Welcome back to the column where you provide the content. Luke Slattery took aim at the controversial Netflix “period drama” Bridgerton, and concluded: “The costumes are gorgeous, the backdrops magisterial — but Bridgerton offers a weak-headed, saccharine, shallow and partial vision of Regency society. Central to this vision is the notion of a multicultural aristocracy in which the exploited races become not only the beneficiaries of imperial exploitation but members of the exploitative class: the ruling elite. Imagine a World War II film in which a cast of Orthodox Jews plays Hitler’s henchmen. It’s that degree of nuts.” A bridge too far, said Matthew:
“I thought Downton Abbey was the crappiest period drama, aka British soap opera in fancy dress I had ever seen and then Bridgerton came along to set a new low. I like the idea of diverse casting and breaking norms to shake things up but the show is not entertaining. The storyline is tortuously slow, predictable and corny from a cast of mostly D-grade, gormless and bland actors you’ve never seen before. Watching grass grow will provide you more excitement.”
Patricia pondered:
“Netflix. Harmless fluff, romantic twaddle for the uninformed masses, or race and gender ideology-driven propaganda? ‘Game of Thrones’ might be dismissed as pure fantasy, but ‘The Crown’ reeks of anti-monarchist propaganda and this recent Bridgerton appears nothing more than a Mills and Boon level attempt to rewrite Jane Austen into an Equity and Diversity casting extravaganza.
“Commenters cite the ‘superb’ attention to costuming detail; females all very dutifully Regency but the male protagonist appears in scene after scene in some fantasy cravatless, highly-coloured outfit, whereas all the other males are dutifully cravated and sober looking. Trailer shows him as pretty rude and obnoxious across the dinner table as well. Pity the young girls of today if this is their idea of a romantic interest.”
Peter approved:
“I loved it in the most superficial ways. I am not sorry. No one is forced to watch it. If you find it too silly, maybe don’t watch it.”
Amanda agreed:
“No need for historical correctness. In the world of drama there are multiple truths. This series is a fantasy. Amidst all the gloom of the real world, I really enjoyed it’s playfulness and whimsy. If there is a serious point, it’s the liberation I felt watching wonderful black actors playing characters from society’s upper echelons — instead of its victims.”
Geoff gaped:
“We tried really hard to watch this, but only lasted 20 minutes. Decided instead to watch the dog sleeping on the couch with his mouth open.”
Rachael was rapt:
“It was a fantastic show. Well done Shonaland. I watched it for the entertainment. I wasn’t looking for a history lesson.”
Silver lining for Jon:
“Well, on the positive side, given that all the whites who were in charge were actually black, this means that white privilege no longer exists. A triumph.”
Bad said BarryJC:
“Virtue-signalling and cancel culture jamming non-history down our throats. Would love to know the numbers viewing and their demographic, but have lost interest already.”
Bill stepped in:
“More than 65 million! Apparently they enjoyed it!”
Prophet of Boom’s take:
“At that time in the UK there were very few black people. I have nothing against black people and lived in PNG for a while. I cannot imagine a TV series set in PNG where we had many of the nationals replaced by white people. Nobody would watch it. I would not, as I would be wanting to see the locals there. Shows need to have some connection with reality, this one does not.”
Lance Boyle’s bit:
“Historical events prior to 1900 are now being altered and almost every prominent person of that era is being cancelled as they are judged by standards of the 21st century. So it should be of little surprise that Netflix would depict what they consider to be by some a more inclusive and socially palatable version of recent history.”
James asked:
“Is Mr Slattery aware Bridgerton is produced by Shonda Rhimes … a black woman? Seems she might have more of a handle on race and gender issues than he gives her credit for.”
Tut-tut, said Teresa:
“Condemning the playfulness of this ribald romp of a series is itself cancel culture. Nothing about it should be taken seriously. They take badly written and repetitive novels (which don’t play with racial issues at all), and give them something interesting, so it is not just video’d Mills and Boon. It’s not even pretending to be counter-factual, lavish rooms and costumes aside (and no Luke, those brightly coloured gowns by the grovelling family are not even trying for historical accuracy, so I think you are miscuing there too).”
