the Nathan Barley effect - Analysis

Nathan Barley makes me laugh. Not the series or the character, but rather the aftermath to which I was late.

To me it seems the series is like the article written by the character Dan Ashcroft in the series. In a viewer’s comment I read an interesting observation:

“Before I watched this series on DVD, I was wondering why there were so many bad reviews by fans of Chris Morris. But now I kind of understood the reason why. Because the story is pretty much about Chris Morris himself; a caricature of what he has achieved and people who appreciate his comedy. Chris Morris's followers are all despised in there.”

Source: IMDB User reviews

I don’t completely agree with the conclusion, but I can see how Chris Morris could be regarded as the Dan Ashcroft figure. I don’t think however, that it’s specifically his followers who are despised in the series. I think it’s rather about those trend following media types, and I base my opinion on what I remember Charlie Brooker (the father of the creation Nathan Barley) saying in an interview. He said there was this kind of media type who followed the latest trends, which included wearing stupid clothes and gadgets, that he despised. Nathan Barley was created as the character despised by a narrator in the fictional not existing program Cunt which was thought up for the fake TV-listings on Brooker’s site TVGoHome. Basically, Cunt was Brooker’s outlet of frustration and irritation with those idiots.

It doesn’t say anything about Chris Morris’ intentions with the character though, but since the TV-series didn’t steer away from the trend following media types; those are still the people being portrayed. I still don’t think the series was aimed at specifically the Morris/Brooker following, but more generally at the quote-spouting spoon-fed pseudo intellectuals missing the point.

The brilliance in Nathan Barley lies in the parallels between fiction and reality. Without realizing it everybody, that includes me, contributed to the comedy of Nathan Barley, because the series is the article ‘the Rise of the Idiots’ complete with publication and reaction.

The yay-sayers, who most likely will quote lines like “That’s well Mexico” or “Keep it foolish” are very like the character Nathan Barley; oblivious to the fact they’re ridiculed while jumping on the trendy Nathan Barley wagon.
The nay-sayers are not quite like Dan Ashcroft; they’re rather the one character supporting Ashcroft while shaking the head; namely Sasha the receptionist.
That leaves the writers Morris and Brooker to fulfil the Ashcroft part; opposing the idiots while incidentally enjoying the occasional game of cock-muff-bumhole.

Nathan Barley sneers at a broad scale of potential idiots, it might even sneer at itself.

The series is skilfully written as in that we all fell in the trap including the writers/creators. The series however is more an accurate observation than a laugh-out-loud comedy. It might have failed in making most people laugh, but in the aftermath it turns out to be a cleverly set-up affair hence all the reactions and discussions between yay- and nay-sayers.