Normal People, is it realistic?

screamer · 20-05-2020 8:45am

Watched one episode last night, and there’s some wasted time I’ll never get back.

If they are normal people then God help the world I’ve never seen two more confidence lacking people with no sense of what they want from life nor any self worth. A boring drone of an episode with miss moan and thick Connor or whatever his name is...... even the sex scenes were boring.

Rothko · 20-05-2020 11:51am

Beechwoodspark wrote: »

The car is just one detail that totally ruins the authenticity of the story.

How?

Like others have said on this thread, there were lads in sixth year when I went to school who had their own cars. It's not that strange at all.

Mad_maxx · 20-05-2020 1:48pm

its a ford fusion hes driving , a car that has zero style , never even sold well and cant be given away second hand

there are a dozen other unrealistic details but not that one

Beechwoodspark · 20-05-2020 1:54pm

Rothko wrote: »

How?

Like others have said on this thread, there were lads in sixth year when I went to school who had their own cars. It's not that strange at all.

He’s supposedly on the poverty line - keep up!

Mad_maxx · 20-05-2020 2:18pm

Beechwoodspark wrote: »

He’s supposedly on the poverty line - keep up!

most on the so called " poverty line " own cars

Duffy the Vampire Slayer · 20-05-2020 2:36pm

MoonUnit75 wrote: »

Yes, it seems to be set pre-woke culture too but he sounds like he writes for Buzzfeed or reads Judith Butler in his spare time.

It's set between 2011 and 2014. Plenty of "woke culture" in that time period.

Beechwoodspark · 20-05-2020 2:47pm

Mad_maxx wrote: »

most on the so called " poverty line " own cars

No they don’t. And especially not poverty line students in dublin attending trinity

I really don’t care if ppl want to quibble with the details but what I’d say is there are lots of plot holes and inconsistencies and ppl shouldn’t shy away from that

Rothko · 20-05-2020 2:51pm

Beechwoodspark wrote: »

He’s supposedly on the poverty line - keep up!

Poverty line is a bit of an exaggeration

RobertKK · 20-05-2020 2:51pm

I find this program so relatable, like going off to Italy to stay at a friends parent's villa and being allowed to bring sadists along.
ok I can't relate to that but it seems a lot do who say this program is relatable.

Mad_maxx · 20-05-2020 3:11pm

Beechwoodspark wrote: »

No they don’t. And especially not poverty line students in dublin attending trinity

I really don’t care if ppl want to quibble with the details but what I’d say is there are lots of plot holes and inconsistencies and ppl shouldn’t shy away from that

there are plenty of those but the ford fusion isnt one of them

20-05-2020 3:17pm

If you live in the wesht of Ireland. You need a car. Public transport is non existent.

mariaalice · 20-05-2020 3:22pm

Well if its going to get nitpicking.

He would have been getting the grant and he had a job he would not be badly off.

Special rate €5,915
Full Maintenance €3,025

https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/education/third_level_education/fees_and_supports_for_third_level_education/maintenance_grant_schemes_for_students_on_third_level_courses.html#l62fd2

mariaalice · 20-05-2020 3:29pm

Plus if he was super brainy he got an exhibition scholarship to Trinity.

https://www.tcd.ie/study/assets/PDF/Entrance%20Exhibition%20Pamphlet%20Award%20TCD-web.pdf

One of my daughter's friends got one of those.

Beechwoodspark · 20-05-2020 3:39pm

“Home and away” set on the wild Atlantic way complete with unrealistic characters and plot holes

kowloon · 20-05-2020 3:44pm

Deleted User wrote: »

If you live in the wesht of Ireland. You need a car. Public transport is non existent.

I needed a vehicle and I live in the East, it was a choice between getting a lift to get two buses and then the same home. I was on a motorcycle at 17.

CrankyHaus · 20-05-2020 3:46pm

Can't believe everyone's obsessing over the verisimilitude of your man driving some banger when his entire character is female wish fulfilment on a par with that pervert billionaire in the 50 shades books.

A big jock who falls for the girl with no friends. But he's not just muscle and good looks; he's actually really smart too; and beneath his strong, silent exterior he's actually sensitive and unsure of himself; did I mention he was great in the sack too?

the.red.baron · 20-05-2020 4:40pm

can people throw out exactly how much their parents were paying for insurance for them?

that was weirdly the first thing that came into my head when I watched it

the fookin price of insurance for a young fella at the time

I know one lad and his mother paid for him to be a named driver, over 3k at the time

and he binned the car too

the.red.baron · 20-05-2020 4:42pm

Rothko wrote: »

Poverty line is a bit of an exaggeration

his ma is cleaner

so yes poverty

MoonUnit75 · 20-05-2020 4:57pm

Duffy the Vampire Slayer wrote: »

It's set between 2011 and 2014. Plenty of "woke culture" in that time period.

I don't know if the 'no platforming' thing was mainstream like it is now though, Connell is in his first couple of days in Trinity and he's repeating stuff I've only really seen since about 2016/2017 over here.

1 sheep2 · 20-05-2020 5:10pm

MoonUnit75 wrote: »

I don't know if the 'no platforming' thing was mainstream like it is now though, Connell is in his first couple of days in Trinity and he's repeating stuff I've only really seen since about 2016/2017 over here.

In Rooney's third year at Trinity, the former British National Party leader Nick Griffin was invited to speak at the Phil, but had his invitation withdrawn after a group called 'Trinity Against Fascism' vocally resisted it; the campaign group in the show is called 'Students Against Fascism.' I think it's heavily inspired by those real-life events.

