Normal People, bizarrely extreme
Why is normal people so normal, yet so surreal?
Firstly we must address the imperfection in their characters. They are frustrating characters because they are so normal, and in that way, they are imperfect. They as a couple are from perfect, and it is frustrating that they‘re relationship is so ambiguous- which it certainly is a source of tension. In a way the entire story is built on tension, and this can be seen in many of the relationships throughout the series: Marianne’s strained familial relations, Connell’s false friendships, Connell’s internal battle struggling with his identity, and most acutely the tension within their relationship and friendship.
The fact the relationship began, shunned, and hidden, means it was never truly able to blossom into something happy or healthy. This reaffirms the fact they are both emotionally stunted at the age their relationship began, because it began as a product of insecurity.
Though their characters have changed and evolved through the years, underneath it all, they carry the same insecurities and anxieties they have had since school. Connell’s social anxiety and inability to communicate, along with Marianne’s physical insecurity, and passivity when being used or told what to do, means that when they are together, they still feel like two teenagers, fumbling around, not quite sure what they are doing. It is peculiar to realise in the series itself, they never label their relationship, not once. Their romance is always aloof, undefined, no one quite knows what they are, and this creates this unnecessary tension. They struggle to communicate and move on from these anxieties because they are imperfect characters, and they are imperfect because they are normal.
What it is important to point out is sex does not define their relationship. Sex seems to be a character in itself- a minor one if that. It is interesting the amount of attention the media gave the intimate scenes, because it is actually the least interesting element of their relationship. Sex is the easiest thing they can do, its the part after that is difficult. Perhaps that is a reflection of us as a society and our prudish yet perverted obsession with sex, when it is an ultimately uneventful and relatively normal part of life. But the sex is only another form of miscommunication for them as a couple. They are so inexplicably attached to each other, yet they are often so distant from one another. We can again put this down to their real characters and emotional immaturity. It’s ironic, thinking about the fact Connell at one point says he could read Marianne’s mind, yet he never knows what she is thinking. We find them so frustrating as characters because they make our mistakes. The complexity and frustration within their relationship is just a reflection of our own.
The non-nonchalant and undefined element to their relationship exposes the large generational gap between the old fashioned, perhaps archaic notions of love; founded in fairytale, belief in ones soul mate, love at first sight, and true loves kiss. Versus this cool, uncertain casual sort of mutual understanding, that never really becomes anything tangible. Furthermore, this constant up and down, back and forth turbulence in their relationship, mean they as characters (as well as we as us, the audience) never achieve any sort of closure. Perhaps their relationship never really ended, because it was never really allowed to begin.
This millennial focus is a refreshing one to see on screen as it is not the typical bitter presentation of young people, as crybabies that free load off of their parents, and can’t get a decent job because they’re useless. We instead see real young people- doing the best they can with what they are given, and finding their way, in a world where they are expected to be and do everything those before never could.
To see young people go through such authentic pain, loss, hardship and gain- it targets the oversimplification of the so called ‘snow flake’ generation, and exposes very current hardships and obstacles faced by young people (that perhaps baby boomers and the teenagers of the 80s never really had to face.) Not to say one experience was more important than the other, or that one generation’s struggle was more of a ‘struggle’, but it is apparent by the portrayal of youth on screen through this series, that the millennial experience is an experience worth listening to, and experience worth learning to understand.
It explores the complexities in being young in the 21st century, being young and poor, young and rich, young and successful, or young and nothing. The focus on mental health is also crucial, as it is not something that millennials have invented. Our parents can be depressed, our grandparents, our great grandparents. Millennials are simply the first generation that demand not only to be listened to (in regards to their mental health), but also the only ones to accept that it is normal. Seeking help has always been an option, but one that hasn’t always been considered (particularly to those of the older generation.) As one in the younger generation, it is easy to find the ‘suffer in silence' trope so absurd, especially when applied to young people who are told they can do and be anything they want (as long a they don’t feel sad sometimes, because thats not okay…)
The excellent portrayal of depression, numbness, and that downward spiral into despair, is not only refreshing to see on screen-in such a normal and real light, but also essential.
Ultimately though, What makes the series so real is its unapologetic focus on these two characters. They are the focal point throughout, and most other characters within the series are inessential, some deadweight even. We are sometimes given snapshots into their lives, but they are never seen more than passing, or assisting a larger more important story.
It is easy to assume this is be a reductive assessment of the series as a whole- Of course we follow their stories…they are the main characters? However the way we follow them as characters is different to other series and films. We as the audience are given direct access into their lives, and we follow them and their experiences. Other shows like fleabag also do this, however the additional characters such as the Godmother, Claire, Martin, Boo, and even Hilary are also main characters in a sense. Their experiences and their presence in Fleabag’s life are essential, they collectively form and enhance Fleabag’s journey. She could not exist as a main character without them. Not to compare Normal people to Fleabag too much as they exist as entirely different entities, however with our main characters- Marianne and Connell, when they are together everything thing else ceases to exist. You could go as far as to say in ‘Normal people’ there is only one main character- and that is Marianne and Connell together, they almost create one being. This narrow field of vision we are seeing into (essentially a series where only two people matter) is what makes it such a real experience.
It is interesting how class plays a practically unspoken part in their relationship. Simply because neither of them rely on it for their happiness. Connell because he doesn’t have any, and Marianne because she has too much. Money is presented as entirely redundant, and if anything parasitic. This is also a very youthful observation of class, perhaps a naive one, but an interesting one to explore. To us, and to Connell, Marianne’s money was nothing more than something she had, and even then it never really felt like hers. Though it made her attractive to other people, we know that it never made her happy. Connell depends on money for his survival, but not as much as he depends on Marianne (and vice versa). They depend on each other for not only their happiness, but their existence and survival. When they are apart, there is this very apparent void and emptiness. This is unlike other main characters such as fleabag, as she exists in a world with other people, whereas in a way, they do not. Perhaps at the core of this love story, there is an Aesopian moral, that money can’t buy happiness? Or maybe they are just naive and ignorant. ‘In the eye of the beholder’ perhaps?
The story telling, the themes, and the characters make ‘Normal people’ feel real; but as important as the story telling is to make this story feel real, it also looks real.
You may have never been to Ireland, or gone to Trinity, or lived in Sligo, yet it feels like you have lived it with them. You can feel how it felt to live in Marianne’s empty cold house, as well as feel what it was like to live in Connell’s warm small one. The use of muted colour, darkened shadows, only showing certain rooms in a house. It’s how reality looks. The close ups are intrusive and intimate. The dialogue is stunted and uncommunicative. It looks like real life, it sounds like real life. It makes is hard for us to believe what we are seeing isn’t real.
As a series there is a clear conflict of reality vs surrealism. How can watching normal people, with such mundane lives look and feel so bizarrely extreme. Every decision feels life changing, every word they say, crucial. This is because our own normal ordinary lives are just as extreme-to us. That is what is so hauntingly familiar, it is that these little things that happen to them don’t matter, but they really really do. Just like our own small actions, our behaviour, our relationships in the face of a huge world, and an infinite universe don’t matter. Yet to us, they really really do.
The dramatised reality within youth is also presented here so seamlessly; because when you are young everything is the end of the world, but only because your world is so small.
In conclusion ‘Normal People’ captures youth, love, loss, and makes it feel normal and real, yet so bizarrely extreme. That age between 17-24 is entirely surreal, and this surreal normality is captured so perfectly because they as film makers are not afraid to admit that all of us are normal people, but that means so much more than we think.
- Amelia
