Anne Widdecombe "Are you having a laugh" BBC1 Now

alcockell · 28/03/13 - 05:16

Hi folks,

Who's watching this one?

swingaleg · 28/03/13 - 05:20

me.....................that's one

Paace · 28/03/13 - 05:24

Is she another of what today's BBC calls comedians?

alcockell · 28/03/13 - 05:30

Nah - but she's missing the point re GGM... she's assuming all Christians are Roman Catholic...
Protestants got the joke...

Doghouse Riley · 28/03/13 - 05:33

There's been no stopping her since Strictly...unfortunately...

alcockell · 28/03/13 - 05:36

Anne clearly misses subtext...

alcockell · 28/03/13 - 05:37

Shame they didn't show the "Blessed are the cheesemakers" clip.

ETA - they did.

alcockell · 28/03/13 - 05:40

Ahh - Bill Hicks.

Who was actually closer in his view to Biblical views...

mel_drew · 28/03/13 - 05:46

My god - Mountford and Widdecombe in one evening. Two talentless old tarts who've managed to persuade incompetent TV execs that they have a discernible talent for presentation.

They don't.

spaniel-lover · 28/03/13 - 05:48

I'm waiting for her to ask why it is that it's OK to take the piss out of Christianity but not out of Islam, for the record I'm an atheist so I'm unbiased, but it's clear that there is not a level playing field & this needs to be addressed.

DomJolly · 28/03/13 - 05:57

Is this the same Anne Widdecombe who wanted to kick all immigrants out, close boarders and 24 hrs to save the pound, oh how very christian of her.

:rolleyes:

DomJolly · 28/03/13 - 06:11

spaniel-lover wrote: »

I'm waiting for her to ask why it is that it's OK to take the piss out of Christianity but not out of Islam, for the record I'm an atheist so I'm unbiased, but it's clear that there is not a level playing field & this needs to be addressed.

Roy Chuuby Brown, Jim Davidson to name but a few do, in the most crude way possible

Also the fact is Islam and other religions are still in a minority. The majority of us don't know much about Islam or other religions, but 99% of us know the story of Jesus.

We all have 2 and half weeks off to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. The church is part of the political landscape.

Other religions dont have all those perks and don't put themselves out there. A bit hard to crack jokes about a religion if nobody understands the joke because they don't know diddly squat about the religion.

Only Fools and Horses made a joke about the Sikh Turban in a number of episode at one point labbled a Sikh doctor "the turbanator", and kids up and down country were bullying sikh children with that slur.

alcockell · 28/03/13 - 06:19

I coudl see why as an RC, she may have taken exception to the Kapoors-dropping-clangers-at-Communion sketch - but to many Protestants - the joke was clear...

S'pose a lot of folks who took offence at the time may have come in cold - as it WAS on S3E1.

alcockell · 28/03/13 - 06:20

DomJolly wrote: »

Roy Chuuby Brown, Jim Davidson to name but a few do, in the most crude way possible

Also the fact is Islam and other religions are still in a minority. The majority of us don't know much about Islam or other religions, but 99% of us know the story of Jesus.

We all have 2 and half weeks off to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. The church is part of the political landscape.

Other religions dont have all those perks and don't put themselves out there. A bit hard to crack jokes about a religion if nobody understands the joke because they don't know diddly squat about the religion.

Only Fools and Horses made a joke about the Sikh Turban in a number of episode at one point labbled a Sikh doctor "the turbanator", and kids up and down country were bullying sikh children with that slur.

Hmm - wasn't there a subplot in Grange Hill about a Sikh pupil at about the same time?

[Deleted User] · 28/03/13 - 06:26

She is a total hypocrite banging on about morality. On the one hand she's drawing a line in the sand and saying non shall pass this subject is sacred and its hurtfull challenging belief and on the other is part of a political party that is deeply selfish and individualistic in its outlook. Thatcher and now Osbourne and Cameron are continually saying that the individual must take resposibility for themselves. But all religions are deeply socialist in their nature that is too say religion is a perfect philosophical base for socialisim relying on a collective sense of responsibility a belief that some greater centralised power is at work. This isn't to say that Christians can only be left wing, but just that challanging Christian belief through comedy should fit well within the modern day narrative of individuals taking responsibility for themselves.

She is also far of the mark picking out films like the Life of Brian being responsible for society's increasing cynicism more akin too blaming video games for violence in society. I believe we're becoming less engaged with religion because of the influence of Neoconsevatisim and the philosophy of the Right. Capitalism and a rapidly increasing consumer culture that encourages the individual to invest in the self is more likely. Modern malls are the new church. Modern comedy is simply a cathartic release that absolves people from their increasing sense of individualism and dimininishing sense of responsibility for each other.

Billy_Value · 28/03/13 - 06:40

i wish lenny henry would voice over when Ann speaks

skiller · 28/03/13 - 06:52

I've said this before and I'll say it again. When is "Now"?

Stupid thread.

Dub2 · 28/03/13 - 08:06

Protestant born comedians poking fun at Catholics. In the historically anti Catholic UK of all places.

I can kinda see why she is upset, although she is too fearful to actually point it out.

JCR · 28/03/13 - 08:51

spaniel-lover wrote: »

I'm waiting for her to ask why it is that it's OK to take the piss out of Christianity but not out of Islam, for the record I'm an atheist so I'm unbiased, but it's clear that there is not a level playing field & this needs to be addressed.

