(dramatic music)
- In "Top Boy," black men live with heavy pressures.
(dramatic music)
Many of the men in the series are sweeping up the pieces
of shattered families, feeling their way through life
in the city's most deprived estates.
- I'm Aniefiok Ekpoudom, a freelance writer
and storyteller from South London.
And today, I'm gonna talk to you
about some of the men in Top Boy.
- You need to be there for her you know.
- What?
- Dads, to be there for their daughters, man.
- Top Boy is full of tired men eager and anxious
about providing for and protecting their young children.
Among the high drama of their lives
where they risk freedom for quick wins,
they're haunted by the fear that their efforts aren't enough
that the money they bring in is not enough.
That, as men, they are not enough.
- That right there is my little girl.
When her daddy comes home, that little girl needs
to be standing in front of a hero,
not a fuckin' con in prison stink.
- [Aniefiok] Sully is no different, because he was in jail
he was absent when his daughter grew up.
And is now weighed by a pressure
to present himself as a hero upon his return.
- That's all I am right now, a fuckin' broke con.
- [Aniefiok] "Top Boy" sees black men hunting down
goalposts that are forever shifting.
- That's why we come here i'nt it, on their birthdays?
- Happy birthday mum. - Happy birthday mum.
- [Aniefiok] When their mother died of cancer
and their father tragically passed soon after,
Jamie and his two brothers where left orphaned.
The responsibility fell on the eldest
to step up for his siblings.
- Who better at cooking, me or Aaron, it's me isn't it?
- Pound one, you know how to cook.
- Hey yo, don't be lyin' to the kid fam,
you know he's not in my league.
- Shut up, man
- The youngest brother, Steph,
now looks to Jamie as a safety blanket.
- Hey Jamie, can you wake me up when you come in?
I can't go sleep unless you come in.
- Regardless of whether Jamie feels ready, or feels capable
he has little choice but to provide
for his siblings in whatever way possible.
- Next time I'm here I wanna hear
you're doin' as well as Ax, yeah?
- He turns to the opportunities he sees in his environment.
- I'm wearin' the fuckin' force, cous'.
- Nah, you aint.
- [Aniefiok] In trying to do so, "Top Boy" gives context
to why some young men might risk
their freedom and lives on the roads.
Perhaps the most tragic example is Ax.
A home visit from immigration officers leaves
his mum's citizenship in jeopardy.
- She's really sad, man, like all the time.
I don't know what to do.
- [Aniefiok] Over the course of the season,
we watch him fall into a state of desperation.
He tries to fix their money troubles,
first, by sellin' burgers outside of school.
Then, attempting to steal and sell dogs.
And, eventually as a last resort, beggin'
the Summerhouse crew for an introduction into drug dealin'.
- I don't have a phone.
- Shit well no wonder you want to start shuttin' your mouth.
- At the end of the season, the high achieving,
happy student is gone, replaced by a young man
who will do anything he can to piece together
a home that is slowly fallin' apart.
The strains of providing inevitably leave cracks
and throughout the season we see this portrayed
through Jamie and Aaron's complex relationship.
- You ain't my dad bruv. - Yes, I am.
- No, you're not.
- See me here, I'm your father, yeah?
I'm your mother, I'm your older brother.
- "Top Boy" shows these are the frictions
that arise when a son is turned parent too soon.
When a boy becomes a man too early.
When the innocence of youth is stripped away
without warning, and he's left alone
to stare down the anxieties of adulthood.
- Brothers go, right? - Yeah, man.
- There was no rubric left for Jamie
that taught him what it means to be a father.
He's learnin' as he goes, feeling his way
through the world with no guidance and no role model.
The only signpost of parenthood he has
are the striking traits he remembers in his parents.
The resilience he recalls in his mum,
and the authoritative tone that radiated from his dad.
Both are attributes he feels he now must embody.
- So proud of you, bruv (kissing sound).
Meanwhile, Dushane is chasing shadows of his own.
- I'm 36 years old ...
I aint got no woman, no kids,
fuckin' sleepin' on Dris' stinkin' sofa.
- [Aniefiok] Tortured by his past glories
and perceived triumphs, Dushane's obsession
with reachin' the top is one that,
eventually, corrupts his character
and adds a bleak ruthlessness to his nature.
- We fuckin' won ... what does it matter?
I did what I had to do to get us back on top
and that's what a fuckin' leader does.
- But at what cost?
By the end of the season he loses almost all that he loves.
His cousin rests in a grave, his mum refuses
to see his face, and he's wrecked the trust
of his only remaining friend.
- Just because we didn't lose, doesn't mean we won.
- They're all collateral damage of Dushane's frustration.
The harsh reality that he's a man
who's reached 36 years old with little to show for it.
But these characters are not defined solely
by their quite fears of appearing less than men.
"Top Boy" also finds space for powerful moments
of intimacy and release.
- So your man was in jail wasn't that
when you was showin' me, and I respect for that.
- I've got you bro just like how
you've always had me, bruv.
- These spaces are both literal and symbolic.
Sully finds solace in Jason, opening up to his friend
when they briefly leave the chaos of East London behind
and arrive in an English seaside town.
- Well, you know, I ain't never even seen the sea before.
I never left the fucking country. (scoffs)
I'm 35 years old and I never left the country, imagine that.
- With Jason, Sully unburdens and feels secure enough
to lay himself bare, the town gives a sense of isolation,
a reprieve from the relentless nature of the big city.
And, at times, while down in Ramsgate
the mask he wears for his daughter briefly disappears
and it's as if he's fallen back in time.
He becomes just a kid messin' around
with mates on the beach.
(firecracker sizzling and then going off).
- (laughs) I swear I'm not one of those fuckers, eh.
Who gave that to you? (running on gravel)
You fuckin' idiot (laughing), you're full of shit.
All right, all right it's cool.
- [Aniefiok] It's a long deep exhale
for one of Top Boy's most tormented individuals.
One that reframes his character,
sheds free the fears that surround emotional intimacy
and instead displays a sense of freedom
that emerges when space is found for vulnerability.
- Look, if you could have anything, yeah,
what would it be?
- You know what, to go watch Arsenal play
'cause they're the best fuckin' team
in the whole Premiere League.
- In a similar fashion, Kit is a release valve
and a gentle letdown at Jamie's lowest hour.
(sobbing)
It's a powerful scene that captures
a moment documented rarely in British media,
that of two black men curled in each other's arms.
In "Top Boy" it served as a message
that although Jamie shoulders burdens
in the midst of turmoil he doesn't need
to face the world alone, or with a brave face.
Then, in the closing scenes of the season
Jamie's relationship with Aaron boils to press this point.
- This is your fault, bruv, this is all your fault.
You promised them, man, you promised them.
You promised mum and dad you were gonna take care of us.
- [Aniefiok] And when it does, the hard paternal exterior,
finally, melts away, their father and son relationship
slowly ebbs out and the siblings embrace in tears.
- [Aaron] Fuckin' move.
- [Jamie] Just chill, just chill.
(sobbing)
- In their darkest hour they find comfort
and purge in each other's arms.
It's a bittersweet new beginning
for a difficult brotherhood, and a revealing peek
into what occurs when boys are unknowingly thrust
into the role of providers.
In all, "Top Boy" is a glimpse
into the crises that can fray and mend
the relationships between men
and those who they love most dearly.
It's a vivid depiction, and an intense exploration
of the pressures of male adulthood
in black Britain and beyond.
(gentle piano music)