Skip to main content

British Ha-ha

Stephen Fry, the world's most beloved Tweeter, if not twit, is a national treasure in England - but now persona non grata in Tokyo, Japan (death threats even, allegedly) for joking on his comedic panel show about a double-survivor of the A-bomb attacks in WWII - the BBC has had to apologise; as they have had to apologise to the the Mexican ambassador, for a joke from Jeremy Clarkson, another national treasure and TV personality, which claimed that Mexicans were lazy and feckless.

Last night, on yet another British TV show, I saw yet another well-known comedian make a joke about how the death of millions of Canadians wouldn't be so bad - because they're Canadian.  Substitute the word "Jew" or "Irish" or "homosexual", and one sees the problem.  The BBC has argued that "national stereotyping is part of British humour".  Uh - okay.  And apartheid was part of the South African regime.  Reprehensible traits, however "native", can and must change - and are not merely "political correctness gone mad".

Far be it from me to stereotype all English people as xenophobic, culturally superior in tone, or racist - though a recent poll finds the British the most obsessed with immigration among a number of nations (all with higher rates of immigration).  I understand how an island mentality used to projecting massive power globally is likely to need to deploy humour to downgrade the value of other peoples (sometimes threatening, sometimes threatened) - and I understand that the British have a sense of humour that stands them in good stead in hard times (which these are).  Still, it is time for jokes about various nationalities to cease - within reason.  It cannot be right to mock Mexicans or Japanese people in this way, let alone Canadians.

Comments

Sheenagh Pugh said…
Asterix isn't British, and also relies heavily on national stereotypes - in Asterix in Britain, the Romans are frustrated by the Brits' insistence on abandoning battles for a tea break. Belgians have enormous appetites, the Swiss are forever cleaning something and Parisians have no manners. 'Allo! 'Allo! guyed all comers in a similar manner. I do appreciate, being Welsh, what you say, but I still think it depends on circumstance and whether one nationality or many is being targeted.
Danish dog said…
But comedians are just saying what most people think but don't dare say. Patriotism is a fact of life in every country. And when people say patriotically, "We Canadians (or whoever) are the best," the corollary is that people of other nationalities don't matter as much.

If these comic indiscretions are banned, then we'll be bereft of an important channel for letting off steam. Even in former times the King had his jester who could speak unwelcome truths and be laughed at.

Summa summarum, this angst and obsession with political correctness in the public domain is a serious threat to freedom of speech AND freedom of conscience. One should perhaps note that Brits are also more willing to laugh at themselves. So, in this one area at least - they've got a LOT of problems in other areas - maybe others should learn from them instead of cutting a swipe at them.
Kiss My Art said…
Dear Todd

What's wrong with a bit of teasing and some gentle banter?

Best wishes from Simon
Fry is an arse. And Clarkson is a pain in one.
Sheenagh Pugh said…
Echoing danish dog about humour as a safety valve, we should recall that there are comedy vicars, comedy priests and comedy rabbis but no comedy ayatollahs or mullahs. So who has the unhealthiest society?
Safety valve my arse! By all means have your opinions and society will address them, but
don't dress them up or pass them off as humour.This is a real and insidious issue , have you not heard Cameron of late? As for 'Political correctness' it is a ridiculous notion and is used as a decoy. Things are neither 'politically 'correct nor incorrect,that term is merely bandied to dismiss and invert what is right from what is wrong.
Anonymous said…
"What's wrong with a bit of teasing and some gentle banter?" Nothing. Do jokes about the death of a million Canadians fall under that category?

On the other hand, whilst the Japanese joke was tasteless, the failure of their nation to address their behaviour in the war might slightly lessen the sympathy.
To be honest, I don't mind jokes about others, even if they do rely on national stereotypes. But I do sadly agree that Britain is gradually beoming more racist.

Popular posts from this blog

CLIVE WILMER'S THOM GUNN SELECTED POEMS IS A MUST-READ

THAT HANDSOME MAN  A PERSONAL BRIEF REVIEW BY TODD SWIFT I could lie and claim Larkin, Yeats , or Dylan Thomas most excited me as a young poet, or even Pound or FT Prince - but the truth be told, it was Thom Gunn I first and most loved when I was young. Precisely, I fell in love with his first two collections, written under a formalist, Elizabethan ( Fulke Greville mainly), Yvor Winters triad of influences - uniquely fused with an interest in homerotica, pop culture ( Brando, Elvis , motorcycles). His best poem 'On The Move' is oddly presented here without the quote that began it usually - Man, you gotta go - which I loved. Gunn was - and remains - so thrilling, to me at least, because so odd. His elegance, poise, and intelligence is all about display, about surface - but the surface of a panther, who ripples with strength beneath the skin. With Gunn, you dressed to have sex. Or so I thought.  Because I was queer (I maintain the right to lay claim to that

IQ AND THE POETS - ARE YOU SMART?

When you open your mouth to speak, are you smart?  A funny question from a great song, but also, a good one, when it comes to poets, and poetry. We tend to have a very ambiguous view of intelligence in poetry, one that I'd say is dysfunctional.  Basically, it goes like this: once you are safely dead, it no longer matters how smart you were.  For instance, Auden was smarter than Yeats , but most would still say Yeats is the finer poet; Eliot is clearly highly intelligent, but how much of Larkin 's work required a high IQ?  Meanwhile, poets while alive tend to be celebrated if they are deemed intelligent: Anne Carson, Geoffrey Hill , and Jorie Graham , are all, clearly, very intelligent people, aside from their work as poets.  But who reads Marianne Moore now, or Robert Lowell , smart poets? Or, Pound ?  How smart could Pound be with his madcap views? Less intelligent poets are often more popular.  John Betjeman was not a very smart poet, per se.  What do I mean by smart?

"I have crossed oceans of time to find you..."

In terms of great films about, and of, love, we have Vertigo, In The Mood for Love , and Casablanca , Doctor Zhivago , An Officer and a Gentleman , at the apex; as well as odder, more troubling versions, such as Sophie's Choice and  Silence of the Lambs .  I think my favourite remains Bram Stoker's Dracula , with the great immortal line "I have crossed oceans of time to find you...".