The Gilded Age

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:On Peggy Scott, who I also liked, I enjoyed this article:
https://www.glamour.com/story/the-gilded-age-denee-benton

I couldn't read much of it beyond some vague justification for making up history to suit modern ideologies. Do they have her going to balls and dances in the show? Or is it because of the rush to be woke, they throw in a token black character while ignoring historically more relevat social tensions and very real discriminations against, say, Jews or ethnic immigrants in late 19th century New York?

THIS. The real tensions of the times were other than black women. It doesn’t feel accurate in any way.

You are both very wrong. There was an upper class black population at the time that you clearly didn't know anything about. It's not about being "woke" just because you include a historically factual upper class black woman in the show. Shows your complete and utter ignorance. The reason they included her (if you read about it instead of pulling opinions out of your ass) you would realize that it is not often spoken about so they wanted to include it. Just because it wasn't what you believe should be relevant, doesn't make it less so.

So because it doesn't feel relevant to YOU, it's not relevant? We didn't get the memo that you were the arbiter of everything that is important.

*Standing ovation*

This. What they showed about an UMC or MC in NY was real. It existed. Did it exist everywhere or even in any numbers, no. But in NYC at that time it was there.

The number of black Americans in the 19th century who could have been described as upper class or even middle class was so small that it would only be a slight exaggeration to say you could count them on one hand. The best description I've read of 19th century black Americans is that they were as invisible as anyone could be. They just did not factor in most people's lives. That's how severe the racism was. It was also helped by that the black population north of the Mason Dixon line was small and it wasn't until the great migration starting after WWI that northern cities started having larger and more visible black populations. Almost all the servants in 19th century north were Irish/immigrants, for example, not black.

For the gilded age upper class New York, black Americans were not something they thought much about. To be seen in a social situation with a black person who wasn't a servant was both rare and certainly would have been commented upon. The social tensions they experienced were with up and coming new wealth, especially Jews.

That the show's producers would chose to focus on a middle class black person is certainly due to modern cultural pressures. Because if you wanted to capture the flavor of the period, you wouldn't have black characters other than servants. Because that was the extent of black people in the world of the gilded age upper classes. Racial consciousness and civil rights were decidedly not fashionable thoughts. The late 19th century was the entrenchment, often quite brutal, of Jim Crow in the South along with a steady loss of the initial civil rights promised by amendments of the late 1860s, and it happened with the indifference of the North, and it wasn't till around WWI that you saw an emergence of a more progressive-minded and sympathetic outlook among a certain segment of Northern elites (still fairly small), which did help to set the frameworks for the early civil rights movement.

I do think it'd be fascinating to have a show about an Ida B. Wells character and her struggles with the pervasive bigotry of late 19th century and early 20th century America, but trying to tie her with the gilded elite of the Vanderbilts and Astors is difficult, if not outright silly, if you're aiming for accuracy. Perhaps you could pull off an episode with a visiting lecturer raising funds to establish schools for blacks in the South but that would be the realistic extent for most of the gilded age elite outside of a service or catering related relationship.

What is it with you? They did exist even if in small numbers. No one is suggesting that they were in great numbers. You forget that during Reconstruction, black people made significant strides in politics and economically. There has always been a black upper class. WEB Dubois? Also, the Executive Producer is a black woman. It has nothing to do with "modern cultural pressures". They are people who want to tell a story that others may not be familiar with. Every time a black person is highlighted does not mean that someone is being woke. Maybe they just want to explore something different and teach you something. Does this mean every time you even see a black person in a position to which you are not familiar, you consider someone folding to "modern cultural pressures"? Do you live under a rock? STAY MAD ABBY!

Lets not pretend this is some educational show. This is a soap opera with pretty costumes and bad sets. if you want to learn something - read a book.

and very, very bad dialogue. Who wrote this crap?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just don't like Marian or Mr. Raikes at all.

I think Mr. Raikes is meant to seem kind of sketchy. He's way too forward for the era. Marian is just a terrible actress.

I hate the way he kisses. For some reasons it looks gross.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just don't like Marian or Mr. Raikes at all.

I think Mr. Raikes is meant to seem kind of sketchy. He's way too forward for the era. Marian is just a terrible actress.

The worst

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just don't like Marian or Mr. Raikes at all.

I think Mr. Raikes is meant to seem kind of sketchy. He's way too forward for the era. Marian is just a terrible actress.

I hate the way he kisses. For some reasons it looks gross.

Yes! I noticed this too! He mashes his face against Marian. Glad they're done.

[Anonymous]

Marian and Larry are end game, right? Hope so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why did the have Mr. Russell act all flirty with the maid, like they were already having an affair, but then when she came into his bedroom he was all horrified? Made no sense.

I didn't think he was flirty. He just seems like a nice guy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why did the have Mr. Russell act all flirty with the maid, like they were already having an affair, but then when she came into his bedroom he was all horrified? Made no sense.

I didn't think he was flirty. He just seems like a nice guy.

I agree. He seems quite loyal to his wife, and she to him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just don't like Marian or Mr. Raikes at all.

I think Mr. Raikes is meant to seem kind of sketchy. He's way too forward for the era. Marian is just a terrible actress.

I hate the way he kisses. For some reasons it looks gross.

Yes! I noticed this too! He mashes his face against Marian. Glad they're done.

Glad other people noticed this- so gross!

[Anonymous]

Marian’s character handled the break up and then seeing him right away with a lot of boys. She is pretty vanilla as a character, but at least has a little bit of common sense and decorum so there is that. I would love to see her with Larry.

I’m a terrible person but whenever there is a scene with Gladys, all I can think about is how unattractive the actress is, how terrible the name is, and how she looks/acts/talks like a 12-year-old doll in human form rather than a debutante. No likey.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Marian’s character handled the break up and then seeing him right away with a lot of boys. She is pretty vanilla as a character, but at least has a little bit of common sense and decorum so there is that. I would love to see her with Larry.

I’m a terrible person but whenever there is a scene with Gladys, all I can think about is how unattractive the actress is, how terrible the name is, and how she looks/acts/talks like a 12-year-old doll in human form rather than a debutante. No likey.

Why didn’t they fix her bangs for the ball?!?

[Anonymous]

Interesting … Gladys is played by Vera Farmiga’s sister!

[Anonymous]

Was the episode from this week the series finale?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Was the episode from this week the series finale?

Season. It’s been renewed for season 2 already.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interesting … Gladys is played by Vera Farmiga’s sister!

and Ukrainian through and through!

[Anonymous]

I really enjoyed the ball scenes and the costumes and set. Just gorgeous! Fun to imagine being at a party like that.

Marian is a wet blanket and it’s hard to feel sorry for her. Although I really don’t care for Mr. Raikes. I thought all our theories of him trying to steal her secret money would’ve been a better plot line then what they did.

I hope the writing in season 2 improves but overall I’ve enjoyed this season!