We all know it’s a
tough life in Weatherfield but there seems to be a bit of an alcohol dependence
gripping The Street. You’ll struggle to find one character in Friday’s episode
that wasn’t glugging from a large glass, and more often than not polishing off
the whole bottle. It must be doing wonders for Italy’s grape industry, but what’s does it say about the lives of the characters and do these habits reflect the average British home?
According to recent research by University College London, reported on BBC News in February three quarters of us are drinking above the recommended daily alcohol limit. Eileen, Deirdre, Carla and the like would certainly back this data up. In recent years we’ve followed the alcoholism storyline played brilliantly by Chris Gascoyne and Alison King, and who can forget the side-splitting scenes at the AA meeting where Blanche and Diedre shocked Peter’s fellow addicts with a hilarious public airing of laundry?
There has always
been an undertone of alcohol being the glue that brings the Corrie community
together. The Rovers Return is not only the setting for a quiet lunchtime pint,
or wedding reception, or leaving party – it’s where the locals let off steam.
But in recent years, there’s been an increasing presence of empty bottles and
hangovers in the homes on our favourite northern street. As the UCL study would
suggest, this is reflective of our own lives. Most of us really do find a glass
of wine or a stiff whiskey helps us relax after a busy day at work. Sometimes
it’s force of habit rather than an odd treat. So do we really have a drink
problem in the UK, and can we blame our tipsy Coronation Street favourites for
encouraging this unhealthy habit?
The show, as with
all its storylines, approaches alcohol with a certain level of balance.
After an almighty booze-up, the offenders will always suffer the consequences.
Whether it’s Sunita Alahan being arrested for throwing shapes atop a Ford
Mondeo (other brands of motor vehicle are available) or Peter Barlow setting
fire to his flat, or even just the horrendous hangover that follows a night on
the tiles, the viewer is left in no doubt that the alcohol consumed during each
episode doesn’t come without terms and conditions.
So next time you
reach for the bottle, consider the consequences…
Stevie
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31 comments:
My gran always says that in every TV programme, that whenever there's a crisis, the characters reach for the bottle. And they always feel better. Whereas a cup of tea would've been as good?
It's not good to encourage drinking. No wonder we see so much binge drinking in the news if what's on TV is no better!
Here in Canada people do have a stereotype about the Brits and alcohol, based upon Corrie. I can't speak for anyone else but to me it is ludicrous that the behavior of fictional characters in a low-budget soap influences my behavior towards alcohol, or indeed anything else. If it did, I should be wearing tacky earrings, short skirts, smoking non-stop, bed-hopping, dropping out of school, decorating my home with cheap chachkas and committing murder every few weeks (with the odd rape thrown in).
I find it odd too that the characters can swill an entire bottle of wine and get up and go about their business as if nada had happened, yet give Sylvia one bit of a laced brownie and she's making bubble moustaches on Roy's face!
What does low budget soap mean?
I must object to the 'low budget soap' comment from our dear Canadian friend Janice...but yes as adults I think we know better than to follow the example of fictional characters! :)
And yes...a cup of tea and a hug can work wonders! Good job I have a kettle and a dog...
Great post.
For as long as I live I don't believe I will ever forget that AA meeting with the Barlow's. It was Corrie gold!!
I do appreciate the new Peter Barlow - who has sorted his life out - he's going to meetings, he's a better father to Simon and he's supporting his girlfriend (it's refreshing to watch this Peter), but it has to be said that Chris Gascoyne is just the most brilliant/ convincing drunk. Alison King's portrayal is also exceptional and with Carla, alcohol only seems to be a problem when she tries to use it to block out the pain. Like the way she struggled to cope after she was raped.
With most 'drunk characters' I think the writing can be hilarious but with Carla, there's a real sadness/tragedy about it. They've done an excellent job.
Both are very realistic portrayals but I must admit I'm enjoying the characters as they are - sober.
Thanks Sam.
