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?

No, not the episode. Just the couple of words.

To my knowledge German people have never been oppressed or subjugated by another culture/race. Most German people I know would find it funny not offensive.

Oops. Have just read thread and see the use of the N and W word are the issue. Fair dos.

No, but German heritage kids are being bullied and this kind of thing normalises anti-German prejudice. It just makes life harder for a lot of people, especially kids.

@Msmcc1212

To my knowledge German people have never been oppressed or subjugated by another culture/race. Most German people I know would find it funny not offensive.

Most German people you know find racist language funny?

No, don't bleep out "n.....r". Leave it in place, start the episode with a warning if necessary.

Reminds me of Pulp Fiction and how Quentin Tarantino's character complains nonstop about "the dead n....r" in the back of the car. Should this be bleeped out too?

No, not the episode. Just the couple of words.
Yes, they are removing the episode WITH the words and replacing it with the version WITHOUT the words.

FOJN I take your point but Butterflies was mostly about the frustration that Rea felt at being a housewife and mother, at her families beck and call and not being a very good cook! Hence her liason with her gentleman friend! Barbara in the Good Life was rather subserviant to Tom but she put him in his place if he needed it! They were working together at home building a self sufficient life together ,she wasnt a H/W! Of course someone will feel offended with various types of comedy they dont like ,but open racism and laughing at Religion are cheap jokes st other peoples expense.Naturally I dont like all comedies that my friends /family like and vice versa . doesnt mean Im a benchmark for comedy does it ?

@Alsohuman

I used to work in senior comms roles in Birmingham so I’ve probably crossed paths with your comms director friend.

In fact, I employed a comms manager directly from BCC who had worked directly on the Winterval project and was hugely frustrated by how it had been misrepresented by the media.

Even The Daily Mail, who absolutely delighted in misrepresenting the story, subsequently published a (small) retraction.

www.theweek.co.uk/media/42231/myth-winterval-shattered-daily-mail-admits-error

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/nov/08/winterval-modern-myth-christmas

There is an episode of Butterflies in which she says she wants to be raped. www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/13190569.tv-output-still-shows-the-ugly-side-of-life/

@SecondaryBurnzzz

I believe that the episode actually contained some racist language, which is the reason it has been removed.

It's ridiculous. I, and many others saw the episode and have forgotten what the racist language was but it's on Youtube and I suspect many people have been to view it to find out what the reason is. Nobody in their right mind would see it as acceptable just like people who used racist versions of the rhyme to choose something (eenie-meenie etc) would see them as acceptable now. It doesn't need deleting to make us realise that, in fact more attention has been drawn to it as a result.

"The episode contains racial slurs so we are taking the episode down while we review it. We regularly review older content to ensure it meets audience expectations and are particularly aware of the impact of outdated language.
"Some shows carry warnings and others are edited. We want to take time to consider our options for this episode."
www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-53020335

@Hingeandbracket

Birmingham City Council didn’t produce those ‘guidelines’. It was a resource produced by an independent charity - The Working Group Against Racism in Children’s Resources. And even then, it didn’t actually tell people not to use Baa Baa Black Sheep, just that “it would be advisable to refrain from singing this nursery rhyme." There is no evidence that this resource, at any time, formed part of BCC’s official policy.

That’s not, by any stretch of the imagination, a local authority banning a nursery rhyme.

@IntermittentParps

It happened. I was there.

I thought it was your friend the director of comms who was there?

I was there when she discussed it with me. As in “What the fuck do I do with this heap of shit?”

If all books, Tv and radio programmes were to be removed incase any of the content offends anyone there would be nothing left

carexfairex

Fair point. I didn’t realise about the language. I just remember the ‘don’t mention the war’ bit. Didn’t realise German children get bullied about it either. That’s not ok, obvs! Not the same as racism, and systemic racism at that, against people of colour though due to the history of slavery and colonisation. That was my main point.

Mind you I think it’s Basil Fawlty that is being mocked by the whole thing rather than his German guests.

The N and W word def not ok. But then again it’s the character and their stupidity that are being mocked again. It does send a clear message that this is unacceptable though. Which is good.

I’m fine with censorship to try to create a more just society. I do have a certain sentimental attachment to Fawlty Towers though. Even if John Cleese has turned out to be a bit of a #%^*.

@alsohuman

I was there when she discussed it with me. As in “What the fuck do I do with this heap of shit?”

I’d be careful what you say here. You have directly claimed that “Birmingham City Council banned Christmas a few years ago.” and cited your friend, who you state was Director of Comms at the time, as the source of this information.

It’s quite a simple job for anyone to find out who was the Director of Comms at the time and, given the media quotes given by the Head of Events and others, the subsequent articles I’ve quoted and the retraction by the Daily Mail, you’re on the verge of implying that BCC did actually plan Winterval as a politically correct way of ‘banning’ Christmas and your friend, in her position of accountability as Director of Comms, oversaw and planned an intentional cover-up once the council faced criticism. That’s quite a serious implication.

If I were your friend, I’d be tearing my hair out with you right now.

Baa Baa Black Sheep There are black sheep.

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.

It certainly was a classic, watched it the first time round and it was funny and it still is.

derxa multicoloured sheep.

that is ridiculous that the are Hiding the real reason for removal of Fawlty Towers episode

Have you actually seen the scene in question? I have watched and loved that episode many times but only once have I come across the scene that they've removed it for. It was pretty shocking tbh. Really nasty racist stuff.

It's nothing to do with the germans!

If they remove anything that might be offensive, or might be in the future, they won't have much left in the BBC archive.

derxa multicoloured sheep. SoMuch If only we lived in the lovely land of Playmobile where people live in harmony. Apart from the Puddingheads of course.