The shiny image of Cillian Murphy’s Peaky Blinders gang may have captivated millions of viewers around the world, but a descendant of one of the real-life gang members believes the fascination has gone too far. Historian Carl Chin, who’s great grandfather was one of the members of a Peaky Blinders gang, spoke about how the reality was much harsher.
In an interview with LADbible, Chin stated,
“Because of the cultural approach so many people have taken, that they’re ignoring the violence, the racism, the bullying, the s**ual assaults of the real Peaky Blinders which I’ve studied in detail. [Fans] turn it into something that is just a fashion and ‘we’re dressing like the real Peaky Blinders, we’ve got the hat, we’ve got the suits.’ The real Peaky Blinders were poor men overwhelmingly were street traders trying to make a few bob or unskilled labourers in irregular work they couldn’t afford fine clothes.”
He then continued to talk about how the show has been a huge success and brought in quite the attention to Birmingham through the stories of the characters. However, what we see on screen is far from the truth and the truth was much more brutal.
“The series has been a phenomenal international success, it’s brought a lot of positive attention to Birmingham, it’s I think drawn a lot of young people into wanting to understand the past more. But bear this in mind, the drama is not reality. There wasn’t an Aunt Polly figure in 1920s Birmingham.”
More details about Peaky Blinders
Created by Steven Knight in 2013, Peaky Blinders quickly grew into one of television’s most distinctive historical dramas. Set in the uneasy years after World War I, the story follows the Shelby family as they build influence through betting rackets, political alliances, and brutal confrontations with rival gangs.
While the Shelbys are fictional, much of the show took inspiration from a real gang that existed in Birmingham in the late 1800s and the early 1900s, known as the Peaky Blinders. It mostly consisted of young working-class men who gained notoriety through robbery, extortion, and street violence. Upon release, the show drew attanetion to this part of history, which led to many fans glorifying the harsh history, as Carl Chin pointed out.
As of now, the show is all set to make way for a movie called Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, led by Cillian Murphy and Barry Keoghan.
Peaky Blinders is available to stream on Netflix.
Edited by Nibir Konwar