British Feminista Television
by Paulette Reynolds
May 18, 2014
by Paulette Reynolds
May 18, 2014
There is currently no country that exalts the female ensemble drama like the British empire. The current crop of classic PBS-BBC offerings prominently feature women struggling through vastly different historical settings to find their own identity. Based on true stories, a diverse range of casts and story lines keep the focus on women's issues, without the melodramatic tendencies that make for "soap opera" histrionics .
The Bletchley Circle is a procedural crime drama, set in postwar England, 1950s, centering around four British women who used to crack codes during WWII at Bletchley Park. Ten years later, they break out of their post-war humdrum life to solve crimes, using the decoding skills they acquired. As in the war, each woman does her part to help bring about a successful conclusion to the case, while attempting to maneuver the more mundane aspects of peacetime. Unfortunately, Season Two is their last, having been abruptly tossed onto the chopping block.
Downton Abbey, another period drama that follows the "Upstairs Downstairs" formula, is set in Yorkshire, England. Downton maps the lives of the upper-class British Crawley family and their servants, as both classes adjust to a changing social and political landscape that begins in the early 1900s. Season Four finished and we're all looking forward to an exciting Season Five.
Call The Midwife is a polished gem, based on personal memoirs and set in London's East End. It follows a group of young midwives working with Anglican nuns in postwar England. This series is not for the faint of heart, as some of the topics may leave you feeling a bit raw around the edges. Season Three is just concluding and has been picked up for a fourth season in 2015.
Mr. Selfridge is a genuine surprise for this American reviewer, as I doubted Jeremy Pivens could carry this English import - especially after the wild ride that was Entourage! Yet, I needn't have worried, since this drama is based on real-life American department store entrepreneur, Harry Selfridge, and the females will have their day! Upper-crust and shop girls alike vie for their share of happiness, carving out their personal niches with the usual British zeal. Season two is still running and the show has been renewed for a third season.
So what is the female ensemble drama and why is so popular? Some argue it's not a genre, per se, but if not, it's doing a pretty good imitation across the pond! Produced, written, and directed predominately by women, this "feminine-gendered" format details the demands and dreams of female characters, competing in a world that's shifting to reluctantly include them. Not surprisingly, women on both sides of the Atlantic are gobbling it up.
A genre is a blueprint for developing creative works that often become more generically defined as the product is copied. Film and television genres may have different templates, but they include: a diehard core of enthusiasts (the audience), a particular setting, theme, and a familiar plot. Film genres were rigidly adopted forms, borrowed from the literary realm that included comedy, drama, epic, historical, fantasy, and non-fiction (documentary). These early forms changed as the nature of the medium, global history, and the audience's references evolved.
One important feature of this process that must be factored in is who is the creative force behind the work. Perception changes the content, tone, and technique of the artistic form, and no where is that more important than in the visual mediums of film and television. Films have largely been produced, written, and directed by men, and so the focus has been pre-determined by the male gaze. Television plays by a different set of rules, where more women are writing, producing, and directing - although their male counterparts still outdistance them. This drives more women to the television remote, as a more diverse set of characters are offered for our viewing pleasure and identification.
Let's turn our eyes back to the television screen, where British female ensemble drama is happily co-existing with their American cousins. While the American television audience loves their historical dramas to be English, we tend towards female ensembles that offer a different menu: The Good Wife, Sex in The City, Desperate Housewives, American Horror Story, etc. Yet these American products tend to diffuse the female angst into gaudy displays of sex, politics, metaphysical, and the occasional shopping spree. Perhaps that's why women turn their channels and DVR's to PBS-BBC : These series delve into characters and their stories in a way that resonates immediately with us. The Good Wife might have three female characters at the helm, but they're always compromising in a patriarchal environment. The Bletchley Circle, Downton Abbey, Call The Midwife, and Mr. Selfridge zero in on how women take their challenges and succeed - on their own terms - to blossom as empowered people. All Hail Britannia!
