It's A Sin! Russell T Davies - Blame all on the mother?

[SagaLi]

I just discovered "It's A Sin!" by Russell T Davies because it is currently on a French TV website. The series is really exciting and well played. It is the same kind of spirit that I've known in the nineties in London, even if the series takes place 15 years sooner.

But I was very disappointed by the last episode. The way the mother was pictured and blamed for everything by the of the main character's best friend, was very violent. Even if on previous episodes, some mothers were presented with a better light, the final generic reproach sounded like a blame for all mothers, guilty of all the suffering of gay men. It is unfair, considering that homophobia is closely related to patriarchy and the prejudices it carries, whose main victims are both women and gay or queer men. Reality shows us that most crimes, and particularly the most violent ones, are committed by men, and the main victims are women (starting with rape in childhood). Reality shows us also that the richest people in the world are a few men, who have therefore most power to change things. The poorest people in the world, even in western societies, are single mothers. But from Eve to today's women, we are still blamed for all the sins of society. Our mothers are assumed to be guilty each time a person does not grow up "in a good way". She is the unfortunate Christmas tree in which we hang all our grievances, while she does the hardest job in the world without getting paid. She gives us life and in return she is despised, plundered and oppressed.

The fact that Russell T Davies contributes to this, through a movie aimed to open compassion, is deeply disturbing, because it is by many ways a good and exciting show, which makes the blame on the mother even more efficient in its destructive effect.

It is fortunate that Russell T Davies's own mother has died before she could watch this. It would have destroyed her.

What do you think?

Yes I agree- a weak point in what was otherwise an incredible series.

Agreed. A very jarring misogynistic simplification in a largely brilliant series.

I didn't see it that way. I saw that particular character (mother) being blamed, justifiably in that particular relationship. It didn't seem to be to be blaming all women/mothers. Where did you get that from?

The series was excellent, I'm planning to watch it again soon.

I thought it was a great show. That said, I do think there was a lack of depth to the female characters - both the main character's mother and "Jill" who seems to exist as an angelic support human, to juxtapose against the flawed mother.

Oh we had lots of discussions about this when it was first aired during lockdown. Agree that female characters get a rough deal (especially Jill who has no life of her own at all).

This ^. It wasn't all mothers, it was just this one. Look at how Colin's mother was portrayed.

I don't think the mother was "blamed" I think the mother was frightened and misunderstood her sons lifestyle and friends, and just wanted the last few weeks with her son. It was sad that Ritchie was isolated but I think the situation was of it's timewas usual. Also his mum .felt shame, the blame wasn't his mum though

Jill had a life why wouldn't Jill have a life ? She loved her friends and wanted to look after them doesn't mean she had no life.

Jill was the totally self-sacrificing ‘good mother’ who never prioritised herself. She was definitely juxtaposed with the ‘bad mother’ who was supposedly responsible for the main character deliberately and knowingly infecting countless other men.

I am a few years younger than the main characters. Early /mid eighties society was very different to now. The roles of women/wives/mothers was changing. Being openly gay was a relatively new thing.

I saw Ritchie's mum a being on that precipice between very traditional, misogynistic culture, subservient, yet loyal to her husband (DM used to be vetted by DDad's employers for her suitability as a company wife) ; and not knowing how to support her son who was doing something unthinkable to her - bear in mind that male homosexuality was still illegal in England & Wales until 1967, and that was for men over 21 (law wasn't changed until 1982 and 1980 in Scotland and NI respectively).

As a period drama, I thought it was very representative of some women's roles in society.

I'm thinking about this more, it's been a while since I watched it.

I don't think Ritchie's mum was fundamentally a bad person. She was homophobic (but, as above, societal and legal acceptance of homosexuality was new) and conflicted, and her son had a fatal illness. I remember her lashing out at Jill, but that feels understandable - it's like she doesn't need Jill's love or approval, and she has to vent somewhere. Didn't she also attack her husband in Ritchie's defence?

You do get it’s set in the 80’s with 80’s attitudes

I think I must be in a minority because I really dislike this programme. Not just the point you make about evil mum but also the way the irresponsible behaviour of the main character seemed completely glossed over. I thought he was horrible. He knew he was infectious but still had sex with multiple men.

Yes Ritchie was an unlikeable character he wasn't supposed to be particularly likeable,

Agree that not all mothers were to blame. Colin's mother was wonderful. What Ritchie's mother did in that final episode was unbelievably cruel BUT as a mother I can understand as she felt excluded from her son's life and was jealous of the relationship Jill had with Ritchie. On his deathbed Ritchie wanted Jill and not her which must have hurt.

Having lived through those time I thought it was a great series and the attitudes were portrayed accurately. However all the female characters were barely one dimensional. I didn’t really expect anything else from Russell T Davies though.

I think it could have done with some additional input from another writer to have put a bit of flesh on the bones of the female characters. I found them all fairly unrepresentative of the women I knew at the time.

For me this wasn't about single mothers or oppressed women or violence against women by men. Women were support characters in a very entertaining show that was all about gay men in the 80's HIV crisis and IMO that was fine. I didn't care what Jill did as a job or what her hobbies were because that wasn't what it was about.

Jill was an incredible character- some women of that time experienced the duality of seeing friends and loved ones die from aids whilst knowing others who couldn’t care any less and saw the aids victims as lesser humans. Amazingly written and played.

Richie’s mother was written brilliantly, he was her pfb who she wanted to control, she loved him dearly but was also deeply ashamed of what he was and that last episode is ultimately about her controlling the narrative.

The female characters didn’t need fleshing out in my opinion. Each one is written with just enough nuance and depth to carry their story against a context of the hedonistic and sometimes chaotic male characters.

That’s the whole point of his character- the lifestyle and denial of a diagnosis was equally as devastating as the disease itself.

We saw in the early days of Covid how many people had total disregard for spreading a potentially dangerous virus, that selfish entitlement is a trait some people carry regardless of sexuality, race, religion or sex.

We need to remember as well that Ritchie lied to his mother about who he was. He didn’t give her a chance to accept or reject him. When she found out her son was already dying, so she found out in the worst possible way.

How was it some secret message about all mothers?

I agree that sadly many people in all parts of society are very selfish but my objection is that despite his monstrous disregard for other gay men the central character here is portrayed as a sympathetic hero.

I enjoyed the series but that was despite the rather obvious misogyny. Where were all the lesbians? My understanding is that they were significant allies at the time as well as likely to be in the gay clubs. We have one token woman who we’re allowed to like, the mother is to blame…

retrospectjournal.com/2021/02/21/undeniable-community-service-its-a-sin-and-the-forgotten-women-of-the-aids-crisis/#:~:text=Lesbian%20women%20played%20a%20crucial%20role%20as,character%20of%20Jill%2C%20portrayed%20by%20Lydia%20West.&text=Discussing%20the%20AIDS%20crisis%20in%20the%20United,levels%20of%20caretaking%20outside%20default%20family%20form”.

I think it was an accurate reflection of the times. It felt a bit "unfinished" with the final scenes. Jill was able to speak to Richie's mum but his dad was still in denial. I think it's realistic that the mum would reach out before the dad, even though the dad was just as much to blame.
I understand that originally more episodes were written but they were never made, so that might have been where it was going next?

Agree, didn't like it at all. Thought it was quite shallow and facile in a way. Gone off RTD as whole lately tbh and I was a bit of a fangirl in the past.