I have chosen to concentrate on Blackadder (the fourth series) because it compacts so much satire into short scenes and conversations between the characters and at the same time represents the different types of people and the British soldiers’ attitudes towards WWI. This final series also embodies the anti-German and mainly anti-war sentiments felt by the Allies.
Rowan Atkinson plays Captain Blackadder, a self centered, sarcastic (but still funny) captain whose pompous demeanor mainly takes root in the prowess of the British Empire at the time. Hugh Laurie (also known as ‘House’ to those of you who have good taste in television) plays Lieutenant George, an upper class ‘Edwardian twit’, and Tony Robinson plays the unrealistically stupid ( for lack of a more appropriate term) Private Baldrick.
All of these characters have obvious references. For example, Captain Blackadder’s egocentricity is perhaps an exaggerated depiction of the national pride felt Great Britain felt coming into the war due to their then-vast empire, strong Naval force etc. Private Baldrick’s silly, confused and uninformed questions on the other hand, clearly refer to how many soldiers were inadequately prepared for war, mainly due to the conscription bill introduced in Britain in 1916. These can be seen in this short clip.
And don’t worry about the Captain’s apparently poor fashion taste, its actually a stunt he’s pulling to get kicked out of the army for being mad. This is yet another example of satire, criticizing the extent to which soldiers would go to stop fighting in the war.
