Friday, August 23, 2019

Finishing School

The novel Cassandra French's Finishing School For Boys was made into a TV series. It has apparently been around for a while, but I am as usual not up on these things.

Do the thought experiment of what would happen if the sexes were reversed in this one.  I understand that there is more permission granted in the arts for those who are perceived to be punching up vs punching down, especially in humor. However, A) This exceeds that permission, and I am not in the least interested in how well-done it is. B) Are we quite certain women are in the down position in matters of the heart? C) Could you even have done the reversal of this as a novel, TV show, or movie 70 years ago? I remember thinking when "The Stepford Wives" came out when I was in college that the reverse was perhaps as likely in our set, despite the hyperventilating of my wife's sorority sisters. Like Pink Floyd's "One More Brick In The Wall," the culture they were protesting had already been dethroned and the reverse persecution was already beginning.

1 comment:

james said...

WRT culture already changing, wasn't The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit from '55? And "The Organization Man?"