British Comedy Guide

Gay Jokes/Characters In Comedy Page 6

Russell Tovey's producer character in Annually Retentive wasn't camp at all. Rob Brydon was probably more camp following him around asking him all sorts of related questions.

Dan

True- I'd forgotten that set up. The relationship between the two of them was very well structured.

Quote: sootyj @ April 2 2009, 6:43 AM BST

Being a Jew with the financial acumen of Paris Hilton with a credit card, positive stereotypes are as bad.

So if I was to say the Japanese are quite good at making reliable cars, would that be racist? Or if I said the French have a great way with food, would I be insulting Pierre from Paris who can't even make French Toast?

F**k's sake.

Quote: Maurice Minor @ April 2 2009, 10:56 AM BST

True- I'd forgotten that set up. The relationship between the two of them was very well structured.

Yes, I loved that.

Quote: Lee Henman @ April 2 2009, 1:08 PM BST

So if I was to say the Japanese are quite good at making reliable cars, would that be racist? Or if I said the French have a great way with food, would I be insulting Pierre from Paris who can't even make French Toast?

F**k's sake.

Yes it would, why so sensitive? It doesn't mean you can't make jokes. It just means positive stereotypes are pretty much the same as negative ones from a causing offence point of view.

I suppose the obvious example is the hard time geeky black guys get.

Reminds me of two of my favourite exchanges on film:

From Bridget Jones where her mother is talking about Mark Darcy: "He's divorced, apparently. His wife was Japanese. Very cruel race. Now, what are you going to put on?..."

From Dr Strangelove, Mandrake reminisces about being a PoW: "They got me on the old Rangoon-Inchinana railway. I was laying train lines for the bloody Japanese puff-puffs, eh... The strange thing is they make such bloody good cameras..."

What was the good BBC1 series about a street in their bedrooms at bedtime? 'Bedtime Stories' or something?

Timothy West was married to Sheila Hancock and there was something about he wouldn't watch Riverdance because the Irish were 'troublemakers', lol.

Quote: sootyj @ April 2 2009, 6:43 AM BST

positive stereotypes are as bad.

I would say that's only true if you have pretty bad self esteem issues.

Quote: Lee Henman @ April 2 2009, 1:08 PM BST

So if I was to say the Japanese are quite good at making reliable cars, would that be racist?

No.

Quote: Dolly Dagger @ April 2 2009, 2:34 PM BST

What was the good BBC1 series about a street in their bedrooms at bedtime? 'Bedtime Stories' or something?

Timothy West was married to Sheila Hancock and there was something about he wouldn't watch Riverdance because the Irish were 'troublemakers', lol.

Just "Bedtime." Sienna Miller even popped up in one series.

Quote: Matthew Stott @ April 2 2009, 2:50 PM BST

I would say that's only true if you have pretty bad self esteem issues.

No.

The funny thing is out of everything in this thread, this one point is a real no brainer for me.
If your boss tells you you're twice as capable as your colleagues so you'll get twice as much work for no extra pay you'd be pissed.
When you were a kid didn't it drive you up the wall when you got punished as a kid, because you were supposed to be the sensible kid?

Surely the basic principle of "fairness" is to be seen as equal, the same as any one else no better no worse.

N.B. on a diferent angle Stewart Lee's Koffi Anan gag was the same as David Jasons Mahatma gag.(And he had a funny African sketch to follow up).
But he seemed to get no stick.
Seems you can get away with anything as long as it's ironic.

Quote: sootyj @ April 3 2009, 12:45 AM BST

The funny thing is out of everything in this thread, this one point is a real no brainer for me.
If your boss tells you you're twice as capable as your colleagues so you'll get twice as much work for no extra pay you'd be pissed.
When you were a kid didn't it drive you up the wall when you got punished as a kid, because you were supposed to be the sensible kid?

Surely the basic principle of "fairness" is to be seen as equal, the same as any one else no better no worse.

Yes but to live by that ethos would be a lie, Sooty. We are NOT all equal. The human race is an enormous, complex melting pot of creeds and colours and social differences, and from those many ingredients comes diversity. There's nothing wrong with diversity, it's what keeps human life interesting. To suggest we should all be seen as equal is - IMO - racist in itself. Because to believe that, is to believe that there can be no pride in ones' racial or cultural lineage, because it doesn't matter a toss because - apparently - we're no different to anyone else.

We are all different and thank God for that.

If you ask me it's politcal correctness gone mad.

Of course and on this we agree. Every one is who wants to live in the rough and tumble of life accepts getting offended or being to made look silly. The alternative would be to live in North Korea racist statement nu?)

But we should at least acknowledge peoples feelings and make "reasonable adjustments." So a racist joke maybe fine on a comedy show, I wouldn't want to see it on Playbus. My local library should stock Mein Kampf, but I wanted an added introduction about the history of this work.

Quote: Lee Henman @ April 3 2009, 2:15 AM BST

The human race is an enormous, complex melting pot of creeds and colours and social differences, and from those many ingredients comes diversity. There's nothing wrong with diversity, it's what keeps human life interesting.

Which is why I find stereotyping of entire nationalities and sexualities lazy and depressing, and crucially, not very funny. But I'm aware I may be in a minority on this. Stereotyping just doesn't tickle my funny-bone.

It can be funny when done well and with good intent. A world without Jackie Mason, Julian Clarie or Dave Chapelle would be a far lesser and much less funny world.

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