Fawlty Towers “Don’t mention the war” removed.

[boredtotears11]

Aibu to say I think that is a ridiculous decision by the BBC.Theyve removed it from its streaming service because of its “racist slurs”. It was a classic piece of comedy. I mean if they start picking apart old classic comedy how far are they going to go. Dads Army next?

Re ‘Look who’s back’

Really? The book made it clear that he was dangerous, as people were still taken in by his rhetoric.

This nuance is completely missing from the film. It’s certainly not a great work of cinema, but was the first thing that sprung to mind.

[quote ItsGoingTibiaK]@Xenia

It was the same in the 1970s or 80s when some local authorities nurseries banned traditional nursery rhyme Baa baa black sheep.

Which local authorities banned Baa Baa Black Sheep?[/quote]
Birmingham City Council banned Christmas a few years ago. They wanted it called Winterval. Fucking ridiculous.

The whole of FT is a parody of British attitudes and is poking fun at small mindedness and blinkered thinking.
It was inspired by an actual hotel in Torquay where John Cleese stayed. Considering that Monty Python is anti establishment in its approach, it shouldn’t be taken as a literal endorsement for the attitudes it portrays.
Very soon irony will no longer be understood or a part of our culture. What a loss that would be. The basis of most good comedy is irony.

Birmingham City Council banned Christmas a few years ago. They wanted it called Winterval.

Easily Googled. Entirely false. As false as the "Ba Ba Black Sheep" lie which was started by David Hart and the Freedom Association in the run-up to the 1987 election. See also black dustbin liners banned for being racist, and blackboards being removed from schools for the same reason, or renamed 'chalkboards' because this was PC.

All bollocks.

Birmingham City Council banned Christmas a few years ago. They wanted it called Winterval. Fucking ridiculous.

From the head of events who came up with the name:

Quite simply, as head of events at that time, we needed a vehicle which could cover the marketing of a whole season of events... Diwali (the Festival of Lights), Christmas Lights switch-on, BBC Children in Need, Aston Hall by Candlelight, Chinese New Year, New Year's Eve, etc. Also, a season that included theatre shows, an open-air ice-rink, the Frankfurt Open-air Christmas Market and the Christmas seasonal retail offer. Christmas—called Christmas!—and its celebration lay at the heart of Winterval. Political correctness was never the reasoning behind Winterval

Isn’t the issue with the removal of shows from various platforms that there hasn’t been a request from any of the BLM groups to take them down in the first place?

I see the issues with the statues as being completely different as in Bristol, for example, public pressure to have Colston removed was ignored. As far as I’m aware, no such petition exists for the removal of Fawlty Towers, League of Gentlemen et al.

The decision from the BBC appears to be a reaction from executives who have little idea as to the agenda of BLM but desperately want to appear as though they understand.

I’d argue that there are much better ways of demonstrating support for BLM, but ensuring greater levels of representation and inclusion at the BBC would upset the status quo, therefore taking Fawlty Towers from the streaming service is seen as the path of least resistance.

Very soon irony will no longer be understood or a part of our culture. What a loss that would be. The basis of most good comedy is irony.

We are being swamped by American Culture - which doesn't recognise irony for the most part.

Isn’t the issue with the removal of shows from various platforms that there hasn’t been a request from any of the BLM groups to take them down in the first place?

^ This

We are being swamped by American Culture

Including the epiphet 'Boomer' which refers to a birth-rate curve very different from our own and its 'Baby-Bulge' as it was known at the time.

@MockersGuidedByTheScience

Birmingham City Council banned Christmas a few years ago. They wanted it called Winterval.

Easily Googled. Entirely false. As false as the "Ba Ba Black Sheep" lie which was started by David Hart and the Freedom Association in the run-up to the 1987 election. See also black dustbin liners banned for being racist, and blackboards being removed from schools for the same reason, or renamed 'chalkboards' because this was PC.

All bollocks.

It’s actually true. I had a friend who was director of comms for Birmingham City Council at the time and we had more than one lengthy discussion about it, punctuated by her tearing her hair out. It looks as if history has been revised. Quelle surprise.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winterval

As false as the "Ba Ba Black Sheep" lie which was started by David Hart and the Freedom Association in the run-up to the 1987 election.

BBC - Jan 2000;

"A warning that the nursery rhyme Baa Baa Black Sheep should not be taught in schools because it is "racially offensive" has been scrapped."

