Downton Abbey alternative

If you are a Downton Abbey fan, you'll definitely be interested in this documentary film produced several years ago by the BBC and now available on YouTube. Servants: The True Story of Life Below Stairs places the servant class of the Victorian Age in a larger historical context, recognizing for example the role of coercion and particularly the workhouse in generating this supply of highly exploitable workers. Also see Secrets from the Workhouse, which is narrated by Jim Carter (Carson of Downton Abbey).     .  

activists in support of The Help

Despite widespread criticisms among progressives about The Help, Ilyse House reports in a recent article in The Nation that the Oscar-nominated film has served as a positive force for domestic workers by bringing their plight to national attention. According to labor activists, the movie has served to give their cause a significant voice, as well as a yardstick by which to educate the public that conditions among those in this occupation have not appreciably improved since the Civil Rights era a half-century ago.

Downton Abbey and alternate realities

This New York Times article by Judith Newman explores the immense popularity of PBS's Downton Abbey  within the U.S., along with several books that offer alternative views on relationships between English masters and servants.  Was it the case that they were characterized by noblesse oblige, perhaps even coupled with social intimacy, or were they typically distant and exploitative in nature?  Newman implies that the depiction may largely reflect the social background of the writer, as does a recent piece by Heilpern appearing in the Nation about the author of Downton Abbey.  Newman, as well as Timson in a recent article in The Globe and Mail, see the popularity of this series in light of America's financial crisis and growing preoccupation with inequality.