In with the Old
Dominic Sandbrook explores British postwar culture. This episode explores how working-class voices have risen and been absorbed into the elite.
The industrial revolution seemed to presage a fundamental upheaval of British society and an overturning of the traditional social hierarchies. For the first time a burgeoning middle-class emerged, as innovation, technical knowledge and entrepreneurial skills - as opposed to an accident of birth - were rewarded with vast riches. Men like Richard Arkwright, Josiah Wedgewood and Isambard Kingdom Brunel achieved fame, recognition and vast fortunes. But rather than challenge and reshape society, they were absorbed into it, becoming the new aristocracy and reinforcing the old elites.
And so it was with postwar British culture. Creativity - like entrepreneurial spirit - is no respecter of class or breeding. But whilst our culture has witnessed the emergence of a range of working-class voices who have railed against the inequalities of society, so too have their subsequent successes seen them absorbed into the machine: from Johnny Rotten advertising butter to Madness playing on the roof of Buckingham Palace, artists may proclaim their work as a great force for change, but they often end up as lord of the manor.
Pop culture has reinforced rather than overthrown the old order, revelling in an enduring fascination with class, history and breeding - from Downton Abbey to James Bond.
Last on
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Public School Days
Duration: 03:05
Credits
Role | Contributor |
---|---|
Presenter | Dominic Sandbrook |
Writer | Dominic Sandbrook |
Producer | Alexander Leith |
Director | Alexander Leith |
Series Producer | Alexander Leith |
Executive Producer | Steve Condie |
Production Company | Oxford Scientific Films |
Broadcasts
- Wed 11 Nov 2015 21:00
- Thu 12 Nov 2015 23:15麻豆社 Two except Northern Ireland & Scotland
- Sun 15 Nov 2015 23:35麻豆社 Two Northern Ireland
- Fri 27 Nov 2015 00:45麻豆社 Two except Scotland
- Fri 27 Nov 2015 01:15麻豆社 Two Scotland
- Wed 16 Mar 2016 01:15
- Wed 5 Oct 2016 23:45麻豆社 Two except Northern Ireland & Scotland
- Thu 6 Oct 2016 00:15麻豆社 Two Scotland