Till Death Us Do Part vs. Love Thy Neighbour

[littleoldme]

Not trying to stir up a hornet's nest here, as I've never been an afficionado of either show, so this is a genuine innocent question. Can someone really explain to me the apparent difference in acceptability of these two shows in modern PC mores? Both have ignorant racist white characters, but Till Death is widely regarded as acceptable for using the Alf Garnett character to lampoon those who share his views. LTN, however, is roundly vilified for having a racist message. Yet I was under the impression that Eddie Booth was also portrayed as an idiot (albeit a bumbler rather than a loudmouth), had a long-suffering and far more intelligent wife, and regularly got his well-deserved comeuppance - so where is the great difference? I'm guessing that the audience may have been intended to feel more sympathy or empathy for Booth, but "sadly" I'm too young to remember :-)

[kempie]

I seem to recall that 'Love Thy Neighbour' also had a racist black character in Bill "Honky" Reynolds and maybe it is not PC to show non caucasian bigotry.

[Loosehead]

These 2 shows are prime examples of anti racist sit comms. The main characters are racist, yes but in every episode they get their comuppance. The danger is that the audience may not realise the irony that is being portrayed so they are rarely shown today.

[karabulut]

Wouldn't give you tuppence for 'Love Thy Neighbour' but Garnett in 'Till Death Us Do Part' was irony at its' best.

[littleoldme]

Thank you, one and all. Andy - an excellently-constructed answer as always. I guess it boils down to Till Death = racists are stupid; Love Thy Neighbour = racists are funny. Thinking about it, I do remember Johnny Speight telling the story of some halfwit who came up to him and congratulated him for creating a character who said what he (the viewer) felt. "You bloody idiot," Speight replied, "it's morons like you we're poking fun at".

A very good point also raised by kempie - the Reynolds character in LTN was no better than Booth. In fact, you could also accuse LTN of inverse sexism - both male characters were brainless bigots while the women were portrayed as far more intelligent and sensible (I bet I know what all our female contributors are thinking right now!!)

Thanks again for the replies.