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Fawlty towers is racist
https://forum.lddb.com/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=9121
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Author:  forper [ 13 Jun 2020, 13:46 ]
Post subject:  Re: Fawlty towers is racist

Yep. Violent rape scenes and underage nudity as well as excessive violence has been censored in Australia for a long time. To me that was totalitarian, telling people what they could witness.

NOW, companies are self-censoring shows that MOCK racism. Just in case 1 or 2 people on earth somehow, mind bendingly, interpret something like Faulty Towers as championing racism.

World Gone Mad. Absolutely. This s**t has to stop or we are on an express elevator to oblivion and 1984 in reality.

But no, it's not going to stop unless sane people speak up. I speak up at my workplace. I call out ridiculous s**t. You need to speak up, resist this bull s**t. Don't be the silent majority, be the saviours of our civilisation. It's up to us.

Author:  gypsy [ 13 Jun 2020, 13:57 ]
Post subject:  Re: Fawlty towers is racist

Erasing history is a very bad idea.

The thing about the current protests that gets me are the people that think they want the police abolished. I am by no means a fan of the police but I think they are necessary. We have plenty of examples of 3rd world countries with little to no police presence. You don't want to become that. And some people would say well this is a more civilized country but the fact of the matter is many human beings are evil, it would not end well. We need laws and accountability.

Author:  forper [ 13 Jun 2020, 14:07 ]
Post subject:  Re: Fawlty towers is racist

gypsy wrote:
Erasing history is a very bad idea.

The thing about the current protests that gets me are the people that think they want the police abolished. I am by no means a fan of the police but I think they are necessary. We have plenty of examples of 3rd world countries with little to no police presence. You don't want to become that. And some people would say well this is a more civilized country but the fact of the matter is many human beings are evil, it would not end well. We need laws and accountability.


Yep, you have to speak up about it. To people in your life, not just on a message board.

If sane and rational people like us all speak up then the lunatics' hysterical screaming will be drowned out.

In 1984 history was erased, doctored and altered, until truth didn't exist. Then Big Brother used it to create a new truth...be very f***ing afraid because the left of today see the novel 1984 as a MANUAL, not a warning.

Author:  sonicboom [ 13 Jun 2020, 17:26 ]
Post subject:  Re: Fawlty towers is racist

I've seen a lot of opinions here on things like Song Of The South and Birth Of A Nation, and more recently now Gone With The Wind.

Out of honest curiosity, how many members here are African-American? I'm guessing not many.

So then, what gives you the right to decide about how African-Americans are portrayed in the media? Nostalgia and romanticism are not valid excuses. Perhaps you should instead just listen and allow them to educate you on how that portrayal has been harmful and offensive?

These conversations, to me, sound like when men opine on women's reproductive rights. What a joke.

Without the inclusion of those voices I feel like this is all a big waste of time.

I don't think Triangle people should get to say how Square people are portrayed in media. I think that is up to the Square people to decide. After all, it is *their* image being portrayed. So if the Squares say to the Triangles, "This portrayal of us Squares is offensive (even if historically accurate) and should be removed from mass circulation.", Maybe we should listen to them and be respectful of their rights?

The world is changing whether you like it or not. I'm guessing that there will be much more media in the future, produced by non-Caucasians, that depicts Caucasian people as the raper/pillager stereotypes since it is historically accurate. I'm sure there will be a lot of opinions on those shows from Caucasians saying that they don't like how they're being depicted.

You know why Spike Lee films are so controversial - Caucasians! I'm pretty sure the Latino community isn't up in arms about his films, lol!

Oh, the irony.

Author:  gypsy [ 13 Jun 2020, 17:38 ]
Post subject:  Re: Fawlty towers is racist

I think anyone should be able to make artistic media however they choose. And of course they are open to criticism for it.

Spike Lee is a fine film maker that makes thought provoking films.

Author:  forper [ 14 Jun 2020, 02:38 ]
Post subject:  Re: Fawlty towers is racist

sonicboom wrote:

Oh, the irony.


