The 1970s are in some ways a forgotten decade. If you mention the 1960s then everyone has an image of what it means (even if they weren't there). The Beatles; free love; political protests; the Kennedys; Profumo... But the 70s? In The Rotters Club we are reminded (those of us who were around at the time) what it was like to be young in the era of IRA bombs; strikes; punk rock; Watergate; the Austin Allegro...
The TV adaptation of Jonathon Coe's novel is brilliantly descriptive of the times. Not just visually (although the settings are very authentic) but in terms of attitudes. The stifling moralities of family life. The racism that rumbled only just below the surface. The opportunity that a good education gave young people (so much greater than those of their parents). The hypocrisy of failed marriages struggling on for no particular reason - and the exciting chances that a more sexually liberated society (helped by the Pill) gave for escape.
This is an utterly British story and would probably seem very odd to anyone other than us Brits. As the John Cleese character in "A Fish called Wanda" says "Have you any idea how awful it is to be English". The Rotters Club will show you why!
