Review: Peaky Blinders

I enjoy the comfort of knowing I have a ‘series’ on the go in my life. Whether it’s the latest Apprentice or Geordie Shore, having something to immerse myself in and escape to after a busy day is vital for me. Once Doctor Foster finished I felt like I needed a thrilling drama to get my teeth into since it was a particularly ‘dry-spell’ for TV dramas this month. I took to the all-too familiar Netflix screen and begun to flick through its best Drama offerings. ‘Peaky Blinders’ popped up with a five star rating. After missing its original air in September 2013 I had heard it’s endless throughout the years and therefore felt it was time to embark in the six episode adventure.  

I instantly took to main protagonist and family leader, Thomas Shelby. The Peaky Blinders are a family ‘gang’ made up of four brothers, a sister and an auntie who run a family business. It is set in Birmingham in 1919 after World War 1 has ended. The story follows the gang culture of Birmingham in a working class area which sparks a fight between the police force and, in particular, The Shelby’s.

The first episode launched me into a Netflix-binge-athon and it only took a matter of three days to finish the season. What deserves the most credit is the beautiful and realistic mise-en-scene.  Each scene felt like you was really back in 1919, although post-world war, there was still charm within the sets. Working with cinematography it brings these elements beautifully together to create aesthetically pleasing scenes. The Peaky Blinders have their iconic look of a half shaven head which makes them quickly recognizable characters, and it action-packed scenes, it was easy to keep track of who you wanted to win. I’ll admit, I felt ‘cool’ while watching this series, the gang culture is brutal however I found the characters (particularly the Aunt and Tommy) have this interesting and collected aura about them where even in the most despair times they think logically of ‘what needs to be done’.

What I find is another successful point is that the characters we find ourselves rooting for aren’t necessarily always moral and good characters. The Peaky Blinders partake some pretty horrendous acts yet the audience will still be attracted to their likability, through how we are delivered the narrative, which allows us to never turn our backs on them. Like myself, a lot of people enjoy characters who have flaws and Tommy Shelby and his family are definitely rough around the edges in that respect. Although in contemporary society we view the police as ‘good’ and criminals as bad, through seeing how working class culture is presented, it highlights the inequality in classes and specifically the justice system’s attitudes towards lower classes within this time period. This allows us to build up sympathy for the ‘gangs’ even though they are criminal and stereotypically viewed negatively.

My hat comes off to the BBC for this fresh drama I wished I had watched oh so long ago so I could participate in the ‘buzz’. Don’t worry, you can to join the buzz of the fans in time for the Season 3 release in 2016. Which is why I urge people to drop everything and organise a date night with Netflix.

On that note, I will have to end the review here. For I just heard a magical noise of what I believe may be Season 2 delivered through my letterbox. 

Peeple App takes people watching to a whole other level

Pressure of social media is becoming a normality of everyday life. Are apps like Instagram and Twitter really benefical to our routines? Were we are constantly under the watchful eyes of the internet and its users. People strive to construct a idealistic look of themselves in order to portray the 'right' image to the world of the social media. Whilst its easy to see the positives of social media, its clear there is problems within it especially regarding bullying. Many tragic stories have derived from the torment some people have recieved online.

What are the causes for this? The ability to create an anonymous fake profile? The freedom to comment anything you desire on peoples pictures? The fact every word we say is under constant scruitiny of not only those who we know but those we do not.

'Peeple App - Rate other human beings!' Are you crazy? An app which literally allows us to be rated based on our looks. Isn't this just fuel on the fire for a inevitability of bullying resulting in insecurities based on how you're rated? The first worrying alarm for me was the fact you cannot remove yourself from the site and you have no power to delete comments made about you.
Apparently people you know are the only people allowed to rate you, but I agree with Mr Bernal (East Anglia lecturer) when he brings up how we determine if people know people? In modern day social media the majority of people will not know who their 'facebook friends' are in real life.
Another concering aspect is that negative rates made against people will have 48 hours were they go into 'review' with the person being rated. How utterly ridiculous that any hateful content is sent straight to the 'victim' and left to them to 'sort things out' with the commentor.

There is a lot of questions raised with the new app and rightly so,  I'm quite happy to jump on the band-wagon with pitchforks and torches against the shiny new app without even giving it a chance to defend itself - I hate the idea. However before I rally up my neighbours out of curiousity I read on to know how the people behind the idea justify the product.  The woman compared the new app and peoples reaction to those of when theories of the planet being flat and the sun revolving around us. She said naturally people 'push it back with all that they had' which is why there is 'natural fear' surrounding it. I'm not sure I can see the relation between scientific theories about the world and a concept which allows human beings to share their personal opinion of another human being based on their looks. The idea says the co-founder is so people can share positive comments about each other and feel good. I accept there will be people who are keen on the idea but maybe I have too little faith in the morals of people when it comes to judgement. However I cannot personally ignore how vicious social media can be to individuals and this just seems like a platform to allow people to do this.
Although there is a 'ban' on hateful content and it will be monitored, even if comments get deleted and people are banned, I can't help thinking if the victim saw the negative comments intended for them, the damage is already done. Regardless regulation.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-34415382

Accepting The Skinny And The Fat

Eating Habits...
I've always been a picky eater, and without a doubt my family would fully support this statement. I was often described as a 'cheap date', I took it as a compliment at the time but now I find one eyebrow raising as many girls, I'm sure, would not like to be described as 'cheap'. But there you have it, if you took me out for a meal I'd order water and probably the plainest meal on the menu. 'Scampi and Chips' or 'Spaghetti Pomodoro' all inexpensive meals. For many years the extent of my drink list was 'water and milk'. On the extension of milk, hot chocolates and milkshakes make my eyes glisten but other than that I avoid other beverages and I especially stay away from fizzy drinks and juices... (although I make exceptions if they are infused with alcohol, but that's for another post another day). if you're slowly building up the picture of my deprived childhood I'll help you pick up the pace. There's no easy way to say it so here goes, I don't like chips. The 'Scampi and Chips' meal I referred to earlier, was always asked for without the chips and baked beans in replacement. I always had one exception, McDonalds skinny chips. I told my mum this was because 'they was raw'. Very odd child. Perhaps it was the layers of salt which hid the slither of 'potato' inside as 'raw' doesn't sound appealing. Either way, I accepted McDonald's chips and strongly rejected the likes of chunky chips.

My surprising change of heart...

Recently, I was tagged in a post on Twitter which my best friend tagged me in a commenting "This is u". This was the tweet and here is the image.

 

     I like my fries the same way I like my guys pic.twitter.com/pNb50nxCSl
 
      — no (@tbhjuststop) September 8, 2015

Consequently, on the same day I had another incident with the subject of 'chips'. My mum was cooking a meal and she decided to make home made chips. I had a dismal reaction and moaned at my mum about why she would cook me chips when she knows I don't like them. I built up a negative expectation of the meal, accompanied with fish fingers (which I don't like either) and beans, my stomach was prepared for disappointment. I was adamant I would only eat three chips at maximum, so there on my plate I looked down to see my baked beans, bread and three home-cooked chips. No fish fingers on request. I tried a chip first, expecting my taste buds to confirm m suspicions to be true. Two chips later, I felt the warmth of the embarrassment creep up my cheeks as I realised I was about to ask my mum if I could have some more. I was ashamed at how predetermined I'd been to not like the chips. Silently, she moved a few chips across onto my plate, but not without me noticing her small smirk which confirmed in her head that 'mothers know best.'