I must say, what a cast.
Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Belle, Black Mirror), Keira Knightley (Pirates of the Carribbean, Atonement), Jessie Buckley (Men, Beast), Emma D'Arcy & Rhys Ifans (House of The Dragon), Emma Corrin & Lesley Manville (The Crown), Luke Thompson (Bridgerton), Keeley Hawes (It's A Sin), Clara Rosager (1899), Phyllis Logan (Downton Abbey) etc. From the sheer talent assembled to star in front of the camera alone, the production is impressive enough, positively brimming with recognisable faces from a whole assortment of majorly successful hits within film / TV that have gone on to define modern pop culture.
Here, the ensemble collectively help to populate the world of director Philippa Lowthorpe's thematically resonant "Misbehaviour", an endearing & faithful recreation of the 1970s (or the very first year of that particular decade, to be exact), chronicling a time of civil unrest in the UK when attitudes were about to shift seismically (all across the world, even) & the topic of women's rights bubbled to the surface of societal attention again after years of systematic repression / normalised sexist behaviours, sparking the gradual mainstream acceptance of the women's liberation movement (physically holding its first conference in Oxford, previously treated as some sort of radicalist organisation) - which also had its first major demonstration in London shortly after the events depicted in the third act (validating their fight amongst the general public), denouncing the misogyny of the mass reported / extremely popular "Miss World" competition - at the time, encouraging dehumanising objectification & assigning value to those of the female sex based entirely upon outdated gender stereotypes & unreasonable beauty standards thrust upon girls (from literal infancy) under the oppressive weight of the crushing patriarchy.
Thus, although originally small in size, what the aptly titled "Misbehaviour" experienced during the controversial show went on to symbolise, unstoppably transformed in to something far greater than anyone could've plausibly imagined (inspiring others to speak out & join in solidarity), giving meaning & purpose to the few's act of loud, unashamed bravery & stoic defiance.
However, what makes this protest so interesting (& far more complex) than the potentially basic concept (it may seem, at initial glance - of inherent good V bad or right / wrong) is the deliciously nuanced conflict of interest / ideologies when context is applied to what occurred during the televised event, because despite liberalism moving at a much faster rate of progression in Britain (sadly, not fast enough - since it still hasn't been dismantled by 2023), for those whose development may have perhaps been less rapid (in other countries, only taking their beginning, tentative steps to equality - freeing their own mindsets of the imperialist values colonialists had imposed during tyrannical occupation), such profundity of one's evolution potentially came at the expense of another's, since the topic of feminism arguably overshadowed that of racism (when the competition gained its first ethnic minority champion - a huge triumph in representation, undoubtedly - & the subject of apartheid desperately required addressing), resulting in a fractured disconnect (in perspectives) between two marginalised groups who should've ideally had intersectionality & solidarity, in the face of one common enemy.
As a result, what should've been a jubilant (& fairly easy) celebration of marked progress (taking a refreshing step forward in our nation's growth) is contradicted (or juxtaposed, lyrically) by the bittersweet assignation of regression elsewhere, showing clearly how the remnants of white supremacy (& a past we tend to forget - of slavery, in which the Brits built our economy / wealth upon) lingered on, holding those in the commonwealth back (perpetuating the same damage inflicted by our ancestors), long after the empire had fallen.
Therefore, the lack of simplicity is thankfully referenced & I always appreciate three dimensional-analyses of imperfect circumstances (& conflict borne from the morally grey) but additionally, I do feel as though the exploration of the theoretical detriment experienced in response (as a direct impact) could've perhaps been done in more detail, so as to truly ensure justice was done to the issues being acknowledged.
That's not to say the depiction's handled badly or mismanaged... I merely got the impression as though we'd only scratched the surface.
Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Belle, Black Mirror), Keira Knightley (Pirates of the Carribbean, Atonement), Jessie Buckley (Men, Beast), Emma D'Arcy & Rhys Ifans (House of The Dragon), Emma Corrin & Lesley Manville (The Crown), Luke Thompson (Bridgerton), Keeley Hawes (It's A Sin), Clara Rosager (1899), Phyllis Logan (Downton Abbey) etc. From the sheer talent assembled to star in front of the camera alone, the production is impressive enough, positively brimming with recognisable faces from a whole assortment of majorly successful hits within film / TV that have gone on to define modern pop culture.
Here, the ensemble collectively help to populate the world of director Philippa Lowthorpe's thematically resonant "Misbehaviour", an endearing & faithful recreation of the 1970s (or the very first year of that particular decade, to be exact), chronicling a time of civil unrest in the UK when attitudes were about to shift seismically (all across the world, even) & the topic of women's rights bubbled to the surface of societal attention again after years of systematic repression / normalised sexist behaviours, sparking the gradual mainstream acceptance of the women's liberation movement (physically holding its first conference in Oxford, previously treated as some sort of radicalist organisation) - which also had its first major demonstration in London shortly after the events depicted in the third act (validating their fight amongst the general public), denouncing the misogyny of the mass reported / extremely popular "Miss World" competition - at the time, encouraging dehumanising objectification & assigning value to those of the female sex based entirely upon outdated gender stereotypes & unreasonable beauty standards thrust upon girls (from literal infancy) under the oppressive weight of the crushing patriarchy.
Thus, although originally small in size, what the aptly titled "Misbehaviour" experienced during the controversial show went on to symbolise, unstoppably transformed in to something far greater than anyone could've plausibly imagined (inspiring others to speak out & join in solidarity), giving meaning & purpose to the few's act of loud, unashamed bravery & stoic defiance.
However, what makes this protest so interesting (& far more complex) than the potentially basic concept (it may seem, at initial glance - of inherent good V bad or right / wrong) is the deliciously nuanced conflict of interest / ideologies when context is applied to what occurred during the televised event, because despite liberalism moving at a much faster rate of progression in Britain (sadly, not fast enough - since it still hasn't been dismantled by 2023), for those whose development may have perhaps been less rapid (in other countries, only taking their beginning, tentative steps to equality - freeing their own mindsets of the imperialist values colonialists had imposed during tyrannical occupation), such profundity of one's evolution potentially came at the expense of another's, since the topic of feminism arguably overshadowed that of racism (when the competition gained its first ethnic minority champion - a huge triumph in representation, undoubtedly - & the subject of apartheid desperately required addressing), resulting in a fractured disconnect (in perspectives) between two marginalised groups who should've ideally had intersectionality & solidarity, in the face of one common enemy.
As a result, what should've been a jubilant (& fairly easy) celebration of marked progress (taking a refreshing step forward in our nation's growth) is contradicted (or juxtaposed, lyrically) by the bittersweet assignation of regression elsewhere, showing clearly how the remnants of white supremacy (& a past we tend to forget - of slavery, in which the Brits built our economy / wealth upon) lingered on, holding those in the commonwealth back (perpetuating the same damage inflicted by our ancestors), long after the empire had fallen.
Therefore, the lack of simplicity is thankfully referenced & I always appreciate three dimensional-analyses of imperfect circumstances (& conflict borne from the morally grey) but additionally, I do feel as though the exploration of the theoretical detriment experienced in response (as a direct impact) could've perhaps been done in more detail, so as to truly ensure justice was done to the issues being acknowledged.
That's not to say the depiction's handled badly or mismanaged... I merely got the impression as though we'd only scratched the surface.