Peaky Blinders

When did series 1 come out?

2013

What companies produced it?

Caryn Mandabach Productions, Tiger Aspect Productions, Screen Yorkshire and BBC

Notable awards won

Best Drama Series (2018)

Also nominated for Best Production Design (2014/15)

Who was John Logie Baird?

"Father of Television"

Invented first working TV system in 1928

Who was Lord Reith?

He co-founded the BBC and created the tradition of PSBs

Impact of WW2 on TV?

TV stopped since it was too expensive

When reopened it renewed social attitudes and competed with radio

Timeline of the BBC

1930 - first TV play "Man with a flower in his mouth"

1936 - world first regularly scheduled TV service

1937 - first outside TV broadcast (coronation)

1960 - BBCs first TV centre

1967 - BBC2 = first colour in Europe

BBC licence fee cost

£174.50

- provides programmes and services across TV, radio and online

How is the BBC different from other broadcasters?

Uses TV licence and follows royal charter and remit

Features and aims of Tiger Aspect

"One of the UKs most successful and prolific TV production companies"

"entertain, provoke and inspire"

"iconic television"

Why did the co-production between BBC and Tiger Aspect work so well?

Values and remit align

Common goal of representing diverse/minority social groups

Both British and well established

Yearly earnings of men vs women in the 1920s

men = 150

women = 75

Political and social context of UK in 1920s

Large divide between the wealthy vs poor

High unemployment and strikes

Poor working conditions

Attitudes towards women in the 1920s

Expected to be in an domestic sphere

Victims/objects

Entertainment in the 1920s

Public drinking

Showbiz stars

Peformance

Music and literature

Enigmas created?

What is Tommy's secret plan?

Who is the lady in green?

Will Inspector Campbell catch the Peaky Blinders?

Will Tommy's horseracing plan work?

What kind of narrative does PB have?

Flexi-narrative = mix of linear + non-linear and series + serial

What linear aspects are in PB?

Shelby business introduction

Robbery, Campbell, Police, Grace

Grace is a "spy", Tommy keeps the guns

What non-linear aspects are in PB?

Robbery flashback

Tommy's opium nightmare (mines)

Danny's PTSD (not shown but implied)

Structuralism applied

Illusion vs reality/truth

Tommy vs Campbell

Wealth vs Poverty

Order vs Chaos

Arthur vs Tommy

Past vs Present

Todorovs Narratology theory applied

Equilibrium = Tommy is a great success and the Shelby day to day business is shown

Disruption = Mistaken theft of guns, Campbell arrives and Grace arrives, looking for job as a barmaid

Recognition = Polly speaks to Tommy, trying to diffuse situation, Arthur and Tommy discuss it too, Arthur gets tortured by the police

Resolution = Tommy has a plan to move the guns and Danny is "shot"

New Equilibrium = Tommy reveals his master plan (fixing horseracing & keeping guns), Danny relocated to London, Grace revealed as a spy

What is a series?

Separate episodes of self-contained stories

What is a serial?

An ongoing story told over multiple episodes

(most common)

Series elements

Italian gang rivalry

Danny's fake death punishment

Serial elements

Red powder superstition and "the Chinese"

Graces role within the gang territory and as a police officer

-> both link to Tommy

What is a restricted narrative?

Characters and audience know the same things

What is an unrestricted narrative?

Audiences knows more than the characters

Is PB a restricted/unrestricted narrative?

Both - depends on the character and their character arc

This is conventional for TV dramas

From whose perspective is PB told?

Multi-protagonist

Tommy <-> Campbell <-> Grace and Polly

Tommy's character arc

-runs gambling business

-deals with stolen guns

-opium nightmare

-Danny's crime

-master plan to keep guns

Arthurs character arc

-PB leader

-clashes with Tommy

-questioned and beaten by police

-taken care of by Polly and Ada

-family meeting

Polly's character arc

-took over business in the war - matriarch

-discovers guns in family meeting

-talks to Tommy in Church

-thinks Tommy has done the right thing

Campbell's character arc

-sent to investigate robbery by Churchill

-does a sermon to the police

-tortures Arthur

-meets with Churchill

-meets with Grace

Grace's character arc

-arrives and works at pub

-sings to Harry and people in the pub

-meets Tommy, he asks if she is a wh*re

-prolonged eye contact between Tommy and herself

-meets Campbell and it is revealed that she is a spy

Character arc of Freddie

-he is a communist

-strikes

-relationship with Ada

-uses her for information

Tommy's future development

-becomes future PB leader -> makes decisions, plan to inflate value of horse, secret plan with guns

-relationship with Grace - romantic?

