In the well-known series Bridgerton that premiered on Netflix not long ago, we see a large number of socioeconomic differences and racial diversities throughout the first season. The series takes place in London around the early 1800’s, a time when there were large differences in class and a person’s status. Daphne Bridgerton and her brother Anthony were two of the main characters, who both were going through experiences that differed, but had a lot to do with the class that they were a part of. Daphne was going through her first season to be courted and married, which was expected of her to do in society. Anthony was in love with a girl named Sienna who sang in the opera, but was not considered to be of the same class as him. This was seen as a problem for her because she felt as though he did not treat her the same or pay as much attention towards her. Anthony always ran to his family and did what they needed before he helped Sienna. Anthony prioritized his family and cared deeply for his sister Daphne’s marriage situation, he assumed because they were of a higher class that they had more important things to deal with then Sienna did. This encounter shows that in the series there was a large divide between the class systems and that those who weren’t seen to be lords or ladies were seen to be less than others. Lords and Ladies were considered upper class and they had many more responsibilities than someone who was below them in the system; the show portrays that through Sienna and her relationship with Anthony. There was also another encounter that showed how there was a big divide in the socioeconomic system. The character Marina Thompson, who was a young African American girl, went to stay with the Featherington’s after becoming pregnant with a man that she loved, before marriage. Lady Featherington took her to a poor village and showed Marina how her life would turn out if she did not marry someone and conceal her secret. They used this example to show people who were poorer and portrayed them as having a bad life. This storyline and these examples relate heavily to the concept we learned in class of the “one” and the “other”, and the injustices that go along with that. The “one” is seen as being better or above the “other”, in this series families such as the Bridgertons and Featheringtons are seen to be the “one”. Characters such as Sienna and those who live in the poor village are illustrated as the “other” and are seen to be the minority and less than those above them. They get pushed aside and treated differently because of the way the socioeconomic system treats them as less. This disparity in class creates a huge injustice in the way that people from different backgrounds get treated. They get treated poorly only because they come from a different way of life. This series brings about many questions on how people are treated because of the lifestyle that they are a part of and the injustices that follow them because of that.
Hi, I have never watched this, but thank you for explaining the details of this show. Certain people being treated differently based on their socioeconomic status is very relevant to our reality today. Class disparities are an injustice effecting the lives of people all over the United States. This is relatable to our class module on othering in the sense that people are being treated unfair because they come from a group than those looking down on them.