UK entertainment media. How much is how things really are?

[UnseenParticipant]

Recently, because I enjoy watching mysteries, and because the UK and continental Europe in general do mysteries so much better than American TV, I subscribed to Acorn TV through Amazon Prime Video.

I’ve been watching UK and continental programming intensely for about a month now and I’m really noticing that the UK stuff differs from continental and especially American programming in how race, religion, and LGBTQ are presented.

It would seem that if I took UK programming as reflective of the actual situation in the UK, interracial couples and white parents with black children are really commonplace, which is certainly not the case in the United States, at least in our middle class.

Also, Muslims are presented in everyday life situations much more so than in American entertainment media in the form of women with headscarves of men wearing pillbox hats or having names like Mohammed or Ali or Gamil.

Similarly, one sees gay and lesbian individuals and couples in almost every episode set in the relative present (not so much, of course, if the plot is set in the past).

I also note that the challenges faced by such minorities are glossed over in a Barbie Land sort of way. It often feels like the continental (French, Spanish, Scandinavian)  shows present such matters in a more politically realistic way.

Is this a true depiction of UK life or more like an aspirational (social engineering ) presentation of UK race relations?

[TheEncogitationerParticipant]

Unseen,

When looking for new streaming services a few years ago, I looked at the Britbox selection.

Man, they didn’t have Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Fawlty Towers, Benny Hill, Dave Allen, The Black Adder, The Young Ones, The Comic Strip Presents…, Yes, Minister or anything that looked like it could raise even a giggle!

Moreover, there was no listing of The Prisoner, Blake’s 7, Hammer Horror Movies, The Naked Ape with Desmond Morris, The Ascent of Man by Jacob Bronowski, Civilization by Kenneth Clark and I don’t think I even seen old school Doctor Who.

I said: To Hell with this! Like The Kinks put it, “There Is No England Now.”

Hard pass on whatever it is that counts as documentary and entertainment on Albion’s shore anymore. It’s just not the wild, wooly, wacky, witty, and wise stuff it once was.

• This reply was modified 2 years ago by  TheEncogitationer. Reason: Addendum

[Simon PayntonParticipant]

Unseen wrote:

It would seem that if I took UK programming as reflective of the actual situation in the UK, interracial couples and white parents with black children are really commonplace, which is certainly not the case in the United States, at least in our middle class.

Also, Muslims are presented in everyday life situations much more so than in American entertainment media in the form of women with headscarves of men wearing pillbox hats or having names like Mohammed or Ali or Gamil.

Similarly, one sees gay and lesbian individuals and couples in almost every episode set in the relative present (not so much, of course, if the plot is set in the past).

I also note that the challenges faced by such minorities are glossed over in a Barbie Land sort of way. It often feels like the continental (French, Spanish, Scandinavian) shows present such matters in a more politically realistic way.

Is this a true depiction of UK life or more like an aspirational (social engineering ) presentation of UK race relations?

It’s actually pretty close to how things are.  Gay people are not as safe and widely tolerated as they make out on TV.  There’s still some active racism within the white youth in London at least, however, there is a great number of second- and third-generation British-Asian or -Afro-Caribbean or -African people, especially in the working class in the cities.  So, they’re as British as the white people, and we’re used to it by now.  It’s one of the sources of the UK creativity in the arts and culture – the mixing pot, collision of different ideas, cultures and people.

[UnseenParticipant]

@ Enco

I have a good sense of humor but little patience for comedies. Something I really can’t explain. I’m far more interested in mysteries and if they have some parodic or tongue in cheek aspects to them like the Agatha Raisin or The Brokenwood Mysteries, I’m fine with it. That’s all the humor I need.

[UnseenParticipant]

Simon Paynton wrote:

It’s actually pretty close to how things are.  Gay people are not as safe and widely tolerated as they make out on TV.  There’s still some active racism within the white youth in London at least, however, there is a great number of second- and third-generation British-Asian or -Afro-Caribbean or -African people, especially in the working class in the cities.  So, they’re as British as the white people, and we’re used to it by now.  It’s one of the sources of the UK creativity in the arts and culture – the mixing pot, collision of different ideas, cultures and people.

