America's Obsession with the British Class System

Guests: Jamie Horrocks, PhD, Assistant Professor, English, Brigham Young University; Nick Mason, PhD, Professor, English, Brigham Young University; Matt Mason, PhD, Associate Professor, History, Brigham Young University America is fascinated with British society. Not just the royals (though we’re plenty excited about them, with American actress Meghan Markle marrying into House of Windsor). What we’re mostly looking to understand this hour is why so many movies and shows centered on Britain’s class system are popular right now: Victoria, The Crown, Poldark, Downton Abbey.  The costumes are spectacular. The sets are lush. The romance titillating. But the real drama in these shows is almost always rooted in class. The landed gentry and the commoners. The lords and ladies upstairs and the servants down. The forbidden love of an aristocrat and a peasant. The American businessman or heiress considered far too vulgar to get a warm welcome in British high society, but their money sure gets a warm welcome. We’ve assembled a panel of cultural and historical experts to explore why these themes so fascinate us.