That must be whT I'm thinking of. I bloody loved back to life. Funny thing is I don't think it was particularly representative of a woman's journey after a lifetime in jail but it had a certain charm and slight magical realism element that even the most horrible bits didn't feel as gratuitous as this show.
In respinse to another poster, i dont understand this need to play up working class roots either
I'm from a background of severe poverty and horrors and beleive me, NOBODY in real life is interested, it's stuff people look aghast at when I do mention things I've experienced and 9 times out of 10 the response is 'oh but you seem so normal'
People can't and don't want to comprehend it.
I have no idea how it suddenly becomes attractive when you're in the public eye.
jarvis cocker's common people still resonates so many years later and I think people who embellish their past with this sort of stoy do it for some sort of street cred points?
makes them seem more interesting and 'deep'?
when someone seems possibly disingenuous about their past, people dont challenge or query further because they will look like a c*nt and adding to the trauma.
The scene ref the university summed it up really, nobody from the chattering classes actually wants to 'know' anybody like that unless they can say 'oh shes a single mum BUT she has a masters', someone said to me they can see i had 'good breeding' once.
Having worked in and around supporting people for years, i come across the patronising attitudes towards the 'deserving poor' all the time.
Not all, but some people i know who do 'good work' sometimes seem to look down on people they perceive to have low aspirations.
The workers are often middle class and have uni education to become professionals in their chosen field.
in private they talk about people they work with disparagingly, always dressed up with a laugh or 'bless', re smell of their homes, the distasteful dress sense, general life choices...
they say it laughingly or in pitying tones and no matter how lovely they are to those they work with, its clear they absolutely see themselves as a different class or even breed.
the same people are almost obsequious to those who have a creative talent, skill, higher level qualifications, previously good jobs, well spoken but have just 'fallen on hard times' or had a run of bad luck.
I've brought it up more than once and it just serves to make colleagues talk to me less (or treat me like a bleeding heart woke!)
'Back in the day' anyone could go to uni but as fees become more prohibitive it became something largely only accessible to those with money.
I see a lot of organisations now offering alternative routes into professions, apprenticeship type roles to degree level, learn on the job, bursaries etc so hopefully the pendulum is swinging back around to produce a more balanced workforce.