I tend to binge-watch a lot of Netflix shows when I have downtime, especially when the kids are asleep, and while I might not power through several episodes at once, I tend to find a show, keep watching it until I’m done, and then move on.
I’ve been hearing for a while now about how fantastic the show Luther is, and obviously Idris Elba is an amazing actor. So it’s kind of been on my back-burner list for some time. I finally decided to start watching it, and am only now finishing up the third episode of the first season, and it’s incredible. Gritty, intriguing, all of the types of drama I prefer in a show, all around great. But there’s something I noticed, that’s really interesting for me.
Back when I first read the novel Pattern Recognition, by Gibson, he had coined a phrase in the book, mirror-world, as a reference to another place that’s quite similar to your own, but only slightly different. And slightly different everywhere. In the book, as in my experience, it’s the similarities and distinct differences between the US and the UK. Mannerisms, behaviors, things, all very similar yet slightly different, a tad off.
I’ve watched a lot of English shows, thanks to the good ol’ Internet, and with a show like say, Sherlock, you don’t notice it as much, because I think the show was intended for a larger audience than just the UK, so they tend to hide the differences a bit. That show doesn’t so much exist in the UK, as it simply exists. And I think they do this on purpose, existing in a show-world that’s as generic as possible, so the broadest audience can feel comfortable. Which is a good thing, if that’s the goal.
But in a regular UK show like Luther, where it simply exists, they don’t try to numb down the UK-ness, because there’s no need. To do so would actually likely make the show seem and feel less real, and it’s the type of show that wants that reality. And for an American, watching that show, you really start noticing all the things that are slightly different, like dialing “999” instead of “911”. The way paperback books are shaped, the way doors are setup slightly different.
The idea of being foreign and immersing in a show like that is a bit novel of a feeling, and I think makes it more intriguing for those of us not in the UK than it might for the locals.
