Friday, June 08, 2007
Channel 4 in difficulties again
Big Brother contestant Emily Parr has been removed from the Big Brother house after using a racially offensive word. Emily was dancing with Charley and Nicky in the living room of the Big Brother house on Wednesday night when she was heard to use a racial slur.
She immediately made it clear that she had not intended to offend and that the comment had been meant as a joke.
IMO: It is rather like making a genuinely amusing concentration camp joke to a Jew, and many would of course resent such things. In the case of Israel, many see the jackboot on the other foot, rightly or wrongly, and the Israelis as now being the Nazis.
These matters put me in mind of the great author Richard Wright. A possibly surprising touch is that Wright's books were banned in Australia at one time, apparently because the US insisted on it, so the radio would broadcast his work instead. An early triumph over US imperialist censorship.
It is years since I have read "Native Son" and I do not know how it would sound today, but at the time I heard it, it sounded great. This is presumably because it was great, an opinion of many others today.
This all made it clear that the US was basically a flawed nation, and it still is. So US activities can now mar the entire world, if the world is not careful. Richard Wright still lives in spirit, like the song "Joe Hill".
The trouble is, with Britain and even continental countries nowadays apeing the USA, there is even today no true perception of the USA position, which still retains flaws.
IMO: A pity, but this sort of thing does no credit to Channel 4. Probably the Diana program was better as it presumably gave the case of the snappers. And obviously relatives of a drunken women may not like her photos being taken in that state, except maybe for the divorce courts. Channel 4 really needs to try harder and have more accuracy and perspective.
She immediately made it clear that she had not intended to offend and that the comment had been meant as a joke.
IMO: It is rather like making a genuinely amusing concentration camp joke to a Jew, and many would of course resent such things. In the case of Israel, many see the jackboot on the other foot, rightly or wrongly, and the Israelis as now being the Nazis.
These matters put me in mind of the great author Richard Wright. A possibly surprising touch is that Wright's books were banned in Australia at one time, apparently because the US insisted on it, so the radio would broadcast his work instead. An early triumph over US imperialist censorship.
It is years since I have read "Native Son" and I do not know how it would sound today, but at the time I heard it, it sounded great. This is presumably because it was great, an opinion of many others today.
This all made it clear that the US was basically a flawed nation, and it still is. So US activities can now mar the entire world, if the world is not careful. Richard Wright still lives in spirit, like the song "Joe Hill".
The trouble is, with Britain and even continental countries nowadays apeing the USA, there is even today no true perception of the USA position, which still retains flaws.
IMO: A pity, but this sort of thing does no credit to Channel 4. Probably the Diana program was better as it presumably gave the case of the snappers. And obviously relatives of a drunken women may not like her photos being taken in that state, except maybe for the divorce courts. Channel 4 really needs to try harder and have more accuracy and perspective.
# posted by uv : 9:39 PM
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