Little Britain removed from streaming platforms

This starts as analysing the situation but finally gets to TV Presentation, I feel the analysis is needed for the conclusion.

Although there's considerable contrition around there's also significant virtue signalling too. All bodies are seemingly either by being true to the cause or by giving in to the considerable pressures around currently, needing to make comments on policy or policy going forwards, doing contrite acts in the process. These bodies are across the spectrum. The hoo-haa over tea being typical of the reactions.

Nothing however will compare imo to the overt racism in 'Till Death Us Do Part' in the 1960's, which was excused at the time by those who found the series as funny, by being a comic attack on the character of Alf Garnett, rather than the views he portrayed. The lacking of viewer intelligence to understand it being used, as a dodgy excuse by those seeking to cover for the programme.

As for 'Little Britain' as far as I'm concerned it was shallow at best. Using 'blackface' years after 'The Black and White Minstrel Show' was decried for doing so, was inadvisable and that's being kind. Whether the producers and the BBC consider a re-edit might re-validate the series I'm not sure. For now it has to be shelved as in the JS and DLT category of TotP programmes. The future we'll see???

Near enough every sketch can be deemed offensive if you look hard enough, so that's probably why they removed it entirely.

I said this in the other thread but will state it again here. This is akin to burning books. A warning if needed is sufficient before the program plays. In the case of Britbox, the whole purpose of its existence is to make available archive material. It should be aware that by taking this action, it is going to wind up a large number of its limited customers.

The BBC are doing themselves no favours either. All it does is alienate further the people that dislike the corporation, confirmation bias will be in full swing. Maybe the BBC is not concerned about this, but to me it just seems a bit silly. A person should make their own choice if they wish to watch the content, if it was being repeated on BBC One I would perhaps understand. What a strange world we now live in. Quick and radical decisions are taken without proper understanding of the long term consequences (assuming this is the shape of things to come). And let us be under no illusion, consequences there will be due to recent events.

This is a form virtue signalling. The BBC (or anyone else for that matter) did not have an issue with Little Britain when it allowed a brand new sketch to be broadcast less that two months ago on the big night in on BBC One. Indeed Britbox made a point of stating at launch last year that offensive material would not be available on the platform. So why was Little Britain there to start with?

The decisions by these corporations are nothing more than hot air, there is no logic behind them, other to protect themselves and align with their perception of the public mood. Trouble is, most of the time they get it wrong. It is typical of the weak minded thinking that inhabit most of our leadership today. Everything is based on the here and now, the future or the past are play things, and of course the idiots will have great fun with their new toys. You can bet they will whip stuff like this up and these decisions play into their hands.

Is this what you're referring to?:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8uZ6o6m_J0

38:49 onwards

There were certain scenes/characters though that are probably deemed more offensive than others.
I'm trying as far as possible from adding my own view into this debate but I do think by their course of action BBC have opened Pandora's box here as it now opens a whole minefield of 'Why isn't other Show X removed',how far are any new comedies allowed to go etc.

I don't especially want to get involved in the rights and wrongs of this decision, but hundreds and thousands of shows have never been made available on streaming services, so there's no requirement that any show had to be on there.

That’s true and there are some shows from the BBC that I wish were on there.
I don’t particularly understand why they didn’t just quietly remove the shows if they’d decided to remove them - it could’ve probably gone unnoticed. Their removal being publicised has only poured gasoline on the fire really

I have to ask if it was because of Leigh Francis' apology over his portrayals of Craig David and Melanie Brown.

Well Precious was presumably written as a character who was from Caribbean that was a big part the of her character so that’s probably why she was black. Precious on the other hand could have easily have been white from what I remember. Then again was it intended to make fun of black people?

I’m not sure on the rights and wrongs of any of it to be honest and these decisions should probably be down to how people from those communities feel about it. But I’m sure even then some will be deeply offended and some will love characters and be annoyed that their right to watch them has been taken away.

Well the thing about Bo Selecta looking back it’s big characters were all portrayals of black people, which is very odd if you think about it.

It would have been picked up on within a couple of days anyway and they’d have had to have commented on it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8uZ6o6m_J0


With hindsight it is odd. I have to admit that I wasn't a fan of Bo Selecta so really didn't gauge the characters.