John Cleese to present C4 show 'Cancel Me'

[OldTurtleNewShell]

Apparently, he's going to interview 'cancelled' subjects. He's been quite vocal on twitter about a lot of this and has spoken up in defence of JK Rowling, as well as opposing male people in women's sports.

It'll be interesting to see who he gets on. I think it's also a sign of a turning tide that he's getting to put this on a major channel at all.

He's quoted by the Guardian as saying 'there’s so much I don’t understand', but from his tweets, he understands it very well. His tactic is to question instead of refute, which means people have to actually think about what they're claiming.

This promises to be interesting.

www.theguardian.com/culture/2021/aug/24/cancel-me-john-cleese-to-present-channel-4-show-on-woke-thought

rabbitwoman, I am also a Christian, but I don’t find LoB offensive.
When the Pythons were writing the script for it, they were in the Caribbean, reading the New Testament to find ways to take the piss out of Jesus. But as they later admitted, they couldn’t find fault with a single thing he said or did.
They almost abandoned the project as there was no source of potential humour, until they realised they could change it to mocking cult followers instead. The film makes it plain right at the start, with the Magi’s visit to the wrong stable, that Brian is categorically not Jesus.
Sorry, didn’t mean to divert the thread! And I hope Cleese still has his trademark withering sarcasm to apply to gender woo illogicality.

I should think an 81 year old would know an awful lot about most things.

Do we have a release date yet?

I just read an article about it, and I can't wait to watch it. The man is intelligent, deliciously funny and not afraid. So should be decent.

@Babdoc

rabbitwoman, I am also a Christian, but I don’t find LoB offensive. When the Pythons were writing the script for it, they were in the Caribbean, reading the New Testament to find ways to take the piss out of Jesus. But as they later admitted, they couldn’t find fault with a single thing he said or did. They almost abandoned the project as there was no source of potential humour, until they realised they could change it to mocking cult followers instead. The film makes it plain right at the start, with the Magi’s visit to the wrong stable, that Brian is categorically not Jesus. Sorry, didn’t mean to divert the thread! And I hope Cleese still has his trademark withering sarcasm to apply to gender woo illogicality.

You see, this is interesting and informative evidence that shapes a discussion - moves it around to someone else's POV - and no name calling, insults, threats needed. Of course, it also helps that we have both seen LoB and that we both have a little extra context that we are referring to....

It can be done!!

I was raised Catholic, when LoB first did the rounds I didn't watch it for the obvious eternal hellfire reasons plus my soul.
As Babdoc said though after the first few minutes and the V. Mandy especially, it was obvious the only pisstake was me and my blind faith not Christianity.

It's not John's first rodeo so should be good.

Always loved this as a kid - dad had it on a comedy LP.

And that wasn't even knowing the full background, and original debate. But seeing as it's now on topic.

An intersectional wokey columnist did a hatchet job on him and the show in the Indy. Sticking the knife in because he is a white privately educated middle-class man. I wonder what % of the Indy are black working class people . The sneering vile personal attacks in the comments section was what was to be expected with very few reasoned arguments.

Will his show focus only on those who have been cancelled for their gender critical views?

Or will he also be covering those who have been cancelled for their views on race, religion, homosexuality, immigration etc?

@NecessaryScene

Always loved this as a kid - dad had it on a comedy LP.

And that wasn't even knowing the full background, and original debate. But seeing as it's now on topic.

Coincidentally Rowan Atkinson was practically the first to put his head on the block (almost literally) against cancelling in 2004 by standing up against blasphemy law. Many of those that kept their heads down then are still at it.

@SusanBAnthony999

Will his show focus only on those who have been cancelled for their gender critical views?

Or will he also be covering those who have been cancelled for their views on race, religion, homosexuality, immigration etc?

I'd assume he'd cover a variety of viewpoints. I hope so. I also hope he'll invite some of those who are attempting to do the cancelling.

.... I absolutely, by the way, would have completly bought all the arguments for LoB, regarding the pythons going through the new testament but unable to find anything in Jesus's teachings to satire; how they were not poking fun at jesus, but at the blind faith of the followers; how they treated the figure of jesus himself with respect and hired an actor and didn't show him on the cross, etc....

But for me it's the sneering way Cleese said, almost as a throwaway line, 'anyone who believes in a 2000 year old book is stupid anyway.....'...... Palin said something similar.....

But hey, its opinions, its comedy, its entertainment, and I can chose not to watch if I wish.

This I will be watching. With interest. And following the twitter discourse, which will undoubtedly be pointing out his age and privilege.....

I'd assume he'd cover a variety of viewpoints. I hope so. I also hope he'll invite some of those who are attempting to do the cancelling.

