WEBVTT - How Accurate Is 'Bridgerton'?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio, Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff, Lauren Vogelbaum. Here, the visually decadent hit show

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<v Speaker 1>Bridgerton has managed to take some of the edge off

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<v Speaker 1>and provide sweet relief from this world full of social unrest,

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<v Speaker 1>pandemics and scirreless politicians set an eight thirteen London during

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<v Speaker 1>the regency period. Bridgerton quickly wrecked previous Netflix viewership records,

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<v Speaker 1>with eighty two million households worldwide tuning in during its

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<v Speaker 1>first four weeks of release. That's a stunning of their

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<v Speaker 1>subscriber base. No doubt people tuned in because they had

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<v Speaker 1>heard tales of the diverse and gorgeous cast. All those

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<v Speaker 1>steamy sex scenes didn't hurt either. But hot lovin isn't

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<v Speaker 1>all that. Bridgerton is about. Feminist themes permeate throughout the

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<v Speaker 1>first season, and the show also shines a bright light

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<v Speaker 1>on class issues that plagued society still today. Nonetheless, bridgertain

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<v Speaker 1>is a fictional television show sas on an equally fictional

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<v Speaker 1>book series, so it's safe to say that some creative

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<v Speaker 1>liberties were taken. So what did Britain get right and wrong?

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<v Speaker 1>Historically speaking? Is it a true representation of life in

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<v Speaker 1>regency England. Executive producer Shonda Rhymes is known for shattering

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<v Speaker 1>ceilings and stereotypes, so it really shouldn't have shocked anyone

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<v Speaker 1>that her team cast a black man in the leading

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<v Speaker 1>male role as the Duke of Hastings and sadly the

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<v Speaker 1>scenario would have been very unlikely in regency England. But

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<v Speaker 1>we spoke via email with Whitney S. Christensen, a regency historian.

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<v Speaker 1>She explained that only about twenty thousand of the one

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<v Speaker 1>point three million people in London at that time were black,

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<v Speaker 1>or about one point five percent of the population. She

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<v Speaker 1>said Britain is largely a fantasy in terms of the

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<v Speaker 1>diversity of the population shown. The majority of the black

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<v Speaker 1>population was poor or working class, with most employed as servants.

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<v Speaker 1>There are some exceptions, however, she said, while the numbers

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<v Speaker 1>of high ranking black people in Britain is fantasy, some

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<v Speaker 1>of the ways they're depicted are based in fact. A

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<v Speaker 1>black boxers like Bill Richmond and Tom Molino were a

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<v Speaker 1>popular form of entertainment, much like Hasting's friend Will. Additionally,

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<v Speaker 1>into racial marriage, while rare did happen and was depicted

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<v Speaker 1>in the literature of the time. Let Us also not

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<v Speaker 1>forget the Queen Charlotte herself is portrayed in the show

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<v Speaker 1>by a black actor. This may very well be rooted

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<v Speaker 1>in fact. Christiansen said one of her ancestors may very

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<v Speaker 1>well have been a more or black, a mistress of

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<v Speaker 1>one of her ancestors. A portraits of her definitely illustrate

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<v Speaker 1>an African cast to her features, including her curly hair.

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<v Speaker 1>But there were almost five hundred years between Queen Charlotte

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<v Speaker 1>and the Moorish mistress that may have been her ancestor.

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<v Speaker 1>Watch any period drama and you'll likely wind up in

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<v Speaker 1>sensed by the portrayal of women's rights or black thereof

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<v Speaker 1>Britain does a great job of depicting a close representation

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<v Speaker 1>of the rights of women of the day, whereas most

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<v Speaker 1>of the female characters obsess over finding a husband. The

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<v Speaker 1>character of Eloise Britain routinely laments her genders societally imposed

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<v Speaker 1>limitations in life. She says in one scene, must our

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<v Speaker 1>only options be to squawk and settle or to never

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<v Speaker 1>leave the nest? She says in another, you wish to

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<v Speaker 1>follow your heart and I wish to nurture my mind.