Someone's been drinking the Kool-Aid

Do I whinge or am I outraged at Spike Lee movies? Nope, love em all since high school same as every other person I've met. Never met anyone white "outraged" at Spike Lee movies actually.

Just about every white guy that's ever been in a Chinese/Hong Kong movie has been portrayed as evil. Do I tell Chinese people they can't do that? f**k no. Do I enjoy Chinese movies? Sure do. I notice the racial bias but I don't take it personally, they're Chinese people, they want the Chinese guy to be the hero. I don't get on my high horse and lecture them.

That would be called trying to force someone what to think which is exactly what the left are trying to do now, with the ultimate goal of Marxist revolution. They're telling you over and over again that something that is not racist, is racist until you believe it. And if you keep denying it then if they get the power you will go to re education camp for until you comply and agree. That is what they are willing to do. Can't you see that? It happens in Communist China this very moment. They want us to all live in a Communist tolalitarian state with them as the arbiters of moral superiority at the top and shielded from the actual horrors of Communism.

Author:  je280 [ 14 Jun 2020, 03:36 ]
Post subject:  Re: Fawlty towers is racist

Triangles & Squares, really?

Given what has happened in the US, protests worldwide - very ugly in London & Paris - plus what has just happened now in Atlanta something is seriously wrong. The images from Canada are not easy to watch either.

Way beyond Fawlty Towers & Gone With The Wind & all that.

How can it be fixed before things really explode?

We are one human race & this is a really sad time.

Take care all.

Author:  takeshi666 [ 14 Jun 2020, 03:53 ]
Post subject:  Re: Fawlty towers is racist

sonicboom wrote:
So if the Squares say to the Triangles, "This portrayal of us Squares is offensive (even if historically accurate) and should be removed from mass circulation.", Maybe we should listen to them and be respectful of their rights?

What rights? Right to censor?

Author:  firehorse_44 [ 14 Jun 2020, 04:18 ]
Post subject:  Re: Fawlty towers is racist

sonicboom, the reason you read alot of opinions here is because people are encouraged to share their opinions.
This is a Internet Forum.

The topic is "FAWLTY TOWERS IS RACIST". Among these conversations is other targeted media deemed racist and being censored currently or long past tense.
Ie: song of the south, gone with the wind, etc....

Sir, the membership here have or are voicing their opinions.

Why on Gods green earth would you marginalize anyone's opinion here based on racial input ?
Your post is racist sonicboom. To deem that an opinion is any more valid or less valid based on race is by definition "racist".
What gives the membership the "right" to post an opinion ? Freedom does sonicboom, freedom.

Why do you accuse the membership of anything ?
Why are you guessing ethnic heritage and commenting about it ! ? ! And then inferring the negative.

Opining about the differences between male and female gender rights. Where did you come from man ! ? !
The joke is on you sonicboom. Your creating a wedge and claiming virtue about it.
That really is the irony here !

This is priceless man !
Your words -
"The world is changing whether you like it or not. I'm guessing that there will be much more media in the future, produced by non-Caucasians, that depicts Caucasian people as the raper/pillager stereotypes since it is historically accurate. I'm sure there will be a lot of opinions on those shows from Caucasians saying that they don't like how they're being depicted."

sonicboom, are you inferring that Caucasian people were the only raper/pillagers in history ?

Your narrative does not note the fact that every known culture since history has been recorded has ruled by conquest.
And then you infer about others opinions based on future media content.

A very subjective and divisive post sonicboom. What was your purpose in sharing all these educational tid bits, especially the squares and triangles metaphor ?
Do you consider us idiots here at the LDDB forum ?
Do you feel the membership needs a cultural lesson in cultural minority opinions ?

Let us hope that the world changes sonicboom. In a world torn with racial strife, economic collapse, and totalitarian regimes rattling the sabre of war, let us hope that things change.
Fortunately, change is the only constant on this plane of existence.
Let us just hope that reason and tolerance prevail over irrationality and intolerance.

If it is such a waste of time why did you burden the forum with your subjective narrative man ?

The only common thought that I agreed with in your post was the "the irony" statement after reading.
That was it though...
Try tolerance and acceptance ... these traits go further then divide and maginalize.....

