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Little Britain

358 replies

tallulahhula33 · 19/08/2022 17:13

Just seen an interesting discussion on Twitter regarding Little Britain and how damaging it was to minority groups in the UK. I must admit I liked it at the time (I was a teenager) but can't understand how they got away with it now. And I don't think I've ever seen them apologise for it?

There was the disabled guy pretending to be disabled.
The old lady who threw up when she found out anyone foreign had baked the cake and she was eating.
The university secretary who used blatant racist language.
Also transphobic/homophobic issues.

Were they perhaps double bluffing by poking fun at the views of people who for example think all disabled people are fakers? Or was it really that offensive? It definitely wouldn't be aired now but it wasn't really all that long ago. And Walliams and Lucas are still very much in the public eye.

OP posts:
Bubblebubblebah · 19/08/2022 19:33

I wonder what would post Brexit version be. Lots of the racists came out of hiding

goshy · 19/08/2022 19:33

There’s absolutely nothing funny about Matt Lucas shouting ‘curry’ at an Indian woman who sat silently through the whole thing.

But we know what the Indian lady says eg fish & chips in a clear accent. It's not funny that Marjorie is shouting curry but that Marjorie is so ignorant & stupid that she thinks the woman can't speak English & assumes all she eats is curry. Well that's what I thought.

LydiaBennetsUglyBonnet · 19/08/2022 19:33

Pumperthepumper · 19/08/2022 19:29

Yeah, we don’t have to put it on primetime BBC though. I bet there’s loads of racist garbage on the internet if you want to find it.

BBC hasn’t shown LB for years AFAIK

goshy · 19/08/2022 19:34

The population has been dumbed down over time to not understand satire

or nuance

Pumperthepumper · 19/08/2022 19:34

LydiaBennetsUglyBonnet · 19/08/2022 19:33

TBH I don’t remember much about Ting Tong but I remember thinking how they captured the grim situation really well.

I loved the sketches of Marjorie Dawes, the shopkeeper, I’m a Lady, Anne, the WI racist and Bubbles.

Much less keen on the only gay in the village, bitty and the man who fancied elderly women.

Make of that what you will (I’m sure you will accuse me of all sorts but you did ask)

Show quote history

No, thats about what I expected.

LydiaBennetsUglyBonnet · 19/08/2022 19:35

BeanieTeen · 19/08/2022 19:30

Everyone knows a creepy sex tourist who bought his wife, and was probably a virgin before - it was taking the piss out of people like him. LB also did quite well at subtlety touching on the macabre side of life, such as what it is like for Thai brides.

I don’t think it ever tried to sell itself as a ‘macabre’ comedy though. It was fairly mainstream and I think it’s aim was to just be simply funny at the time. They did Comic Relief and Christmas Specials. It’s not like Family Guy or a Jimmy Carr stand up routine that aims to be provocative or ironically inappropriate. If it was, and had thereby probably been handled and presented slightly differently, then it would still be airing now. But it didn’t set out to be a dark comedy. Taking the piss out of gay people or disabled people or people of minority or disadvantaged backgrounds was just seen as fair game for mainstream humour back then - which is why it was so successful and widely watched - and that’s why it’s been taken off streaming platforms. I don’t think there was anything subtle or ironic about the show at all. People who are trying to make out there was are looking at it through a 2022 lens. In 2003 this was just simply face value funny stuff.

I completely disagree I think there was a very dark element to LB. It was subtle, it was like the League of Gentlemen for example, but it was most certainly there.

And once again it was being homophobic and racist, it was making fun of people with those views

LydiaBennetsUglyBonnet · 19/08/2022 19:37

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

MrsRobinsonsHandprints · 19/08/2022 19:38

What has clearly be shown on this thread is that there is a section of society that is unable to conceive that they are not right, that opinions are not the same as facts and anyone that disagrees with them is wrong/bigoted/etc.

It would be very funny to see a new LB sketch with such characters.

Pumperthepumper · 19/08/2022 19:39

This reply has been deleted

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No, Ting Tong was definitely racist. Matt Lucas wore strings to pull his eyes. Was that worth it for you?

LydiaBennetsUglyBonnet · 19/08/2022 19:39

goshy · 19/08/2022 19:33

There’s absolutely nothing funny about Matt Lucas shouting ‘curry’ at an Indian woman who sat silently through the whole thing.

But we know what the Indian lady says eg fish & chips in a clear accent. It's not funny that Marjorie is shouting curry but that Marjorie is so ignorant & stupid that she thinks the woman can't speak English & assumes all she eats is curry. Well that's what I thought.

Ah I see what the sketch was now.

Yea how that humour is lost on PPs absolutely beggars bloody belief

PlanetNormal · 19/08/2022 19:39

sst1234 · 19/08/2022 19:32

The population has been dumbed down over time to not understand satire. People struggle to think for themselves and want to be told how to tie their shoes laces, when to leave the house, what to think. It’s no surprise that the same population struggles to grasp the itself deprecating humour of Little Britain.

