The BBC made the mistake of attacking Monty Python for being too white. Yes, this doofus of diversity thought it was a good idea to risk bombardment by the Flying Circus. The Telegraph reported:
Shane Allen, who runs the BBC’s comedy output, said earlier this week that sketch shows should feature “a diverse range of people who reflect the modern world”, and that times have moved on from Python’s “six Oxbridge white blokes”.
In response, Cleese tweeted: “BBC’s Head of Comedy puts Monty Python’s lack of originality down to a surfeit of education and racist bias. Unfair! We were remarkably diverse FOR OUR TIME. We had three grammar-school boys, one a poof, and [Terry] Gilliam, though not actually black, was a Yank. And NO slave-owners."
“We were never ashamed to reveal the more feminine side of our personalities. And… to demonstrate solidarity with all suffragettes, 91.6% of the people we ridiculed were male (in the old-fashioned sense, that is.”
And he said of Allen: “His real title is ‘Head of Social Engineering’. Which is an excellent enterprise, although not very closely connected to comedy. In fact, it’s almost exactly its polar opposite.”The late Python member Graham Chapman was gay.
Cleese described Allen as “the latest in a long line who don’t really know what they’re doing,” following the BBC executives who disliked Monty Python in the 1960s.
Here is the sketch at issue.
15 comments:
I imagine there are quite a few people that are totally tired of being blamed for everything that's wrong with the world.
His comment about 'tired of being a white male' and was now a BLT (Black Lesbian in Transition) made me spit my coffee on my monitor....still cleaning it off.
When they came for Benny Hill and I said nothing because I wasn't a beautiful valuptious British bimbo.
When they attacked Monty Python, still I said nothing because I wasn't a member of the Judean Peoples Front or a Lumberjack.
Now that we are left with nothing but Unfunny SNL skits and feminist "comedy", everyone is always outraged and offended.
And now I know why the clown cried.
“I’d like to complain about people who constantly hold things up by complaining about people who complain. It’s high time something was done about it!” –Monty Python’s Flying Circus
One of the best unknown movies in YELLOWBEARD. It was made in about 1981, starred Monty Python (Chapman was Yellowbeard), Cheech & Chong, Madeline Kahn, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman, and James Mason.
Hilarious, but not very politically correct, it is fairly unknown, especially for the humor and talent involved.
Highly Recommended****
If SNL was a book I'd use it as toilet paper.
As a SWM (straight white male), I could choose to be offended by shows such as Blackish and Empire, but I have discovered an excellent alternative: I DON'T WATCH THOSE SHOWS!!! Maybe those who are offended by Monty Python could try this instead of looking for things to be offended by.
It really is a shame that the BBC is going to have shows written by not exclusively white men. Is that why we are getting our pitch forks out?
I swear, you can trigger a white guy these days if you breathe wrong. Anyone here ever heard of Shane Allen before? And now you're all going to whine and throw a hissy fit because shows you are never going to watch are not written exclusively by white guys and he made a bad joke about Monty Python? What a bunch of crybabies.
At 5:25 PM
Your attempt to inject so called "fragility" into John Cleese own defense of his work is preposterous. No one is complaining about the current output of the creative staff at the BBC. Their shabby ratings speak for themself.
Nearly every comment here is celebratory, not condemnation.
@6:17, you have completely whiffed in your analysis. I have no issue with John Cleese making a statement in his own defense and definitely am not offended by Monty Python. I have an issue with everyone getting their panties in a bunch when some guy they’ve never heard of makes an innocent comment that they twist around until until they can be offended. Maybe you didn’t read the post, but the very first line says the BBC attacked Monty Python for being too white. Seems pretty condemning to me.
This latest from the BBC, is only a small manifestation of a very big agenda. The powers which control Europe, intend to do to the native peoples of Europe, what was done to certain groups during the Holocaust. The larger agenda is to DEMONIZE & RIDICULE, then DISENFRANCHISE, then DISPOSSESS, and finally, to EXTERMINATE AND REPLACE.
I've been watching a lot of Brit television on YouTube. It doesn't take long, to realize that the more recent "History" programming is bent upon portraying those who created European Civilization, the Industrial Revolution, and - well - pretty much everything(even Social Justice movements which weren't "inclusive"-enough), as MONSTERS. I was watching a show about archaeological digs beneath London, which turned to be an hour-long lecture about how the city had always been full of immigrants. Brit TV seems to be all-agenda-all-the-time, now.
So, to retroactively demonize comedy acts from previous generations, is probably just business-as-usual for the BBC.
@6:17, I’m curious about your statement regarding the shabby ratings of bbc. Is that based on fact or is it just the narrative you want to portray? As far as I can tell, bbc is doing better than ever.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2018/bbc-global-audience
@9:36 AM
I'm sure the "beeb" can be trusted to report that their own metrics for viewership are sparkling. Perhaps you should investigate alternative sources. I don't keep track of every web article I read, but I've seen plenty of commentary that the BBC's audience is dwindling to a handful of rabid feminazis and transgendered council benefits recipients.
I do understand it can be hard to research when even Google, Apple, and Alexa all return extremely biased search results.
Doctor Who Ratings Fall On PC Plots
Also, 40 years ago the BBC was only available to Americans via PBS and primarily consisted of dreary historical pwriod dramas as well as an odd variety of detective dramas. Only the most hardcore UK TV nerds watched Doctor Who, Fawlty Towers, Red Dawrf, etc. It was never "hip" it was fringe entertainment.
She turned me into a Newt.
A newt?
I got better.
Didn't upset me. I found the BBC idiot's comments amusing. Funny is funny. Comedy comes from inspiration, intelligence, and insight into things that most people don't see. It comes from chemistry between the comedy team as well as the comedian and the audience. I don't give a rat's ass if the team is all black or all white or all purple. My favorite comedy acts are just as likely to be black as they are white and Richard Pryor is probably my favorite. All in the family worked not because of "diversity" or making sure there was a quote of certain identities on the show but because of the ideas explored and how they were explored. For example, can you see the BBC twit allowing a show where Jefferson and Bunker team up to keep out the Puerto Ricans? Didn't need a quota or head count for that script, just what the script called for.
I hate people that decide to destroy excellence because they have nothing better to do or can't create anything worthwhile on their own (you know, like the destruction of PRM). The twit opened himself up for a few broadsides and its fun watching aerial bombardment upon this deserving chap by the Flying Circus.
Exactly KingFish! There is even more to the BBC than political correctness. They've lost their soul.
M point is that those old BBC shows were distinctly British which not only made them appeal to a certain American audience, but made them appeal to the core UK audience. Now too many of their shows are Americanized to turn a profit on the BBC America cable channel.
These days most Brits would rather watch an American cable show with higher production value (GoT) or their own international sports or even their domestic soap operas like the EastEnders.
Brits also really love The Simpsons for some reason.
We already have Americanized version of your shows. This list is ridiculous.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_television_series_based_on_British_television_series
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