Part 1 of 3 – Knowing Your Place

Servanthood is the blurred line between wage slavery and chattel slavery but in recent years popular costume dramas set in the British colonial period such as “Downton Abbey” and “Poldark” whitewash this for the sake of romanticism.

This is the first of three in a 2012 documentary series which looks at what life was like for British servants in that period. Unfortunately what appears as history here is still the reality for millions around the world, including children.

Part 2 of 3 – Class War

This part of the story looks at how servants began to organise against the class system. Although the documentary is dispelling the romantic view of servitude offered by some popular television series it does feel as though it may be tip toeing around the title topic of ‘Class War’. For example, one might think the publishing of Das Kapital in English in 1887 might have been worth a mention. It is great though at presenting a view of female class struggle, a topic which too often goes without attention.

Part 3 of 3 – No Going Back

The third and final part in this BBC documentary series about servants in Britain. This episode looks at how World War I and worker organisation empowered servants to demand dignity and improved working conditions from the owning classes.

♦  Presenter: Pamela Cox
♦  Executive Producer: Emma Hindley
♦  Series Producer: Annabel Hobley

SF Source anarchi.st Jan 2019