To not be able to stand film and TV nowadays because it always has an agenda?

[mintlily]

I've noticed that I can only bear to watch TV shows and films produced until roughly 2008.

It feels like everything nowadays has some kind of moral or political agenda. The writers are either trying to show off how enlightened they are, or condition you to accept their certain neo-Marxist world view. Virtually ALL dramas have an LGBT, feminist or anti-racist agenda, delivered with 0 subtlety or nuance. And the way it is done is so patronising and disrespectful to historical writers and figures - as if we 21st century people are the moral arbiters of history, and must overlay our more enlightened worldview on their bigoted work, which was surely produced in ignorance. It's also patronising to the intelligence of viewers, as if we need everything censored for our innocent eyes and can't make our own moral judgements. There is something puritanical and unartistic about it, like the Victorians censoring art to not corrupt the masses.

For example:

The new Little Mermaid deleting the line "men don't like women who blabber" from Ursula's songs. Ursula is a villain. We can cope with her being sexist, for goodness sake - we know that we're supposed to think she's wrong. The writer didn't need to fret that children would internalise the worldview of the villain.

Anne of Green Gables and her gay best friend. Why? This is not the genre to deal with LGBT issues. The author had no interest in this subject (as far as I'm aware).

Call the Midwife and it's pro-abortion stance. As if CATHOLIC MIDWIVES IN THE 1970s would have been pro-abortion?!

It's nothing to do with your actual views on these subjects. I just find that TV and film lacks the nuance and intelligence that it used to and I actually can't bear to watch any of it anymore, as it just feels so soulless.

YANBU.
Even though art always had some sort of "agenda", but ticking the diversity boxes just feels forced and annoying, even ridiculous at times.

This "tell me.....without telling me" phrase as a put down deserves an AIBU thread. I keep seeing it used on Mumsnet and it isn't what I would classify as mature discussion. Not clever, not funny.

The broadcasters have quotas. Sometimes there is good content, sometimes it covers across as forced.

I have up on doctor who because it felt forced (stories, not the female doctor).
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-53135022

Well, it's quite clear to anybody with a pair of eyes (or even one) that more than 4 in 100 people on TV aren't white British.

I mean, we could have a debate about whether Prince Phillip is in fact a black Jamaican given the fact there's probably no scientific data to prove otherwise but anybody with eyes knows the answer.

i Well, it's quite clear to anybody with a pair of eyes (or even one) that more than 4 in 100 people on TV aren't white British.

Ahh, what a shame. So what? More people in the world are black or brown than white. What's your point?

You can always turn over or switch off but it's a reflection of current society. I feel a little the same about Mumsnet. It's just full of anti trans rants. Can't escape it. I've hidden the feminism boards but the threads are popping up everywhere!

I agree with you OP.

I think it all comes down to the writing. Maybe because it's more about quantity than quality in a lot of cases...they have to fill up those hours somehow. A Few Good Men was used as an example up-thread. Written by Aaron Sorkin..who knows his stuff.
A lot of it is clunky and lacking in nuance.
The recent adaptation of Poldark was a perfect example. The Poldark novels are wonderfully written and full of complex characters. Winston Graham's research was impeccable and the class structures of the time were carefully drawn.
2015 Ross Poldark had designer stubble and had to be such a man of the people that his tennants/employees called him 'Ross' and he lived in a slum.
Debbie Horsfield, who did the adaptation had never adapted a book before..and it showed.
I agree about Jodie Whittaker's run as Doctor Who...Who has always depicted issues, right back to the 60s and 70s, but even recently Russell T Davies made it fun and entertaining. Chris Chibnall's writing has always been substandard, IMO and he was a terrible show-runner.;

It's ironic really. OP clearly has an agenda, complaining about the way TV and cinema is getting less sexist, racist, disabilist etc. etc. and how it's being scripted.

A thinly veiled attempt but is as obvious as the stuff she's criticising.

Get. A. Grip.
Complaining about representation of people of colour in historical shows or gay people? Because it was okay in the 70s to watch black & white ministels?

You do know that these people actually EXISTED in real life? It's just few old shows portray that?

Luckily you're free to watch and re-watch what you like. As am I.

I have to say that when TV gets it right, they really get it right. Chernobyl, Breaking Bad, Blue Lights, Better Call Saul - none of these were pushing any type of agenda (well Chernobyl kind of was with the all-seeing, magically liberal female scientist character but I kind of understand why they did that for narrative reasons), they just focussed on plot and character and they were absolutely gripping TV.

Kind of sounds like you do have an issue with it.

Oh no, too many black people on tv. 😱

Well, you could read my previous post maybe.

My point is that with 4% of the UK population being black, 4 in 100 people on TV being black would be in keeping with their representation in UK society. Mentioning world demographics is irrelevant as you'd expect Indian to have more Indian people on TV and Japan to have more Japanese people on TV. As I already said.

I do agree with the idea that some shows have lost the art of subtlety - Doctor Who is the perfect example. It had often pushed boundaries and had "agenda" storylines but under Chibnall these were delivered with a sledgehammer rather than as subtext.

But equally, some people are so "urgh everything has to have a gay in" etc that they decide something is "woke" just because of that and don't bother to continue. Having a character who represents actual people, who does nothing more than exists as that character, isn't problematic or agenda pushing. It's just acknowledging the truth of the world

@MovinGroovinBarbie

You need to back up your assertion that 25% of people on tele are black.

Kind of sounds like you want me to have a problem.

It's just a bit tiresome the same old white middle class demographic who mainly work in offices with other white middle class people and see black people as some kind of novel rarity they need to protect.

For the rest of us who work in more diverse environments with loads of Polish/Romanian/first generation Indians etc, they're just workmates like any other person. Our Jamaican batcher actually commented the other day that it's always white women that complain about racism. He's not wrong. 😂

Um, no I don't because I didn't say that. 4 in 100 isn't 25%.

I'm not racist, my Jamaican batcher agrees with me. 😂

Quite. And this is someone who claims to have a degree in English lit

OK, point out the racism in my posts then and we can talk.

It's mostly just another thing for woke white people to froth on about, like wanting equal gender representation in all sectors despite most women not actually wanting to dig ditches or empty bins.

If you think that we should go for fully equal representation rather than in line with each demographic's prevalence in our society then I assume you're also furious that there are less Inuits, native Americans, and indigenous people on our tv's than white British?

You nailed it.

"Too many black people on TV"

If you watch very little TV then how can you say a certain programme is the best thing on it 😆
How can you judge new media if you don't consume it??

I've dug fuck tonnes of ditches