Stiff upper lips: British affect and habitus in It’s a Sin

Popular culture representations of the outbreak, impact of and responses to HIV/ AIDS have tended to focus on America. British responses to the HIV/AIDS pandemic have been scarce, and when they have been present, have only occurred fleetingly. It’s a Sin (2021) is an unusual portrayal of HIV/AIDS in popular culture in its quintessential Britishness. Using the concept of stiff upper lip, as a stereotype of British affect, this article explores the ways in which different social classes in the series deal with the fact of homosexuality, and the growing threat of HIV/AIDS in the ten years between 1981 and 1991. The higher the social class, the more repressed and colder the characters are. This is further expressed through affect, and through the mise en scène of the family’s homes. The 1980s is often represented in popular culture as a decade of economic decline and poverty. Yet, It’s a Sin is a unique portrayal of life in 1980s London, which begins with confidence and freedom, and ends with a new strata of people who go on to transcend the social class exigencies of their families.