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<v Speaker 1>The thing is the women depicted who worry over finding

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<v Speaker 1>a husband do so for good reason. In that time period,

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<v Speaker 1>Christenson explained, quote women could typically not inherit and in

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<v Speaker 1>fact many estates were tied up in entailments, which meant

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<v Speaker 1>that upon the deaths of their fathers, their homes were

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<v Speaker 1>inherited by the nearest male relative, sometimes leaving unmarried women homeless.

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<v Speaker 1>This made marriage incredibly important because there was no real

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<v Speaker 1>way to support yourself financially if you were not of

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<v Speaker 1>the working class. Hence the London season, which during the

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<v Speaker 1>regency period ran from around Easter to the end of

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<v Speaker 1>the summer. During this time, the debutantes came out at

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<v Speaker 1>Queen Charlotte's Ball, a tradition that continues today. During the

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<v Speaker 1>regency period, this marked the beginning of a month's long

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<v Speaker 1>process of lavish balls, where men and women considered each

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<v Speaker 1>other for marriage potential. Christiansen said, and the hunt for

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<v Speaker 1>a husband was indeed known as the marriage mart and

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<v Speaker 1>people did indeed track how many times you had danced

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<v Speaker 1>with a specific partner, and particularly if they were in

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<v Speaker 1>a row, three times in one night meant you were

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<v Speaker 1>practically engaged already. Many young women felt immense pressure to

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<v Speaker 1>find a husband immediately, as the character of Daphne Bridgerton does.

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<v Speaker 1>A Christiansen explained, there is some truth in the idea

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<v Speaker 1>that a failure to find a husband in your first

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<v Speaker 1>season was a disaster, but it's not because of your reputation.

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<v Speaker 1>It's more that the money spent on a successful season,

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<v Speaker 1>the gowns, the carriages, the travel expenses, the balls hosted

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<v Speaker 1>in one's own home could be ruinous if they didn't

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<v Speaker 1>pay off. The pressures on Daphne to make a good

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<v Speaker 1>man match would have been very real. In the area

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<v Speaker 1>of costumes, the show took some liberties, although the fashions

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<v Speaker 1>are rooted in reality, A Christiansen said, these are mostly fantasy,

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<v Speaker 1>with the designers taking the silhouettes from the era and

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<v Speaker 1>playing with color and creativity for effect. The silhouette of

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<v Speaker 1>Daphne's gown is largely accurate. A Regency era gowns were

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<v Speaker 1>inspired by Greek sculpture, as the Parthenon marbles were moved

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<v Speaker 1>to London during this time, and so neoclassical ideals were

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<v Speaker 1>all the rage, but use of color in Britain is

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<v Speaker 1>much more mad cap than the reality would have been.

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<v Speaker 1>Detail oriented viewers might also note that Queen Charlotte and

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<v Speaker 1>our courtiers are outfitted in a much different style, more

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<v Speaker 1>suited to the Georgian esthetic. A. Christiansen said that this

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<v Speaker 1>is accurate because court dress remained several decades behind fashionable dress,

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<v Speaker 1>with large hoops being worn until eighteen twenty. As with

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<v Speaker 1>most films, books, and TV shows set in previous times,

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<v Speaker 1>Brigitte and presents a double edged sort of sorts, A

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<v Speaker 1>christians And explained. For example, those who take Britain's version

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<v Speaker 1>of history is truth may fail to understand the deep

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<v Speaker 1>racism that marked early nineteenth century London, including how it's

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<v Speaker 1>depictions of black men as boxers or Marina as sexually

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<v Speaker 1>experienced may actually reinforce racist stereotypes rather than challenge them. However,

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<v Speaker 1>fantasy history can also be a powerful way to get

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<v Speaker 1>people interested in real history. It's often the pretty dresses

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<v Speaker 1>and romance and charismatic characters that draw us into discovering

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<v Speaker 1>the real life facts behind these people in places. It's

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<v Speaker 1>a great marketing campaign that can lead to real scholarship.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's episode was written by A LEEA Hooint and produced

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<v Speaker 1>by Tyler Klang. For more on this and lots of

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<v Speaker 1>other curious topics, visit how stuff works dot com. Brain

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff is production of iHeart Radio or more podcasts in

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