Geocriticism & Trauma Theory in Contemporary Television
Peaky Blinders, the BBC television series set in post–World War One Birmingham, follows the rise of the Shelby crime family as they navigate political unrest, organized crime, and the psychological aftermath of war. This poster examined how the series represents trauma not only as a psychological condition but as a spatial experience. Centering on protagonist Tommy Shelby, a decorated veteran struggling with the lingering effects of World War One, the work explored how traumatic memory disrupts distinctions between place and space, ultimately producing what can be described as an unstable “thirdspace” shaped by compounded lived experience.
The poster was presented at the Graduate Poster Exhibition during the 2025 SPARK! (Showcase of Projects, Art, Research, and Knowledge), a reimagining of Research Week that highlighted graduate research across disciplines. Developed within the English and Media Studies M.A. program at Rutgers University–Camden, the work was completed by Elizabeth Marszalek. The abstract appears below.
Abstract: Tunnels, Boats, and Bedrooms: Trauma As Space in the BBC’s Peaky Blinders
Heavily drawing from Robert Tally’s Topophrenia, as well as several prominent trauma scholars, this paper discusses how Peaky Blinders operates within established definitions of place, space, and trauma. Through a close reading of three scenes throughout the show, I will argue that trauma is first processed as an oscillation between space and place by protagonist Tommy Shelby.
Tommy, as if in an attempt to “map” the space through place, uses the familiar images and environments of a previous trauma in order to experience and comprehend the new one, the former trauma generally being his experiences during World War One. This act falls in line with van der Kolk and van der Hart’s idea that sufferers of trauma are likely to experience new traumas as the return of an old trauma, rather than a new one.
Given Tommy’s habit of mapping each new trauma as an old one, it stands to reason that each trauma, now colored by the same lived experience, would eventually compound into a singular traumatic space. Further, as each new traumatic experience is processed through the lens of a familiar trauma, the logic of time and place eventually becomes impossible, creating a “thirdspace”: a space uninhibited by specifics of time and place and instead accommodating everything about every trauma.
Through continuous mapping, this thirdspace thus becomes unmappable, and by attempting to still map this unmappable space, Tommy soon becomes lost within his own trauma, succumbing
to spatial anxiety in a state similar to madness.
Keywords: geocriticism, spatial studies, trauma theory, pop culture, World War One
Graduate Poster Exhibition at SPARK!
The Graduate Poster Exhibition celebrates the research and creative work of the graduate community, showcasing everything from prose and code to original research and artistic expression. As part of SPARK! (Showcase of Projects, Art, Research, and Knowledge), a reimagining of Research Week, the exhibition highlights the depth, range, and impact of graduate scholarship and invites the campus community to engage with ideas taking shape across disciplines.
Crafting Stories, Analyzing Media: Explore the MA in English and Media Studies
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