-gain an insight to his trauma/vulnerability

ambition vs vulnerability

Arthurs future development

-becomes more unstable -> resentful of Tommy

-unstable mentally, physically and emotionally

-may have a tragic outcome

Examples of causality

Guns stolen -> Campbell sent to investigate

Danny stabs butcher -> Tommy forced to "kill" him

Tommy uses red powder on horse -> its value inflates, bets rush in

Genres of PB

Period drama, crime and gangster

(with some western features)

Conventions of crime/gangster dramas?

violence

weapons

money

family

rivals

1920s

sex

crime

male gangster = strong silent type

narrative relies on the rise & fall of power (Arthur)

Neale's Genre theory applied

Hybrid - crime, gangster, period drama

Generic conventions - recognisable characters, locations and plots (Tommy's struggle to gain and keep power and his family's struggle for it)

Difference - historical 1920s Birmingham setting, Tommy occasionally is positions of weakness due to war trauma and superstitions

Genre contexts

Historical - Tommy's war trauma - Drives violence, ambition, instability

Social - Polly vs men - Power tension within family

Cultural - Factory smoke, horses vs cars - old vs new world visual binary

Institutional - BBC co-produced with Netflix later - global appeal and British appeal

Similarities of PB with other British Gangster films?

Grittiness, hard edged working class representation

More dark, moody, dry wit (sarcasm, Tommy & Polly)

Anti-hero

Evidence of Western genre

Tommy riding on horse - cowboy archetype

-> sense of power and hierarchy

Townspeople hide from him in fear

Tommy = strong willed, speaks very little, ready for action

Element of mystery with Tommy

Tommy's role as a war hero has been romanticised since he is haunted by his war service

Genre expectations vs reality

1920s swagger/wealth -> centred around the working class signs of struggle

Reality of WW1 action -> Tommy and co suffering with PTSD and trauma (fractured psyche)

Females being weak -> Polly being a matriarch and carry PBs in the war, gaining more respect

Immoral villains -> Tommy = war hero & anti-hero, redeemable traits

Soundtrack is slow/bleak -> load and brash, alternative music, modern, contemporary adds energy and drama

Birmingham is bleak -> culturally relevant - hub of energy, focused in on growth - heart of working class

Costumes/persona = classy -> working class costumes - flat caps with razor blades (comparison to Campbells beaver hat)

Protagonist relies on violence for power -> Tommy uses his brains & strategy, intelligence (business oriented)

What does Steven Knight have to say about the Western genre?

"I like the way that Westerns explore a sort of corrupt chivalry and tell the stories of the outlaw" - operating own rough moral code with a corrupt society

"buttoned-down and unemotional" - Tommy's coldness

"a lot of smoke and flames and fire and it's like hell" - psychological landscape of what characters can't say

How does Knight describe the narratives in PB?

"the recollections of someone who experienced something as a child"

- personal memories - heightens tone to add drama

- more exaggerated

- memory, not realism, drives the drama

What does Knight say about the audiences view on the characters?

Someone in the series says "They're bad people, but they're our bad people. They do bad things for us"

- moral paradox - audiences drawn to flawed heroes

- defines PB -> audiences empathise and relate -> loyalty, vengence and family bonds

What does Knight say is the best thing about the show?

"The best thing is it's not because it's been marketed to death, it's not because millions of dollars have been spent. It's been discovered."

- audiences want authenticity and connect to the world of gang warfare

- artistic integrity is maintained

Info on the real PBs

- first mentioned in 1890 and known for violent crimes

- Irish policeman (Rafter) put them down

- fought with everyday items

- picked on the innocent, not to be respected

- gang was known nationally - London publication

- name not to do with razors sewn into the flat caps but rather the "peaky" of a flat cap

- Thomas Gilbert = Thomas Shelby?

How similar is the show to the real PBs?

- show does employ some historical contextual factors -> flat caps, violence, Campbell = Rafter

- but some inaccuracies with the formation/activities of the PBs gang -> show PBs are respected, use guns and follow hat myth

First scene analysis

Impression of Chinese culture and danger - red lanterns

Low angle of horse riding through streets with man with flat cap

Urban, gritty working class setting - smoke, dirty

People hide and cower (reminiscent of Western genre)

Blue and grey colour palette = masculine

Slow motion of girl, blowing red powder (contrast) into horse's face - mystery and magic

Rider asserts dominance, telling onlookers to bet on this horse

'Red Right Hand' - tracking shot, "he's a God" - establishes main character

Tommy places coin in beggars tin - good traits

Non - diegetic = "Morning Mr Shelby" - respected

What does the first scene establish?

