Friday, November 21, 2014

Appearances are REALLY Misleading

There's a British show that PBS plays on a loop called "Keeping Up Appearances." I usually find it too frustrating to regularly watch, but if the plot isn't too infuriating I'll end up sobbing with hilarity on the floor. 

The main character, Hyacinth Bucket (who insists on pronouncing her last name as "Bouquet") is an insecure woman who is desperate to conceal her low-class origins, an obvious social climber who is repeatedly foiled by her own attempts at classiness.

She is so consumed in maintaining the false and inflated image of upper-crustiness, pretending not to be related to her "white trash" sisters Daisy and Rose, and brother-in-law Onslow, that she never comprehends how she repels those that she is trying so hard to impress. She is loathed and avoided, but she has such faith in her false god of upward mobility that she is blissfully unaware of their repulsion. 

Hyacinth's obsession with the projection of her desired construct clouds her discernment how people actually perceive her. 

I think of Hyacinth when I find myself making the mistake of being too much "in my head." I can be so sure of how others see me that I fail to truly see myself. 

I don't want to be a Hyacinth, a sad, endless joke, spending her whole life fussing over meaningless minutiae. If only she could accept herself.    

6 comments:

Daniel Saunders said...

I'm surprised Keeping Up Appearances is even intelligible to American viewers! A lot of British comedy is about class (though perhaps less so these days - Keeping Up Appearances is quite old) - go figure, as you Americans would say.

And I can't imagine you being anything like Hyacinth.

aminspiration said...

Another person who watches old British comedies! YAY!

aminspiration said...

You should watch "Chef!" if you appreciate good sarcastic rants its epic!

as for a more modern show... do you watch "Would I lie to you?" that show literally has me in stitches..always brings me out of a bad mood. :)

Princess Lea said...

DS: It is about the class system, yes, and while America doesn't have that there are enough people trying to be something they aren't that it rings true.

aminspiration: Oh yeah. I love all that dry wit.

I've never heard of either, must check them out. Have you ever seen "Miranda"? That's pretty hysterical too.

aminspiration said...

do i know miranda?! of course! i quote miranda! you should read her book, i was in stitches. The only issue with British TV is that the series are so short...

you might like mr. selfridge. its available on Amazon Prime.

Princess Lea said...

I should have recorded "Mr. Selfridge" when I had the chance. But I find these endless mini-series so annoying, unlike murder mysteries which are neatly tied up in an hour to 90 minutes. "Inspector Lewis," "Foyle' War," and this really good series called "New Tricks." It's so funny.