Ball, V. 2007. Female Identity and the British Female Ensemble Drama 1995-1998. PhD Thesis : Queen Margaret University http://etheses.qmu.ac.uk/92/
The Bletchley Circle is a procedural crime drama, set in postwar England, 1950s, centering around four British women who used to crack codes during WWII at Bletchley Park. Ten years later, they break out of their post-war humdrum life to solve crimes, using the decoding skills they acquired. As in the war, each woman does her part to help bring about a successful conclusion to the case, while attempting to maneuver the more mundane aspects of peacetime. Unfortunately, Season Two is their last, having been abruptly tossed onto the chopping block.
Downton Abbey, another period drama that follows the "Upstairs Downstairs" formula, is set in Yorkshire, England. Downton maps the lives of the upper-class British Crawley family and their servants, as both classes adjust to a changing social and political landscape that begins in the early 1900s. Season Four finished and we're all looking forward to an exciting Season Five.
Call The Midwife is a polished gem, based on personal memoirs and set in London's East End. It follows a group of young midwives working with Anglican nuns in postwar England. This series is not for the faint of heart, as some of the topics may leave you feeling a bit raw around the edges. Season Three is just concluding and has been picked up for a fourth season in 2015.
Mr. Selfridge is a genuine surprise for this American reviewer, as I doubted Jeremy Pivens could carry this English import - especially after the wild ride that was Entourage! Yet, I needn't have worried, since this drama is based on real-life American department store entrepreneur, Harry Selfridge, and the females will have their day! Upper-crust and shop girls alike vie for their share of happiness, carving out their personal niches with the usual British zeal. Season two is still running and the show has been renewed for a third season.
So what is the female ensemble drama and why is so popular? Some argue it's not a genre, per se, but if not, it's doing a pretty good imitation across the pond! Produced, written, and directed predominately by women, this "feminine-gendered" format details the demands and dreams of female characters, competing in a world that's shifting to reluctantly include them. Not surprisingly, women on both sides of the Atlantic are gobbling it up.
A genre is a blueprint for developing creative works that often become more generically defined as the product is copied. Film and television genres may have different templates, but they include: a diehard core of enthusiasts (the audience), a particular setting, theme, and a familiar plot. Film genres were rigidly adopted forms, borrowed from the literary realm that included comedy, drama, epic, historical, fantasy, and non-fiction (documentary). These early forms changed as the nature of the medium, global history, and the audience's references evolved.
One important feature of this process that must be factored in is who is the creative force behind the work. Perception changes the content, tone, and technique of the artistic form, and no where is that more important than in the visual mediums of film and television. Films have largely been produced, written, and directed by men, and so the focus has been pre-determined by the male gaze. Television plays by a different set of rules, where more women are writing, producing, and directing - although their male counterparts still outdistance them. This drives more women to the television remote, as a more diverse set of characters are offered for our viewing pleasure and identification.
Let's turn our eyes back to the television screen, where British female ensemble drama is happily co-existing with their American cousins. While the American television audience loves their historical dramas to be English, we tend towards female ensembles that offer a different menu: The Good Wife, Sex in The City, Desperate Housewives, American Horror Story, etc. Yet these American products tend to diffuse the female angst into gaudy displays of sex, politics, metaphysical, and the occasional shopping spree. Perhaps that's why women turn their channels and DVR's to PBS-BBC : These series delve into characters and their stories in a way that resonates immediately with us. The Good Wife might have three female characters at the helm, but they're always compromising in a patriarchal environment. The Bletchley Circle, Downton Abbey, Call The Midwife, and Mr. Selfridge zero in on how women take their challenges and succeed - on their own terms - to blossom as empowered people. All Hail Britannia!
Ball, V. 2007. Female Identity and the British Female Ensemble Drama 1995-1998. PhD Thesis : Queen Margaret University http://etheses.qmu.ac.uk/92/
COPYRIGHT 2012/2016. Paulette Reynolds. All CineMata Movie Madness blog articles, reviews, faux interviews, commentary, and the Cine Mata character are under the sole ownership of Paulette Reynolds. All intellectual and creative rights reserved.
