Rising Damp - Help with some words

[JonRB]

Good evening, could any of you help me out

I was recently reading about my favourite sit com on the internet, that sit com being Rising Damp and somone was saying Rigsby was a racist.......... they were obvioulsy smart and extremely left wing (if you can be both things !!!) I want to reply to that person and explain Rigsby wasn't a racist and that it was a reflection of that generation and in fact the joke is often on Rigsby due to Philip being cleverer.

Can you any of you put a few lines or a paragraph togteher (in clever tones using clever words) explaining the situation between the character Rigsby and Philip

Cheers.

[Ethel]

Rigsby was a caricature of a cultural snob and bigot, portrayed as having fixed derogative and false ideas about African life - mud huts, for example- whilst being emasculated by Philip's higher standard of education and sexual prowess.

Rigsby desperately wanted to feel superior to Philip but is consumed by jealousy by the attraction Miss Jones fees for Philip,

Rigsby had the same conflict with Alan. Rigbsy thought his age and experience of life should give him an automatic advantage over the long haired youth, but was cowed by Alan's university education and his success with girls.

Any racist tone in this show aimed to highlight the ignorance of Rigsby, not the colour of Richard's skin and was quite a breakthrough of its time showing that inter-race relationships were acceptable, Nobody accused Miss Jones of any untoward behaviour even though was obviously lusting after a younger man of a different racial background.

Rigsby wanted to feel superior to everyone he considered beneath him, regardless of the colour of their skin, and the fact he accepted Philip as a lodger, at a time when it was not unusual to see 'no blacks' on letting boards, clearly demonstrates that Rigsby was not racist.

[vehelpfulguy]

I cannot compete with Ethel's eloquent answer, but will say that the fact he had a black person in one of his flats goes some way to proving he was not racist.

As Ethel says, in those days it was not uncommon to see in "to let" signs the words "no blacks" or "no irish" so he could easily have rejected him.

I do think though that even if you are racist you can still like people of a different ethnic group.

You may be against the number of blacks or asians or ploes in this country, but still like individual black or asian or polish people.

[vehelpfulguy]

One other thing.

When the shows were made (mid 70s) there were far fewer ethnic people in this country.

People from other ethnic groups were considered somewhat "strange" and "different" and it is true to say that as a nation we were FAR more racist than we are now.

The black and white minstrels show (white men "blacked up") was shown on TV right up to 1978 with barely a complaint (even Lennie Henry appeared on it)

http://www.sterlingtimes.org/memorable_images2 9.htm

Golliw0gs were used to advertise jam and sold in toy shops like teddy bears are today.

If a black or asian actor was required in a TV show or film often a white person was used to play the part, Spike Milligan appeared as an Asian on TV, as did Peter Sellers in some films.

I remember a scene in an Only Fools and Horses where uncle Albert comes in with some shopping and says "I have just been to the pak1 shop". And that was not that long ago.

I remember a scene in Till Death do us part where Alf said he would refuse to accept a black persons blood if he needed a blood transfusion (although to be fair the show was written to point out that Alf was racist).

It was a diffferent world then, and it is hard to imagine any of the things I have listed above happening today.

So to sum up, you cannot judge what Rigsby says and does based on today's standards, only on the standards from the 1970s.

[Reverandfunk]

Alf Garnett was another, for all his ramblings about "the darkies" it was him that came over as stupid and uneducated

[gaysy1st]

You don't need anyone to put a few lines together for you, I think that the way you' ve explained it is clever enough. You're right, it was a reflection of that generation & the joke is on Rigsby, as Phillip shows him up every time.

It's the same as the black guy 'Marigold' getting one over on Alf Garnett in 'Til Death Us Do Part'.

You go tell 'em what's what!!!