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How similar is Oxford to its portrayal in Brideshead Revisited?

notes

1

Are there many Sebastian Flytes around the place, and all that stuff? :wink:

Reply 1

Agrippina

15

notes

Are there many Sebastian Flytes around the place, and all that stuff? :wink:

If you're after a Brideshead experience at Oxford you'll be disappointed. Brideshead was written a long time ago and things have changed drastically since then. E.g. Oxford now admits girls... You might come across the occasional Sebastian Flyte wannabe but in my experience they are few and far between.

Not.

notes

How similar is Oxford to its portrayal in Brideshead?

About 75 years.

DtS

Reply 4

tiggerish

There is no time to piss around eating strawberries or whatever. And everyone wastes time on a good second.

Reply 5

username138106

It's about as informative a cultural guide to Oxford as Gangs of New York is to downtown Manhattan.

Reply 6

°lemontree°

Like that comparison :wink:

It's true, I couldn't find a lot of similiarities between the two...though I actually had strawberries, cream and wine whilst punting in the sunshine once (the day I finsihed prelims though...)

Reply 7

thomasjtl

9

did you then drive about oxford rather drunk?

Reply 8

°lemontree°

"rather drunk" : yes ; "drive" : no ... apart from the fact that I do not own a motorized vehicle common sense would have prevented me from doing so :wink:

It's an interesting questions whether Sebastian did so (1) because he did not possess common sense at all, (2) because driving drunken was legal back then, or (3) because he consumed more drugs than just alcohol which disabled his otherwise existing common sense

Reply 9

Peter_The_Great

4

Agrippina

If you're after a Brideshead experience at Oxford you'll be disappointed. Brideshead was written a long time ago and things have changed drastically since then. E.g. Oxford now admits girls...

Oxford now admit girls? What is this madness

Reply 10

Axiom

1

I imagine it's known as the twentieth century.

Reply 11

Derek_the_Sheep

8

Axiom

I imagine it's known as the twentieth century.

Or possibly the 21st, as we have now been dragged kicking and screaming into the century of the fruitbat. [BHR, despite seeming to be in a galaxy far far away and a long time ago, was set well into the c20.]

DtS

Reply 12

history_geek

Axiom

I imagine it's known as the twentieth century.

What, you mean men with red flags no longer have to walk in front of cars driven by women to alert the rest our emmiently sensible male drivers to their destructive and probably hysterical presence!? :eek:

Reply 13

thomasjtl

9

(1) because he did not possess common sense at all, (2) because driving drunken was legal back then, or (3) because he consumed more drugs than just alcohol which disabled his otherwise existing common sense

1) that's a matter of opinion
2) it wasn't legal- he got arrested for it in London at one point (although that might have been for reckless, rather than drunk, driving)
3) i don't remember any drug references- afaik he was just an alcoholic.

Reply 14

thomasjtl

9

oh, and they used lincoln jcr as one of the sets for the new film. Hence it's now been nicely decorated, even if they did trash our kitchen.

Reply 15

tey4666

A lot of people like to think Oxford is totally normal and commonplace nowadays, but the truth is that you still get a lot of people who spend endless days punting, drinking pimms and champagne, going to garden parties, playing croquet and wearing black tie. Pretending otherwise is just giving a false impression. Oxford is an elitist institution and there are a lot of people (not just aristocratic types) who indulge in all the stereotypical 'Brideshead' aspects of the university.

Reply 16

Huw Davies

11

Usually with tongue at least partially in cheek, and well aware that it would be ludicrous to behave in that fashion in the real world. At any particular time most people aren't, so it's not as if you'll be left out if you don't take part.

The fact that everyone can partake in this sort of stuff surely shows that it isn't inherently elitist - nobody is excluded on social grounds. Punting, playing croquet and parties are all free. The cost of some of the "elite" Oxford activities is quite high, but this is true also of using the gym.