In the modern world of casual dating, are young people seeking refuge in the great love stories of fictional centuries past?
The obsession with period dramas is not a new phenomenon. Whether it’s Bridgerton or Sense and Sensibility, different generations hold specific adaptations close to their hearts. For internet sensation Ben Fensome, it was the 1995 BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. With almost 70 thousand followers on TikTok, Ben has been making comic recreations of his favourite scenes since August this year. It all started in response to a comment on a video mimicking an inherently comical conversion between Mr and Mrs Bennet, rightly claiming that they would watch him ‘do all 6 hours of this series’. I sat down with Ben last month, both of us eager to discuss all things ‘P&P’.
“So why Pride and Prejudice?”, I asked him, although it is the obvious choice for a lot of us period drama lovers. “It was kind of by accident”, he admits. “I do various different skits from various different bits and bobs, so I did a couple of scenes from it and people told me to just start from the beginning. So here we are!”. Not only did it attract an audience, it also gave Ben the opportunity to fully exercise his nostalgic appreciation for the series, which he confessed that he “vaguely knew off by heart anyway”.
It’s no surprise that Ben’s videos connected with so many viewers. Talking to him made his admiration for it clear: “The story is really good, the characters are funny and likeable and yet it’s still dramatic and tense” he explains. “It has so much trust in the source material’. This adaptation is faithful to the novel in a way that no others really are (enter: Persuasion, 2022), the six-episode format allowing a focus that is not just romance, but a full exploration of the work. Pride and Prejudice has retained its deserved place in not only the literary canon but as a pillar in pop culture, with it even being featured in the recent Barbie movie: the mention of “depression Barbie”, scrolling on her phone, eating sweets and of course watching the 1995 Pride and Prejudice adaptation, solidifies its status as the ultimate comfort show, allowing viewers to escape into the fantastical romance that seems so inaccessible now.
The interest in period pieces is not a new phenomenon, with much of my childhood spent questioning why my mum was so obsessed with any and every Jane Austen adaptation until I, too, finally saw the light with the 2005 Pride and Prejudice film adaptation. Ben remembers the series being played on repeat at home, leading us to a discussion as to what makes it so appealing. “There’s a level of escapism with it – being in a completely different time period allows for an audience to get truly lost in it”. The historical backdrop is what really makes it so enticing: yes, it may be a totally unrealistic way to experience love, but in the current hellscape that is casual dating, nothing is more comforting than vicariously living through Romantic confessions of love – especially when they include Colin Firth in a white, billowing shirt.
As a self-proclaimed Bridget Jones superfan, I couldn’t help but ask if Ben had a similar love for modern re-creations of the classic. “Kind of?” he replied. “Modern adaptations are always a bit tongue in cheek. There’s something about the context of the time with those stories because of all the social restrictions – [nowadays] you don’t have to find an excuse for the characters to not shag on the first date”. Admittedly you can’t get as lost in the ridiculousness of Bridget Jones, but it does what only Pride and Prejudice can do, and slots into the world of (somewhat) relatable, not-so-seamless romances that you can’t help but love.
Pride and Prejudice should be considered a cornerstone for period dramas, with recognition of its greatness beyond its romantic elements. For Ben, his favourite parts to re-enact are the funny key moments, like Mrs Bennet reacting to Mr Collins’ proposal – “You must make Lizzy marry Mr Collins!”, he immediately quoted to me. The relatability extends beyond the romance, with Ben highlighting how “we all know someone like Caroline Bingley, whose first instinct is to put someone down based on their insecurities, or Mr Collins with his comedic lack of self-awareness”. Even Mr Darcy’s seem to be everywhere – being set up with your friend’s crush’s friend, and the allure of making decisions that you know you’ll regret in the morning continuing to haunt young people far and wide across the dating scene. It makes it easy to seek refuge in something so relatable – to remember that in all the great love stories, the characters are still miscommunicating and embarrassing themselves constantly, just with vast fields in the backdrop instead of the grey, metropolitan sceneries of today.
It’s no wonder period dramas continue to be popular in the current day, especially with creators like Ben bringing them to an ever wider audience. Escapism into some of the world’s greatest love stories is almost mandatory when romance can’t reach the heights it could in the (admittedly fictitious) Regency era. The intrigue with period dramas doesn’t only come from the unattainable love, the grandiose landscapes and balls help too. It’s not surprising that these stories continue to take on a life of their own – they’re simply impossible not to love.
The Glasgow Guardian would like to thank Ben Fensome.