Jill was bereft:
“Nooo …! I was going to watch Brigerton. Having been reared on Georgette Heyer Regency romances, I was expecting more of the same. Now my future viewing is ruined. What drivel trying to rewrite historical romance!”
Eve evinced:
“I believe that anyone whose DNA test reveals Portuguese ancestry, however slight, can claim to have an African ethnicity link, and to be ‘black’ like Queen Charlotte.”
Bryan blustered:
“Oh my goodness … are you saying Bridgerton isn’t real? My life is crushed, I really thought Regency England was a multicultural paradise. And here I was thinking that Taylor Swift and Maroon 5 were Regency Artistes. Treat this show for what it is, a bodice-buster piece of fluff.”
Cogito concluded:
“I watched almost one whole episode, so I gave it a fair go. It just does not work. I am sure just about everyone on the planet knows that this is not what English society looked like at the time (and largely today too). It felt manipulative. I wondered what else it would try to manipulate.”
Coll considered:
“The African-American actor Zoe Saldana who got a part playing Nina Simone a while back has now been slammed by the offenderati because they felt she wasn’t black enough to be playing her (Nina Simone had much darker skin and Zoe Saldana had to wear makeup to make her darker).
“They then went on to talk about a series in France, Lupin, which was traditionally based on a white guy but the current actor is black and whether this should be ‘allowed’. Life is getting pretty ridiculous everywhere but the left’s silliness is, happily, slowly coming back to bite them.”
John joked:
“Zoe Saldana did greenface in Guardians of the Galaxy. Outrageous!”
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Karl Rove reckoned that Joe Biden’s bipartisan spiel was looking shaky after a first week in office that lurched firmly to the left. JD missed The Donald:
“One of Trump’s great positives was that he delivered on what he promised. One week in with Biden and the difference is apparent. The first pilloried for delivering, the other just adored for doing anything not-Trump.”
Josephine was aghast:
“In a week Biden has become the worst President in history.”
Bill reckoned:
“It will take a lot to be worse than Obama, but he’s off to a flying start.”
Peter’s theory:
“Biden’s had 47 years of perfecting the art of doing nothing.”
Truth seeker frothed:
“It’s all exactly as was feared. President Biden is a puppet of the left. All talk of ‘normalcy’ and ‘healing’ is a smoke screen for leftist stealth.”
P’s explanation:
“Selfie socialists always offer soothing words. Most of the time those words are empty. But they’ll always manage to spend your money. Biden be careful. Pelosi may just impeach you.”
Jason S warned:
“Any Australian who thinks this does not matter for us isn’t paying attention either. Not on China. Not on climate policies. Lawyer and Biden’s Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry has already said Australia needs to do much more and the next climate talkfest is going to be focused in ‘Net zero by 2050’ la la land. I’ll take rude Trump over the smiling assassin Biden any day.”
Rhonda agreed:
“There is going to be a huge pile-on to Australia, including here at home, for not ‘doing enough’ on climate (whatever that means!) but it might be a much needed opportunity to talk about nuclear energy as all these other countries have nuclear in their energy mix and we aren’t even allowed to consider it.”
Dr Sandra said:
“I don’t think we should be talking in terms of ‘decades’. This disaster will come down on our heads very rapidly, probably this year. China is already sniffing around the South-China Sea in the direction of Taiwan. Don’t forget how quickly they moved on Hong Kong and this will be no different. While the incompetent Biden is still getting accustomed to being out of his basement, China may well test the US’s resolve on the subject of Taiwan.”
Public Works was pleased:
“All Americans are in for a wonderful resetting of the debacle Trump left behind and a reason for once again having pride in America’s place in the world. It won’t be four years though it will be at least eight, and given how much Trump has put the Reps on the nose, it could well be many more than that.”
Craig’s comment:
“11,000 jobs gone with the Keystone pipeline decision. Up to 1m jobs gone in Texas by the end of next year with his oil decision. Both by Executive Order. Biden is destroying the US economy, as expected. Can the country survive until the next Congressional Elections in 2022?”
From Linda:
“Much of what Biden has done seems like reversal for reversal sake, the speed with which some measures were undertaken suggesting not a huge amount of consideration about how policy might actually have been working. If it was a Trump measure, out it goes. It is hard to equate this with democratic choice, let alone unity. I guess we can’t count on any balanced assessment by the media to temper this rush either.”