DanielODonnell · 21-05-2020 2:53am

I've never touched a woman in my life, I would say my situation is extremely rare, maybe 1 in 500 men are kiss less, hug less, virgins like me. I've never been hugged by a woman, I think being touch starved has a bad effect on mental health. In some countries they have a 'Cuddle buddy' service, like escorting only for hugging. I wouldn't stoop to such low levels though.

AngryHippie · 21-05-2020 3:11am

DanielODonnell wrote: »

I've never touched a woman in my life, I would say my situation is extremely rare, maybe 1 in 500 men are kiss less, hug less, virgins like me. I've never been hugged by a woman, I think being touch starved has a bad effect on mental health. In some countries they have a 'Cuddle buddy' service, like escorting only for hugging. I wouldn't stoop to such low levels though.

Are you Asexual, or do you still have fantasies and desires?

Oxytocin is good ****, fair enough if your not into it or whatever, but Man, Woman or Beast, everyone needs an ould cuddle once in a while. Get into it.

Sardonicat · 21-05-2020 3:24am

AngryHippie wrote: »

Are you Asexual, or do you still have fantasies and desires?

Oxytocin is good ****, fair enough if your not into it or whatever, but Man, Woman or Beast, everyone needs an ould cuddle once in a while. Get into it.

Agree! Platonic cuddles are lovely.

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts · 21-05-2020 3:28am

zerosugarbuzz wrote: »

He’s not driving a Lamborghini, it’s a banger worth probably a couple of hundred euro if that. No big deal at all for a smart guy like him, his mothers black economy job probably keeps it on the road.

Yes, people didn’t even drive bangers. Even a banger costs money to run. And buy.

Deleted User wrote: »

If you live in the wesht of Ireland. You need a car. Public transport is non existent.

No. Seriously. I grew up in a very rural west of Ireland area. Pretty much nobody had a car at that age. Other people seem to have grown up in places where for some reason lots of LCs did have cars but this thread is about how much of it rings true and for me personally, it doesn’t.

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts · 21-05-2020 3:32am

mariaalice wrote: »

Plus if he was super brainy he got an exhibition scholarship to Trinity.

https://www.tcd.ie/study/assets/PDF/Entrance%20Exhibition%20Pamphlet%20Award%20TCD-web.pdf

One of my daughter's friends got one of those.

I don’t think they are very lucrative.

Beechwoodspark · 21-05-2020 10:18am

Also do ppl realise the cost of tax and insurance for a 20 year old novice driver?

Lemsiper · 21-05-2020 3:07pm

Having attended secondary school in Castlebar during the 00s, I can indeed confirm that many students owned their own cars.

Some came from wealthy families.

Some worked since they were 13/14.

Some sold drugs.

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts · 21-05-2020 3:43pm

Lemsiper wrote: »

Having attended secondary school in Castlebar during the 00s, I can indeed confirm that many students owned their own cars.

Some came from wealthy families.

Some worked since they were 13/14.

Some sold drugs.

I could picture more kids in the county town having cars alright. Bigger population for starters. Probably bigger proportion of wealthy families.

Duffy the Vampire Slayer · 28-05-2020 3:47pm

MoonUnit75 wrote: »

I don't know if the 'no platforming' thing was mainstream like it is now though, Connell is in his first couple of days in Trinity and he's repeating stuff I've only really seen since about 2016/2017 over here.

Something like this happened in NUIG in 2009. David Irving was invited and there was a campaign to de-platform him.

Later, in 2011, the Student Union introduced a "no platform" policy that meant it would not extend invites to members of certain far-right or Islamist groups.

murpho999 · 28-05-2020 3:57pm

MoonUnit75 wrote: »

Well it's a soap opera with more sex, mood music and all of the light hearted stuff taken out. If you explained the storyline to someone who never saw it there's nothing really in there that you wouldn't expect in Home and Away or Neighbours. I guess the glacial pacing makes the impact on the main characters more real. But they are all stereotypes and no one really develops in any meaningful way.

I guess it ticks a lot of nostalgia boxes and
the lack of any conclusion
means it lingers on afterwards. Everyone can relate to
'the one who got away'
.

I'm sorry but this show is not a soap opera at all, it's a not a multi storied show that you'd see in Fair City or Eastenders.

It's a drama and just because it centres around a relationship does not make it a soap.

MoonUnit75 · 29-05-2020 10:59am

murpho999 wrote: »

I'm sorry but this show is not a soap opera at all, it's a not a multi storied show that you'd see in Fair City or Eastenders.

It's a drama and just because it centres around a relationship does not make it a soap.

It is a soap opera. It is an episodic storyline. There is no plot or resolution and the characters barely develop, have an epiphany or achieve anything that wasn't entirely expected at the start. It's a short soap opera, a fly-on-the-wall series relating to the everyday events in the lives of everyday people. Having trendy music and lingering the camera on their epidermis for long periods doesn't make it much more than that.

Edit: from Wikipedia "The main characteristics that define soap operas are "an emphasis on family life, personal relationships, sexual dramas, emotional and moral conflicts; some coverage of topical issues; set in familiar domestic interiors with only occasional excursions into new locations". Fitting in with these characteristics, most soap operas follow the lives of a group of characters who live or work in a particular place, or focus on a large extended family. The storylines follow the day-to-day activities and personal relationships of these characters. "Soap narratives, like those of film melodramas, are marked by what Steve Neale has described as 'chance happenings, coincidences, missed meetings, sudden conversions, last-minute rescues and revelations, deus ex machina endings.'" These elements may be found across the gamut of soap operas, from EastEnders to Dallas."

Normal People, is it realistic?

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