Author:  admin [ 14 Jun 2020, 07:29 ]
Post subject:  Re: Fawlty towers is racist

admin wrote:


Update:

Fawlty Towers: The Germans episode to be reinstated by UKTV

Julien

Author:  deadlegion [ 14 Jun 2020, 07:49 ]
Post subject:  Re: Fawlty towers is racist

Probably a bit off topic for this thread, but Disney has redone early seasons (1-12) of The Simpsons properly now (4:3) in HD.
Episode 1 of season 3 is missing though as it was removed from syndication in the last couple of years (Michael Jackson allegations iirc).

The episode in question still exists on DVD releases, those early seasons have no BD release afaik (please correct me if I'm wrong).

Author:  teddanson [ 14 Jun 2020, 10:22 ]
Post subject:  Re: Fawlty towers is racist

Scalpers gonna scalp.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/m ... _movies-tv

https://www.amazon.com/The-Simpsons-Sea ... B01GWC7250

https://www.amazon.com/Fawlty-Towers-Co ... B00005LC1H

Author:  saeba [ 14 Jun 2020, 10:33 ]
Post subject:  Re: Fawlty towers is racist

Sonicboom, people here just exposed your nonsensical "arguments" way more eloquently than I could ever do in this language, but I still wanna add my thoughts in the mixture.

I've seen a lot of opinions like yours on social media on things like racism, diversity, gender equality and other social concerns.

Out of honest curiosity, are you an african-american ? I'm guessing not.

So then, what gives you the right to speak on the behalf of african-american about how they are portrayed in the media and what they think about it ? Virtue signaling and white knighting aren't valid excuses. Perhaps you should instead just listen and allow them to educate you on how that kind of behavior can be harmful and offensive?

See how easy it is, by playing by those rules, how easy it is to turn your words against you. And this kind of "counter argument" really happens on social media and people end up virtue signaling each other until no end.

This kind of "argument" is real b******t to me and I'm sick and tired of hearing this all the time. This "Hurr durr, your not this, so you can't speak about that" kind of thinking is just actively digging bigger gaps between people and separating them more and more.
I mean just look what the "anti-racists" way of thinking almost ended up doing; in a universty in the US (don't remember wich one), there was talk about separating "people of color" from whites, because "they should have the rights to graduate between themselves without white intervention and colonialist way of thinking" or something like that.
They wanted the apartheid all over again, but they'd do it with a mile on their faces fighting "white supremacy".

"Anti-racists" today is just a codeword for racism against white people.
You know what, I'm going to stop here. I was going to continue and destroy one by one each of the so called arguments people like you use, but it's not worth it and I have other things to do.

Just let me say this, stop your "virtue signaling", for your own sake. You just look like a fool acting like this white savior trying to educate us poor uneducated savages.

And come one, triangle and square ?
You see us like that or what.
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Author:  rein-o [ 14 Jun 2020, 17:27 ]
Post subject:  Re: Fawlty towers is racist

edited.

Author:  odotb3 [ 15 Jun 2020, 16:48 ]
Post subject:  Re: Fawlty towers is racist

SonicBoom, I totally disagree with your post. But theres nothing I can say that forper, firehose_44 and saeba haven't already.

admin wrote:


We all knew it wasnt racist. Thats why when I heard on the radio saying it was, it annoyed me enough to start this thread. Looks like they've seen sense. At the end of the day it was all a storm in a tea cup.

The positive side of this thread is that now more people are aware of Fawlty Towers and have even added the LDs to their collections. :thumbup:

Author:  sonicboom [ 15 Jun 2020, 17:45 ]
Post subject:  Re: Fawlty towers is racist

I'm not saying we should ban/censor. I'm not a book burner. Make art that makes people question their own reality - PLEASE!

My entire point was that if we as HUMANS move in a direction away from the formulaic and cliche'd stereotypes that are portrayed we might begin to see each other more as equals than we obviously do now. Did the Jazz Singer improve race relations or did it make them worse? Does that image have an impact today 100 years later? Sure does, though maybe not to YOU.

