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Little Britain removed from streaming platforms

Split from US Demonstrations | News Coverage (June 2020)

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TI
This Is Granada
RDJ posted:
It’s reported that sales of the Little Britain DVD is currently the top sellers on Amazon with each series dominating the top 3 places and sales in total rising by 200,000%.

https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/06/10/little-britain-dvd-sales-amazon-bbc-iplayer-netflix-blackface/


Well it looks like 'the league of gentleman' and 'the mighty boosh' will be the next DVD's to have a run on em, both removed from Netflix.
MW
Mike W
Never seen it.

It's terrible.

The point I was making is, and Whataday will disagree I don't doubt, that just because at one point in history blackface was used to demean BAME people, that doesn't necessarily mean that every instance of it was, and if we get down to it the cited example is two Black actors pretending to be 'dumb blonde' white women. It's wrong for someone to pretend to be black and portray that character as being lazy, uneducated etc - why is it okay for a black person to portray a white person and do the same? You can't say 'years of repression' makes it right, two wrongs simply don't make a right.

Either apply the same to all or don't.
WH
Whataday Founding member
This is the last time I'm going to repeat something I've already said earlier in the thread, but the argument that when it comes to mocking people, everyone should be treated equally would only be valid if everyone had an equal level of privilege in the first place.

Blackface was created to deliberately dehumanise black people. And I mean that literally. Black people were not considered to be fully human in order to justify not affording them basic civil rights. That has had a profound effect which still lasts to this day.

White Chicks mocks elitism and casual racism although most, if not all of the mockery is done via the actual white characters, not the Wayans Brothers' characters.

There is no such thing as "whiteface". To compare White Chicks to Blackface makes a mockery of the damage and pain it has caused.
BF
BFGArmy
And next up the Inbetweeners Youtube account is now videoless. Clearly the show was offensive to bus wankers.
JO
Johnr
I'm sure I have a brand new DVD set of Little Britain Series 1-3 somewhere in the house, looking on eBay I could be in for a bit of pocket money!

Just thinking about Ant and Dec I wonder if any auditions from 13 years of Got Talent will pop out of the woodwork next...
JA
Jake
How about throwing Facejacker into the debate? Acceptable, unacceptable?
LL
London Lite Founding member
And next up the Inbetweeners Youtube account is now videoless. Clearly the show was offensive to bus wankers.


I wouldn't mind, the only scene which is mildly controversial is the scene where Jay and Neil ask a black drug dealer for cannabis and it's the black character who has the joke on them when they assume because he's black that he's a drug dealer.

If anything, it's a scene which portrays white privilege right there is exactly why it should stay online.
BA
bilky asko
There is no such thing as "whiteface". To compare White Chicks to Blackface makes a mockery of the damage and pain it has caused.


Yes there is such a thing as whiteface. The term has been in currency for over a century and a half, and it has been a practice since the 19th century.

To pretend it doesn't exist to make a point on why it is different to blackface erases the artistic point of why, especially in modern times, it has been done.

The thrust of the point is right (absolutely nobody on this forum is genuinely offended at White Chicks, it's a "gotcha" pushed by racists), but whiteface does exist, though it's far from the exact mirror of blackface.
IS
Inspector Sands
And next up the Inbetweeners Youtube account is now videoless. Clearly the show was offensive to bus wankers.

I'm wracking my brains to think of anything racially iffy in The Inbetweeners. Although thinking about it Rudge Park is the whitest school in the home counties. Though this is used as part of their nievety when encountering the outside world.


There's only two scenes I can think of that even reference race - mistaking a black man for a drug dealer and the French exchange student that 'doesn't like arabs' but in both those cases it's challenged or made to seem wrong.


Maybe a bit of YouTube over-zealousness? There's plenty in the series that someone would find offensive
Last edited by Inspector Sands on 11 June 2020 7:37am
FL
Flux
We’re getting into dangerous territory now that old content is being removed seemingly without any actual guidelines. Ignoring or glossing over our social history is dangerous. TV shows and movies, even comedies, present a very real depiction of social attitudes in the time they were made and can be an important part of the ongoing conversation. In the same way any statues glorifying those involved in the slave trade should be moved to museums or exibitions and presented with context to help understanding and debate, rather than melted down and forgotten.

Disney+ have the right idea - include a clearly worded disclaimer with any problematic content. Their big mistake is not including Song of the South and making it subject to the same treatment. Whoopi Goldberg herself has called for it to be released many times and in on record offering to film an introduction to it explaining the racial issues it contains. It should be part of the discussion.

IMO Netflix, BritBox and the BBC need to start using clear disclaimers which are specific to any issues in a show. And I’m really hoping what we’re witnessing now is the start of a review process where broadcasters are looking at all content but will ultimately re-upload everything with disclaimers, context, even filters which recognise problematic historical content. I really hope this is the case and they’re not just removing things willy nilly “just in case”.
TI
TIGHazard
Still on Britbox

https://www.britbox.co.uk/programme/The_Inbetweeners_47740
AN
another_beauty
And next up the Inbetweeners Youtube account is now videoless. Clearly the show was offensive to bus wankers.

I'm wracking my brains to think of anything racially iffy in The Inbetweeners. Although thinking about it Rudge Park is the whitest school in the home counties. Though this is used as part of their nievety when encountering the outside world.


There's only two scenes I can think of that even reference race - mistaking a black man for a drug dealer and the French exchange student that 'doesn't like arabs' but in both those cases it's challenged or made to seem wrong.


Maybe a bit of YouTube over-zealousness? There's plenty in the series that someone would find offensive


I don't think it was Youtube as there are other videos from the series still on official channels.

There are plenty of other series on Britbox that are going to offend. Harry Enfield and Chums.



I think this is hilarious, he makes a comment like "back against the wall theres a poof about". And other edgy jokes (saying a black guy won't play for Yorkshire FC). I am gay and have no issue. And even if I did, I would not be so arrogant to demand its removal. I just would not watch it.

Edit: Also Life on Mars I know features some kind of racism or homophobia, Only fools and horses, Some Mothers Do ave em, Porridge, The Office, Extras, Peep Show, Fawlty towers. You might as well just close the service down. The world has gone mad!
Last edited by another_beauty on 11 June 2020 9:25am - 2 times in total

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