Quite. It is evident from this thread that many people do not understand concepts such as ‘irony’, ‘parody’ or ‘satire’.

LydiaBennetsUglyBonnet · 19/08/2022 19:40

Pumperthepumper · 19/08/2022 19:34

No, thats about what I expected.

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Jolly good

sst1234 · 19/08/2022 19:41

LB was ahead of it’s time. Look around you. Life really is imitating art 20 years on.

ellieboolou · 19/08/2022 19:43

I thought it was hilarious, dated now though but still funny

Viviennemary · 19/08/2022 19:43

Most of it was very amusing. I liked the marjorie Dawes fat fighters one best. And also the one when Viv (mat Lucas)was describbing robbers. And all she kept saying was oh but he was gorgeous when describing the thieves. Didn't like the Bubbles de Vere one.

LydiaBennetsUglyBonnet · 19/08/2022 19:44

LydiaBennetsUglyBonnet · 19/08/2022 19:35

I completely disagree I think there was a very dark element to LB. It was subtle, it was like the League of Gentlemen for example, but it was most certainly there.

And once again it was being homophobic and racist, it was making fun of people with those views

Show quote history

Should have said it wasn’t like the League of Gentlemen

LydiaBennetsUglyBonnet · 19/08/2022 19:46

Pumperthepumper · 19/08/2022 19:39

No, Ting Tong was definitely racist. Matt Lucas wore strings to pull his eyes. Was that worth it for you?

Show quote history

Well if you’re asking if I self flaggelated when Ting Tong came on and denounced the rest of the show, then no I didn’t. I still liked other elements.

ML has apologised for his depictions. Not my place to start crying about it

Pumperthepumper · 19/08/2022 19:47

LydiaBennetsUglyBonnet · 19/08/2022 19:46

Well if you’re asking if I self flaggelated when Ting Tong came on and denounced the rest of the show, then no I didn’t. I still liked other elements.

ML has apologised for his depictions. Not my place to start crying about it

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No, I’m asking if you think the overt racism was worth the absolutely groundbreaking humour of someone not being able to find something in a shop. For me, it wasn’t.

LydiaBennetsUglyBonnet · 19/08/2022 19:48

A shame MN deleted my previous comment because I’d still like @Pumperthepumper to answer what I asked, seeing as I have obliged

  1. do you understand satire?
  2. Do you understand what people mean when they say it was making fun of the racists, homophobes and bigots, and the way they treat people?
  3. Why do you think it was called Little Britain?
teaandtoastwithmarmite · 19/08/2022 19:50

It was an ironic piss take at people in Britain that were like that. It was never racist or anything. Some of it was too much though but it was hilarious. My work collect and I were in stitches the day after it had been on

LydiaBennetsUglyBonnet · 19/08/2022 19:50

Pumperthepumper · 19/08/2022 19:47

No, I’m asking if you think the overt racism was worth the absolutely groundbreaking humour of someone not being able to find something in a shop. For me, it wasn’t.

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I didn’t think there was overt racism - as I’ve said a million times, as have other posters, and you’re choosing to ignore it - it was making fun of racists, not perpetuating racism. The black face wasn’t cool, hence the apology from Dw & ML, but it was of it’s time and sometimes you have to take it as it is.

Life doesn’t work like “I didn’t like that moment and therefore find NONE OF IT funny”. Humour doesn’t work like that. I watch plenty of stand up where some jokes are shit but I will still find the rest of the show funny

Pumperthepumper · 19/08/2022 19:50

LydiaBennetsUglyBonnet · 19/08/2022 19:48

A shame MN deleted my previous comment because I’d still like @Pumperthepumper to answer what I asked, seeing as I have obliged

  1. do you understand satire?
  2. Do you understand what people mean when they say it was making fun of the racists, homophobes and bigots, and the way they treat people?
  3. Why do you think it was called Little Britain?

It’s because you called me an idiot. And you still haven’t answered my question but sure, I’ll answer yours:

  1. yes
  2. no, because none of the racist characters ever got their comeuppance. It was punching down to appeal to people who would think Matt Lucas wearing Asian-face was quality humour.
  3. It was called Little Britain because it perpetuated little attitudes.
Pumperthepumper · 19/08/2022 19:51

LydiaBennetsUglyBonnet · 19/08/2022 19:50

I didn’t think there was overt racism - as I’ve said a million times, as have other posters, and you’re choosing to ignore it - it was making fun of racists, not perpetuating racism. The black face wasn’t cool, hence the apology from Dw & ML, but it was of it’s time and sometimes you have to take it as it is.

Life doesn’t work like “I didn’t like that moment and therefore find NONE OF IT funny”. Humour doesn’t work like that. I watch plenty of stand up where some jokes are shit but I will still find the rest of the show funny

Show quote history

You’re still not answering. Was the shop character worth the racism?

Bubblebubblebah · 19/08/2022 19:52

Pumper just fucks sake

Bubblebubblebah · 19/08/2022 19:54

It was a catfishing sketch which fid probably go bit too far but frankly, you are just being ridiculous. Everyone here siad some parts were quite not ok. Just stop