Jazz Singer vs Blazing Saddles. You can tell one is more serious than the other and with comedy you can begin to see how things like racism/sexism/homophobia are just so inherently unacceptable by the way they take things too far. Even the writers would probably agree that the characters they created are assholes and that is the point. You associate that behavior with assholes (like when people here say things like "China Virus"). Contrary to the Jazz Singer which was a serious drama that in fact celebrates a time when it was acceptable, even entertaining, to do blackface.

I just bought Fawlty Towers DVD set for my 77 year old father. I love all that stuff, especially Are You Being Served? I grew up watching Married With Children and All in the Family too. I GET IT. HA HA HA its funny, ok? I also grew up watching GWTW with my Mom because she really enjoyed it and I grew to enjoy it as well. Though, what I really enjoyed, was In Living Color. That show pushed back on all that racial stuff, gave it a new twist and a Black perspective and it was HILARIOUS. Some people at the time, however, thought it was racist against White people because they portrayed them and dumb prejudiced honkeys when in fact all they were doing was what other shows had already done for Black folks. They spoofed so hard on Anglo-American culture/media and its all genius. So there is my point again, there will be more shows that are produced/written and performed by non-whites and may be super critical of whites. I guarantee they will suffer a lot of criticism for being racist against while people. Just wait. Comedy has the ability to walk the line that drama doesn't, in my opinion.

I also watched the Rodney King beating and trial then watched my city burn to the ground. Now I'm seeing the same thing happen almost 30 years later. Nothing has changed but it needs to. I'm sorry if you disagree.

Again, some people here are very upset that SotS was never made available in the US beyond VHS. Disney decided to not promote the fantasy that slavery was not that bad anymore. Kudos to them. The government didn't force them to shelf it either. Those people are angry at the content creator/copyright holder for stealing their childhood away or whatever. "My heritage is being destroyed by the liberals!" I've never seen the movie and I could give a crap if is is or isn't released here (see how your personal experience can have an effect on being objective?). Keep pissing up a rope, waiving your flags and watching your VHS tape. Same with HBO and GWTW. When you own a media corporation you make the choice as to what is shown. Until then you get what you get. Sorry. Why don't you petition Disney/HBO and demand they give you the programming you deserve, lol. You should be proud to live in a democracy hahaha! Power to the people.

BTW I'm mixed race first generation American for whoever asked. My Dad is straight up R-A-C-I-S-T. That doesn't give me any more right than anyone else to say anything on anyone's behalf except mine. You can say whatever you want and I'll listen. I'm not some savior of the people or whatever. I just believe in listening to people and taking their concern to heart. Especially when a certain group has been systematically oppressed in this country. I, personally, think that is more important than people who aren't able to own SotS on 4K BR in the US in 2020.

I didn't start this topic. I'm just voicing an opinion as many here have and will continue to do so. I will continue to stand up for what I believe and don't have a problem confronting opposing opinions. That's how we grow. You do the same so hopefully we can meet in the middle and be civil, respectful, adult humans.

If this makes you uncomfortable you can ask to have this thread closed/removed/banned/censored or what have you ;)

Sheesh, people are the f'ing worst...and its only Monday!

Author:  teddanson [ 20 Aug 2020, 10:47 ]
Post subject:  Re: Fawlty towers is racist

FYI, on SKY Q in the UKTV Play on demand section, the episode 'The Germans' has been re-added and is uncut (watched it earlier this week). A disclaimer has been added prior to the opening credits, and somewhat bizarrely, stated again at the start of the opening credits of the episode.

Only thing is, it's in SD and in entirely the wrong aspect ratio (same as all the other SD VOD content on SKY Q for some reason). I assume the episode is also available on the UKTV Play TV anywhere app.

Regardless, the US Laserdisc box set with the garbage cover art or the BBC Laserdiscs are still the way to go for the original, uncensored broadcast episodes presented properly.

Author:  elahrairrah [ 30 Nov 2021, 15:20 ]
Post subject:  Re: Fawlty towers is racist

signofzeta wrote:
This thread depressed me.

Another word about Song of the South...since people are so ignorant.

