Television is a form of art today, and the 2020 TV series Bridgeton, created by Chris Van Dusen, perpetuates this idea. This eight-episode TV series was shown on Netflix at the end of the year 2020, and it influenced the lives of its viewers in different forms. Thus, the viewers began to demonstrate their interest in art, history, and Regency romance, as well as race and gender attitudes of ancient and modern times.
I think that this TV series is art because it is made in a form of a novel and contains various elements of art. In the Week 7 Lesson (2021), one can read that modern episodes are now as chapter stops and parts of a whole. Bridgeton reminds me of a romance novel, in which viewers can see beautiful paintings, sculptures, architecture, and medieval dresses. At the same time, Rege-Jean Page, who performed the role of Duke of Hastings, sees this series as “subversive art” because of its multiculturalism and sexual intensity (Kalia, 2020). Such a deviation from historical accuracy caused a strong public reaction, making the viewers call the series colorblind and unlikely to be true (Luders-Manuel, 2021). I believe that such a response makes this series a form of art too because people can admire and discuss it, judge and criticize, and enjoy watching beautiful Holburne Museum locations represented in the episodes.
Bridgeton influenced its viewers, making them show more interest in art and the London culture of that period. Moreover, it raised such important themes as female sexuality and relationships between races. The series tried to shape British history, detaching British people from slavery and colonialism and making people look at that period from a novel perspective. I believe that this TV show made many viewers reconsider their opinions about the above-mentioned subjects, which makes it a form of modern art, even if it is subversive or non-traditional.
References
Kalia, A. (2020). Rege-Jean Page on Bridgerton: ‘We’re seeing this Regency romance through a feminist lens.’ The Guardian. Web.
Luders-Manuel, S. (2021). The “Tragic Mulatta” of Brigerton. JSTOR Daily. Web.
Week 7 lesson: Streaming has created a new art form. (2021). Chamberlain. Web.