How many white parents with black adopted children are you aware of in your daily life or even over your entire life experience so far, Simon? I don’t think I’ve ever seen such situations depicted on American shows and I’ve never experienced such situations in my personal life.

For one thing, America’s blacks generally disapprove of white parents adopting black children, feeling that having black parents would better put them in touch with their black culture and heritage.

One does see gay or lesbian couples in American TV, but far less often than on UK shows. Granted, I’m an outsider but to me it feels a bit forced.

You don’t think it’s political at all? People kind of forcing their aspirations on the viewing public? Liberal content creators infusing their work product with their closely-held political views?

[Simon PayntonParticipant]

Unseen wrote:

One does see gay or lesbian couples in American TV, but far less often than on UK shows. Granted, I’m an outsider but to me it feels a bit forced.

You don’t think it’s political at all? People kind of forcing their aspirations on the viewing public? Liberal content creators infusing their work product with their closely-held political views?

Maybe the TV representation of how well gay people are tolerated is a bit exaggerated in order to help bring about social change.  I think the TV organisations are trying to be as inclusive as possible, and this is to help society.  If that’s political, then it is, in a broad sense.

[Simon PayntonParticipant]

Unseen wrote:

How many white parents with black adopted children are you aware of in your daily life or even over your entire life experience so far, Simon? I don’t think I’ve ever seen such situations depicted on American shows and I’ve never experienced such situations in my personal life.

For one thing, America’s blacks generally disapprove of white parents adopting black children, feeling that having black parents would better put them in touch with their black culture and heritage.

I was talking about interracial couples.  There are a lot in the UK.

[UnseenParticipant]

Simon Paynton wrote:

I was talking about interracial couples.  There are a lot in the UK.

But white folks with black adopted children?

[TheEncogitationerParticipant]

Unseen and Simon,

As one can probably surmise, I judge a TV program or movie by whether it informs, inspires, excites, amuses, or entertains, not by whether the people in the program or movie tick boxes on immutable traits.

While I do demand accuracy in news and documentaries, in fiction entertainment, I don’t look for whether Art Imitates Life or Life Imitates Art. Someone really needs entertainment bad if they have this as a concern.

[UnseenParticipant]

If I began to notice that all of a sudden drag queens and extremely mannish lesbians, I’d have to think someone is trying to accomplish something other than entertaining me, since I encounter examples of these classes of people only rarely in my everyday life.

[PopeBeanieModerator]

Unseen wrote:

That’s all the humor I need.

No Mr. Bean? How about Peter Sellers as a detective?

[UnseenParticipant]

PopeBeanie wrote:

Unseen wrote:

That’s all the humor I need.

No Mr. Bean? How about Peter Sellers as a detective?

Comedies, not mysteries. I think the last comedy film I went out of my way to see was the classic There’s Something About Mary.

[Simon PayntonParticipant]

Unseen wrote:

But white folks with black adopted children?

I know a pair of adults with Nigerian heritage who were adopted by white parents.  I don’t know how much it happens.  There are a lot of mixed race children and adults around.

[—Participant]

Simon Paynton wrote:

Unseen wrote:

But white folks with black adopted children?

I know a pair of adults with Nigerian heritage who were adopted by white parents. I don’t know how much it happens. There are a lot of mixed race children and adults around.

It’s not actually that rare in the US either. A study looking at US adoptions between 2005 and 2019 found that transracial adoptions overall increased from 23% to 28% overall and 21% to 33% for Black children specifically (though obviously this doesn’t mean all of the adoptive parents were white). I don’t believe the the study included foster families, international adoptions, or children adopted (legally, or unofficially) through marriage. The extent to which such families can be called ‘commonplace’ is subjective.

https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/private/pdf/264526/MEPA-Data-report.pdf

[TheEncogitationerParticipant]

Whutchutalkin’bout, Unseen? 😁

Obviously, somebody didn’t watch much U.S. TV in the Seventies and early Eighties.

That’s OK. I missed a lot in the Nineties. It took the advent of YouTube to start me back.

Look, there’s not necessarily an agenda and sometimes all you can say is: “That’s Entertainment!”

[Author]

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