Community, Seriality, and the State of the Nation - British and Irish Television Series in the 21st Century

The Shelby family bears considerable resemblance to Shuster’s delineation of the family “without any pretense [sic!] of ideality”. The family under attack – often by internal forces – is a major theme of numerous contemporary television series, among them shows that Peaky Blinders is much more closely related to than Downton Abbey : The Sopranos , Ray Donovan (2013-),1 or The Americans (2013-).2 Precisely because it is constantly on the brink of falling apart, however, the family proves to be the last remaining benchmark in a world void of guidance. The Shelby family appears permanently bound to disintegrate. Yet, its instability does not constitute a symptom of the culturally pessimistic diagnosis which identifies modernity as an ailment that has eradicated tradition and thereby induced a loss of community. Quite the opposite, the Shelby family’s unsteadiness testifies to the lasting significance of the community of the family, regardless of its particular constitution. Peaky Blinders thus paints a nuanced picture of the status quo of community under the impact of modernity. This becomes evident when considering what exactly engenders the Shelby family’s disintegration.

At first glance, it appears plausible to assume that tendencies towards individualisation, as pursued by the main characters, should exert a disruptive effect on the cohesive ties between family members. Underlying this inference is, however, the conservative misconception of a pristine and hence intact family structure assaulted by the processes of modern emancipation which Delanty has identified as “a narrow evolutionary view of modernity replacing tradition and with it community”. “This view”, Delanty argues, “fail[s] to appreciate how tradition is produced by modernity, and that much of our view of tradition is a product of modernity” (34). The Shelby family does not comply with the demands of tradition from the outset. Decisions are made according to democratically held family votes. In lieu of a patriarch, Thomas, the second-born son, operates as the head of the family and business, or rather, the family business. His closest ally and harshest critic is his aunt, self-determined and outspoken matriarchal company treasurer Polly (Helen McCrory), on whose views and demeanour the First World War has left an imprint as formative as Thomas’, Arthur’s, and John’s war experiences. Not only does Polly “run[] the business of the heart in this family” (S1/E6, 00:29), she repeatedly reminds the male Shelbys that their “whole bloody enterprise was women’s business while you boys were away at war” (S1/E1, 00:17). Her status as equal to, or, rather, dominating the family’s men finds expression in her work clothing, black, white, and pinstriped tailor-made woman’s suits, often accompanied by collars or scarves that resemble ties in series one, and short hair, ties, and a weapon holster in series four.

The tension between old and new negotiated in Peaky Blinders manifests itself most visibly in the conflict between male dominance and female empowerment. Polly’s exemplification of the modern, emancipated woman clashes drastically with Tommy’s leadership of the family and business. Countering Thomas’ somewhat opportunistic declaration that “[t]his company is a modern enterprise and believes in equal rights for women” (S2/E1, 00:23), Polly clarifies that “when it comes to it, you don’t listen to a word we say” (00:28). Her struggle is dramatised in the shift from series one’s preoccupation with male authority and violence, featuring a soundtrack comprised of male artists such as Nick Cave, to series two’s focus on female empowerment, accompanied by a score made up most notably of PJ (for Polly Jean) Harvey tracks. This shift is anticipated in the last episode of the first series when the Shelby sister Ada (Sophie Rundle), “wearing black in preparation”, ends a foreseeably bloody confrontation between the Peaky Blinders and a rivalling gang by intruding their Western-esque standoff, pushing her way through the belligerent men to occupy the “no man’s land” with her baby in a pushchair (00:38). It is then unequivocally established by the first scene of series two in 1921’s Birmingham, when two female figures dressed in mourning, later revealed to be IRA-fighters, blow up the Garrison pub by means of explosives deposited in prams (00:01-2). Series three witnesses the Shelby women joining a city-wide strike of the female factory workers, fomented by the union convenor Jessie Eden, and, finally, a powerful shot of these women walking united into battle towards the camera previously reserved for similar male formations (see fig. 1). This staging of women’s rights and female revolt with historical reference to Britain’s suffragette movement of the late 19 thand early 20 thcenturies once again situates Peaky Blinders at a distinctively modern point in time.

Fig. 1a (on the left): the Peaky Blinders ‘band of brothers’ (from left to right: Curly, John, Thomas, unknown, Arthur, Jeremiah) going into battle against Billy Kimber’s army, accompanied by a rock piece from the Peaky Blinders score produced by Mearl (see Shine 50) (S1/E6, 00:35).

Fig. 1b (on the right): the Shelby women (from left to right: Linda, Esme, Lizzie, Polly), accompanied by PJ Harvey’s “Meet Ze Monsta” (S2/E4, 00:13).

Other family members, such as Ada, who leaves Birmingham and describes herself as “not a Shelby anymore” in series two3 (E1, 00:04), or Arthur, who seeks redemption in religion guided by his wife Linda, similarly insist on their personal autonomy liberated from obligations to the family. How, then, does the modern individual’s striving for self-fulfilment affect community, that is, the family, in Peaky Blinders ? In order to answer this question, I will further examine the factors responsible for the disintegration of the Shelby family. In fact, the family members’ tendencies towards individualisation do not so much jeopardise the family per se as the conception of family maintained by Thomas Shelby.

“For me, family is my strength” (S3/E1, 00:23). Thus Thomas summarises the immeasurable value family assumes for him. Accordingly, the family serves as a rationale implied in every decision made by Tommy, who then acts for ‘the good of the family’. This is a characteristic of ‘new television’s’ preoccupation with the family, which “is marshaled as a reason for action, as in: ‘I did it for (my) family’” (Shuster 125, emphasis in original). As to what precisely is best for them, however, the family members tend to disagree with Thomas. His absolutist control over and manipulations of family members cause considerable ruptures in the fabric of their community. In series one alone, he decides over the fates of his sister Ada and her husband, the communist agitator Freddie Thorne, and his brother John, whom he marries off to Esme (Aimée-Ffion Edwards), offspring of the then-rivalling Lee family. “Tommy and his parliament of one” (S1/E2, 00:28) eventually alienates Ada from the family and earns resentment not only from John, whose protest “[y]ou have no bloody right, Tommy” (S1/E4, 00:48) remains unnoticed.4 “Everyone in my family hates me”, Tommy observes in series one (E5, 00:03). “What family?”, Esme pointedly inquires at the low point of series two, when Tommy’s leadership has led to the arrest of Arthur and Polly’s son Michael (Finn Cole) and the remaining family members question Tommy’s strategy and motives (E5, 00:18).