Set in the 1950s and with an attention to detail, there is no surprise that people are wondering about the origin of the show The Club. The true story follows the mother, Matilda, who was recently released from prison after serving a term for murder and finding employment at the titular club.
Her jail term meant giving up her daughter, and through the show, she tries desperately to reconnect and forge some relationship with the child she was forced to give up. Of course, there is more to Matilda’s story than we first realize, and on top of everything else, the country is in a state of political unrest and anti-Semitism.
The cultural landscape was one of discrimination and unrest, and rioting was commonplace.
The Club Bases Itself in Reality, So Is Essentially a True Story
Of course, the story has been dramatized to work effectively as a TV show, and some of the storylines have been extended for the viewers, but the country’s landscape and the club itself all have their basis in reality.
Istanbul was in a state of unrest politically and culturally in the 1950s, and it is impossible to explain the details of the situation in a simple fashion, but it does seem that the historical events of September 1955 played a huge part when making the show.
State radio and newspapers would report a bomb attack, and a demonstration the same afternoon would lead to riots, and these events would spread further, with an estimated one hundred thousand involved in the events.
These events are a big part of the culture of Istanbul, and the show reflects these historical events through the show.
Although the show focuses on the human drama of Matilda’s struggles after imprisonment and trying to be a mother to her estranged daughter, it also portrays the historical turmoil of 1950s Istanbul.
It is a show rich with a legacy that manages to convey the turmoil of the time through the ensemble cast.
Real-Life People Are Also Representated
The Netflix series is inspired by the real-life story of a seamstress who was actually employed by the club at the time. The character of Matilda is based on that seamstress, and although elements will have been dramatized for the show, the character is based on a real person. Other characters in the show seem to represent various factions of the time.
The club’s performers represent the artists of the time, who were often at the heart of the cultural landscape. Meanwhile, the management represents the attitude that the upper classes of society had little respect for the workers beneath them.
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