The location and historical setting

Tommy's personality and attitudes

Genre - classic gangster crime drama conventions

Narrative strand of horse racing and superstition

Historical ideologies

Narrative causality (Todorov) - the "effect" of the spell is seen later

Analysis of the Family Meeting scene

Finn peeks through door - secrecy, importance

Close ups = intimacy, tension, close nature/panic, fear

Key quote = "This whole bloody enterprise was women's business while you boys were away at war - what's changed?" "We came back"

Genre = conforms (loyalty, costume etc)

Secret setting and dark lighting = illegal activity

Positioning -> Polly & Ada = sat down = inferior, papers snatched from Ada

Todorov -> Disruption = Campbells arrival

Analysis of Church scene

Close ups of Tommy when confessing = emotion/guilt

Lack of music at beginning = suspense/tension

Key quotes = "God and Aunt Polly are listening", "You have your mother's common sense but your father's devilment - Let your mother win"

Genre = conforms (Guns, confession, guilt)

Polly = wearing black veil (perhaps separating religious self from illegal self), also hits Tommy = power

Tommy = lack of any emotion but close up shots suggest his calmness is fading

Lighting = they're in darkness with light behind them -> reflects their inappropriate discussion

Enigma - will Tommy do what Polly demands?

Analysis of the Romance scene

Close ups = intimacy

Non diegetic rock music = rebellion

Genre = shows misogyny & sex ("I'm not doing it here again") , danger/conflict, exploitation

Setting = industrial, fire vs water (Freddie vs Ada)

Dark lighting = illicit affair

Analysis of Newcomer scene

Establishing shot conveys idea that she is a small women about to enter the world of chaos in Birmingham

Non diegetic music - classical, string-like (femininity/fragility)

Diegetic - Grace sings (feminine ,grounding)

Genre conventions: women are objects for sex "You're too pretty, they'd have you up against the wall"

Costume - bright green (renewal/refreshment) stands out against dull industrial setting, black hat - conceals her identity, foreshadows her secret spy status

Narrative - "disruption to order" - Grace's arrival creates tension, unconventional "Are you mad?"

Enigma - who is this woman? why has she come here?

Genre conventions associated with gangster, crime drama in PB

Characters - Anti-hero (Tommy), Antagonist (Campbell), Sidekick (Arthur)

Props - flat caps, guns, cigars, knives -> reflect masculinity, crime, violence, toughness, disregard for consequences

Settings - Birmingham (hardwork/resilience/vibrancy), Garrison pub, deprived streets

Costume - "gang uniforms" for PB, Grace = modest, Polly = more rough/masc, Ada = sexualised

Dialogue - Tommy = man of very little words (enigma), Campbell = serious/assertive

Camerawork - low angle of Polly = empowered, tracking shots, close ups capture tension

Editing - Pace = tense atmosphere (fam meeting), music increases tempo, Church scene = slower, more measured

Narrative - Criminal family threatened (by the law, rival gangs and from within)

What does RESISTS stand for?

Recurring situations

Elements of narrative

Style

Iconography

Settings

Themes

Stock Characters

What parts of Recurring Situations applies to PB?

Crime, murder, fights, guns, interrogation, questioning, false accusations, illegal activity, sexual tension

What parts of Elements of Narrative applies to PB?

Crime as disruption, investigative narrative, positioning with protagonist, binary oppositions, flashbacks

What parts of Style applies to PB?

Grittiness, clear mise-en-scene, handheld camera, tracking shots, music, verisimilitude, lowkey lighting, hard focus

What parts of Iconography applies to PB?

Police, gangs/criminals, guns, blood, uniforms

What parts of Setting applies to PB?

Urban, night, police stations, offices, back alleys, abandoned buildings, secret rooms

What parts of Themes applies to PB?

Quest for justice, morality, guilt, sacrifice, mortality, mental health, playing God, conscience

What parts of Stock Characters applies to PB?

Antisocial, maverick cop, anti-hero, corrupt authorities, suspects, hierarchy of heroes and villains, crime lords, victims, matriarch

What are some basic features of a postmodern media product?

