I’ve just finished and I really liked the underlying themes. I felt like the story relied too heavily on stereotypes and tropes to get it’s’ point across though, and there were massive holes in the ending.
it isn’t really about rape, or whether he’d done it or not. It isn’t really about the outcome of the trial.
its about entitlement. How men of a certain social class (and they don’t have to be bullingdon club, Tory types to exhibit the type of entitlement that James Whitehouse exhibits), have a certain outlook and view. How it’s pervasive. How we might not like to see it but our middle class husbands, brothers, sons all probably have an element of this entitlement. The white british male has been born into a world that has been shaped and moulded by people who looked like him, to work in the favour of people who look like him and is still run by people who look like him.
it isn’t really about rape, or whether he’d done it or not. It isn’t really about the outcome of the trial.
its about entitlement. How men of a certain social class (and they don’t have to be bullingdon club, Tory types to exhibit the type of entitlement that James Whitehouse exhibits), have a certain outlook and view. How it’s pervasive. How we might not like to see it but our middle class husbands, brothers, sons all probably have an element of this entitlement. The white british male has been born into a world that has been shaped and moulded by people who looked like him, to work in the favour of people who look like him and is still run by people who look like him.
As James’ mother points out - women and girls just don’t ever get that self assuredness. James’ sisters were never as confident as him and his mother isn’t self aware enough to understand why. But the viewer understands its because women aren’t conditioned to feel entitled to the world in the way men are. It hasn’t been built for us, it hasn’t been built to work in our favour. It’s been built for men and we exist to compliment men. Sophie realises this at the end. She’s always seen the world through James’s lens. Stood by his side unquestioningly.
We (and Sophie) see it in action in the difference in how James speaks to his son v his daughter. He repeatedly tells his son that Whitehouses always come out on top. He speaks to him face to face. He answers his questions directly. In short - he tells his son he is entitled to certain expectations from life. He is entitled to come out on top. His daughter, he is affectionate and warm towards. But he doesn’t speak to her directly. He sometimes ignores her questions or let’s Sophie answer them instead. He doesn’t speak to her face to face and he never teaches her the same entitlement that he teaches his son.
the difference in the two kids paths and how this is being determined - is shown when their mother returns to the house in the penultimate episode (I think). The son asks Sophie questions. Demands answers - he’s already exhibiting entitled behaviour. Her daughter on the other hand, is empathetic. She watches as Sophie has a cigarette in the garden with concern.
it’s ultimately why Sophie chooses to leave James. She sees how his entitlement has blinded him, turned him into a “brute” and she wants to break the cycle. I think it would have been more powerful to focus on that, instead of trying to end the story on an unrealistic investigation into the heroin death which, let’s face it, had a lot of plot holes.
the harsh reality is that men like James probably won’t ever change, and they won’t ever face consequences. But we can change the next generation, like Sophie chose to do.
We (and Sophie) see it in action in the difference in how James speaks to his son v his daughter. He repeatedly tells his son that Whitehouses always come out on top. He speaks to him face to face. He answers his questions directly. In short - he tells his son he is entitled to certain expectations from life. He is entitled to come out on top. His daughter, he is affectionate and warm towards. But he doesn’t speak to her directly. He sometimes ignores her questions or let’s Sophie answer them instead. He doesn’t speak to her face to face and he never teaches her the same entitlement that he teaches his son.
the difference in the two kids paths and how this is being determined - is shown when their mother returns to the house in the penultimate episode (I think). The son asks Sophie questions. Demands answers - he’s already exhibiting entitled behaviour. Her daughter on the other hand, is empathetic. She watches as Sophie has a cigarette in the garden with concern.
it’s ultimately why Sophie chooses to leave James. She sees how his entitlement has blinded him, turned him into a “brute” and she wants to break the cycle. I think it would have been more powerful to focus on that, instead of trying to end the story on an unrealistic investigation into the heroin death which, let’s face it, had a lot of plot holes.
the harsh reality is that men like James probably won’t ever change, and they won’t ever face consequences. But we can change the next generation, like Sophie chose to do.
