BBC ‘only wants to feature working-class people if they’re miserable’
Former South Bank Show host claims that people from his background are under-represented in the media
That Lord Bragg describes himself as working class is cute. But don’t we want the BBC to reflect the real and objective reality? That under late stage capitalism the working class are immiserated?
Maybe they’re not immiserated enough Tim? This could lead to claims that the Net Zero program isn’t being properly carried out.
Or even worse, they might say what they really think about being immiserated.
BBC ‘only wants to feature working-class people if they’re miserable’
They don’t have to be miserable they simply need to be presented as oppressed or at the very least slightly put upon.
Empathetic progressives create perverse bilateral relationships in which they simultaneously claim a common background with the oppressed while at the same time insisting that the oppressed are very similar to themselves in their thwarted lifestyle choices.
An example of this latter phenomenon was a recent piece in the guardian bemoaning the absence of black surfers in Cornwall.
Working class characters are ok when they’re performing the role of downtrodden victim of the Heartless Tories or whatever (see the career of Ken Loach, and his imitators).
The progressive middle classes love a bit of poverty porn. Gets them all hot and bothered, reading about food banks in the Guardian, while fatuously complaining about “austerity” in a country that’s more than doubled its indebtedness since the “Conservatives” took over.
Depictions of actual working class people with actual working class views on law and order, immigration, Greta Thumberg, big tits and so on are obviously much less welcome.
We’re long past the point where this was true. Nowadays, those who would deign to rule us consider the values of the working class repugnant and would rather their were far fewer of us.
Presumably why we’re being diluted by cheap foreign imports (that will end up being very expensive in the long run).
JG – I don’t watch telly anymore, but I doubt the BBC is keen to commission any more comedy shows starring a white working class family such as in The Royle Family or Bread.
The Diverse excitement in France is a good thing, imo. Our leaders want very bad things for us, so anything that causes them difficulties is to be applauded. We already know Clown World is intolerable, so there’s no reason to be upset at it burning down.
No visible means of support
And you have not seen nothin’ yet
Probably hard to get the BBC in Moscow though, surely 😀
Hard to describe it as good, cynical moi, but this has been a long time coming and all I can say is that I find the French states reaction of surprise, surprising.
Yes, Macron is an egotistical idiot, but the French Police haven’t been corrupted by the leftwing “Hug-a-hoodie” nonsense that our own lot have. The French police reaction to the eco-zealots has been a lot more draconian than our own motley “police”.
At least the French still have a heavy mob that can be called into action to suppress riots when they occur. If this was happening in London, do you think the Metropolitan Police actions would be as draconian? I doubt it. More likely they’d offer the rioters tea and biscuits as well as give them space to “express themselves” by burning down and looting the place.
So no. I don’t think our own politicos will learn a damn thing from this, just chalk it up to “Frenchies being French”.
JG – Da, is depressing only having Cheburashka to watch on a black and white Czechoslovakian TV.
Plz President Xi, send me good quality Chinese DVD player.
Yeah, my dad is a retired electrician, of the sort you’d call up when something in your house goes wrong and not the unionized large-scale industrial project electrician.
I’d kind of noticed it for a while, but it became really obvious during the lockdown shit that when the local news did stories about struggling businesses, it was all stuff that the 20-something aspirational class single white women who were the stringers for the news outlets would like. So boutiques and yoga studios, or stuff that ticked off some obvious “social goodthink” box: vegan restaurants and not the greasy spoon diner, and the like. Jobs like the electrician or tire store owner, not at all. (Well, the one exception would be talking to the boss of the local IBEW or pipe-fitters’ union or something similar to talk about how evil companies are.)
I think Boganboy is in the Antipodes, so perhaps he can refresh my memory, but didn’t the ABC hate hate hate the tradies that protested how lockdowns were killing their livelihoods?
Had some experience of the police while I lived in France. Car was broken into in Lille. Cuople of routine breathalyser stops. Regular pulls in Dept Nord, checking one isn’t carrying Channel jumpers. Always polite & efficient. They deal with the reason they’ve stopped you & that’s it. Totally unlike the UK police who are surly, sarcastically polite & are inclined to use anything to go on a fishing expedition into ones life. Most French are very much on the side of the ordinary copper. French police generally detest the Mahgrebbis & the Mahgrebbis hate them For insisting they behave like the French. Like not looting or trashing everything in sight.
Also most French, bar a few woke in the cities, also detest the Mahgrebbis. You’ll hear venom about them from the sort of people, UK side, you’d expect to be liberal Islintonites, all alongside multiculturalism. Freedom of speech is alive & well in France.
For insisting they behave like the French. Like not looting or trashing everything in sight.
That’s been part of French culture for centuries. It’s why they’re on their 5th republic.
Talking of the French police, I think this law is about pernicious as the US Qualified Immunity laws:
“ French authorities enjoy immunity from a 2017 law (Article L435-1) which relaxes rules for use of deadly force.
Going beyond self defence, it gives police the right to shoot anyone who refuses to comply after 2 “loud commands”, driver or otherwise, and is worded very ambiguously”
I’ve taken this thread at face value:
https://twitter.com/richimedhurst/status/1674545986738311173?s=61&t=VX5cJ0-osgn_JSz7j-uowQ
Ted S.
Must admit I never watch the ABC. But there was plenty of ‘You’re not panicking enough’ during the great panic-demic so it wouldn’t surprise me if they weren’t putting the boot into the tradies as well.
I lost my window cleaner and heating plumber during lockdown as they both went bust due to not being allowed to work. I’m struggling to get a joiner for the repairs that are bigger than I can manage as so many who can afford to have just chucked it in and retired. I dropped my rent 50% to try and keep my tenant in the shop, but she eventually went bust as well as her customers weren’t allowed to customise her.