--- In [email protected], Michael Jackson <mjackson74@...> wrote: > > I am not sure what the fascination with Downton Abbey is either, which > according to one friend is a re-hash of Upstairs, Downstairs. I have watched > a couple episodes of Downton and while I like some of the actors, there are > too many of them for me to keep up with, you know, what with me having > cognitive overload from too much TM years ago, or maybe its those damnable > aliens who are messing with my head when they are not making crop circles.
I thought the first series of Downton was well played and written and yes, it's very like Upstairs Downstairs but then these costume dramas pretty much write themselves, all the characters are ready and waiting - the tight lipped butler, the chirpy chamber maid, the gruff gardener. Just add the scandal of your choice and away you go. Just like the TMO actually, can you imagine anything more surreal than the English class system meeting the Hindu caste system in a house like this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mentmore_Towers I always said that if we put CCTV in every room we would have a best selling reality TV show, especially during a flying course, who wouldn't watch? > > ________________________________ > From: salyavin808 <fintlewoodlewix@...> > To: [email protected] > Sent: Wednesday, July 24, 2013 9:41 AM > Subject: [FairfieldLife] Re: It's a boy > > > > Â > > > --- In [email protected], "Ann" <awoelflebater@> wrote: > > > > > > > > --- In [email protected], "salyavin808" <fintlewoodlewix@> > > wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > --- In [email protected], Michael Jackson <mjackson74@> wrote: > > > > > > > > C'mon Sal, ease up man, you are crushing all of our Downton Abbey > > > > fantasies about what proper Brits are like. > > > > > > Sorry dude, I'll send my butler round in the Bentley with a glass > > > of port to sooth your shattered illusions. > > > > > > On a philosophical note, the popularity of shows like Downton and > > > the continued popularity of costume dramas in general really > > > fascinates me. What is it people like about them, is it the > > > sense of a social structure to belong to or a fantasy about being > > > lord of the manor? Or is it about living in a racially pure country > > > again? > > > > > > People don't really think it was better in those days do they? > > > The aristocracy made up about 1% of the country, life sucked for > > > everyone else. Fascinating we should have a sense of nostalgia > > > about it. > > > > I love history, I love Europe and I love England. You are a very fortunate > > man to live there. I lived there once too and I would love to again. Even > > the monarchy and its trappings are fascinating and beautiful and just > > looking at the carriages, the harness, the uniforms of all of the different > > people who attend on ceremony and who maintain the historical places is > > enriching to me. So much of what these people wear or look after or create > > are works of art. The fabrics, the craftmanship, the intricacy of all of > > the levels of staging and creating these old rituals of coronation or royal > > weddings. We would be poorer for not having access to seeing these things. > > There is a living history aspect to this. Who hand makes things anymore? > > Who takes the time to lovingly polish and arrange things? There is a kind > > of devotion to the attending of detail and the nurturing of a kind of > > refinement when you painstakingly re-enact or embrace centuries old > > tradition. Just > come and live in California or Nevada for twenty years and see how it > compares. Not that there isn't culture and natural beauty in California (and > Nevada is another story all together) but for me I love stone and brick and > soil that is drenched in history and humanity and has a richness that can be > viscerally felt. England, for me, has all of this and more. It doesn't > necessarily have to be Windsor Castle - Spitalfields was equally as > fantastic. > > A heartfelt and eloquent piece Ann. I just spent half an hour typing > a response but pressed the wrong key and lost it. Sigh. But it worries me you > think I might not be interested in history because I'm not a royalist. > Perhaps I just see a different England with a grander sweep of history from > the ice age to the Roman invasion, Danelaw and beyond. > > To sum up what I deleted: what gets me is I'm expected to bow to an asshole > like prince Edward simply because a distant ancestor of his chopped off a few > heads and invaded France. I think their time has passed, other than as a > tourist attraction for people from countries with no history of their own - > other than the slaughter of the natives > with smallpox infected blankets of course, which must be hard to get > nostalgic about. > > So yup, English history is amazing but the kings and queens take > up just a tiny part of it, there was much more interesting things going on, > even at the time. The peasants revolt for instance. The attempts by the > diggers and the levellers to get back the land stolen from us by our > "betters", the unfair taxes etc. The fight against the church and state has > been endless. The empire, the decline, the neo-colonial project in the middle > east. History evolves and the greed > and corruption often gets forgotten, the House of Windsor seem past their > sell by date to me. A most curious anachronism. >
