Cultural backdrop

[burntcopper]

The Sherlock series raised an interesting thought. Gatiss and Moffatt (evil duo of EVIL) mentioned their glee at realising they didn't have to change a single reference to Watson's background, that of an army doctor invalided out from Afghanistan becasue that's going on right now. The audience doesn't need a single bit of explanation. You could even just say 'the war' and they'd all nod and go 'yeah, Afghanistan, got it'.

Which got me thinking that it's become one of the constants of this time period. Like, oh, I don't know, youtube and facebook. Writers of all media drop references to it without an explanation, expecting the audience to get it, as it's not a flash in the pan. Future audiences watching/reading/listening to stuff from this time may require footnotes as no-one from the period needs one.

Terry Pratchett's Only You Can Save Mankind doesn't detail which war is constantly on the news (It's Gulf War #1) but given the way British forces are constantly involved in peacekeeping, it was a relatively safe bet for the writer. Given that GW1 lasted a relatively short period, there's relatively few references to it without explanation. The current period, no explanations.

A few examples : Supernatural, when an ex-soldier asks where Dean was stationed, he says "Hell", and the soldier nods and goes "Right, Helmand." The writers expect the audience to get it automatically, no further reference. Terry Bellefleur on True Blood has PTSD from his tour. TV series (especially hospital dramas) will devote a storyline/ep to someone back from the war like they would, I dunno, a divorce because it's just another strand of daily life. Soldiers on the train don't rate a second glance.

Seriously. This period is like unto Regency and post-WW1 literature, much of which has characters regularly back from the wars and often not talking about it because the people back home wouldn't get it.

And of course, anyone writing this period will feel compelled to drop a reference to Afghanistan to show that it's set in this period. There'll be the obligatory character back from the war, or screen in the background showing bbc news with another casualty report while commentators/critics will go 'oh god, another lazy marker of the turn of the century' while others argue that it was a such a constant that you have to have at least a background reference otherwise it wouldn't be realistic.

Comments

[snowballjane.livejournal.com]

An awful lot like Regency period yes, with the sense that people back home are pretty oblivious and often forget about the war entirely - or don't WANT to think about it. With so much of 20th century conflict, I think even though there was an immense gap between combatants' experience and the home front there was a sense of all having been through a Big National Trauma. It will be fascinating to see how that plays out in fiction in retrospect.

[burntcopper.livejournal.com]

another thing I thought about, even though the politicians are constantly saying 'out by this point', there's a definite sense that it's gone on so long that it's a constant. TV writers/producers can safely plan months ahead, safe in the knowledge that there will still be soldiers being shipped out and back when it airs.

I was going to compare it to Vietnam, but the rolling news coverage is pretty much background and 24/7, and unlike Vietnam, there's no shock and horror at what's going on (aside from mismanagement/kit/funding), or any real revelation/protests in the way it was for the USA. (Britain has not regarded its soldiers in a shiny light in a very, very long time. However, unlike the militia and soldiers of Regency, there's no romance/glamour attached to the uniform. You wouldn't get girls flocking to officers.)