ANTHONY BRIDGERTON AND HIS CLOSEST FRIEND SIMON BASSET,
2ND DUKE OF HASTINGS
ANTHONY BRIDGERTON
SIMON BASSET, 2E HERTOG VAN HASTINGS
To: guardian.letters@
Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor,
This time it’s not about politics, but about a public debate, that is
conducted in all segments of society, especially the Woke movement.
This debate or discussion is related to politically inspired
subjects like history, [anti]racism, and other forms of inequality.
What I would like to raise here is the color blindness of the cast of the popular Netfflix series Bridgerton.
To be clear:
Color blindness i a film or TV series means that the actors are being cast
regardless ethnicity or color, eventhough that does not fit into historical
or cultural reality [like European fairy tales]
Bridgerton, based on the books of Julia Quinn, is a series centered about a noble
family in England during the Regency Era [1795-1837 or stricter 1811-1820]
and those series focuses on the lives of the eight Bridgerton children.
Where in the books they all are white [like the other characters], in the
Netflix series there is a ”black Nobility” next to the ”white nobility”
on equal level and a number Bridgerton Family members marry black
nobles.
So Simon Basset, the closest friend of
Anthony Bridgerton, is a ”black” Duke, the 2nd Duke of Hastings and marries Anthony Bridgerton’s sister Daphne.
Now from a historical perspective it doesn’t hold up at all.
Because although there lived rich black people in Regency Era England
-often children of plantation owners and their female slaves, who
were sent to England by their fathers and sometimes married into nobility
and there also was a limited black community in England, there was no
”Black Nobility” in Regency Era England.
And white and black people didn’t live together on base of equality
in a time that transatlantic slave trade and slavery flourished.
In thed Bridgerton series racism and discrimination were practically absent,
apart from a few incidents.
So one of the criticisms of color blindness is, that series as Bridgerton
don’t do justice to the historical reality and that the world is seen too
”overly optimistic” and ”rosy”[because of the absence of racism and discrimination]
But it wasn’t all sunshine and roses:
In Bridgerton you see painfully the inequality of the social classes [the impossibility of a mariage between a nobleman and a woman of ”lower” social rank] and the serious oppression of women.
However:
Why I am in favour of the ”color blind cast” is that an opportunity is shaped
to picture black people and people of color in their full dignity, instead of
”always” as ”slaves”, ”oppressed” and ”victims”
That is refreshing, relaxing and positive promoting!
Because the course of history could have been different
with indeed an equal ”Black Nobility” next to ”White Nobility”
That’s wh I think that series like Bridgerton must
be seen as a modern fairy tale and probably that’s the reason
people enjoy it that much.
Common human problems like impossible love affaires, mutual
relationships, strong family bonds, strong ”brotherly” friendships,
relations between parents and children, gossip, sensation, without
”color” and ”race” issues.
In these Times of political disturbance in the world, series as a Fairy Tale are so
refreshing!
Of course the battle against racism and inequality must be fought,
but let’s do that in the streets and the political arena and continue
to enjoy Fairy Tales like Bridgerton!
Astrid Essed
Amsterdam
The Netherlands