Comic Relief before 9pm

[TittyGolightly]

6 year old DC came out of school full of Comic Relief chatter and asked to donate their week's pocket money to the charity. Fine and dandy, we switched on at about 8pm and they showed a short film about a child and their grandmother collecting rubbish in Nairobi. DC was even keener to donate, so we texted in to donate money from all of us. Watched a couple of skits and then they showed a video of a 13 month old girl dying of malaria. Actually dying on the screen despite CPR and being put into a body bag and wheeled away. You can imagine the effect that had on a 6 year old. We've been up half the night with them having nightmares about dying babies.

AIBU to think that wasn't suitable viewing pre-watershed?

[TheFirstMrsDV]

I know titty that has kind of been the point of 50% of my posts

[TheFirstMrsDV]

'vvvvvv late for a 6 year old'
before 8pm on a Friday?
Don't be soft.

[fevversbetterout]

TheFirstMrsDV I'm agreeing with you. Was too upset to join in earlier.

[TittyGolightly]

Well, she has seen in every new year. Someone call social services.

[TittyGolightly]

Is there something genetically different in British children compared to their European counterparts? Why the obsession about bedtimes!

[DrAbbyYates]

OP, and others who feel very strongly about this: posting here may be cathartic but it won't make much difference. You can complain to both the BBC and to Ofcom.

[thatnicelibrarylady]

YABU about that clip. Harrowing but reality. YANBU to complain about the poor taste in humour and pre-9pm gratuitous use of bad language. It was offensive and insulting to the cause. Worst CR yet.

[giraffesCantReachTheirToes]

I actually did think it got quite rude quite early. Notice at the pizza place the word bloody was used. That was fairly early on.

Like CiN it is advertised a lot to schools so I was surprised how much innuendo etc there was early on. My memory of those show were that had the more rude stuff on later and sort of warned you.

[bonbonours]

I didn't watch it but I do think that it is totally wrong showing a child dying on TV to adults, let alone at a time when children would be watching. Yes, there is death/destruction/famine/war on the news all the time, but I've never in 40 years seen close up footage of someone dying live on telly. I was going to say never seen anyone die on telly but I suppose you saw people falling from the twin towers etc but it's not the same as a close up of a baby dying. That is unnecessary, dehumanising and horrible.

In the past when I've watched Comic Relief I've found it a hard programme to watch. You're supposed to be laughing at silly jokes one minute and then watching living in poverty/famine etc the next. I certainly wouldn't watch it with my kids.

Re bedtime, on a non-school night it's not completely unlikely for a 6 year old to be up at 8pm, but most 6 year olds I know are going to bed between 7 and 8 on a school night so I think op is being either very self-obsessed or deliberately obtuse saying no 6 year olds are in bed at that time.

[TheFirstMrsDV]

Thatnice you are seriously more upset about swearing than the death of a child being exploited?

[BarbarianMum]

In what way was showing that little girl's death dehumanising? Acknowledging things like this happen as we sit on our sofas, with full stomachs and big tellies is the bloody least we can do. Averting our eyes as people suffer is dehumanising. If it upsets us - well it bloody should do!

[fevversbetterout]

DrAbbyYates, I'd guess that posting here may serve as a reality check. Thereafter, people may indeed do as you suggest. No harm in that, eh?

[Turquoisesea]

I agree with you OP. I was watching with my nearly 9 year old DD. I think showing that poor child die was awful & there was no warning before the clip either. I agree with other posters, my DD wanted to watch it as it had been talked about a lot at school & we had spoken about why we raise money and how it helps others etc. But my DD who is already an anxious child was so so upset after watching the baby die as I was. I think it was unnecessary and an awful invasion of privacy for her & her family to have that shown. I do also agree that they would never show a white western child actually dying. My DH who is African said the same thing. I haven't watched comic relief for a long time & wont be watching again as maybe Im naive but I thought before 9 o'clock the viewing would be appropriate for children.

I'm not trying to shield my DD from the horrors or the world but I can't see how anyone can think its right to show a baby dying.

[TheFirstMrsDV]

It is dehumanising because our society does not televise deaths as a matter of course.
Death is not entertainment and it never has been.

Not only is it dehumanising of the baby it is of us too.
It is suggesting we have to SEE the child die to take notice.
What kind of bastard demands proof of a child's death before they put their hand in their pocket?

[DrAbbyYates]

fevvers (great name by the way - Angela Carter fan?)

Agreed - no harm whatsoever. What a defensive tone. I'm simply reminding posters and readers that they can potentially bring about genuine change if they direct their ire towards the proper channels.

[HalfShellHero]

I agree totally mrsdv it's just not necessary, they could have shown they poverty of children in this country aswell not just Africa, that would probably connect to children over here better, or shown what children round the country were doing etc anything but that!!

[fevversbetterout]

Barbarianmum, it is dehumanising because the death of a child is a private thing, isn't it?. Acknowledging her death may be a public thing,(funeral) but that is not what was broadcast. We didn't need to see her die, to understand what has happened. (From what you've said, I'm sure you didn't need to see that, to understand and be moved.)

[fevversbetterout]

DrAbbyYates, Ha! Yes, I am. Sorry if I seem defensive. I'll be the handwringer to your practical advocate.

[DrAbbyYates]

fevvers it's a deal!

[fevversbetterout]

DrAbbyYates .
But back to the subject in hand. Do you have pro forma objection letter prepared?

[fevversbetterout]

letters!

[BiscuitMillionaire]

YANBU. As a pp said, I think that was the first time I have ever seen film of a human being actually dying. Yes I've seen dead bodies on streets in war documentaries etc, but not their actual death filmed for TV then shown between crappy sketches. They could easily have shown the child being treated, then cut away and with a photo of her face told us that she had died. That would have been hard-hitting enough. It felt like an invasion of privacy. Horrible. My 9-yr-old was watching with me and I wished she hadn't seen it.

[BiscuitMillionaire]

And the sexual content of the 'comedy' is a separate issue, but I also thought it was misjudged.

And it was mostly just not funny. I love French and Saunders and was cringing for them.

Walliams was good as Jeremy Kyle, though.

[fevversbetterout]

Biscuit Millionaire, I don't think you should have see it either. And that family shouldn't have been exploited like this. You can complain....won't change the past, but might affect the future.

[cherish123]

I don't think this needed to be shown post-watershed. It is sad but your child will unfortunately have to learn that it happens.