Irony, parody/homage, bricolage, intertextuality, fragmented narrative, self-reflexivity

Basic overview of Baudrillard's Postmodernism

The difference between reality (the truth) and fiction (artificial realities)

The media used to portray reality but now live in a world of artificial realities

Reality -> heightened reality -> simulcra (made to look like reality)

People can't tell the difference (hyperreality)

PBs use of Homage

Homage to Western film genre - Cowboy archetype, lone mysterious man, horse = typical transport, citizens = fearful/hide

Homage to gangster, mob family through use of alternative music

PBs use of Bricolage

Hybrid of western, gangster, period and crime drama

Diverse gritty soundtrack to add energy

- "Red Right Hand" - punk/rock genre, sinister theme (intertextuality/bricolage)

- Soundtrack from "Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" - plays right before the credits, it is a hyperreal text/simulacra (built on truth) - also homage to Western genre

PBs use of Fragmented Narrative

Non - linear = builds complex narrative

Flashbacks = Tommy's Opium Nightmare

Cross-cutting = Tommy, Campbell, Grace, Arthur

PBs use of Anti-realism

Simulacra - Birmingham in 1919 -> replaces reality with it's new representations -> leads to hyperreality confusion

Is PB self-reflexive?

No but Knight is highly self aware about constructing a new version of reality

How is PB an artificial reality?

Flat caps with sewn in razors = myth

The PBs = more intimidating/aggressive, uniform more distinct, pubs more glamourous, crimes more extreme than the real PBs

- Hyperreality

Analyse Tommy Shelby

Aesthetic - always dressed impeccably, tailored suit, waistcoat, peaked cap, calm, clean-cut, handsome, sunken cheeks = evokes respect & fear

Character - intelligent, strategic, emotionally restrained, haunted from WW1 (PTSD), quiet authority, thinker/planner

Stereotypes:

Reinforce - masculine "gangster boss", powerful, stoic

Subverts - vulnerability and trauma - humanises him

Analyse Arthur Shelby

Aesthetic - dressed in full suit, clean hairstyle, rougher look, aggrivated/annoyed

Character - authoritative (age and position in family), frequently hostile/unstable, load/extroverted

Stereotypes:

Reinforce - aggressive, unpredictable, degrades women

Subverts - power imbalance with Tommy, vulnerable (turns to alcohol), seeks validation

Analyse Ada Shelby

Aesthetic - feminine costumes, pearl necklaces, fur coats, somewhat sexualised

Character - outspoken, naive, passionate, can be submissive, rebellious (Freddie)

Stereotypes:

Reinforce - femininity, relationship with Freddie

Subverts - rebellious and present in family meetings, costume subverts her class, empowered but still reliant on men

Analyse Freddie Thorne

Aesthetic - working class attire (loose fitting ,rugid), slender, intimidating figure, wears Fedora (working class, differ from PBs/outcast)

Character - communist - wants liberation for working class, exploits Ada through romance, fighter (war veteran)

Stereotypes

Reinforce - men as leaders

Subverts - social class/hierarchy

Analyse Polly Gray

Aesthetic - modestly dressed, dark colours, messy hair, practical yet glamourous costume

Character - stern but matriarchal, wise, emotionally intelligent, resentful (loss of power), advisor to Tommy

Stereotypes

Reinforce - motherly, domestic

Subverts - dominant, violent

Analyse DI Campbell

Aesthetic - formal and professional attire (position of power), beaver bowler hat, moustache (typical 1920s detective), upright posture (representing the law)

Character - stern, determined, dominant, strict, a bully/corrupt police officer, anti-hero

Stereotypes:

Reinforce - detective stereotype - efficient and reputable status (hired by govt.)

Subverts - morality - brutal corruption

Analyse Grace Burgess

Aesthetic - feminine and upper - middle class costume, modest, bold colours, put together, conventionally attractive "too pretty"

Character - confident, slight assertiveness, intelligent, kind-hearted, elegant, perhaps vengeful (father's death), duplicitous

Stereotypes:

Reinforce - feminine appearance, subservient to men, calms them with "siren" song

Subverts - secret role of power, re-presentation of women in police

How can you describe the stereotypes?

complex, nuanced, dynamic - > uses and challenges gender and class stereotypes

Why are the representations constructed how they are?

engages moderns audiences -> parallels to modern society with gender roles and class inequality

Representations of Post WW1 Britain

- returning soldiers suffer trauma and unemployment

- Britain shown as broken, unstable and divided after war

- fear of communism and class rebellion reflects political tension

- highlights Britain's political instability after WW1

Representations of Police

- Campbell's brutality mirrors that of the gangs

- religion and righteousness used to justify oppression and brutality

- shown as corrupt, violent, morally ambiguous

- violence and corruption blur line between law and crime

- subverts traditional law and order hero stereotypes

Representations of Gambling (Horse as guise)

