Peaky Blinders

What kind of genre is Peaky Blinders?

• Its a hybrid genre

• It combines gangster, western and historical/period drama elements

How was Peaky Blinders produced and distributed in the UK?

• It was produced in the UK by Caryn Mandabach Productions and Tiger Aspect

• It was originally shown on BBC 2

• Seasons 5 and 6 were so popular that they moved to a primetime slot on BBC one

What did Steven Knight aim to do with Peaky Blinders and why?

• Steven Knight says there is a “black hole for TV production in the middle of the country”

• Steven Knight wants to reveal the ‘secret history’ of England

• Producer Laurie Borg said the show was conceived as the ‘anti-Downton Abbey’

• Knight wants to ‘mythologise Birmingham’

What is the general historical context around Peaky Blinders?

• Post WWI

• 1919- Race riots for the first time in Britain as people become aware of ethnic minorities living amongst them

• At the end of WWI, the demobilisation of troops caused severe post-war competition for jobs- foreigners were said to be stealing jobs

How does Peaky Blinders fit into the Western genre?

• This can be seen in the first scene of the show

• There is tense repetitive music plays as Tommy comes in riding a horse

• People are immediately intimidated by him and run away

• His hat covers his eyes, shrouding him in mystery

Why does Peaky Blinders use a western style opening?

• Highlights the ideas of outlaws running the city and crimes

• To mythologise the setting of 1919 Birmingham

• Also used to show the lawlessness of Birmingham as gangs essentially control it

How does Peaky Blinders reflect the gangster genre?

• These criminals run a legitimate business to hide their illegal activities of fixing horse races

• Ethnic tension between gypsies and the Chinese

• Hierarchy- Billy Kimber is more powerful than the Peaky Blinders

• The Betting house is full of money and creates a kind of ‘wall street’ scene

• Male dominated

• Use of vulgar language, violence and torture

How does Peaky Blinders reflect period dramas?

• Theme of regality/royalty such as scenes with Grace and Inspector Campbell

• Same kind of scenes with Mr Churchill

How does peaky Blinders subvert the period drama genre?

• Less romance driven

• Talks more about politics and how that effect laws, gang culture and corruption within the government and law enforcement

• Less posh accents

• Follows the working class people of Birmingham

How does Neale’s genre theory apply to Peaky Blinders?

• Genres consist of repetition and difference

• Repetition keeps it recognisable while difference allows for media texts to be fresh

• Peaky Blinders conforms to the gangster and crime genre as we focus on crime families and rivalries, violence, torture, corruption in law enforcement and so on

  • This is subverted by female empowerment through characters like Polly Shelby whereas women are normally presented as objects weak

• It also conforms to period dramas in the high class royalty that we see in scenes concerning Winston Churchill for example

What is Todorov’s narrative structure theory?

• The idea that all narratives share a basic structure that involves a movement of one state of equilibrium to another  

• The idea that these two states of equilibrium are separated by a period of imbalance or disequilibrium 

• The idea that the way in which narratives are resolved can have particular ideological significance 

What are the different states of equilibrium within Todrov’s theory?

• Equilibrium: The story begins in normality. We are introduced to the key characters and setting.​ 

• Disruption: A problem occurs and creates a difference in the normality​ 

• Recognition: The characters in the narrative are made aware of the issue.​ 

• Repair: The characters attempt to fix the disruption​ 

• New equilibrium: Normality is restored

What Enigma Codes do we find in the first episode and Peaky Blinders and why?

• Red Powder trick

• What will happen with the guns that Tommy found

• What’s the connection between the IRA, Campbell and the guns 

• Who is Grace really 

• What’s caused Tommy and Freddie’s friendship to turn sour 

• What happened to Thomas in France 

• Billy Kimber 

This all sets up for a episodical story that keeps the viewers hooked to wait until the end of the season

To what extent does Peaky Blinders conform to Todorov’s theory?

• Starts off with an equilibrium – Tommy is shown as a respected figure in Brimingham 

• Disrupted by conflict- Inspector Campbell 

• A new equilibrium is not established within the first episode 

• Equilibrium constantly shifts in favor of the Peaky Blinders, then the police and back 

• There are multiple narratives that have their equilibrium disrupted unlike the theory that suggests just one 

How is time and place represented in Peaky Blinders?

• Gen Z knows about life n the 1910s only through TV shows like Downton Abbey, Bridgerton and Peaky Blinders

• We recognize time periods through certain signifiers such as costume, props and iconography 

• We rely on hegemonic ideology to inform us 

How has historical context affected representations in peaky Blinders?

