What's Good About England

[Hypognosis]

PC crowd have been at it again, it seems. BBC Wales 6 Nations trailer pulled after "complaints".

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4208622/amp/BBC-axes-racist-rugby-trailer-promoting-Wales-V-England.html

Mind you, if you substitute the word "England" with the name of a sub-Saharan African country, how would it come across?

Anyone got an edit suite?

[mikey4444]

Its all good-natured banter, which is what we expect at this of the year.

[Baldric]

It is neither Wales or Scotland imo.

[-Talbot-]

What's Good About England





Unfortunately for Wales ... England's rugby team is fairly good.

[Hypognosis]

@mikey

My initial reaction was "a bit cheeky".

When I was at school, in Wales, being English, I got a lot of stick because it was the JPR Williams/Gareth Edwards era and England lost to them. So I'm used to it.

When I went to uni, in England, the first reaction, after finding out "where ya from?" was the standard sheep jokes.

I basically don't fit in, anywhere.

[mikey4444]

Hypo....my experience is almost the same as yours !

[Hypognosis]

"
A BBC insider said: 'The trailers are seen as a bit of a wind-up and go down well with Wales viewers. But once they spread on social media they can cause offence.'
"

You don't say!

(snorfle)

Presumably, AB has had threads where you've debated where the line between banter and offensiveness lies? Could be a bit of a detour here.

Sport is a great way to settle national differences bloodlessly (erm… this is rugby) but I'm angling at whether national identity is an unhelpful behaviour trait, in an increasingly multicultural world?

[wolf63]

I liked this but I don't know if it was actually on TV

[Togo]

Just the usual BBC divisive agenda popping its head up, and trying to make capitol out of what is usually something to be looked forward to. Can you imagine an independent TV broadcasting company making this trailer? If they think that they are so clever and innovative why aren't they funding their existence with adverts that pay their way?

[Peter Pedant]

// Mind you, if you substitute the word "England" with the name of a sub-Saharan African country, how would it come across? //

if it were a word like Zimbabwe or South Sudan it would come across as absolutely true

( or Yemen or Syria for that matter )

[Cloverjo]

I thought it was just a bit of a joke. Not a great one, mind.

[Hypognosis]

@wolf63

That vid matches the description of the ad which was pulled in 2016 (or 2014, or 2012), per the DM article.

Thanks for finding it.

[Hypognosis]

@Togo

//If they think that they are so clever and innovative why aren't they funding their existence with adverts that pay their way? //

Because the whole ethos of a public service broadcaster is to *not* be beholden to its advertisers, forced to produce anodyne, inoffensive, mass appeal programmes. We have hundreds of other channels for that and everybody pays for those, in terms of product prices which incorporate promotional costs.

There is no such thing as "free because of adverts".

Other than that old hobby-horse of mine, your point that the Beeb can take its artistic licence too far is a fair one, well made.

[Togo]

Ta Hypo. I should point out that I have lived in Wales since 1968. I have even learnt to speak a little Cymraeg and both my children are Welsh speakers. "She who must be obeyed" is a little Welsh spitfire and on Saturday afternoon the house will be a cauldron. I have been to Cardiff for internationals and sat in the pub with hundreds of manic Welsh supporters when England are the opponents, not a bother.
You say //Because the whole ethos of a public service broadcaster is to *not* be beholden to its advertisers, forced to produce anodyne, inoffensive, mass appeal programmes.// True. But that does not grant them the remit to be "offensive" to one (incidentally the main contributor) section of the people who fund their cosseted existence.

[mikey4444]

Togo....come on now ! Those adverts weren't offensive. Are you so easily offended ?

[Togo]

Not in the least Mikey, what I am apt to do of late is mirror the tactics of the PC brigade and go into a paroxysm of fake outrage just to be a pain. Great fun it is. Haha.

[Togo]

Plus it is great cover for a slash or two at the BBC. :))

[mikey4444]

For the record, I can't see why the adverts was banned......timidness on the part of the BBC IMHO.

[Jackdaw33]

If you turned it round and asked, "What's good about Wales?" you can imagine the howls of anger.