Years & Years

[unique1986]

Starts tonight 9pm
Family drama that flashes forward into the future.

I was just saying to dh that I wasn’t taught it at all and have looked it up following last night. he knew about it though and he’s only 4 years older than me.

I hope I am bringing my kids up to have some kind of self responsibility regarding learning history as school learning seems to be seriously lacking (I’ve been researching the British empire recently following a random comment in my English literature uni module [mature student] and it’s stuff that should be known)

I did ancient Egypt about 4 years in a row and the battle of Hastings a million times but nothing about this.

I'm in my 50s and the Boer war was never mentioned in our history lessons at school. I had no idea that the Brits had ever done those things - but then again, like a PP said, perhaps we Brits are fed a rose tinted version of our own history.

This series certainly makes you think.

I did know about the concentration camps of the Boer Wars, but only because I've been to public talks and lectures as an adult.

I doubt that the series is about Article 21 (or whatever the dogmatic assertion on the previous page).

I think it is intended as a wake up call about the type of politics we are drifting into. And I suspect that Brexiters will see it as the consequence of EU driectives, and Remainers will see it aswhat will happen if we go it alone!

So many of the issues are ones that are very much current in terms of news stories, and it is a way of examining (with a bit of Dr Whoery) how these issues might develop.

I was wondering if the BBC had delayed showing it until after the EU elections.

If I am even half right about it being a way of magnifying out current political and social dilemas its a bit bleak as by and large ordinary people are shown to not have much power of influence.

PS - I find it really sad that anyone should think the best way to describe and really shitty mean spirited self absorbed man is saying he is a female body part. There is nothing negative about women's bodies. However he is a prick, his mental processes are absolute bollocks, and he continually cocks things up. In other words your standard run of the mill wanker.

The Boer war was definitely not on the national curriculum for me (secondary school 1992-1999- inc History GCSE). It's the kind of event British people only tend to know about if they're either a)really into history or b) they know someone else who's really into History.

Putting it into the national curriculum would have raised far too many difficult questions about WW2. Difficult to maintain our sense of moral superiority over Nazi Germany once you realise they got the idea of concentration camps and 'the final solution' from us. Also leads to some difficult comparisons between Apartheid era Africa and modern day Israel.

South Africa

PS - I find it really sad that anyone should think the best way to describe and really shitty mean spirited self absorbed man is saying he is a female body part. There is nothing negative about women's bodies. However he is a prick, his mental processes are absolute bollocks, and he continually cocks things up. In other words your standard run of the mill wanker

?

have I missed something?

I'm not really understanding the link between Agenda 21, Sustainability and Totalitarianism. Seems like the usual right wing knee-jerk stuff that you get in America when you try to stop people doing destructive things. That Guardian article did the usual Guardian/ BBC thing of neatly evading the key issues.

@MoobaaMoobaa That was me, I was so angry after the episode I called Stephen a bald cunt. Heat of the moment, so apologies for offending anyone's sensibilities.

@MoobaaMoobaa

So you're happy to use a word for a male body part to describe someone negatively but say we can't use a word for a female body part?! Really don't get your thinking on that one.

I think the way RT has portrayed Stephen is brilliant, actually. Makes him a much more rounded character - we started off sympathising with him, losing all his money because of the political situation, taking on all manner of jobs to keep supporting his family - but now he's a 'baddy': having an affair and his terrible decision to transfer Viktor. But at the same time, we see the depths of his despair about losing Danny - so we're sympathetic again.

It's such a nuanced portrait - and brilliantly acted by Rory Kinnear - and makes us realise that human beings aren't 100% good or 100% bad!

oh Lord, the cunt police are out again.

funny as prick is also a genital, but that's ok.....

I have no idea what you're trying to argue there!

And 'cunt police'? What on earth do you mean?!

I find it really sad that anyone should think the best way to describe and really shitty mean spirited self absorbed man is saying he is a female body part

🙄

BIWI it wasn't me i was quoting someone else.

The Boer war concentration camps are common knowledge I thought.

I had no idea.

This series is wonderful. It's all so plausible which makes it so much more disturbing.

I think the interesting thing about Stephen is that some people do react like that given the opportunity. Jews got reported by their neighbours, people they knew and had maybe been friends with, to be taken away all in Nazi Germany all the time.

It's, nice is the wrong word, but good to see them choosing a well educated, professional job character for this plot line. He is buying into the racism culture and blaming of refugees for his personal loss. So often this is a reaction that's portrayed as something only less educated, low income individuals do. Whereas the reality is that lots of different people can get sucked in to that way of thinking, but because he is this professional, once rich, person he's able to put himself into a position to actually do something (terrible) about his feelings on a larger scale.

I did history to GCSE in 1988 and didn't learn about the Boer War. I mean I know that it existed, that it happened, but have no knowledge of the ins and outs.

I've just asked DD who only did History in Y7 and Y8 and she'd never even heard of it.

I think it's more the type of subject that would be studied at degree level and/or by those with a serious interest in military history.

When Steven was at the meeting towards the end, I thought he looked appalled by what was being suggested re the concentration camps. Presume it was instead the flicker of an idea (about how he could get his own back on poor Viktor)...

The last episode could wrong foot us entirely by sending Bethany off to an 'Erstwhile' camp for crimes against the state (helping her aunt). That would be the best type of revenge on Steve.

BIWI 😂 lots of cross posts! and my posts being short , as the dropping kids at bus stop, and walking the dog and phone being rained on.

I'm not calling you the cunt police, just the person I quoted originally after queen said what it was about.

What a brilliant series-so cleverly written!

Sushi yes I have a few (they are in the minority) of family members that voted leave and have bought into the narrative of the immigrants are the cause of all their woes. These family members are well educated, high salaried professionals, so I'm also very glad they've shown this in the storyline.

I'm 55 and know a bit about the Boer War. We did WW2 in history and it was mentioned in passing by a teacher that Kitchener was the first to set up concentration camps so then we looked into it a bit.

Please would someone tell me what Stephen did to Viktor? I missed the first five mins.

woodcutbirds after the meeting he attended with 'Woody', he sat at his desk and moved Viktor from one Erstwhile camp to one that Woody's company will be running (where presumably they are going to let 'nature take its course' with the residents). So effectively given him a death sentence. And because Bethany has these inbuilt techy powers, she is now aware of what he's done.

Thank you New I saw that bit but I didn't see the beginning of the episode to explain why. Last I saw, Viktor had just made it back and was living in Danny's flat. I switched on when Stephen seemed to have been to visit him (I assumed still in Danny's flat) but didn't catch what that scene was about. Next thing I knew he was trying to have Viktor exterminated so I wondered what had gone on in the scene I missed at the start of the episode.

I'm reasonably educated but know very little about the Boer war