Where are the nobles?

Downton Abbey, a British ITV neoclassical drama released last year, attracted many people's attention and expectation because of its strong lineup before it was released. As an audience of Japanese dramas with only three or four American dramas supplemented by some big endings who don't want to start new dramas this year, I finally can't resist the temptation. At the end of last season, because of the strong cast of the play, it made up a whole season and began to talk about the second season this year. More importantly, it was written by Julian Fellowes, a gold screenwriter who won the Academy Award. This gentleman's specialty is writing group plays. A film of that year, Goswald Manor, in just one and a half hours, wrote dozens of people from master to servant, which made me amazed and hooked up. How can I miss it? Moreover, it is estimated that only the British can shoot a series that reflects the life of the old western aristocrats like this. Even the newly married Prince William and Princess Wang told reporters that they are watching this TV series, which shows its popularity. No wonder some people say it's the English version of A Dream of Red Mansions.

Judging from the plot alone, Downton Abbey is not the drama that tells the ups and downs of the story I have seen. In this respect, many American and Japanese TV dramas have done better, but the greatest charm of Downton Abbey is that TV dramas in any other country can't be copied, that is, the historical background and aristocratic temperament of its old capitalist countries, and Britain has become an aristocrat, which is known all over the world, but this one. In China, a country full of nouveau riche, this can undoubtedly educate most people, because many people think that money is nobility. Even the media here talk about the word nobility all day, and the slogan they publicize all day is also the label of nobility. But this drama can make many people feel ashamed, because the real nobility is not only a big house, the amount of bank deposits or the number of servants, but also a kind of spirit.

On the one hand, exquisite costumes, exquisite makeup and meticulous details of life make us deeply admire the writers' historical knowledge and accumulation. On the other hand, although we have to admit that Earl Granson's family living in Downton Manor is an aristocratic family idealized by playwrights, we can still learn from it that some interesting people living in aristocratic life are not what we imagined. For example, the servants of aristocratic families are also graded. The master has his personal footman, and the young lady and his wife have their own waiters. This cannot be confused. The management of a big family is as strict as that of a company, and the management ability of male and female housekeepers is no less than that of professional managers today. Loyalty is the greatest virtue among people. This loyalty lies not only in the bottom-up servant to the master, but also in the top-down master to the servant. As long as he enters this family, if a servant has made contributions to this family, even if he is not related to this family, he is still a member of this family, so the owner has the obligation to take care of this servant who has served him all his life. Therefore, when the chef suffers from cataract, the owner will pay for her treatment and assign someone to take care of her. After the old servants at home retire, they will get a retirement annuity (I was thinking when I saw this, this is our state-owned enterprise, and their whole family is a career editor). On the other hand, true respect must also be mutual. Although in an era of feudal hereditary system, people are born with class attributes such as 369, there is a kind of respect beyond this class attribute, which is based on personality. A loyal and wise servant, his character can be recognized, his professionalism and good skills can also be respected by his master, and his work and personality must also be respected. Since the master has hired a servant, he should be respected. Diligence is the virtue of a servant. Many servants, even if their master is away, will take the initiative to undertake labor, help veterans and so on. When the host misunderstood and made a mistake, he should also apologize to the servant and thank him for doing something extra. Sir Alex Ferguson, the future heir, will go to war like a child of a civilian family when the war comes. On the battlefield, of course, the rank is higher, but they will fight for their lives and lead their soldiers to the front. This is a tradition left over from the era of cold weapons by western nobles. In the movies of the cold weapon era, kings and nobles rushed to the bridge everywhere. Chivalry is more than just opening doors for women to sit on stools. Although we doubt whether every aristocrat can do this, at least we know what kind of standard education was at that time, and this standard is a tradition. In the long years that followed, although the nobility declined, it evolved into something in the bones of the British, and the legend of making Britain a gentleman and lady has long been heard. We can't take all the characters in this drama as reality, but just as we can see the mainstream values of American drama from American drama, we can also see the example that the British are trying to set and the values exported to the world from this drama. It is at least a kind of value that makes people feel warm, comfortable, acceptable and practical. You can use this mansion to create a family that is not disgusting. Let's look back at our media, the so-called "noble" image created by film and television themes, the social role model of the so-called successful elite, what kind of mansion to live in, what kind of sports car to drive, and what kind of girl to pick up. We can only say that everyone's understanding and pursuit of the word nobility are really different. Our nobles are expensive, and the British nobles are expensive first, then expensive. Therefore, the declining aristocrats are still aristocrats, and the rich upstarts can't get more respect if they paint themselves with gold paint. How can you blame the common people for hating the rich?

I think this is what really makes people want to watch this drama. Although many people think that the plot of the second season is not as good as that of the first season, what I personally want to see is actually how people deal with some problems, how to treat subordinates and how to treat bosses. Whether you are an earl or an ordinary maid, how do they protect their dignity and respect others under different hierarchical systems, and how do everyone keep their manners under pressure without shouting? I think this is a unique style and skill of the British. Of course, not everyone can do it. Otherwise, how can they be called nobles? But where is the nobility? At least this TV series can really tell you some answers.