'Peaky Blinders': Crime, masculinity and the subtle integration of racism in the BBC One drama
'Peaky Blinders' might just grip its fans and not let them go due to its intoxicating appearance and alluring story. A group of men and women clothed in the authentic '20s suits, and each slinging out a gun at the slightest provocation is something we as viewers have loved about the show. However, there is a lot more to the BBC One show than just a stylized appearance. Coming from creator Steven Knight, 'Peaky Blinders' is full of blatant chauvinism, racism, and unregulated crime, and at the center of it all is the Irish gangster family, the Shelbys.
The show is also set against an extremely interesting background where we see the Shelby family trying to make their business prosper in an inter-war England, and while doing so they face discrimination at its worst. They are at first Irish people who ended up in England as gypsies, and later on, take to violence and crime to survive through decades of post-traumatic stress disorder. While the show is set to return this year in Spring, let's take a look at how the show has drawn a fine line between romanticizing these issues and holding them up in their most disastrous realism.