The background of the TV series is that the British aristocracy begins to be challenged by the class of politicians and stockbrokers represented by Rex (the 'Marcher' House in London was converted into flats), the erosion of property rights by the state machine in the name of war (the Brideshead estate's) The lower house was partially requisitioned during the war), and the general public, who have just appeared on the political stage, although their voices are rather vague in this play, are also revealed in the general strike scene-they are about to become a deliberate target in the subsequent British history. A crowd pleaser.
The young men of the aristocracy left politics unwillingly - but how ludicrous the reaction, intentional or unintentional - Boy Mulcaster scuffled harmlessly with the working class of the East End, Cordelia enthusiastically took part in the poisonous Spanish Civil War - With her devout beliefs, she is naturally on the side of Catholicism and fascism... When they return to the manor again, will they feel more irrelevant and used?
Lifestyle level? Dinner parties, cooks and valet, have become increasingly rustic and comical like fox hunts, in an era of grand art deco with the Ritz Hotel, Coco Chanel, and Elisabeth II cruise ship. The stylish Charles Ryder served Cordelia at the Ritz, a small triumph of bourgeois civilization—yes, the son of aristocrat had never been to a restaurant, and had nothing to do with this new and hygienic modern civilization.
But at the end of the day, the protagonist, Charles Ryder, can't embrace modernity without grit, despite being an atheist and fashionable. If he was initially drawn to the bubbly things inherent in the Sebastian class - Anthony Blanche said he placed too much emphasis on the little charms of traditional civilization - then in the middle-aged Ryder's eyes, the so-called modernity Victory is like the vulgar ice goose on a cruise ship's pre-dinner drink, which you can see melting when it's being praised. So all kinds of prodigals - whether Ryder who dabble in the wasteland of modernity, or Sebastian who lingers in the Near East/gay Eden, or the old marquis who indulges in the age of belle epoche - all end up in the same way as they convert to tradition.
But Catholicism still has its perseverance, and it doesn't allow you to be so chaotic at the beginning and end, and tolerate some things and others. What it tolerates is those who exchange the happiness of the redemption of the soul for a lifetime. People who can't let go of their traditional body and can't be superstitious in religion. So Ryder is still facing a total wasteland.
This ITV TV series was shown in 1981, which fits the spirit of the times. At that time, the bourgeoisie won an overall victory in the one-on-one battle with the trade unions, and was preparing to enjoy the material prosperity of the Thatcher era, while suffering from nowhere. Looking for the right cultural paradigm, it is natural to once again focus on the golden period between the two wars. However, the spirit of traditional aristocracy is nothing more than land and religion, that is, the state counts on it to fulfill its feudal obligations, and the church relies on its protection. The current situation of the 20th century has collapsed the exchange of these two interests, even in the absence of Auschwitz and Revolutionary old England. Therefore, this series can only be used for the younger generation of Conservative housewives to recall the afterglow of the aristocratic era of the 1920s.
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