Russia-Ukraine for ‘Years and Years’ – Part IV: Concentration Camps (Neo-Fascism)

Part IV of an article series examining themes from the British dystopian series Years and Years that have become pertinent following the Russia-Ukraine War.

From beginning to end Years and Years – through the character Vivienne Rook and her Four Star Party – illustrates the process by which pantomime politics produces perilous populism—and how Britain becomes a mirror image of its historical Nazi nemesis.

Parts I, II, and III of this article series examined the various societal and international themes derived from the prophetic fiction series Years and Years, specifically those that have become ever more pertinent due to the Russia-Ukraine War and its emergent consequences. Respectively, the themes discussed were Refugee & Housing Crises, Nuclear Attack & World War, and Financial & Employment Crises. Furthermore, this particular succession of socio-international themes was shown to comprise a logical chain reaction of crises that can be traced through the series’ narrative, implicitly when not explicitly.
Part IV presents the culmination of this chain reaction of developments in what can be thought of as their sociopolitical ‘endgame’ and the ‘comeuppance’ of accumulated follies: neo-fascism*.

*To avoid ambiguity in using this term, the Wikipedia definition will suffice here: “Neo-fascism is a post-World War II ideology that includes significant elements of fascism. Neo-fascism usually includes ultranationalism, racial supremacy, populism, authoritarianism, nativism, xenophobia and anti-immigration sentiment as well as opposition to liberal democracy, parliamentarianism, liberalism, Marxism, capitalism, communism, and socialism.”

Russia-Ukraine for ‘Years and Years’ – Part I: The “Bedroom Law” (Housing Crisis)

Part I of an article series examining themes from the British dystopian series Years and Years that have become pertinent following the Russia-Ukraine War.

Housing crisis… homelessness crisis… refugee crisis—to where is this all heading? ***Years and Years*** may have already ~~told~~ ***warned*** you…

In Part I of this article series I discuss the theme of Housing Crisis as depicted by the British prophetic fiction series Years and Years, examining its predictive significance in relation to the wider ramifications of the Russia-Ukraine War, specifically those of direct concern to British society.

British Housing Crisis

In Britain (perhaps even more so than in Europe), the most immediate and striking development of the Russia-Ukraine War was the appeals and then arrangements for the mass asylum of Ukrainian refugees, which transpired even faster and more fervently than I had anticipated (as mentioned in my previous article: Russia-Ukraine & ‘Years and Years’: Prophecy Rising). Of particular interest here concerning this ongoing development – and testament to the gung-ho humanitarianism at its basis – is the quickly-emerged subplot of volunteer refugee housing, whereby the portrayal of British citizens’ eagerness to welcome Ukrainian refugees into their homes at no cost is heavily featured in the news. Soon enough, the Media’s theme of the Public’s generosity was converted into an official Government policy of subsidized sponsorship: the “‘Homes for Ukraine’ scheme” (launched on March 14^th).

Russia-Ukraine & ‘Years and Years’: Prophecy Rising

A follow-up on four predictions from the prophetic fiction series ‘Years and Years’ most relevant to the wider ramifications of the Russia-Ukraine War; beginning an article series expanding on this significant yet overlooked topic.

*Years and Years (2019): An avant-garde British mini-series* packed with dystopic prophecies—which are on the rise…

The Russia-Ukraine War and the Prophetic Fiction ‘Years and Years’ began by examining the prophetic content and praxis of the 2019 BBC mini-series Years and Years, so as to highlight the general cultural significance of this televised fiction. From this context I identified four specific predictions (sections linked below) made by the series that are most pertinent to the manifestation of the present war and its most likely ramifications:

Russia invades Ukraine, precipitating
An influx of Ukrainian refugees into Britain (same section as above)
Hyperinflated fuel prices
Rolling blackouts blamed on Russian cyber attacks

As of writing, the first two of those four predictions were and continue to be of immediate relevance; the third prediction has shown indications of being inevitable; while the seeds of the fourth prediction could well have already been sewn by the Western reaction to the war.
This follow-up article re-examines these four themes in light of what has transpired since I introduced them; and begins a series of articles that each introduce and discuss an overarching societal theme and subthemes derived from Years and Years, thereby expanding upon the thesis of the original article. I shall, in other words, identify more of the predictions casted through Years and Years and specifically those I consider most relevant to the potential ramifications of the Russia-Ukraine War, in each case revealing the essence of this relevancy in relation to the present state of the world.

The Russia-Ukraine War and the Prophetic Fiction ‘Years and Years’

The Russia-Ukraine War (2022) as highlighting the significance of the prophetic BBC-HBO mini-series Years and Years (2019).

*Years and Years (2019): The Lyons family of this avant-garde prophetic dystopia, as they typically follow the (typically shocking) news.*

In mid-late February, reports of Russian intentions to invade Ukraine began to occupy the news media—upon which one thought immediately came to my mind: Years and Years.

For those who have seen this 2019 mini-series, its relevance to what is now the Russia-Ukraine War should already be apparent, particularly to residents of the UK, since the show is primarily oriented towards developments in Britain. In this article, I first offer a summary of why Years and Years is generally significant, before revealing the specific details that directly relate to the currently developing Russia-Ukraine War and its wider ramifications.