• Knight was deliberately trying to offer a darker and less upper-class view of British history between the world wars 

• Cold be seen as historical revisionism- an attempt to excavate alternative versions of a historical period by looking at the lives of the working class, women, LGBTQ and migrants 

• PB doesn’t downplay the squalor of the industrial city but also shows it’s a place of community 

• In 1919, Birmingham was seen as ‘the workshop of the world’ a hub for the British empire, manufacturing goods needed to maintain that empire  

What is Van Zoonen’s Gender and the Patriarchy theory?

• We live in a patriarchy

• Women are seen as housewives and mothers while men are breadwinners

• Women’s bodies are objectified while men are seen as spectacle

• Gender is constructed through conversation and hegemonic ideologies can only change how women are represented in the media changes

How does PB conform to Van Zoonen’s theory?

• Conforms- scene where Arthur comes home injured

  • Ada is the only one qualified as a medic having taken a class but Tommy pushes her out of the way, using a rag soaked in alcohol to help

  • Arthur and John mock her for saying she’s a trained nurse

  • Ada threatens to strangle Arthur sarcastically

How does Pb subvert Van Zoonen’s theory?

• Polly holds John at gunpoint before throwing him onto the ground

• She uses vulgar language to express her anger toward John for letting Finn play with a gun

• “Nealy blew Ada’s tits off”

• Holding the gun- phallic symbol

• Polly acts verbally and physically as if she was a more masculine figure, subverting gender roles

• Low angle shots are used to assert her dominance

• She does however sympathise with John having to take care of many children, showing her more maternal side

How does bell hook’s theory link to Peaky Blinders?

• bell hooks states there are levels of discrimination based on gender, class and race

• Symbolic annihilation is used to describe the absence or underrepresentation of certain groups within the media

• Women are seen as less dominant than men such as when Tommy disregards Polly’s opinion saying “Nothing that’s women’s business” despite the fact that women ran the company while the men went off to war

• Jeremiah the street preacher is only shown for a few seconds in the episode and the camera quickly pans away from him- idea that only white people are properly represented in Peaky Blinder- ethnic minorities not presented in positions of prominence

• Hegemonically representation of white people like grace are much more common in the episode

• All of the main characters are also middle class or higher such as the Shelby family who has gained wealth illegally, Grace and Campbell who are law enforcement and Churchill who is a prominent politician

What is Stuart Hall’s representations theory?

• Representation is the production of meaning through language 

• Representations in media are done through stereotypes which reduces people to a few simple characteristics or traits 

• Stereotypes are built on inequalities of power 

• We have to look at who is represented, who is not and why? 

How does Peaky Blinders show pluralistic representations?

• Tommy is presented as a ‘tough guy with a heart of gold’ at least for those around him and his family 

• Emotionally restrained but prone to outbursts of anger 

• Tommy wants to support and defend his community 

• Polly has a lot more background and nuance as the family matriarch 

• Grace is also interesting as she is presented as a fish out of water character but is revealed to be a ruthless double agent 

How is mise-en-scene used to construct class through the Peaky Blinders, Birmingham and law enforcment?

• The PBs wear expensive suits which has connotations of the upper class but this is contrasted as they wear flatcaps with razor blade in showing they come from a lower class area and are violent

• The costume announces their masculinity as being dominating, territorial and violent 

• Most of the men all wear the same kind of factory workers clothes 

• The Birmingham street are presented as dull and dreary

• Contrastingly scenes like Grace and Campbell in a museum are full of regal colours like purples and pinks which shows the divide between the upper and lower classes

How does mise-en-scene construct gender roles?

• Grace wearing a green dress in her first scene adheres to gender roles of women being objectified and existing for the male gaze

• Polly holding the gun while reprimanding John is a phallic symbol to show how Polly as a gangster can exhibit masculine traits of violence

• The scene of Tommy and Polly the Church as if Tommy were going to confess makes aunt Pol seem as if she is a matriarch/holy figure

  • “God and aunt Polly are listening”

How does Danny Whizz-bang show pluralistic representations?

Danny Whizz-Bang is extremely emotional and cares deeply for his family which subverts gender stereotypes, but this is brought on by PTSD from the terrors of war and aggression which conforms to male stereotypes (Band 5) 

How does Grace adhere or subvert gender stereotypes in her first scene?

• Wearing a typically feminine dress 

• Soft spoken 

• Pub owner calls her pretty, refers to her as ‘love’- patronizing 

• She is very persistent in seeking out the job 

• She is seen to be good at singing  

• Trying to prove herself through singing- like a siren 

• Bathed in high key light- angelic 

• Costume is also brighter 

• She is the Centre of the frame (binary opposition to all the dull colours) 

• Non-diegetic sound used along with the ash puts the audience in a dreamlike state 

• Hat hides her identity- she is hiding something 

How is Grace represented in terms of gender when she is revealed to be a double agent?