I hope he interviews both sides as that's the only way to show a balanced account of what the issue is.

I hope Helen Stanniland is on this

I hope he interviews both sides as that's the only way to show a balanced account of what the issue is

I can't help thinking that if he does try to do this, he'll get a lot of refusals from the #nodebate crowd. If so, I'd hope he empty chairs them.

Looking forward to this. "Plebity"(has a YouTube channel) also interviews cancelled people the host Sasha White was herself sacked from her job for her GC beliefs. I really like her style.

When LoB came out, I was a regular church goer, every Sunday without fail. Attended Catholic school, the church was run by Jesuits. Large Catholic family, almost all friends Catholic. LoB was banned at our local cinema so we all had to go to the next Council District to see it. Loads of us, all from my Church, my school, my siblings schools. Many of our parents saw it too. The Jesuits at my Church had no objections. The main thought seemed to be that if - IF - the film was mocking Jesus himself as Muggeridge and the Bish insisted, then God was actually big enough to take a bit of poking fun.

When I die, I may well go to Hell as my primary school teacher always predicted, but it won't be for seeing that film.

Incidentally, it has become a family favourite as dd loves it. It is one of our automatic 'go tos'.

Apparently LoB was advertised in Sweden along the lines of "so funny they banned it in Norway".

One of the brilliant things about Life of Brian was that it attacked groupthink. So as well as bashing the sheep who uncritically follow religion, it took aim at all those daft left-wing splinter groups, characterised in the film as the People's Front of Judea, the Judean People's Front and so on. Perhaps my favourite bit is when Brian tells the crowd: "You are all individuals" and they chant back: "We are all individuals!"

Very much a film for our time.

I don't think LoB is offensive to religion, but I do think that some of the things that they said about religion, and religious people, in interviews about LoB, were kind of ignorant and narrow minded. Which does tend to taint my enjoyment of the film a bit as it makes it seem less intelligent. Gives it a bit of a Richard Dawkins vibe.

I think this could be a very good show, anyway, though some people will dismiss it because he is not young, and we all know that the young have some natural connection to the morality of the future which is of course further along the road to Progress. It might speak to some people though who have been more reflexively assuming in good faith that the progressive left are of course on the right side of history.

I do wonder how far he will go in terms of really holding the feet of cancel culture to the fire. It's one thing to talk to people about gender ideology, but what about race, or BLM? What about feminism? What about gay rights? It could be done - Trevor Phillips did that very good little film about race - but if he is too honest he could end up with almost everyone being upset that their special cause has been put under question.

Hope he speaks to J.K Rowling, Maya Forstater or someone from the Legal Feminist. Rowling got so much bile for the mildest statements, basically questioning 'menstruators' as word for women. That was before she wrote her essay.

I,hope he's talked to someone about men in women's prisons, especially the situation in California where they have idiotically also started putting pregnancy services in place and will hand out condoms. Because, y'know, those are lady dicks......nothing to see here

Ha, well, oddly enough I really want to watch life of Brian again now!!! Although I stand by my opinion I concede that Palin at least is a thoughtful and respectful guy who might have been making a quip that didn't land correctly. And John Cleese seems to be one of those grumpy but ultimately nice fellows, much like my father in law, who will get wound up and say something silly he doesn't really mean - he was so reasoned and articulate in his argument with muggeridge. I am sure if he met me - a Christian, I love a bit of Jesus! - and we had a chat, he would not think I am stupid. He would not dare tell me so, anyhoo!!

...... and I have seen John Cleese denounced as a right wing whinger today which is surprising as he famously campaigned for the lib dems, didn't he?

@TheCountessofFitzdotterel

Sorry to be a horrible cynic but how do we know the show won’t come to the conclusion that they were right and he and silly old fuddy duddies like him were wrong?

But it's not right to cancel someone else's free speech, is it? Is he discussing gender or discussing what happens to people who disagree with each other?

But it's not right to cancel someone else's free speech, is it? Is he discussing gender or discussing what happens to people who disagree with each other?

Right, the show isn't supposed to be about arguing about why gender ideology is bad, it's about why cancellation is problematic. I can't imagine it won't touch on gender issues or even go into some depth within that context. But I doubt he is going to decide that cancel culture is a good thing.

'you're astrologers are you? What star sign is he, then?'
'er, capricorn.'
'and what are they like then?'
'he is the messiah, he is the son of God, the saviour of mankind!'
'oh. And that's capricorn, is it?'

Ha!!! Actually watching it on Netflix right now.....

Thank God it was never banned!!

Ha! I had the exact same thought RW and decided that it will be my TV for tonight.
IDK if it's my religious upbringing but I appreciate it more each time I watch.
I'm guaranteed a laugh though, without fail.