Is This Sheer Patronising Towards Black People?

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2465784/Downton-Abbey-creator-Julian-Fellowes-opens-need-black-role-models-television.html

If a character in a play, film, tv programme etc, etc needs to be a black person, then all right they should be selected, but to create parts simply to provide the token black person for political correct reasons is wrong.

/// Julian Fellowes believes it is necessary – because the black community need to see more positive role models on TV. ///

We are seeing this type of thing happening all over the media, but what about the Chinese community do they ever get their fair share of opportunities?

[youngmafbog]

It's the usual 'taking offense on behalf of someone else'

But then what do you expect from a 'luvvie'

[DrFilth]

i have never seen the show but could they not open a chinese hand laundry in the nearest village/town

[jno]

and just where has he taken offence at anything at all?

[ludwig]

There are never enough scandinavian characters in bollywood movies.

[mikey4444]

The less characters Fellows introduces into this program, the better. That way he doesn't have to write any more risible dialogue for the script.

[youngmafbog]

By his actions jno. He is white and bleating on about black roles for his own conscience. Do we have to spell everything out for you every time?

[jno]

the Chinese spend a lot of money promoting their cultural influence abroad. I'm sure you would be well rewarded if you were able to arrange, say, an all-Chinese-cast night on Corrie, or persuade the cast of Peaky Blinders to take a short city break in Wuhan. Go for it!

[jno]

I do like to see evidence for most of your claims, ymb, yes. Where does he say or act as if he is offended?

[jno]

I note the health secretary thinks we should be more like the Chinese

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/oct/18/jeremy-hunt-uk-families-asia-elderly

This would be an ideal opportunity to promote the idea through the medium of a fancy soap opera.

[Maggoty]

remember when the director of Midsomer Murders was criticised for not having black families in his villages.......

same old same old...

[mikey4444]

Maggoty...by the time the series had ended there weren't many people left alive in Midsomer, white or black, or, indeed, Chinese !

[anotheoldgit]

There is one black guy in Emmerdale, he looks completely out of place ina small Yorkshire village, is acting skills need some improvement also, but then in this soap there are one or two that need to go back to drama classes.

[pixie373]

I think some people would be offended if the murder victim was black, or if the murderer was, so that might be why.

[ludwig]

// he looks completely out of place ina small Yorkshire village, //

Is he the character that runs the chinese takeaway? I agree, it looks completely incongruous.

[Maggoty]

Mikey - LOL

I live in a small village and we also only have one black guy (just like Emmerdale) and he's called Black Terry - to differentiate him from Old Terry and Tel :-) He is not offended. We do have a family of Chinese tho, they run the best chippie for miles around.

x

[Maggoty]

Ludwig - I think the black guy is a courier that used to work for a company that did shady drug runs that Debbie Dingle ousted....

think that's right....

[mikey4444]

There are more than a few non-white people living in my Village. In fact, in about an hours time, I shall be visiting at least one of them, for my Friday night takeaway.

Now shall it be Chinese (choice of 2 ) or Indian ( choice of 3 )

Decisions, decisions !

[FredPuli43]

Did Fellowes create the part simply to put a token black in the piece ? If he decides he wants a Jazz man for that period, black is the colour he'll choose. It reads as though, having done that, he went on to muse about other programmes whilst smugly approving his own casting of a black jazzman. Token black must mean introducing a black character not justified by the plot or circumstances. But, AOG, there were quite a lot of them about years ago; there were black men at Trafalgar, and one is depicted on the base of Nelson's column . Me, I'd have cast only whites in any recreation of that for a drama; don't want to offend any whites , you know.

[FredPuli43]

mikey, surely you don't have non-whites in your village! Say it isn't true! And do you have one gay as well ?

We have some Northern Indians running the Post Office and shop, but they don't count. She was born in Leamington Spa, but they only run the post office and live over it , so they are not proper villagers, and never will be, by jingo, until the sun sets on the British Empire (and not even then, in my view). And we have a Chinese family. They may count as villagers. Both parents have PhDs in sciences, but they are not black, and can be admitted honoris causa. I did see a black man last week, but he was visiting the research park beyond the village. Didn't get the chance to ask him whether he had a doctorate, but it wouldn't have mattered. If one settles, they all come, you know.