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About That Popular 'Black Films Don't Sell ...Who's Watching Sky Atlantic Period-Comedy Series 'Hunderby'?
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To get a better understanding of why I am particularly interested with the character called Geoff, first read the show's synopsis:
"Hunderby, set in the 1800s, features Helene (Alexandra Roach, The Iron Lady), a shipwreck survivor washed ashore near a small English village. There, she is swept off her feet by widowed pastor Edmund (Alex MacQueen, The Inbetweeners, This Is England 88) and the two soon marry, the puritanical Edmund believing his bride to be untouched by another man. But she has a history, a dark past that she cannot escape."
According to Sky Atlantic's website, the character of Geoff is described only as "a mute shipwreck survivor".
Now, I don't want to say he looks like a slave . . . but you can see the pictures for yourself.
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And the fact that he's mute . . . could it be he simply doesn't speak the language of those around him? You know-- like a slave?
And I only raise the issue because, lately, there seems to be an increasingly peculiar fascination with all things slavery, especially in film. So I'm wondering if that same trend is slowly finding its way to the small screen.
However, I doubt it will fly here in the U.S. (Does anybody remember The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer?)
So, like I said before, I haven't seen the show, and won't be able to until Hunderby's October 15 DVD release. So I need our U.K. readers to talk back to me.
Is the Geoff character in Hunderby actually a slave, as I suspect? And more importantly, do you find Hunderby entertaining?
2 Comments
Elizabeth | September 23, 2012 4:47 PM
Geoff is not a slave in Hunderby, at least not as far as his story been revealed so far. He's from Bristol, and he is mute rather than a speaker of another language, as he clearly understands what is being said to him in English. His appearance in these shots is due to his having been an impoverished man who stowed away on the ship. As it is a period piece and the characters are pretty horrible to each other, they do exhibit some casual racism, but that the racism is not prevalent enough (perhaps because Geoff is a minor character) to be top on the list of most offensive belief systems held by characters in Hunderby. Women and the physically disabled bear the brunt of the prejudice on display by these characters.
As for whether or not Hunderby is entertaining, I find it to be so, but can certainly see that it will not be for everyone. The language is incredibly silly, and the situations ridiculous, but everything is played very straight, and those situations, though ridiculous, are also very bleak, and many of the characters are horrible people. This is sure to be off-putting to some viewers. If you've seen and enjoyed Human Remains, Nighty Night, or the pilot of Lizzie and Sarah, you will know what you are getting into with Hunderby.
Priss | September 19, 2012 1:37 AM
Oh lord. The pictures alone...