Very seldom do I listen to The Archers on Radio 4, and then only by chance.
But this morning as I was driving to get the newspaper I had the radio on for a few minutes.
A character called Clary was talking to a character called Christine about flower arranging.
Clary (working class accent, fiery way of expressing herself) wanted an arrangement that was large and extravagant.
Christine (refined Received Pronunciation, calm temperament) advised a minimalist approach.
Clary, after a little thought, concluded that the minimalist version was superior.
Obviously this is just a radio soap opera. The scripts will, to a certain extent, be churned out. It is presumably a drama that is not intended to be taken seriously.
Nevertheless I am concerned about this exchange (which is all of the programme I heard).
First because the floral representation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is not just limited to Madonna Lilies but includes many other flowers including roses, irises and periwinkles, therefore "Clary's" desire for a more ebullient arrangement was the more accurate.
Second because I detected an element of chavism in the way the snooty "Christine" spoke down to uneducated working-class "Clary" - the hierarchy implicit in this characterisation is distasteful.
Third, and most serious, I strongly object to the ideology of modernism and minimalism being slipped into radio dramas unchallenged as if it is some kind of orthodoxy. Minimalism is inposed on society almost always against the wishes of the majority. It is a profoundly political and controversial movement and almost everywhere it has been applied (particularly in housing) it has caused anxiety and unhappiness.
But this morning as I was driving to get the newspaper I had the radio on for a few minutes.
A character called Clary was talking to a character called Christine about flower arranging.
Clary (working class accent, fiery way of expressing herself) wanted an arrangement that was large and extravagant.
Christine (refined Received Pronunciation, calm temperament) advised a minimalist approach.
Clary, after a little thought, concluded that the minimalist version was superior.
Obviously this is just a radio soap opera. The scripts will, to a certain extent, be churned out. It is presumably a drama that is not intended to be taken seriously.
Nevertheless I am concerned about this exchange (which is all of the programme I heard).
First because the floral representation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is not just limited to Madonna Lilies but includes many other flowers including roses, irises and periwinkles, therefore "Clary's" desire for a more ebullient arrangement was the more accurate.
Second because I detected an element of chavism in the way the snooty "Christine" spoke down to uneducated working-class "Clary" - the hierarchy implicit in this characterisation is distasteful.
Third, and most serious, I strongly object to the ideology of modernism and minimalism being slipped into radio dramas unchallenged as if it is some kind of orthodoxy. Minimalism is inposed on society almost always against the wishes of the majority. It is a profoundly political and controversial movement and almost everywhere it has been applied (particularly in housing) it has caused anxiety and unhappiness.
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