- reflects need for control and chance

- represents moral grey areas of working class life

- symbol of risk and power for those trying to survive

- the Shelby's gambling reflects ambition and survival in poverty

Representations of Working Class

- challenges stereotypes of ignorance/inferiority

- depicted as proud, loyal and hard working

- faces poverty but also shows strength and ambition

- offers dignity and authenticity to underrepresented social groups

- shows the working class as ambitious and intelligent, not helpless

Representations of Winston Churchill

- represents ruling elite and has authority

- detached from ordinary people - class divide and elitism

- orders Campbell to "clean up" the streets of Birmingham -> signifies control

Representations of Birmingham (Small Heath)

- industrial, smoky and chaotic but full of life

- offers alternative to glamourous upper class period dramas

- captures both hardship and ambition of 1919 urban Britain

- represents the energy and pride of Midlands

Representations of Gangsters

- subverts traditional gangster stereotypes

- PBs are intelligent, stylish and ruthless anti-heroes

- represents working class empowerment through crime and strategy

- focuses on loyalty, ambition and moral conflict

Representations of Soldiers

- returning men scarred by war (PTSD, emotional numbness)

- violence shown as a product of trauma, not pure evil

- illustrates lost generation struggling to reintegrate

- reflects modern understanding of mental health and masculinity

- portrays trauma and mental scars of war through character behaviour

4 key representations of masculinity

Masculinity as performance and control (Tommy):

- power -> violence, costume, dominant image = identity

- Tommy Shelby on horse at the start - suit, razor cap, close ups on horseback

Fragility behind power (Arthur):

- male rivalry and aggression -> exposes Arthur's insecurity

- masculinity = unstable and always tested

Patriarchy and entitlement (Campbell)

- depends on control over women

- rejections threatens masculine identity

Post WW1 masculinity and trauma:

- war reshapes male identity

- strength masks psychological damage/emotional repression

4 key representations of women

Female authority and matriarchy (Polly):

- Polly leads with intellect and control (Church scene)

- subverts male dominant hierarchies

Feminist assertion and social change:

- post WW1 shifts allow women to claim competence and leadership once reserved for men (family meeting)

- "sometimes the women have to take over"

Femininity as performance (Grace):

- Grace weaponises gender expectations

- femininity becomes a tool for power (siren song)

Challenges the male gaze and sexual equity (Grace/Ada/Tommy)

- depicts both genders as objects of attraction and agency

- the show equalises desire

Steven Knight's intentions of representing gender (summary)

- men/PBs are running the gambling business - no longer Polly and Ada

- Tension between both genders, creating a divide

- Knight wants to show appreciation/respect to women through the character of Polly (matriarch, empowered, intellectual)

- overall Knight purposefully characterises gender in a neutral and progressive manner - destabilises the hierarchy of power

(new forms of masculinity and femininity)

Apply bell hooks intersectional feminism to PB (8)

Evidence of patriarchal oppression and the ideology of domination in PB

Historical and political context - women stripped of their power after WW1 and expected to revert to unequal gender roles

Marginalisation of women - "You're too pretty" (Grace), unfair focus on a woman's appearance, rather than her inner character, women revolve around their counter parts (even Polly)

Masculine environments where women are other/objectified - pub, office, police station, "Are you a *****?" (Tommy) - women only there for sexual acts, Freddie uses Ada, Ada's contributions = ignored in family meetings

Male characters -> females/other males - Arthur -> women in cinema (asks for sexual gratification and asserts dominance) Freddie -> Tommy (respect "Sergeant", Tommy not feel same)

Tommy = hypermasculine - patronising tone "think about it" (explaining plan scene)

Polly's dominance - gun scene with John "my boot's harder", low angle and church scene "Speak, God and Aunt Polly are listening" "Let your mother win" smacks him

Female compliance with male dominance - Grace and Ada

Grace both supports and subverts - powerful, challenges gender norms but still passive

According to Van Zoonen what is femininity about?

care, nurturance and compassion

According to Van Zoonen what is masculinity about?

efficiency, rationality and individuality

Examples of the women being caring, nurturing and compassionate

Domestic settings

Ada nurtures Arthur and his wounds

Polly looks after Finn by reprimanding John with gun

Polly supports Tommy (Church)

Grace sings to the men

All women are dedicated to family

Examples of the men being efficient, rational and individual

Red power horse scam

Tommy's master plan

Tommy as leader

Danny's fake death

Tommy works alone

Freddie as communist

Campbells efficient clean up

What is liberal feminism?

Equality within existing systems

- media reinforces gender stereotypes

- focuses on gaining equal rights and opportunities

- encourages women to enter media jobs and be leaders

- promotes non-sexist language and fairer portrayals

- BUT creates unrealistic "super woman" image where women do it all