Yes many actors fail miserably at being a convincing drunk...I wonder how much practice / research it takes to perfect the skill...:)
The good thing about tonight's alcoholic episode was the drunken exchanges between Eileen and Deirdre. Absolutely loved the tactless remarks that were slipping out eg: Deirdre's belts, Eileen's ménage a trois. Hilarious. We're about to see Deirdre become the new Blanche - as SB promised. It should have been obvious who Blanche's successor would be, but I can't recall any of us of on this blog mentioning Deirdre. Hopefully, she will have gained her mother's opinion of Tracy and give her the odd wallop as required.
I have in the past few years become more and more appalled at the amount of boozing that goes on in CS. Last night, as an example, Chesney headed into Dev's store to buy a bottle of Vodka - I mean how old is he anyhow? But it seems to me that when ever there is a big upset the thing to do is get stinking drunk.
Being a Canadian I do not look at CS as being a low budget soap. I used to look at CS as working class people which was very refreshing after the "money loaded" American soaps, but things have changed so much on CS that it doesn't even come close to what it was and that's too bad.
I believe you've forgotten the magical procreation properties of alcohol - clearly Corrie's focus on alcohol is a public service announcement to counter low birth rates.
I realize that there is a lot of drinking on Corrie. I am also a huge fan of Emmerdale(youtube) I can't get it in Canada and I was surprised that the characters drink even more on Emmerdale. Whereas on Corrie a lady will go into the pub and order a glass of wine it is not uncommon or unusual for a lady to order a bottle of wine and consume all of it at lunch! I also used to watch Eastenders but tired of the violence and the utterly ridiculous baby switching story and there was also a lot of drinking on there as well.
It's always appalled me that the faktry girls (and Sean) will swill drinks at lunchtime, then go back to operating sewing machines for the rest of theh afternoon. Here in Canada, even at my white-collar job, eyebrows would be raised if I came in with alcohol on my breath.
As non-Brits my husband and I often remark about the amount of drinking on Corrie, wondering if it is representative of the people that the show represents. As Defrost Indoors mentions above me, we just don't understand the having drinks at lunchtime and then heading back to work. Or the Streetcars guys coming for a drink, are they heading back to work when they leave?
As someone who has an alcoholic in the family I appreciate the way they have handled the Peter and Carla story lines. And they do show the repercussions of heavy drinking the night before (Katy found out the hard way recently) but the daily drinking makes some of us outside the country wonder if this is a typical happening.
I also have a close family member who is an alcoholic, and agree that storyline was really well done.
UK has an immaturity problem when it comes to alcohol. Unlike our European neighbours where wine etc is part of mealtimes and children learn from a young age when's the right time to enjoy a drink socially, here in the UK it's a leisure activity.
In answer to your question though, Shan, yes I think it is typical of my country. It's a big, much debated issue.
Low budget means hastily done, lack of attention to detail such as the glaring holes often cited on this blog. High budget does not necessarily mean a soap about millionaires but series such The Street and The Accused, Silk, The Jury, also about working class folk but the writing, acting, the time taken to get things perfect make them high-budget.
A few weeks ago I asked if all the boozing and other unhealthy eating was typical of Brits. I never got a reply, however. I was a little surprised to see it as a blog topic today since no one seemed interested in discussing it at the time.
We Americans don't always eat that healthily, either, but it would never occur to me, my friends, or family to drink alcohol at lunch.
Sorry I missed that last conversation then, but I definitely thought it was worth exploring, especially after tonight's boozy episode :)
Stevie, yes I agree. That's why I asked the question before. :)
Corrie is based around the Rovers, a public house where the brawls and heartaches make a really great tv show.
I guess since everyone works within 20 metres of their front door (except Paul and Marcus, two of the more sensible characters) it probably doesn't matter as much, since it's a short stagger home. ;)
Like Adrian said, the show is based around the Rovers - a pub!
