Bridgerton and historical inaccuracy

So bridgerton series on netflix is based on books which cover the love lives of 8 siblings from an aristocratic family in 1813 England.Obviously the characters and love interests are all white in the books.

But netflix has changed the race of love interests of two siblings till now and it will most probably continue in the future too.

The show says that marriage between a white king and a black queen was enough to 'mend the relations' between white and black people.It shows Indians being accepted in not only social circles but also as the daughter in law of the aristocratic family.

The black queen in the show(queen charlotte) apparently was only 1/8th black(correct me if wrong) and was pro slavery in real life.

Given the history of slavery and colonialism,where do you stand with regard to this?Are you able to treat it as fiction?

I treated it completely as fiction set in perhaps an alternate universe during that time. Yes, it's not historically accurate but its refreshing to see people of colour be main leads. Simone Ashley as Kate Sharma was amazing! Also loved the instrumental K3G played during the pre-wedding event.

The reality obviously is that only White people would be aristocrats during that era but it wouldn't have done too well for having all white cast. More and more TV shows have more inclusive cast. Even the spinoff show of How I met your mother and 70s show have a more inclusive cast. 

Bridgerton tries to gloss over the suffering of generations of black and brown people. They also try to appropriate British culture and make it their own.Regency Era and all its gloss and snobbery belonged to the British not Americans.

Would we like it if they recreated our Padmavat or Jodhaa Akbar with their actors and spread wild tales like the Mughals and the Marathas were best friends? No, because we all know that historically the Mughals and Rajputs became close allies.

Closer home, just look at how offended Mary Kom's people were, when they cast Priyanka Chopra who belongs to a different ethnic group.

Fictional worlds can be anything you want it to be. 

I treat it as complete fiction (which it is) and I am happy with the color blind casting. For shows like this which are not “historical” or non fiction, it’s good to have an inclusive cast. 

Also it’s not just tokenism (where they’ll have a non white character just for the sake of it). Simon, Kate are the leads of their seasons, with other non white characters holding important roles.

I guess it becomes easier as long as we don’t understand the intricacies and nuances in the actual history.

Grr. I'm so irritated with the American tendancy to meddle with some other culture's history/religion/mythology? The whole Shiva-is-an-alien theory of theirs is so irritating. I've read enough fiction on Regency Era as well as the original Bridgerton books to find the series superficial and irritating. If they want to pretend that it's a fantasy why borrow the name of British monarchs?

Originally posted by: capricornrcks

Grr. I'm so irritated with the American tendancy to meddle with some other culture's history/religion/mythology? The whole Shiva-is-an-alien theory of theirs is so irritating. I've read enough fiction on Regency Era as well as the original Bridgerton books to find the series superficial and irritating. If they want to pretend that it's a fantasy why borrow the name of British monarchs?

There is a Shiva is an alien theory?

When book announcement for Princess Charlotte happened,black people were saying that they shouldn't use name of a real queen who once had a black ancestor centuries back and was pro slavery to whitewash history.

Originally posted by: blahhhh

There is a Shiva is an alien theory?

When book announcement for Princess Charlotte happened,black people were saying that they shouldn't use name of a real queen who once had a black ancestor centuries back and was pro slavery to whitewash history.

There are some crazy Youtube videos out there expounding on the Shiva as an Alien theory. Somehow Aliens are more "real" than Gods. Go figure. Because they are a younger country(comparatively) and hasn't had enough time to come up with mythology and religion acceptable to all, they have a tendency to cherry-pick fancy things from other cultures. Also there is a genuine need to forget/gloss over the cruelties of racism from the past and form a homogeneous community to look forward to a brighter future. Just like post-Independant India likes to gloss over the cruelties of war between different states(kingdoms) in India in the Past.

Bridgerton is just one instance of whitewashing. We have no historical proof that Princess Charlotte did anything for the black people. There has been a series on the British Plantagenets where they cast Margaret of Anjou as black. The damage is two fold. Future generations tend to forget the atrocities of racism. It is wrong to appropriate some other culture's history as your own.

Another interesting fact is the recent Zee webseries starring Aditi Rao Hydari about the Mughals.Taj Divided By Blood. Interestingly the director and many of the writers are not Indian. But they haven't cast any non-Indian actors. I'll be very interested in their take on the Mughals. Because we Indians choose to take sides even subconsciously.

Are we discussing the historical inaccuracy of a fictional show?🤔

The leads have great chemistry, it’s a period drama meets gossip girl with representation for one of the most watched shows globally on Netflix. I really don’t see the problem.