Censorship, Auntie Beeb and Jerry Springer the Opera

[el Chi]

So, despite protests, outrage and intrigue, the BBC is - as I type - broadcasting Jerry Springer the Opera on BBC2.
For those of you who don't know, it's a musical of the infamous Jerry Springer TV show. Basically, lots of swearing and shocking revelations as one would expect from Jerry Springer, except all done in recitiative and with dance moves.
I saw it a few weeks ago and I loved it; I thought it was very funny, brilliantly overblown and genuinely inventive. The songs were good, as were the dances (bear in mind I usually hate musicals). The singers and dancers were exemplary. But I'm not here for a review.

I can understand why people would find it offensive (things get very blasphemous in the second half). So now they decided to show it on the Beeb, there were a lot of people disgusted and horrified. voicing their disapproval in papers, on TV news and people burning their TV licenses.
However - do they have the right to complain? I know the censorship issue is an old one, but still.

Can one say: They paid their license fee and they don't approve of it being spent on this; thus it should not be aired.
Well personally I don't approve of anything with Alan Titchmarsh in it, but that's besides the point.

Can one say: This is an offensive piece of drivel and putting it on television is a violation of public decency.

Can one say: If you don't like it, don't watch it. If you don't want kids to see it, take some responsibility and don't let your kids watch it. Get off your high-horse and shut up.

Obviously, censorship to an extent is good - one couldn't very well defend child porn on TV with "If you don't like it, don't watch it." However I feel some people take it too far and their sanctimonious nature pisses me off. It's the same issue with films, music and video games.
Should books be censored? Books contain some very nasty stuff and the gore will be all the more real in your mind than on a screen - you control how gruesome a scene could be.
What about art?
Up to what point is censorship ok?

 

[Dedalus]

i bet you of all the people who saw the show, only a tiny fraction are furiously fumbling for their letter writing pens and opening a dialogue with the commisioner of the BBC while watching songs of praise and listening to the sunday service.

the thing is, by and large, most people - even though they're offended - won't take it far enough to warrant shouting and ranting about it. it's only the small fraction that do it, and it's those wankers that force people to change their viewing schedules etc. this small group of highly volatile and highly up-their-own-arses create such a rift, that their sanctimonious preaching is forced onto others.

so why does everyone listen to this 1% of whingers, complainers and chronic-letter-writers? fooked if i know...but i know enough to ignore them. these people are trying to speak for the rest of society, when no-one empowered them with that right. i was listening to this one chap on Radio Five Live this morning, and he was so hopelessly lost in his arguments. he kept going on about how the 'audience will be offended by it' and how 'it's against todays ethical and moral standards that we build our lives on'. bloody annoys me, especially when he was basically saying 'our audience is thick and needs to understand the difference between good and evil, not a good looking satan and a jesus with man boobs'. the lady debating with him made a good point: the portrayal of the devil and jesus was an artistic choice. the devil was attractive and well groomed (signifying the lure of darkness and evil), and jesus was tubby and had bitch tits (unnattractive exterior but his message was much more fulfilling and spiritual). the guy just couldn't see the relationship. and it's this mentality that is spread throughout middle england. as soon as they see anything even mildly 'offensive' their tea cups start to tremble and you can hear a low rumble eminating from their specially designated letter writing room.

but this all reminds me of something Bill Hicks said. one of his shows for Letterman was censored for much the same reasons as this show: because it pissed of religious types. he's actually written a whole essay around the idea of something being 'offensive'. kind of weird. one quote that will stick with me is (well actually just copied it out of the book [i haven't memorised it] ):

"And I've got something else to say to those people who say, 'I'm offended', like some five-year-old child throwing a tantrum. Ready? There are a lot of things in life that are offensive, life itself can be offensive, I myself have a large list of things that offend me...So what!? Grow the **** up! We now live in the 'Age of being offended.' Get over it. Perhaps a little open-mindedness, tolerance, and acceptance may be the antidote to what ails you. Try it and see if your load isn't lifted just a bit. See if your pinched face of fear doesn't relax a tad. Why don't you exercise a little of the faith you say you believe in so much etc etc....you're offended by this material? Well you offend me, where can I send my letters? Huh!?"

Amen.

 

[Ennui]

Funny how my eyes sort of skip over long posts like that.

OOOH I just spotted Bill Hicks in there... time to read it.