It's a show on the telly, meant to entertain. Nothing more. It's been doing it for 50+ years.
So why all the fuss when some of the street residents have a drink? Lighten up! It's a soap!!!
Enjoy their tipsiness!! It sure beats people being murdered!
Thank goodness I can't be seen - yet - having a glass of wine in my own home!
Oh gosh, my glass is empty.....!
Frosty has thought for a long time that alcohol features far too much in the Street. The Windass Monday night dinners for instance when once upon a time the teapot would be on the table, now there are bottles of wine. How two silly middle aged women get drunk in the middle of the morning and everyone finds it hilarious. And if anyone gets upset about anything then they hit the bottle get drunk and start fights and scream. No wonder our counterparts in Europe laugh at us with our "British problem" with drink
You have to wonder if the alcohol industry isn't providing financial incentives to encourage so many television programmes to portray excessive drinking as normal.
Yes, we all know that binge drinking has been an increasing problem recently, but the ratio of real-life drunks to Corrie drunks is almost as distorted as that for murderers.
It's easy to say that portraying excessive drinking on TV doesn't affect how much ordinary people consume, but it does provide a subliminal message that being out of control on drink is both OK and normal.
Why else does the tobacco industry in America spend so much money on product placement in the movie industry?
No-one is asking for a ban on boozing, but it used to be that the occasional drunken scene was comic. These days they happen so often that they aren't nearly as effective.
And for God's sake, please stop showing half the cast reaching for the bottle at the first sign of stress. That is a really dangerous message to send out.
For me it is more about cost - alcohol is expensive in this country and there is no way in real life these characters could afford to drink as much as they do! It's particularly annoying with Carla and Michelle - every second scene seems to be them in the Bistro with a bottle of red. Then again, the Faktry seems to be in danger of folding one minute and flush the next, so who knows.
Is Carla even an alcoholic. She seems to drink and not have to take another after another. Actually a lot more characters in the street seem to drink more than her.
Whereas with Peter he has to completely remain off the bottle in order not to fall of the wagon. I am glad he hasn't hit the bottle recently as its just an excuse for other characters to look down on him.
She went to AA meetings and used to hide her empty drink bottles in the office at Underworld!
Someone commented that Peter is now a better parent to Simon? How can this be when we do not even see Simon anymore...except for the day he was so nasty to Aasha and Aidi? (And speaking of kids - cousin Amy was only heard of when she tormented Aasha at school!) Nasty Barlow Brats. lol
Anyway...Peter's recovering alchoholic bit seems very well done....but Carla is totally unbelievable. She is not consistant at all when it comes to her so called dependance....it comes and goes at the writer's discretion.
Carla has a dependency on alcohol to cope with stressful situations. She seems to manage fine if she is drinking socially, but when she uses it as a coping mechanism it becomes dangerous.
I don't think she is a Peter Barlow alcoholic in that she craves alcohol and cannot have a sip without reverting back to addiction...but she is a depressed alcoholic: someone who becomes addicted to the numbing effects of alcohol when stressed or down.
I love that portrayal of Peter and Carla. and both play very convincing drunks, in their own ways (Peter's usually comical, and Carla's very introvertedly sad)
Newfy Pearl: not all alcoholics are the same. People who use alcohol to cope with stress and people who are addicted to alcohol are two different things.
I can smoke a cigarette or two when i'm stressed out, and then never smoke another for months or even years. Do i use it as a coping mechanism? yes. Does that mean I'm addicted? yes, but only when I'm stressed. Does that mean I'm addicted to smoking or that I'm a 'smoker'? No.
I actually find Carla's portrayal very realistic as there are many shades to alcoholism.
Should of added that there are times when the two mentioned above (using alcohol to cope with stress and being 'addicted' to alcohol) go hand in hand.
Point I was trying to make (not very articulately mind you) is that alcoholism takes on many forms. Not every alcoholic can be painted with the same brush.
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