Where there are people, there is confrontation. The unfair distribution of resources spawned chains of contempt, and history, for the most part, undoubtedly helped solidify classes. However, in the history books of the class, there may be another term, called inheritance.
The first season of The Gilded Age takes place in New York in 1882, and the United States is ushering in a third wave of immigration after two waves of immigration, with millions of immigrants pouring in from around the world to help build this new nation. After the end of the Civil War in 1962, industrialization was sweeping the country, and railroads quickly changed the agrarian country.
This was the time of the great reshuffle of resource reallocation, when the self-made new railroad giant, Mr. Russell, and his family were targeting the social circle on New York's Upper East Side. The Old Money "old money" who has been in New York's high society for a long time does not agree, which is a life-and-death battle for resources and discourse.
The story unfolds along three main narrative lines.
The first is the contest of ladies. Mrs. Russell racked her brains to fit into the Upper East Side social circle, and here only the "old money" represented Mrs. Astor.'s horse. Mrs. Astor was based on the mother of Astor IV, who was the richest man in the United States and the King of New York. Although Astor I was also a self-made German immigrant, they have already laid their roots here a century later. Privilege means resources, and class is their glory and the bastion on which they depend.
The second is the competition among gentlemen. The men in the play care more about practical interests. The opening of Mr. Russell's new rail line required the purchase of the right to operate the Cleveland to Toledo section, and the railroad businessman Mr. Sorben refused him twice in order to raise the price, and Mr. Russell, in order to establish his own business standards, preferred to spend a higher price to build a new railway, leaving the other party with no business to do. The operation of the new railroad leading directly to new stations in New York required the government to enact new laws, and Mr. Russell bought government lawmakers in exchange for making a lot of money in the company's stock, but he quickly found that the lawmakers were "put together".
The third is the "old money" who has fallen into disgrace to seek a way out. Miss Brooke's desire to marry and Mr. Van Ryan's desire for money are the epitome of "old money". They passed on the name of the family, but not to the ability, and marriage is the usual means of marriage between class and wealth, you get a rich life, I get a glorious badge. The elders hope that the penniless Miss Brooke can marry the powerful "old money" to continue Brooke's glory, while the powerful "old money" heir Van Ryan asks to marry the "new money" Bai Fumei, who is full of money, to achieve a complete "lying flat".
And, of course, there's a low-level storyline that's been overlooked. Peggy, a black female secretary who pursues the ideal of writing, Bourdain, the chef who forged her own origins, Turner, a personal maid who climbed into the man's bed, John, a male servant whose parents died, and Bauer, a kitchen lady who lost a gambling bet and was forced into debt... They are in different circumstances, but all of them are struggling at the bottom of the chain of contempt, wanting to seize the opportunity to gamble with fate and change their lives.
"The Gilded Age" was written by Julian Ferros, the screenwriter of "Downton Abbey", naturally, continuing the writing style of "Downton Abbey", and the extremely trivial daily life was woven on the background cloth of the big history, presenting the fate of a large number of characters in the turbulent era. Group dramas are not easy to write, and I have to admit that the screenwriter is good at showing the characters and the relationship between the characters through a few small daily things. But The Gilded Age is different from Downton Abbey, or far less so than Downton Abbey.
The essence of group drama lies in the characters and character relationships. But the characters in "The Gilded Age" are too facial, and Peggy, as a dark-skinned woman, is discriminated against in American society, and even the coachman refuses to take passengers. However, the acceptance and support of the old-fashioned "old money" Mrs. Van Ryan is in stark contrast to her rejection of the Russell family, and the reason given by the screenwriter is that "self-helpers help". But apparently not convincing enough, wasn't the Russell family she rejected the self-made self-helpers? Peggy's character designs seem to pander to the political correctness of our time.
Mrs. Chamberlain was snubbed by high society because she and her husband were pregnant unmarried at the stage of stealing love, which was not tolerated by social ethics. The screenwriter let her empty the mansion and family property after her husband's death, unable to integrate into the social circle but enjoying herself. The screenwriter projects on Mrs. Chamberlain the ethics of marriage and love of that era, laying out the differences with today's social concepts, but the narrative is too old-fashioned and boring, far less vivid and moving than the storyline of the maid Ethel and the noble officer secretly getting pregnant in "Downton Abbey".
The instrumental design of many characters undoubtedly makes the lackluster table director worse, and some actors' pretentious performances make people often play, and sometimes they feel that the struggle between you and me in the play is playing a game called "passing the family". Barronsky, the actress who played Diane Lockhart, the radiant independent woman in "The Proud Wife," stuck to old morals in the play, and you might even feel like she went off the wrong set and took the wrong script. The audience lacks a sense of immersion and is difficult to immerse themselves in, which is a taboo in historical dramas. No matter how gorgeous the setting is, no matter how exquisite the costumes, the actors are the communicators of the play, and "The Gilded Age" has a problem in the choice of cast.
The heroine Miss Brooke is played by Louisa Jacobson, who has a face that is easy to drown in the sea of people, and plays the heroine of HBO's big historical drama, intuitively this is a relationship household. A search, Meryl Streep's youngest daughter. She is indeed suitable for playing a young lady who does not have to worry about class transition, but this role lacks personality charm, she is reckless and naïve, knows nothing about the world but loves to fight, and kindness is her strength, but this advantage is also available to many ordinary people, not enough to show her charm. Compared to Mary, the big lady in "Downton Abbey" who was not pleasing at first, but finally won the love of fans around the world with her wisdom and resilience, Miss Brooke is simply too mediocre. Character charisma is usually the most important motivator to induce the audience to faithfully follow the drama, and I am worried about the role of Miss Brooke, but perhaps the screenwriter's idea is to be a heroine of the cultivation system, and I don't know.
Relatively interesting is the Russell family. Throughout the season of "The Gilded Age", almost everyone sought to rise and advance under the torrent of the times, some people succeeded, some people did not. The Russells are undoubtedly the ones that succeed. Mrs. Russell's confrontation with the Upper East Side social circle and Mr. Russell's confrontation with the city councilor may have revealed the secret of the class transition. The Russells decided to take the confrontational route after realizing that following the old rules would not win each other's respect and acceptance. The struggle may be the code for class transition.
In the Gilded Age, everyone's face was full of ambition.
In every way, this is all too old a story that doesn't seem to offer us any new value. But perhaps, as its name goes, the Gilded Age, the decaying copper and iron wrapped in gorgeous gold, an old story that shows us exactly that there is nothing new under the sun.
(Text/Zhang Zhaowei)
Source: Beijing Youth Daily