Different perspectives on addictions in the antiheroic narrative of the characters in Peaky Blinders

Introduction: This research analyzes the narrative and the construction of the characters in the
Peaky Blinders series (Knight, BBC, 2013-2022), inspired by the real events that the criminal
gang of the same name starred in at the beginning of the 20th century in Birmingham. The
study aims to determine the different perspectives of its protagonists regarding addictions and
drug abuse in the context of their time. Method: Through a methodological design based on
the conceptual integration (Ruíz de Mendoza, 2009) of the theories on audiovisual narrative
(Canet and Prósper, 2009), film criticism (Orellana, Almacellas and Watt, 2019), the mythical
structure and creation of characters (Vogler, 2020) and the film and documentary analysis
(Brisset, 2011), we analyze the characters of Peaky Blinders, their plots, narrative arcs and
their role in the different seasons of the series. This study’s purpose is to examine how drugs
are represented in fiction and how they reflect the social imaginaries and the success and fall of
characters and their time. Results and discussion: This analysis provides an interesting discussion
on the representation of different types of drugs in the series. While opium is treated as
part of the anti-heroic construction of the main character, cocaine serves as an activator for
the violence and brutality of one of the secondary characters.