There are loads of comedians doing stuff about Islam these days. And there would probably be more, if the audience/comedians knew anything about Islam.

But if you go to the Edinburgh fringe there are many doing stuff like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPEbRSjnuEo (contains a good deal of profanity).

Think about it, if you're addressing a room that is 100% middle class white liberals, which most comedians in the UK are live, what risk is there in doing Islam jokes?

johnloony · 28/03/13 - 09:13

It was broadly interesting and thoughtful, but the whole force of her argument was flawed in that she took great offence at the sketch from "Goodness Gracious Me" (where she misunderstood what the target of the joke was), and seemed to want to make a distinction between jokes about religion in general and jokes about Jesus of Nazareth in particular. The suggestion that a wafer is actually the body of a man who died 2,000 years ago, and that it is deeply insulting to make a joke about it (as if it an intrusion on grief over the death of a close friend), proves why it is justified to ridicule religion - and religious beliefs - generally.

spaniel-lover · 28/03/13 - 16:31

LOL at Marcus Brigstocke pinching a Tim Vine joke at the end, Tim has more funniness in his little finger than Marcus has in his entire body.

Straker · 28/03/13 - 18:13

What a humourless cow. It always amuses me when these religious/fanatical/censorious types rail against things they haven't seen/read as she did with Life of Brian. It apparently upsets her for anyone to take the piss out of christianity but she's perfectly fine with encouraging people to laugh at bloaty pensioners stumbling around dancefloors. One enables her to feel pious whilst the other lines her pockets......

candyfloss2000 · 28/03/13 - 21:12

JohnnyTemp wrote: »

She is a total hypocrite banging on about morality. On the one hand she's drawing a line in the sand and saying non shall pass this subject is sacred and its hurtfull challenging belief and on the other is part of a political party that is deeply selfish and individualistic in its outlook. Thatcher and now Osbourne and Cameron are continually saying that the individual must take resposibility for themselves. But all religions are deeply socialist in their nature that is too say religion is a perfect philosophical base for socialisim relying on a collective sense of responsibility a belief that some greater centralised power is at work. This isn't to say that Christians can only be left wing, but just that challanging Christian belief through comedy should fit well within the modern day narrative of individuals taking responsibility for themselves.

She is also far of the mark picking out films like the Life of Brian being responsible for society's increasing cynicism more akin too blaming video games for violence in society. I believe we're becoming less engaged with religion because of the influence of Neoconsevatisim and the philosophy of the Right. Capitalism and a rapidly increasing consumer culture that encourages the individual to invest in the self is more likely. Modern malls are the new church. Modern comedy is simply a cathartic release that absolves people from their increasing sense of individualism and dimininishing sense of responsibility for each other.

She's a confused mess. Bless her. I've not watched the programme yet but fancy a look on iplayer now.

[Deleted User] · 28/03/13 - 21:13

I think that there are some people who like religion for the message of love and kindness it brings with it. There are others who like religion for the rules it imposes. They like the idea of a strict order to things. It's these second kind of people who tend not to see the jokes about religion. All they see is a mocking of their rules. Rules that they see as sacrosanct, unbending and unchangeable. In their black and white world you either follow the rules which makes you good or you don't which makes you bad. The whole concept of love and compassion and understanding others is totally lost on them.

I am afraid Ann Widdecombe belongs very much to the latter group for whom religion is all about the rules it imposes. When she was an Anglican she was very high church and they are only a few steps away from catholicism anyway. Some on here are calling Widdecombe a hypocite for being Tory and religious. That is to miss the point (in the same way some religious types don't get jokes about religion) For Widdecombe I suspect she sees nothing inconsistent in the rigid constraints that the Catholic Church lays down and the Law and Order wing of the Tory party. They both see the world from a very similar way where life is all about rules and how much you obey them (or not).

I think it was no accident that the BBC got Ann Widdecombe to front this documentary. Because the fun was going to be seeing Widdecombe confront comedians who have no respect for the religious rules she holds so dear. Lets face it. It would be far less fun if they had got a reasonable person to interview these comedians who said that they started to see the comedians point of view.

[Deleted User] · 28/03/13 - 21:17

JohnnyTemp wrote: »

She is a total hypocrite banging on about morality. On the one hand she's drawing a line in the sand and saying non shall pass this subject is sacred and its hurtfull challenging belief and on the other is part of a political party that is deeply selfish and individualistic in its outlook. Thatcher and now Osbourne and Cameron are continually saying that the individual must take resposibility for themselves. But all religions are deeply socialist in their nature that is too say religion is a perfect philosophical base for socialisim relying on a collective sense of responsibility a belief that some greater centralised power is at work. This isn't to say that Christians can only be left wing, but just that challanging Christian belief through comedy should fit well within the modern day narrative of individuals taking responsibility for themselves.

She is also far of the mark picking out films like the Life of Brian being responsible for society's increasing cynicism more akin too blaming video games for violence in society. I believe we're becoming less engaged with religion because of the influence of Neoconsevatisim and the philosophy of the Right. Capitalism and a rapidly increasing consumer culture that encourages the individual to invest in the self is more likely. Modern malls are the new church. Modern comedy is simply a cathartic release that absolves people from their increasing sense of individualism and dimininishing sense of responsibility for each other.

I have to say Johnny that seems more like a page from the Socialist Workers Party manifesto than a critique of a TV prog.

ianmatt · 28/03/13 - 21:26

Paace wrote: »

Is she another of what today's BBC calls comedians?

She's better than Maranda Hart!

Hey there!

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