Peaky Blinders - TV

When did series 1 come out?

September 2013

Peaky Blinders show runner

Steven Knight

Peaky Blinders production companies

Caryn Mandabach Productions, Tiger Aspect Productions, BBC

Bafta awards won by the show

-Won: Best drama series (2018)

-Nominated: Best production design (2014 & 2015)

other nominations/ awards for PB

• Astra awards

• British screenwriters awards

• IGN summer movie awards

etc..

Why are Lord Reith and John Logie Baird so important in terms of tv development

Lord Reith co-founded the BBC, John Logie Baird invented the first working tv system

How did TV develop in the 1930’s

May 1932 - Broadcasting house opens

Dec 1932 - King George on TV addressing empire

1934 - Type ‘A’ microphone

Nov 1936 - BBC TV service opens

Jan 1938 - 1st foreign language broadcast (Arabic) 

1st TV drama = The man with a flower in his mouth

Impact of WW2 on TV, especially post-war

• Closed in 1939 for 6 years due to war

• Reopened, epitomizing welfare state

• Queen Liz 2 coronation sparked public image 

What TV genres developed during the late 1940s into the 1950s

• Musicals - Very theatrical 

• News programming 

• Children shows - Eg: Mickey Mouse

How did the BBC develop historically

1936 - BBC TV opens

1937 - 1st outside broadcast, King George VI coronation

1960 - TV center, ‘hollywood of the tv industry’

1967 - BBC2, 1st colour channel

1980 - 1st Children in need charity appeal

2003 - BBC3 

What is public service broadcasting?

Broadcasting funded publicly, for the public’s interests.

• BBC TV license 

• Purpose driven, not profit driven

How is BBC leadership structure

Acting chair - General director - Non-executive director - Deputy chair - Chief content officer - Content producer.

Type of BBC products

TV, radio, online services, UK and Global news, Commercial studios

How much is the TV license

£175.50

How is the BBC different than other TV channels

• Contributes to highlighting social, political, and cultural issues to make a positive change in society. → Purpose driven

• TV license → Funding is reliant on audience interest

• The royal charter → Sets out BBC mission and purposes (inform, educate, entertain)

Tiger aspect

“One of the most successful and prolific TV production companies”

“Telling stories that entertain, provoke, and inspire”

“Delivering iconic television” → PB, Mr Bean, Benidorm

Why is Tiger aspects a good PB co-producer

• Values and remit aligns

• Well established

• Desire to create the most creative, highest quality, media products.

What was fashion like in the 1910’s for men?

Men wore suits, flat caps/ bowler hats/ top hats/ detachable collars/ ties

What was fashion like for women in the 1910s/20s

Dresses, dropped waistlines, low hemlines (boxy)

What music is associated with the 1920s

• Jazz/ Blues

• Swing

• Charleston

Affluence/ income in 1920s

Yearly wage for men: £150

Yearly wage for women: £75

Inequality

1/3 of all income earned by only 5% of people

UK politics in 1920s

• High unemployment, strikes

• David Lloyd George - PM (Labor)

Attitudes towards women in the 1920s

• Women got right to vote

• ‘Flappers’ broke social rules and wore shirt skirts

• Still in domestic sphere 

How were ethnic minorities represented by the Media in the 1920s

• Deemed other, not much tolerance

• If any it was highly offensive 

What was entertainment like in the 1920s?

• Silent films

• Jazz

• Musicals

• Pubs

• Showbiz stars

Engima codes in PB

What is Tommy doing with the guns?

What is Danny’s job in London?

Who is the lady in green?

What will Campbell do, will it be successful?

What type of Narrative is PB?

Flexi-narrative

Chronological with some flashbacks

Binary oppositions in PB (characters)

Tommy Shelby Vs Inspector Campbell

Polly Gray Vs Tommy Shelby

Arthur Shelby Vs Tommy Shelby 

Ada Shelby Vs Freddie

Binary oppositions in PB

Power Vs Weakness

War hero vs coward

corruption vs integrity

men vs women

peace vs violence

Apply Todorov’s narratology to PB

Equilibrium - Shelby business successful, Tommy clearly superior, man of success

Disruption - Guns discovered to be stolen, Inspector Campbell arrives to investigate, Grace arrives

Recognition - Polly tells Tommy to get rid of guns, Arthur beaten by police

Resolution -  Tommy moves guns to avoid being caught

New Equilibrium - Tommy reveals plan of horses and guns, Grace & Campbell work together

What is a series

Separate episodes of self containing stories

What is a serial

on-going story told over multiple episodes

What is a flexi-narrative + who thought of it

Robin Nelson

“mixtures of the series and serial form, involving the closure of one story arc within an episode (like a series) but with other, on-going story arcs involving the characters (like a serial).”

What is a restricted narrative

Characters + audience are aligned, know the same

What is an unrestricted narrative 

Audience knows more than the characters

Which character’s perspective is Peaky Blinders told from?

Is the PB narrative restrictive or unrestricted

Both - Depends on character + narrative arc

• Conventional for TV dramas