I don’t know if this programme was intended to be a piss take, but the result is delicious, nonetheless. The usual suspects are up in arms, screaming, shouting and stamping their feet with the allegations of racism flying about such that anyone in the vicinity is likely to get dive bombed by it.
Channel 4 chiefs are facing calls from furious ethnic minority staff to axe a reality programme in which a star of their hit show Gogglebox lives alongside a group of cattle-herders in an African village.
Black and other minority C4 staff were said to have been horrified when they heard that head of factual entertainment Alf Lawrie had commissioned the four-part series The British Tribe Next Door, presented by Scarlett Moffatt and described as a ‘racist cringe-fest’ by one television critic.
Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t, but either way if it winds these people up, it’s a job well done, frankly. By pushing their buttons it set off a chain reaction resulting in a regressive leftist spittle fest of apoplexy. What a delight.
But afterwards, several employees are said to have raised concerns that airing it would be ‘problematic’ with a number even calling for the series to be ditched.
There’s that term “problematic” again. It’s the new buzzword, it seems.
Staff are said to be seething that their views were ignored, and are worried about potential damage to the channel’s reputation for serving diverse audiences.
Welcome to the world of the 17.4 million… Ahem. However, the workplace is not a democracy. They were consulted, their thoughts listened to and subsequently ignored. What is new here? As for diverse audiences – stuff diversity, frankly.
I have to say, on balance, I’m surprised this one got off the drawing board. In modern Britain with its trigger-happy hypersensitivity over anything remotely intersectional, this one presses the nuclear button. And no one saw this coming? Well, they did, but they were ignored.
All that said, it does provide an interlude of amusement while the regressives tear into each other.
Popcorn anyone?
From the adverts I saw this was not getting at race more highlighting the differences between our very way of life with all the ‘ must haves’ against the simpler life style of the African tribe. I assume the end will show how each other learns from the different lifestyles. It looked a little absurd to me but I can’t see that showing two groups of people mixing and learning about each other’s cultures is racist. This was always geography when I was at school!
Is it more likely to make people in Sunderland want to live in Africa or people in Africa want to live in Sunderland?
If the latter I’m sure Channel 4’s ‘metal person’ will be on hand to bring them across the Channel and by-pass immigration controls!
I have a sneaking suspicion that what the desperate to be offended (aka “black and other minority”) really hate the idea of are these African villagers not conforming to their stereotypes.
Something tells me they would likely be good natured and genuinely fascinated by the differences. Can’t have that!
They have to hate and shriek about being “exploited”. The racism of the white nazi colonialist scum has to be exposed.
I imagine that as guests in somebody else’s home these Africans will be polite and courteous and the Brits will be the same when it’s their turn.