MovieChat Forums > Nathan Barley (2005) Discussion > I'm not from the UK, but isn't this show...

I'm not from the UK, but isn't this show 10 years late?

posted 17 years ago by itlyb
19 replies | jump to latest

I like the line about the idiots who don't realize their uniform individuality a lot and when Dan looks around and sees all these ridiculous fashion crimes it's funny, but are young people still like that in the UK? I kind of identify that kind of lifestyle - stupid trends, rave music, ridiculous youth culture - with 1995 when "Trainspotting" came out. What do people from the UK think about this?

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[–] film_geek 17 years ago

Unfortunately young people are still very much like this in the UK. You want evidence ? Go to any UK university student's union.

[–] treborforever 17 years ago

or http://www.viceland.com/index_int.php?country=uk...that pretty much shows it how it is.

[–] hugh1971 17 years ago

Stupid youth trends have always been a target for parody (eg, 'The Young Ones') but I think Nathan Barley is more about the fact that over the last ten years, the technological revolution of the internet enabled 'the idiots' to gain prominence. The general dumbing down of culture and exaltation of 'alternative' and 'yoof' markets under Labour probably helped too.

[–] eastendthug 17 years ago

To be honest i think this show is years 'ahead' of its time

[–] DrewForrest 17 years ago

Some aspects of the particular passing trends used in this show may have been and gone, so no, I wouldn't say kids are exactly like that, but when it comes down to it; same old *beep* different day.
Emos, Indie Kids, 60s throwbacks, goths, '80s indie throwbacks, whatever... you know as well as I do that this kind of trendhopping is going on everywhere in the western world... I think you kinda' just missed the point a little.

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Startanew 17 years ago

heh. It still looks like its like that in america, you know.

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[–] JonnyTanna 17 years ago

I agree, since Labour came to power youth culture and British Television has taken a turn for the worst...

Thanks for the Viceland link.. brilliant!

[–] fastbrigade 17 years ago

yeah this show is very on point...

as someone who lives in shoreditch and is a member of "the idiots" (hey, i'll admit it, haha, i work in trainer shop, hang out at vice bar and buy in to trends) this show is so true to life its funny...

honestly, if you dont live in the UK and, more specifically, the east end, then your enjoyment of this show would be lowered somewhat, i think

[–] abby8 17 years ago

With the rise of the so-called "Web 2.0" in 2006, Nathan Barley turned out to be WAY more relevant than anyone would have guessed in 2005.

I don't live in the UK, but I've worked in magazine and online publishing for 13 years, so I understand exactly who and what's being lampooned in Nathan Barley. I REALLY hope we see a second series.

[–] ez_rider89 17 years ago

Even MORE specifically the SOUTH-east end :p lol. I still have to deal with people like "the idiots" in this show on a regular basis...funny thing is that alot of them love the show but have NO idea that they're amongst those being satirized. Gotta love it lol.

[–] JohnKoliba 17 years ago

People who get this tend to agree that Barley is about 10 years late.
Still funny though.

[–] mrbenben-1 16 years ago

Its ahead of it's time. I constantly see people like Barley EVERYWHERE now. I mean everywhere. Indies are like it, and 1/20 teenagers in London are Indie due to the now average music scene. People everywhere also now think its hilaious just to say random words and think it's funny like Barley. I can't actually believe how real this show is now, many, many people I know are like this, complete ****ing idiots.

[–] intowiz2 16 years ago

Yes the other people in my generation are like this. I feel like Dan and im only 19. If I hear one more person say "is it" inappropriately as an answer I will *beep* snap.

[–] jeffscsr 15 years ago

the hipsters are taking over

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[–] Ceephax 15 years ago

Yeah and there doing extremely well financially. Being an idiot in the east end and following all the fashion trends, hanging out at the hip bars and buying branded clothing is so expensive you wouldn't believe it.

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[–] jane_dont 15 years ago

Hahaha....it didn't stop It may never stop.

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[–] amylopan 15 years ago

I didn't just see this as a satire of hipsters in Shoreditch, but also as a piss take on the Morris worshipers who deify him.

[–] VolkerL 11 years ago

Very true- good point! In response to the OP: a bit strange to say that this show was 10 years too late. Trainspotting wasn't a parody of anything - it was very much an examination of the heroin scene in Glasgow in the late 80s/early 90s.

Barley is an examination of the "new media" set which sprang up post-dotcom bubble, so by definition it couldn't be 10 years late because that set didn't exist in 1995. Part of the point which Nathan Barley is making, and which another poster makes above, is that anyone who is able to independently start a costly and loss-making "media node", and waste a few years hemorrhaging cash that way, must be funded somehow - and in Shoreditch, it's most likely the bank of mum and dad which provides that funding.

As others have said, the reality is that this show was far ahead of its time - the whole "hipster" concept has still got some time to run even now, 8 years after Barley was aired. And if you live in the States, you cannot possibly have missed this fact. Take a walk around the trendy areas of any American city and you will find plenty of Barleys walking around, trust me!