The Village; Episode II

[poliphilo]

No-one is coping very well: the people at the big house are losing their grip, the girl who came breezing in like the spirit of the 20th century is turning into a self-righteous teetotalitarian, her father, the Methodist minister, is preaching pacifism. the poor- brutalized and brutal- are some of them mocking religion and some of them subjecting a supposed rapist to rough music, backed up with scythes and pitchforks. An old order is twisting and buckling under the pressure of modernity. If this is "lefty nonsense"- as Christoper Stevens says it is in The Mail- then Thomas Hardy is lefty nonsense too. I think The Mail and those it serves are un-nerved by the Village. They're unused to its palette-knife wielding bravura; it's too strong for their tastes- too much like Art.  It's handing the British people their history back- unprettified, un-Fellowesed- and history is tricky, unstable stuff.

Comments

[rosamicula.livejournal.com]

I found the hanging bit really gripping, too, actually, but the aftermath a bit too Waltons.

I know what you meant about the Mail as a vehicle for C/conservative vews, but don't think it - or any of the Fourth Estate now- serves the governing class. It's more likely to be courted by them.

The Times is deeply anti-Cameron, at the moment. All the righter-wing press is just waiting for there to be a ring for Boris to throw his hat into.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I see all the political parties courting the media and think, "some leadership would be nice".

Boris might win an election. He's just about the only politician we have who comes across as a proper human being. I have doubts about his competence, though.