Goggleboxers mocking University Challenge contestants again

[SeekingClosure]

Only just caught up with Friday's episode and ugh, they're making fun of the contestants again. Some of the goggleboxers seem to have a problem with people being clevererer/different to them (mainly the brother and sister, the hairdresser and his mom, and Jenny and Lee) and their behaviour comes across as really mean and bullying imo. I know that the female captain had already experienced abusive trolling after her first appearance and it angers me to see the same behaviour shown on a popular program, normalising it.

Gogglebox ran a campaign in one of their breaks criticising the online trolling of people in tv adverts recently. They don't seem to see the irony in this.

They're not all like that though. The Siddiqis, Giles and Mary, the Malones are all interesting and seem decent people. But lately the less pleasant families are getting more airtime.

Completely agree with your OP, @seekingclosure. I was trying to explain to DH only the other day that it feels like a bit of a race to the bottom in terms of intelligence in society any more. Maybe it's something to do with the 'post-expert' age we live in.... or maybe it's just that the kids that mocked others for being clever at school in the 90s/2000s are now grown up.

Gogglebox used to be warm and humorous family viewing. Now it's mainly a bitching session. Particularly the ones mentioned in the op - they show a very mean type of ignorance, obviously other people's intelligence threatens them by the way they behave.
That nasty sister who has a laugh like Popeye is horrible.
We haven't watched it for ages because of them.

They are all delighted with themselves though when they get a question right! I think is horrible what they say about the contestants particularly the brother and sister they come across as very spiteful.

so you're not allowed to make comment on anyone from university challenge, but you're allowed to call other people "thick" and having "no redeeming features"

Agree OP.

I mentioned on another ranty thread, I'd noticed a sort of encouragement of dumbing down on certain programmes, like it's preferable/endears people on T.V. to act simple.

Sorry but laughing at intelligence just makes it even more obvious you're lacking in it.

The difference is, as I see it, the UC contestants are ordinary people who aren't choosing to put their characters and personalities up for dissection. I don't object so much to mocking of some people who choose to be in the public eye, like politicians or actors. They've signed up for it and are usually quite resilient people to be in their professions in the first place.

I remember how the hairdresser and his mom made fun of a member of the public who was on 24 Hours in Police Custody, the poor guy had already been though a terrible ordeal. Those comments should definitely have been edited out in my opinion.

Really don’t like the hairdresser and his mother. He in particular is rude and nasty.
The way they reacted to the UC contestants was a disgrace
As far as I am concerned, it all stems from jealousy and insecurity

I'm sorry but a lot of the contestants on UC now try to catch the eye of twitter hoping to be the next Seagull and Monkman.

It's also pretty high handed to call this thread a moral check and balance as a pp has done

if youre going on national tv then surely you can expect you might be judged? whether youre on university challenge, or gogglebox?

are you basically saying its not ok to judge clever people, but fine if those people are "thick"?

When people mock others for being intelligent, or educated, or well read, etc, it says an awful lot about them and nothing at all about the target of their sniping. In some ways it's quite useful- the sooner someone exposes themselves as the kind of person who takes the piss out of people for that reason, the sooner I can write them off as a waste of time and effort and move on from having them in my life.

But yeah, agreed- for Gogglebox to run a campaign against trolling people on TV whilst filling their programme that that is pretty bloody stupid.

Gogglebox? Watching other people watching TV?

I think people who take the piss out of others who they perceive to be more intelligent are doing it because they feel insecure. I happen to think the Blackpool brother and sister are both very bright but they sadly didn’t have the benefit of the type of education that a lot of the contestants in UC have enjoyed.

anti-intellectualism has long been a staple of British popular culture in my view, I remember quite a few years back nearing Christian O'Connell or one of those blokey zoo radio types being all sneery because one of the 'gang' knew something they didn't or somesuch.

It's very tiresome, but to be honest you see it quite a lot on MN.

The whole point of googlebox is watching different people watch tv, it’s not all hearts and flowers!

Why sugar coat the general public as being nice all the time when I’m sure up and down the country people are insulting people on tv.

Shock horror - not everyone’s nice

That lad from Blackpool seems to me the epitome of someone quite bright who has massively underachieved and never had the opportunity to use his brains so uses them to belittle others. He comes across as a very bitter, spiteful individual. He quite puts me off watching to be honest.

I like the sisters from Leeds though; I think they are funny and genuine.

I am glad you have said that Tinkly because that’s exactly how I see him. I also like the Leeds women. I don’t think they are unkind and they both loved Monkman.

Genuine question: why do you think he’s bright?

It's been going downhill for some time now. The early series were so much better - it genuinely seemed natural and unscripted (I don't know if it was).

Will think he's bright because he's quite sharp and insightful and funny in a cruel way. He reminds me very much of someone I went to school with who was obviously pretty bright but from a family who didn't really do education. He ended up doing something horrendous that I don't really want to go into.

Yes, I thought that too during the charity Gogglebox. But what really shocked me during that episode was when they were watching 'Naked Attraction' and they were all saying how disgusting the fannies were and one girl said 'Ew that one looks like a punched lasagne'.

I mean I know that if you go on Naked Attraction you know what you're getting into, but I was just at how they were so disgusted by women's genitals.

Blackpool brother is very sharp witted.

My mum would say "You get any sharper, you'll cut yourself".