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New Zealand’s Trade Minister Damien O’Connor called on Australia to show respect and a “little more” diplomacy towards China, in an extraordinary intervention in the year-long Beijing-Canberra dispute from a fellow Five Eyes security and intelligence partner. That provoked 1200 reader comments and counting, including one from Greg M:
“Not a very smart comment by Mr O’Connor, but we are well used to Labour politicians sprouting the CCP line. I’m not sure many Kiwis would support this goose.”
According to Andrew:
“New Zealand actually has to ‘sell’ their stuff to make a living as opposed to a machine digging it out of the ground and it gets contracted off. It’s that selling process that they have to go through that leads them to suggest you should treat your customer with some respect. Clearly from the comments here that is an alien concept to most Australians.”
Richard reasoned:
“In one of his typically excellent columns, on 4th December Henry Ergas wrote of the ‘Compradors- — the class of Chinese merchants in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries who realised that their fortunes lay not with the Chinese government and people but with the imperialist European powers, whose interests they promoted. He then showed how the present Chinese government had turned this on its head, using people and institutions in Australia and other western countries to promote China’s interests. It seems like New Zealand has become the first comprador nation.”
According to Ashok:
“NZ Trade Minister says Australia ought to be ‘more careful with wording’ and show more respect to China. That’s a parrot’s line from CCP handbook to their ambassadors. Can he get permission from China’s Ambassador to NZ to say the same thing to China in their words to the rest of the world? Or will he even get the ambassador’s permission to buy a spine jacket from Australia to stand up straight?”
Paul K’s point:
“New Zealand needs to be friends with Xi so when the Chinese find out in 1910 a schoolteacher from Wanganui carried some seeds back to the Land of the Long White Cloud, a small planting developed into a $1.5bn industry that gained a foothold as the Kiwi fruit (formally Chinese gooseberry) in the 1970s while China was tearing itself apart in the Cultural Revolution.”
Frankly, said Frank Ernest:
“Thanks NZ, but we don’t need the advice. The bully needs to be stood up to not made to feel like they can do what they like. If you think the right method is to be submissive that’s your call.”
Kevin reckoned:
“We did respect them but when they started threatening us, the respect went in the bin. One thing we don’t need is advice from the neighbours.”
Ray’s say:
“Advice from our neighbour that suggests they have similar ‘two Bob each way’ policies like their Labor counterparts in Oz. Little wonder Mr Morrison is seen as a fair dinkum leader with Australia’s interest at heart.”
Jason S said:
“More counter productive anti-Australia posturing from Ardern’s socialist government. This rhetoric only appeals to the lowest common denominator in New Zealand. I hope in time the majority of Kiwis see through this and realise Australia is their friend and ally, not foe.
Glad when Ardern has finally gone. An embarrassment to any fair minded Kiwi.”
Darryl doubled down:
“Australians should be telling the New Zealanders to take a flying leap.”
Gerard argued:
“Australia must protect its sovereignty and security as it sees fit and kowtowing to the Chinese is not the answer. On the contrary, China must respect the commercial arrangements it has previously agreed to and stop sending ridiculous lists of demands for Australia to accept and implement.”
Geoff J. squeaked:
“ ‘The mouse that roared’ is a phrase that springs to mind.”
MarketingMan’s plan:
“Why don’t we reclassify Australia as a developing nation?”
Rod’s reply:
“We will need to shortly. With massive debt, no viable manufacturing and an energy plan drafted by the pixies it shouldn’t take us long to become ‘third world’.”
Last word to Jessica:
“Interesting to see NZ again calling out Australia. I think the last major comment from our ‘friends’ was that Australia needed to do more on climate change. I wonder if we should expect Saint Jacinda to bring China to task for being the biggest emitter of climate change gases on the planet?”
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Each Friday the cream of your views on the news rises and we honour the voices that made the debate great. To boost your chances of being featured, please be pertinent, pithy and preferably make a point. Solid arguments, original ideas, sparkling prose, rapier wit and rhetorical flourishes may count in your favour. Civility is essential. Comments may be edited for length.
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