• Music is much more sinister and discordant 

• Low strings 

• She is still subservient to a man (Mr. Campbell) 

• She is providing essential information for a case 

• “What history”- challenging her superior officer 

• Still wearing a fancy dress 

• Still very soft and well spoken 

• Meet in an art gallery- typically a place for socializing for higher class women 

• Campbell disregards Grace’s comment about the IRA stealing the gun- essentially calls her emotional 

• Grace has done the ground research and in her mind it can’t be the Shelby family 

• Darker costume in the second clip 

• Grace is compared to her father- she can’t escape the shadow of the patriarchy 

Who are the Roma people?

• The Roma are an ethnic people who have migrated across Europe for a thousand years 

• Rich oral traditions 

• Emphasis on family 

• Portrayed as exotic and strange 

• The Roma have faced discrimination and persecution for centuries 

• The Roman people traditionally pursue occupations that allowed then to maintain a life on the perimeters of society 

• Have been enslaved which continued until the 19^th century in places like Romania 

• Nazis saw them as racially inferior 

• The Czech Republic and Slovakia sterilized 90,000 Roman women against their will between 1970-1990 

• They have been constantly othered within societies

How does Irish and Romani oppression play into Peaky Blinders?

• The Irish were massively despised and marginalized at the time so Romani and Irish heritage made bigotry and inequality extremely prevalent 

• The Inspectors calls then Fenians 

• This is a derogatory term used to refer to a member of a legendary band of warriors defending Ireland in the second and third centuries A.D and/or a member of a secret 19thcentury Irish and Irish-American organization dedicated to the overthrow of British rule in Ireland 

How was England scarred by WWI?

• Shellshock/PTSD was a big problem for men who had fought in the war

• Cities were overcrowded due to a lack of social reform

• A lot of competition for jobs that was blamed on immigrants

What happened between the Fenians and the British in 1916?

• In 1916 on Easter Sunday, there was an uprising in England- the Irish Catholics did not like the British having control over Ireland, they captured famous places in Dublin such as the post office and declared Ireland independent 

• Some of the IRA accepted that the six counties in Northern Ireland would go to Britain, some other did not- These are called the pro and anti-treaty paddies 

• Uprising was a failure, but prisoners were treated badly, creating an increasing anti-British sentiment 

 

How was England changing socially after WWI?

• Communism was on the rise in England due to the class system 

• After WW1, women got the vote 

• People had been driven to socialism and communism as they had fought in war and their conditions had not improved 

Who was Peaky Blinder’s co-produced between?

• Peaky Blinders is a is a co-production between Caryn Mandabach productions, Tiger Aspect (both independent) and Yorkshire Screen Fund (this is an example of synergy). ​ 

• The show was the first to receive a grant from Yorkshire Screen Content Fund, set up to promote production and representation of the county.​ 

Who was PB distributed by in the US?

PB was distributed by the Weinstein company in the USA but in the wake of the MeToo movement, the rights were sold to Netflix which exposed the show to a far wider global market 

When did Peaky Blinders air?

• 9PM

• This is primetime TV after watershed so it allows for more adult themes to be explored

• Higher viewer count at 9PM

How has the BBC tried to invest in the northern part of the country?

• The Midlands has been very neglected and has been a key area of investment for the BBC 

• They have been shifting their studios and other offices from London to Manchester and other northern cities since 2011 

• This means there is investment earmarked for productions like Peaky Blinders that are being shot and set in underrepresented parts of the UK while sill being a popular mainstream show 

What is the BBC’s remit for TV productions and how should it accomplish this?

• BBC programmes should exhibit the characteristics of high quality, original, challenging, innovative, engaging and should nurture UK talent 

• The BBC should deliver its remit through high quality programmes with wide appeal across all genres 

• These should be commissioned from a wide pool of suppliers demonstrating high production values and feature the best talent on and off screen 

• The BCC should regularly broadcast programmes of a large scale and ambition which encourages innovation 

• The BBC should be heavily involved in drama especially during peaktimes on BBC one 

• Original content: funded, produced, co produced or commissioned by a TV netwrok 

• Acquired content (Netflix)- Content being acquired from other sources 

What factors impacted schedulling for season 1 of Peaky Blinders

• 9pm watershed 

• Peak time/primetime TV is evening programming in order to maximize audiences 

• Must fulfil remit for balanced programming 

• Month: Autumn/Winter months- people normally staying in as it’s dark and cold outside and most people will want to stay in, people trying to save money by staying in 