It was ALWAYS considered a backward film. Literally from the day it was released. It was never ever “all of the sudden racist”. That is a false statement and people shouldn’t feel good about saying things like that. It premiered in a theater in a city where the very star of the film was not allowed to attend. Why didn’t they premiere it some state that wasn’t s****y? Because it was a story more popular in Georgia than probably anywhere else. If they opened in NYC or LA nobody would have known WTF it was. Controversy has ALWAYS been with this movie. It wasn’t a “liberals took it off the market.” That never happened. Disney is the owner, THEY don’t want to sell it. It’s there’s, they don’t have to. This is not a “ban”.

Secondly, it’s not considered racist because it depicts black people as slaves. It’s considered a dangerous fantasy because it depicts slavery as a happy place for black people. It idealizes the setting, that’s the issue. It makes it seem like everything was just like a new ride a Disneyland when it fact the US slave industry was 400 years of one of the crudest most inhumane murder machines every designed.

Way late to this, but this is the oft repeated myth about Song of the South that it depicts "happy slaves." The setting of the story is actually AFTER the Civil War (as the original Uncle Remus stories were which is what the movie was based off of.)

If you want further proof of this, it's right there in the movie if you've seen it where Uncle Remus was about the leave the plantation and not return. Now let me know when a "slave" was allowed to leave the plantation and not return unless they or someone else somehow paid for their release?

So no, the movie is not about "happy slaves." I wish this myth about the movie was squashed once and for all, but I guess since this lie was told so often it's never going to go away. And with the movie probably never seeing release again because this myth (and the other racial elements of the movie like the "tar baby" sequence) few will ever know it.

Author:  signofzeta [ 30 Nov 2021, 16:11 ]
Post subject:  Re: Fawlty towers is racist

Oh yeah, I forgot about how all the race problems disappeared the second the Civil War ended…or maybe that’s a meaningless distinction you think you’re so smart for pointing out.

Imagine a war movie where PTSD, starvation, disease, looting, etc just disappear once victory is declared. That’s what you’re saying happened here. Good old Abe just fixed everything right up, eh? In fact the “end” of slavery was decades in the happening and even now the fires are still being put out. Random lynchings BY COPS were common well into the mid 20th century and still happen.

If the year the movie takes place in is 1840 or 1890, it changes “slave” to “ex slave” but it changes not much else. It still makes a very crap place look like Neverland and that is an insane fantasy that pisses a lot of people off since the movie was created. Song of the South was a massive massive marketing mistake. They are fixing that mistake by pretending they never made the thing, since film isn’t that great to begin with I can’t think of a better policy.

Author:  elahrairrah [ 30 Nov 2021, 16:36 ]
Post subject:  Re: Fawlty towers is racist

signofzeta wrote:
Oh yeah, I forgot about how all the race problems disappeared the second the Civil War ended…or maybe that’s a meaningless distinction you think you’re so smart for pointing out.

Imagine a war movie where PTSD, starvation, disease, looting, etc just disappear once victory is declared. That’s what you’re saying happened here. Good old Abe just fixed everything right up, eh? In fact the “end” of slavery was decades in the happening and even now the fires are still being put out. Random lynchings BY COPS were common well into the mid 20th century and still happen.

If the year the movie takes place in is 1840 or 1890, it changes “slave” to “ex slave” but it changes not much else. It still makes a very crap place look like Neverland and that is an insane fantasy that pisses a lot of people off since the movie was created. Song of the South was a massive massive marketing mistake. They are fixing that mistake by pretending they never made the thing, since film isn’t that great to begin with I can’t think of a better policy.

If they're not slaves then they're not slaves. Then they aren't "happy slaves."

If you want to get into the socio-political aspects of it, fine you can scream them til your lungs fail (and I'm not saying that they aren't relevant), but facts are facts (especially when you ignore the part of the movie that proves the point) that they weren't slaves (which is what you referred to them as.)

And if it's a "meaningless distinction" then why did you lead off the "happy slaves" talk in your rebuke of the previous poster's "ignorance"?

Take away the "slaves" part and what will your leading complaint be? That they're "happy farm workers"? And that's wrong too?

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