Midsomer murders is too white
Author
Discussion

james_tigerwoods

Original Poster:

16,347 posts

227 months

Tuesday 15th March 2011
quotequote all
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12741847

Brian True-May has said:
B T-M said:
The drama "wouldn't work" if there was racial diversity in the show and that the long-running drama was a "last bastion of Englishness" and should stay that way.
He's been suspended pending an internal investigation.

Me, personally, I enjoy the show and I'm black - it is a show that has a certain village feel to it and it's enjoyable in it's current format.

It is very stereotypical and it's enjoyable just the way it is.

I wonder how it would be taken if there was a "token black guy" or if that black guy was the murderer (more stereo types) or the victim (again, stereotyping) or if he was a "gardener" (more stereotyping) - I think to change it would lead to a hiding to nothing...

Or am I the only one that cares? smile

Jasandjules

72,636 posts

259 months

Tuesday 15th March 2011
quotequote all
james_tigerwoods said:
Or am I the only one that cares? smile
Nope, I don't think it matters either.

But clearly some people do for him to be under investigation. Perhaps they'll be off to actually look around a large selection of small villages around the country...

tractorguy

765 posts

189 months

Tuesday 15th March 2011
quotequote all
I totally agree with you tiger. The thing is that a lot of villages like "Midsummer" are mostly white. Adding a token black or asian person wouldn't help matters.

james_tigerwoods

Original Poster:

16,347 posts

227 months

Tuesday 15th March 2011
quotequote all
Jasandjules said:
james_tigerwoods said:
Or am I the only one that cares? smile
Nope, I don't think it matters either.

But clearly some people do for him to be under investigation. Perhaps they'll be off to actually look around a large selection of small villages around the country...
In my village (and it's not a small one at that), I've never seen another "alternate ethnic person" other than you white fellas smile I've also been in a large number of smaller village pubs in Lincolnshire where I've been stared at for being different - and let's not talk about the time I drove to see a friend in Suffolk and, once I got "over the border", I was stopped 4 times in about 30 miles.

It doesn't matter for a show like this, surely? What about Foyles War - only white people in that too from what I recall...

pugwash4x4

7,682 posts

251 months

Tuesday 15th March 2011
quotequote all
all a storm in a teacup- there are programs with black casts if you look hard enough- and that's fine, because the communities they are protraying are all black communiites- putting a white face in would be ridiculous.

We are at risk of trying to shape reality to fit a political correct picture!

having lived in 5-10 small "english" villages i don't remember seeing any "non-white" people there. They would have been as welcome as anyone else (although the cornish villages, it didn't matter what colour you were, if you weren't cornish you weren't welcome biggrin ), but just never chose to live there.

Briging it up just seems to causes attentiont to peoples differences.

Also slightly surprising that they've waited 14 seris to suspend him- if he's genuinely being racist then they've missed the boat!

KrazyIvan

4,341 posts

205 months

Tuesday 15th March 2011
quotequote all
I am guessing they could just say that all the ethnic groups are too smart to move to a small english area of the country side that has a higher murder per capita rate then most south american cities biggrin

ewenm

28,506 posts

275 months

Tuesday 15th March 2011
quotequote all
BTM could have chosen his words a bit better, but given that the series is set around quiet english villages, is the complaint really that quiet English villages tend to be white middle-class?

It seems a fair reflection of reality to me.

CooperD

3,189 posts

207 months

Tuesday 15th March 2011
quotequote all
I spend quite a lot of time in the countryside of Suffolk and I have to admit that I rarely if ever see a person from an ethnic minority. The producer is quite right but perhaps didn't choose his words carefully. Most people from ethnic minorities prefer to live in cities and towns. One reason being there are people from similar cultural backgrounds already living there. I feel Midsommer probably reflects this fact with the characters portrayed.

Heskey

4,048 posts

223 months

Tuesday 15th March 2011
quotequote all
Oh yeah let's start murdering black people on it, that'll look good too!

Eric Mc

125,784 posts

295 months

Tuesday 15th March 2011
quotequote all
ewenm said:
given that the series is set around quiet english villages - it seems a fair reflection of reality to me.
Villages full of psycopaths are normal?

No wonder ethnics don't want to live in such places.

james_tigerwoods

Original Poster:

16,347 posts

227 months

Tuesday 15th March 2011
quotequote all
His words have, indeed, been poorly chosen - if not accurate...

I wonder if there'll be a protest from the DM smile

thatone1967

4,252 posts

221 months

Tuesday 15th March 2011
quotequote all
This is political correctness gone mad'

Strangely Brown

16,091 posts

261 months

Tuesday 15th March 2011
quotequote all
It's amazing how a show can run for 17 years in the same format yet, as soon as someone (the co-producer) mentions something about race, it's all terrible and shouldn't be allowed. As for Brian True-May being suspended, that's just pathetic. This country has really gone to the stter if you can't say something so innocuous without someone taking offence on behalf of someone else.

Engineer1

10,486 posts

239 months

Tuesday 15th March 2011
quotequote all
KrazyIvan said:
I am guessing they could just say that all the ethnic groups are too smart to move to a small english area of the country side that has a higher murder per capita rate then most south american cities biggrin
Too true, Midsomer has so many deaths I'm surprised there is any population there.

Mr Dave

3,233 posts

225 months

Tuesday 15th March 2011
quotequote all
Im not going to complain about not seeing a white actor in a program about an african village or a sitcom about factory workers in the punjab.

Theres bigger things in life to worry about.

evenflow

8,884 posts

312 months

Tuesday 15th March 2011
quotequote all
Well I for one am going to start a one man protest. Who's with me?

First off, I'm going to boycott the Cosby Show.




FFS rolleyes

jesta1865

3,453 posts

239 months

Tuesday 15th March 2011
quotequote all
Strangely Brown said:
It's amazing how a show can run for 17 years in the same format yet, as soon as someone (the co-producer) mentions something about race, it's all terrible and shouldn't be allowed. As for Brian True-May being suspended, that's just pathetic. This country has really gone to the stter if you can't say something so innocuous without someone taking offence on behalf of someone else.
thing is his words could have been better chosen, or are they correctly answering the question put to him in the interview.

i haven't seen the question so perhaps his answer would make more sense and be less inflammatory.

Great Pretender

26,140 posts

244 months

Tuesday 15th March 2011
quotequote all
evenflow said:
Well I for one am going to start a one man protest. Who's with me?

First off, I'm going to boycott the Cosby Show.




FFS rolleyes
I've just thought of a joke about the 'Cosbys', but I rather think posting it would be a banable offence.

evenflow

8,884 posts

312 months

Tuesday 15th March 2011
quotequote all
Something about swimming pools?

Great Pretender

26,140 posts

244 months

Tuesday 15th March 2011
quotequote all
evenflow said:
Something about swimming pools?
whistle