 

[Kangy]

Yes, I loved it too. A brilliant satirical look at the world of Jerry Springer. There's no need for censorship of things like that, as those that advocate any kind of censorship are usually in a tiny minority, with views that haven't changed in generations.

Balls to them, a little bit of "what can we open our eyes to today?" never hurt anyone, and if it did, it was because they were too stuck in the past to handle it. I don't think modernized chat show versions of biblical mythology are really that offensive after all.

 

[el Chi]

Thing is - the second half is very blasphemous. I wasn't shocked per se, but surprised, certainly.
However if your faith is strong, one could argue (I think this appears in Stephen Fry's Paperweight Vol. 2 or something) that such petty jokes and criticisms bounce off you because you feel deep in your heart that your love for your God overcomes them all.
Conversely, if someone insults your girl/boyfriend/spouse/parent/etc. you may get very angry at them. Does that suggest that your love for them is weak? I don't think so.
So that argument perhaps applies to criticisms of God, but outright insults are a different matter. It can be difficult to rise above certain things, no matter how sure-footed you feel.

 

[burner69]

As ever, I think Hick's quote just about says what I believe in. Censorship should have a limit, but that limit should not be things that are not harmful to individuals (not necessarily the audience, child porn is obviously harmful to the child, those odd vids of people being killed are...erm.. well... pretty harmful to the person) - being offended by a swear word does not harm you. If you're adult about it and find it offensive then turn it over.

Quite frankly I think people who complained about this are pricks, I can go into detail as to why if you want me to, but I find it self evident.

And as a final note, if 50% of the programmes the bbc aired had 8000 swear words in, I'd complain. They don't. The bbc show varied things, some I like, some I hate - but I'd never write in to tell them so.

.....RIP.....
BILL HICKS
......;(......
..............

 

[el Chi]

...being offended by a swear word does not harm you. If you're adult about it and find it offensive then turn it over.

I went to see the actual show with my mum who doesn't like swearing at the best of times. A show with a song based around the word c*nt wasn't exactly made for her. But then she didn't come out seething and ready to start a witch trial. She just didn't like the show.

And as a final note, if 50% of the programmes the bbc aired had 8000 swear words in, I'd complain. They don't. The bbc show varied things, some I like, some I hate - but I'd never write in to tell them so.

Whatever happened to Points of View?

 

[Kangy]

Thing is - the second half is very blasphemous. I wasn't shocked per se, but surprised, certainly.
However if your faith is strong, one could argue (I think this appears in Stephen Fry's Paperweight Vol. 2 or something) that such petty jokes and criticisms bounce off you because you feel deep in your heart that your love for your God overcomes them all.
Conversely, if someone insults your girl/boyfriend/spouse/parent/etc. you may get very angry at them. Does that suggest that your love for them is weak? I don't think so.
So that argument perhaps applies to criticisms of God, but outright insults are a different matter. It can be difficult to rise above certain things, no matter how sure-footed you feel.

Yes, but regardless of religion, people need to understand not everything is for them. They need to learn when to accept that there may be views broadcasted on a public network that may conflict their own. You can't just say nobody is allowed to watch something on a public channel.

I agree, going out purposely to offend and then showcasing it may be a little too far, but TJSS:TO was not really there to do that.

 

[RakuraiTenjin]

TV Licenses?

If you mean pay service, the government has no right or moral justification whatsoever to encroach at all on that. Here there is TV that is broadcast and can be picked up by any old bunny ears antannae even and that is the only thing that is kept decent (still allows some edgy stuff at times), relaxing at certain hours, etc. And the pay services which can show *******(it filtered haha. "You know what girl" I'll say)/goatse killing super fun TV channel 24/7 for all they care.

Glad to see it didn't encroach though.

 

[Kangy]

No, the BBC is definately a good thing. We get quality programs that support a sometimes overwhelmed British film and television industry, as well as no commercials. No corporation can own them, and the government has very little influence on them (only calling for resignments when lies have been spread about them) other than telling them to make some good TV with the fees or they're all fired.

The BBC has and will show everything from heavy violence and swearing (Pulp Fiction was shown once I think) to mild pornography. From what I've seen of TV in the US that you didn't have to pay for, it was a bit crap. The BBC ensures that quality standards cannot go too low, or the government will simply go down on them.