Quote:
Originally Posted by Nosferatu@Cult Labs  In my opinion, the best solution would be to leave the shows, from Fawlty Towers to Little Britain and films from The Jazz Singer to The Dam Busters, as they are, but prefacing each episode with a screen saying something along the lines of 'This show contains characters and dialogue which some viewers may find offensive.'
However, that's my opinion as a straight, white man. I don't know whether someone who is black, transgender, or gay would feel differently. |
From my point of view, there are very few programmes that I find truly offensive
Growing up in the 60's, 70's and 80's, I was always fascinated by the cross-dressing elements that appeared on television. I was (and still am) a big fan of the comedians who would dress-up in sketches - Benny Hill, Les Dawson, Dick Emery, Stanley Baxter etc. I knew that these were 'men in frocks' but they were funny. There was no way that anyone would ever think that they were women, and that was the joke
I loved Danny with his innuendo's when he appeared on 'The Good Old Days'. It was good, clean seaside postcard humour
I enjoyed it when 'serious' American shows featured crossdressing episodes - 'Magnum PI', 'Hart To Hart', 'The Love Boat', 'Happy Days' - especially if the character was so convincing the final reveal was a real 'WTF' moment
What I did find offensive was when stereotypes were taken to the
nth degree. I'm not a fan of the 'limp-wristed screaming queen' character such as 'Gloria' Beaumont in 'It Ain't Half Hot Mum' or Mr Humphries in 'Are You Being Served?' and I can't stand comedians like Alan Carr
Emily Howard in 'Little Britain' *IS* offensive. Not so much the obvious transvestite character, (we have all see a crossdresser whose skirt is too short and whose bust is too big and whose heels are too high and whose lipstick is too bright) but the catch-phrase 'I'm a laydee'. I know for a fact that this has led to a lot of bullying for transgender people. I know people who have been too scared to go out their front door because some knuckle-dragger is going to yell it at them. If Emily had been more sympathetic things might have been different
'The League Of Gentlemen' *is* different. Other than Babs, who is played for laughs, none of the female characters are obviously male. Even someone like Pauline, who is thoroughly hateful in the first series, ends up as a likeable, and even pitiful person as the show progresses