the rather-fittingly combines this trope with Main/InsufferableGenius; needless to say, Timon is hilariously-visibly annoyed [[HypocriticalHumor by Smart Pumbaa's arrogance]].

* Pumbaa's "smart" version from ''WesternAnimation/TimonAndPumbaa'' (which Timon accidentally turns the "normal" Pumbaa into in the episode "[[FantasticVoyagePlot Beetle Romania]]" by [[ItMakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext plugging his brain back in]]) turns the rather-fittingly combines this trope with Main/InsufferableGenius; needless to say, Timon is hilariously-visibly annoyed by what he has created.