The TV drama doesn’t shy away from the worst aspects of the Thatcher era. But this version of Jilly Cooper’s bonkbuster also captures the lust, laughter and late-night parties
There is no watching Rivals, the Disney+ adaptation of the Jilly Cooper classic, and pretending the 80s weren’t like that. The poisonous, unabashed homophobia of Tory politics; the hushed-up rapes, the sexual exploitation, the abuse of power, the objectification. Not to mention the inequality, the snobbery, the vulgar excess, the truly nauseating deference to aristocracy – a craven surrender to their innate superiority – and the racism and misogynoir. There is a highly plausible depiction of just how hard a black woman had to fight to exist and to be seen, even by the characters who are meant to be right-on. There is no denying any of it. So why does this high-camp, warts-and-all frolic through the 80s make me feel so nostalgic? Is it just because I had forgotten how much I liked Wham!?
No, it is not just the Wham!. It’s not even just for the bam, thank you ma’am, but let’s start there.
Continue reading… The TV drama doesn’t shy away from the worst aspects of the Thatcher era. But this version of Jilly Cooper’s bonkbuster also captures the lust, laughter and late-night partiesThere is no watching Rivals, the Disney+ adaptation of the Jilly Cooper classic, and pretending the 80s weren’t like that. The poisonous, unabashed homophobia of Tory politics; the hushed-up rapes, the sexual exploitation, the abuse of power, the objectification. Not to mention the inequality, the snobbery, the vulgar excess, the truly nauseating deference to aristocracy – a craven surrender to their innate superiority – and the racism and misogynoir. There is a highly plausible depiction of just how hard a black woman had to fight to exist and to be seen, even by the characters who are meant to be right-on. There is no denying any of it. So why does this high-camp, warts-and-all frolic through the 80s make me feel so nostalgic? Is it just because I had forgotten how much I liked Wham!?No, it is not just the Wham!. It’s not even just for the bam, thank you ma’am, but let’s start there. Continue reading… Television, Jilly Cooper, Books, Culture, Television & radio, Life and style