"The guidelines by education chiefs at Birmingham City Council were dropped after black parents condemned the advice as ridiculous."

ttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/600470.stm

You do know just anyone can edit Wiki? It happened. I was there.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/600470.stm

You do know just anyone can edit Wiki?

You are suggesting the quotes from prominent churchmen are made-up?

We were watching it recently and there is an episode where The Major uses the N word, DH and I gasped in shock at it, I can't believe that society used to tolerate that kind of thing (not to mention many other things done and said in the name of humour).

It wasn't until seeing it now that I realised how rife discrimination is in the name of comedy

Here’s a list of words and subject matter that need to be banned in comedy so as no to offend anyone

Black
White
Gay
Straight
Male
Female
Fat
Skinny
Any reference to any culture anywhere
Any society which has ever lost any war
Any society who has ever won any war
People who wear clothes made from mixed cloths
Reference to any hair style or clothing choice
Any mention of class
People with children
People without children
People who have given birth without intervention
People who have given birth with intervention
People who have any illness
People without any illness
People with a disability
People without a disability
Reference to anyone’s age
Reference to anyone’s religion
Reference to anyone’s lack of religion
Reference to anyone’s belief in aliens
Reference to anyone’s phyisical appearance
Reference to anyone’s intellect
Reference to anyone’s academic achievement, or lack thereof
Reference to anyone’s martial status
Reference to anyone’s material wealth (or lack thereof)
Reference to choice of holiday destination
Reference to anyone’s political beliefs
Reference to musical taste
Reference to anyone’s tv viewing habits,
Whether someone is a dog or cat person

It is satire, not irony.

Yes . True ravenmum
But irony too.
Life 😂😂

I don’t know. There’s a scene where Jesus can be heard preaching the Beatitudes in the distance which is quite moving.

I said it was a pisstake of Christianity. But - as for Jesus himself, next to nothing is known of him other than in Christian sources so it's disingenuous for Michael Palin to say it wasn't about him. Of course it was really.

I also don't think the Pythons made any distinction between faith on the one hand and organised religion on the other. It's a tenuous distinction at any time. And so it is, in fact, an attack on anyone whose faith exists within the organised religion known as Christianity. Which, at the time would have (nominally) included most British people. I don't think the Pythons set out to offend the likes of Desmond Tutu, ie, genuinely saintly people, but intending to offend isn't the same as intending to lampoon.

The irony is that, now, Christians are probably the ones who enjoy the film most because they get the references. It's a such a funny film that it isn't offensive unlike, say, After Life or other stuff by Ricky Gervais.

BBC 2005 -

"Advertisements for the switch-on of the lights in multi-cultural Lambeth have renamed them, apparently for fear of offending other faiths."

"A spokesman said it was an error by a junior official and not council policy."

"In three of Lambeth's main town centres, the lights were referred to as "Winter Lights", while in a fourth they were called "Celebrity Lights".

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4398680.stm

From what I've been reading, the problem with the episode was the use of racial slurs (n word and w word). This was reviewed by the BBC in 2013 (when Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained came out and used the n word) and they decided, with agreement of John Cleese, to edit out the scene with the racial slurs. Think that was more to do with the fact it was aired pre watershed and was deemed unsuitable for children. Children might not be able to grasp the nuanced difference between a racist script and a script which was deliberately highlighting racist views in the British aristocracy.

So basically, it's not new news, it was discussed 7 years ago. It was specifically edited because of the n and w word, not because of the Germans.

So basically, it's not new news,
Just read the same thing on a German news site, of all places. That explained that although the BBC cut out those parts a while back, they have only just removed this content from Netflix - this is the new bit. It said that they are again planning to cut out the problematic bits and then it will be available again.

"A spokesman said it was an error by a junior official and not council policy."

Yeah right.

The oldest get-out-of-jail-free card for bureaucrats.

That Wiki article looks like a damage control exercise by a PR department too.

@MockersGuidedByTheScience

Birmingham City Council banned Christmas a few years ago. They wanted it called Winterval.

Easily Googled. Entirely false. As false as the "Ba Ba Black Sheep" lie which was started by David Hart and the Freedom Association in the run-up to the 1987 election. See also black dustbin liners banned for being racist, and blackboards being removed from schools for the same reason, or renamed 'chalkboards' because this was PC.

All bollocks.

Birmingham City Council did indeed issue guidelines that the nursery rhyme Baa Baa Black Sheep should not be taught in schools because it is "racially offensive"

So not actually "All bollocks" at all.

These were later scrapped -

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/600470.stm