Thanks to the on-demand channel 4 site, I was able to watch the entire 7 seasons in few weeks, and wondered what made this show a good drama, as opposed to soap opera, albeit dramatic characters and plots. Here are some of my thoughts:
Frank, a great traditional British character
Interesting thing about Frank, an alcoholic father of 6 (by season 7, father of 9) on dole is the fact that his character is very much in the tradition of jesters or fools in British novels and plays. In fact, his constant ranting and unique moral standards are quite similar to Falstaff and Fagin, and perhaps because of the skills of the actor playing Frank, he sounds quite Shakespearean in some of his speeches. He could be quite a philosopher and a keen observer, with surprisingly high intelligence, but his practical aptitudes are non-existent.
Frank also represents the tolerance for failure in Britain, quite an opposite from the way the failures are depicted elsewhere. Having lived in competitive and workaholic countries of USA and Japan, it is refreshing to see his idleness and lack of wills accepted as part of life and fact of the world, not only by Frank, but by the people surrounding him. Frank's character is, by no means new, appearing in Ken Loach, Mike Leigh and other British film makers' films, but by naming the show "Shameless", Frank's unapologetic attitude toward failure constitutes the core of the show, and I find this quite British.
The more we get to know Frank, the more we see his multifaceted character, such as his strong love for his family, but no active role as caregiver, and his sense of entitlement to the government's handouts, but no strong sense of ownership for his possessions (except for his constant needs for alcohol and drugs.) He could be extremely observant to his surroundings, but he cares less about how people see him. This complexity and ambiguity of character makes Frank real, and consequently, set the show apart from the soap opera.
Whether he exists merely as a jester or as a central character in the episodes, he is the omnipresent character, and Shameless is not Shameless without him. After watching full 7 seasons of the shows, I still don't know Frank, and he remains a character with full of surprises.
The moral standards of Chatsworth Estate
Fictional Chatsworth Estate in Manchester is where this show is taking place, and as Frank mentions in his speech, this is not a "garden of Eden", nor anyone's cup of tea. In fact, this is the place where the characters (mostly Frank's children) would do anything to get away from, unless one is happy to live off on permanent government handouts.
What intrigues me from the cultural perspective, is the Estate residence's moral standards. For them, petty crimes such as stealing, fraud, minor violence, drug dealing, abuse, etc., are part of their daily lives and they seem to be quite oblivious. In other words, if you are caught, bad luck, and it really is not your fault. This doesn't mean that they don't have moral standards...they do, and they draw an ambiguous line on what's right and wrong, but they are not based on laws or religious beliefs. This ambiguity may be the reason why the show has been so successful. You just can't guess what the characters will do, because there are no set standards for moral codes, and their decisions are more or less made on their instincts. For many of us, this lawlessness is utter fiction, and as long as they are within the confine of fictional Estate, we can sit back and enjoy the show, because I think deep down, there are desire for us to act upon instincts, rather than on moral codes.
But what if this was reality, and not a complete fiction? In fact, the estate is based on where the creator of the show, Paul Abbot, grew up, and I have seen some viewers' comments that the shows are "too painful to watch because it is too close to home." This means there are world out there, where this estate exists for real.
Other thoughts...
- Season 8 has been a bit of disappointment for me. This is probably because many of the Gallagher children are no longer in the show, and for me, the show was about the Gallagher clan. My all time favorite Gallagher children has been Ian, as I find him a good, but confused and ambiguous soul, but now he is gone, that gentle ambiguity is no longer there and the show seems to become more aggressive and somewhat brutal. Season 8 is more about the Maguire family, and while I like Mickey, this clan tends to act a bit out of my comfort zone, especially without Paddy who had been the anchor of his clan and kept the dynamics of the family intact.
- I've never been to Manchester, but learned few things about the city through this show. At first, I couldn't understand half of their dialogues, but now have ears for their accent. Also, having been an obsessive The Smiths and Morrissey fan during my long-gone student days, I understand better about the cultural context of Morrissey's lyrics, like the word "Strange Way" means prison, and his desperation for not being able to fit into macho and violent surroundings. One of my favorite plots in the show is when Shane and Mickey drug the tourists and take them to see the place where The Smiths used to have gigs, with Shane pretending to be Morrissey with a bunch of flowers on bicycle. Classic!
- I thought slung are universal, but they are not...learning British slung was like learning foreign language. Thanks to online slung dictionary, I get to understand them better now, but not sure if I ever have a chance to use them myself...may be in my sleep.
