Summary
UntilPeaky Blinderscame along with its Birmingham-based gangland action, most British gangster films and TV shows were set in and around London.Peaky Blindersrevolves around the criminal activities of the titular gang in the immediate aftermath of World War I. The gang was loosely based on a real urban youth gang of the same name, who were active in the city of Birmingham from the 1880s to the 1910s. The series deviates from the real-life history, but one element remains consistent: their hometown.
Look at anyclassic British gangster movie; they’re almost always set in London.Snatch,Legend,Layer Cake,Eastern Promises,The Long Good Friday, andLock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrelsall take place in the seedy underbelly of London.Anyone who was basing their knowledge of British geography solely on gangster movies would think that the island is just one big London-shaped cityfull of Cockney people. But that all changed whenPeaky Blinderscame along in 2013.
Peaky Blinders Finally Moved The British Gangster Genre Away From London
Peaky Blinders is inherently a show about Birmingham
Peaky Blindersis inherently a show about Birmingham: Birmingham culture, industry, people, etc. It’s a rare example of a renowned British gangster story that doesn’t take place in the capital. Almost every notable British gangster movie and TV show, fromGangs of LondontoOnce Upon a Time in London, is set in London. That’s not to say there aren’t British gangster stories set elsewhere –Get Cartersees Michael Caine’s London gangstergoing to Newcastle to avenge his brother’s death – but the vast majority of the big ones are London-based.
Rise of the Footsoldiertakes place in Essex, which technically isn’t London, but is very close. EvenSexy Beast, which revolves around a retired criminal who moved to Costa del Sol specifically to get away from London, has a lot of action centered around London.Peaky Blindersbroke the mold with its Birmingham setting; it proved to a global mainstream audience that London isn’t the only British city with gangsters.
The City Of Birmingham Is Integral To Peaky Blinders
Birmingham isn’t just a setting in Peaky Blinders
Birmingham isn’t just a setting inPeaky Blinders; it informs the characters and their stories.The city of Birmingham is as intrinsically tied toPeaky Blindersas New York is toSeinfeld, or Baltimore is toThe Wire. The culture and the history and the inner workings of the city are the backbone ofPeaky Blinders’ drama.Peaky Blinderssimply wouldn’t be the same story without its Birmingham setting, and it finally got the British gangster genre out of its traditional London trappings.