• Friday- made it through 9-5 working week so now you can sit down and watch a show 

What demographics does PB apply to? (Age, gender, socioeconomic group, geodemographics, psychographics and ethnicity)

• Age: 18-60s as the show includes sex scenes, excessive violence and it’s historical and political context 

• Gender Mostly male due to excessive violence and vulgar language but some female viewers due to representations of strong women 

• Socio-economic groups- working class due to the setting of Birmingham, less economically well off than London for example 

• Geodemographics- First and foremost the UK 

• Psychographics- Mainstreamers who wants to feel comfortable watching and talking about the same show as everyone else, middle class and upper are more able to afford Netflix subscriptions 

• Ethnicity- Mostly White British as that’s most of the representation in the show 

What are some ways that PB fans have interacted with the show?

• Peaky Blinders Pinterest Campaign 

• BBC asked fans to submit artwork inspired by the show

• Peaky Blinders Gala Dinner October 10 2025 in Birmingham- charity event 

• Peaky Blinders Nights at the Black Country Living Museum 

• Charity auction event in Manchester

How did BBC directly interact with the city of Birmingham for season 6 of Peaky Blinders?

  Ahead of Series 6, the BBC commissioned a large-scale mural of the character Tommy Shelby in Digbeth, Birmingham, to reveal the broadcast date. Talon+1 

The campaign included a timed reveal over 9 days, social media amplification and global press coverage (26 articles in multiple countries). 

How does Peaky Blinders show synergy with other companies?

A brand partnership: Bushmills whiskey launched a “Prohibition Recipe” bottle themed around Peaky Blinders, using the show’s aesthetic and actor likeness rights to attract fans.

• This creates a synergy which brings PB fans and fans of the company’s whiskey together which promotes each one to a large audience

What is David Hesmondhalgh’s theory and how does it apply to the BBC and Netflix

• Sees media industries being dominated by a small number of conglomerates

• Companies seek to reduce risk and maximise profit 

• High production costs and ease of reproduction and sharing of media products means that media industries use several methods to reduce risk such as horizontal and vertical integration, reliance on starts and repetitive narrative 

• The BBC and Netflix are free from these constraint as they have a kind of subscription model (the TV license for the BBC) which means they can take more risks whereas other TV companies may have to cancel shows mid-season due to a lack of viewership which causes advertisers to pull out 

How does Peaky Blinders use its stars to market to the audience?

Star actors like Cillian Murphy, Tom Hardy and Adrien Brody as associated with high quality media products

What is Baudrillard’ post-modernism theory?

• The boundaries between the real world and the media have collapsed and it’s no longer possible to distinguish reality from simulation 

• In a postmodern age of simulacra we are immersed in a world of images which no longer refer to anything ‘real’ 

• Media images have come to seem more ‘real’ than the reality they supposedly represent (Hyperreality) 

• We accept hyperreality as reality because we are constantly exposed to it through the media 

What is Bricolage?

Takes objects that have been used before and reorganizes them within a new perspective like taking spare parts from old cars to make a new one 

How does Peaky Blinder’s utilise Bricolage?

• Peaky Blinders uses bricolage to establish the setting and genre: 

• Prop of guns 

• Costume of flat caps 

• Birmingham accents 

• Shoot out scenes 

• Themes of family loyalty 

• Peaky Blinders uses intertextuality from different genres like crime genres, western and period dramas to make a bricolage 

• This allows Peaky Blinders to tell a complex and intricate story not only about the Peaky Blinders as a gang, but also social conflict and reform in England, political and police corruption which all ties into the story of Thomas Shelby

What are some examples of Post modernism in Peaky Blinders where fiction may be made synonymous with reality?

• The Peaky Blinders were a street gang based in Birmingham from 1880s until 1910s- changed in the show 

• They engaged in robbery, violence, racketering, illegal bookmaking and so on- kept the same in the show 

• They wore signature outfits like long lapelled overcoats, silk scarves, bell bottom trousers and flat caps- kept the same in the show 

• The most powerful member was a man known as Kevin Mooney and Billy Kimber was also a former Peaky blinder- changed in the show 

• The PBs were real but the show is set in 1919 whereas they stopped operating in the 1910s in real life 

• Thomas Shelby is not a real person 

• Billy Kimber really was the head of the Birmingham boys

• The real peaky Blinders did operate in Birmingham 

• This creates a hyperreality for the audience, as they cannot distinguish what is real and what is not