Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

From Thursday's Times:

'A family-run television channel specialising in nostalgic programmes faces an Ofcom investigation for broadcasting a 1970s series that shows actors in blackface.
The media watchdog decided to begin a full inquiry after one viewer complained about an episode of Rogue’s Rock that was screened by Talking Pictures TV on Boxing Day.'

This is the 3rd or 4th time that Talking Pictures have fallen foul of Ofcom. Other issues include broadcasting archive films containing the N word and the word 'wog'.

I suspect that they wound up Ofcom by 'daring' to dispute their ruling in 2018 by attempting to seek a resolution.

The problem is that Ofcom could revoke their licence to broadcast or impose a fine which, if large enough, could put them out of business (Talking Pictures have said in the recent past that their ad revenue has nosedived as a result of covid).

I have noticed that they now start some programmes with a warning along the lines of "This programme contains language of the time, which todays viewers may find offensive". Clearly this isn't good enough for Ofcom.

Should TPTV stand up for what they believe and risk going off air, or should they humbly doff their cap, apologise to Ofcom and do as they say? Ultimately it will be for the owners to decide which is more important to them, their business or their principles.

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

Ofcom should go **** themselves.

... and take the idiots who have nothing better to do than complain with them.

FFS, No one forces anyone to watch TV, and they all have channel change and off buttons.

Some people really really need to get out more, and stop being snowflake whingy whiners.

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

They issue warnings ahead of some of heir films that they represent archaic views as they were....
It would be a shame if we were deprived of some classic films. You can appreciate these films without necessarily agreeing with everything in them. We'll just be left with sickly made for TV American drivel 'family' films otherwise.

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

I agree. Historical TV & films should be seen as social history and shouldn't be judged on what society thinks today.

The former BBC Chairman, Lord Grade, said yesterday that he didn't agree with this:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/202...sides-culture/

It's behind a paywall, but shows enough to confirm my claim. It would be great if someone with a subscription could let us know what it says in full.

I wonder if it's a generational thing? Older people seem to have a balanced view on things like this, but the (usually young) 'woke' generation are not helping the people they claim they want to protect. Whitewashing over the terms of yesteryear does nobody any favours and it's good to show the things that were deemed acceptable in the past.

I've come across 'woke' people calling people who have been vehemently anti racist all their lives being accused of racism for the most spurious of reasons. In fact, i'd probably be accused of being a racist for using the term whitewashing!!!

Edit: Think i've found a free version by searching for this. It won't allow me to copy the link for some reason:

Exclusive: Former BBC chairman urges Ofcom not to 'take sides in culture war' by banning blackface on TV

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

So OFCOM is paralysed with angst because one Woke idiot complained!

What kind of society are we becoming? Absolutely pathetic!

---------- Post added at 21:44 ---------- Previous post was at 21:43 ----------

I am so pleased to be able to agree with you on this, Mr K.

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

snowflakes, woke idiot.

you cannot escape lost men identity politics anywhere online it seems....

the actual snowflakes are those who get constantly wound up about what ofcom does or doesnt do. the woke idiots are the ones who spend their entire lives being the flip side of the coin they rage against.


who gives a toss about weird bureaucracy at ofcom let it go. the fact people rage about this irrelevant stuff is the real issue, dont you guys have better things to do with your lives than get worked up about pointless irrelevant ofcom?

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

Woke and idiot are two words that match so exactly. We must stop taking these people seriously. Most people are turned off by these people, so why are we taking their opinions seriously?

Really, as a nation, we need to wake up and get real!

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

:tu:

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

Exactly as if people don't like this channel then they know where the remote is.

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

Totally agree, no one forces anyone to watch these programmes(at least to my knowledge) - put up a warning before each programme and people make their choice.

Totally fed up with the woke minority trying to change historical items be it statues, broadcasts, college/pub names etc.

If you want to live by these ideas, fine - just don't force them on the rest of us.

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

seems ive loaded up the daily mail by mistake :D

you guys are funny, the flip side of the silly coin

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

"woke" is the 2020's version of "politically correct"...

You can tell a lot about people if they use it... ;)

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

TPTV is a great channel.

Judging movies through time by today’s standards is pathetic, and anyone doing such should be listened to and then ignored, for being an idiot.

Revisionism is a very dangerous path.

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

Do you think that wokeism is counter productive (as I do)?

---------- Post added at 23:38 ---------- Previous post was at 23:37 ----------

Totally agree.

---------- Post added at 23:42 ---------- Previous post was at 23:38 ----------

These are the details of a letter sent to Ofcom by the former chairman of the BBC, Lord Grade. It's from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/202...sides-culture/ which is mostly behind a paywall:

Ofcom must not "take sides in the culture war" by banning blackface on TV, a former chairman of the BBC has warned.

Lord Grade of Yarmouth has written to the regulator saying that its investigation into a family-run television channel for showing a 1970s TV programme could set a "dangerous precedent".

The media watchdog is investigating whether Talking Pictures TV breached standards by broadcasting an episode of Rogue's Rock on Boxing Day. The comedy adventure show, known for outlandish plots, ran for three series on ITV in the mid-1970s.

In a letter to Dame Melanie Dawes, the Ofcom chief executive – seen by The Telegraph, Lord Grade said he is "deeply troubled" by the investigation and warns that any sanction would "ultimately be politically correct censorship".

It is understood the regulator launched its investigation, which is ongoing, after a single complaint about the channel.

Lord Grade said: "It risks Ofcom being seen to take sides in the national debate, or culture war as some might describe it. Worse, it risks ridicule. There is a national debate raging about how we acknowledge our past, in statues, in historic buildings and museums etc. Some of this debate is healthy, some not."

Lord Grade said the investigation served only to "patronise, infantilise and demean" the intelligence of the audience, and if Ofcom sanctioned Talking Pictures it would also have to ban Gone With the Wind and Orson Welles' Othello.

He warned the regulator not to follow in the footsteps of the National Trust, which "is under intense and formal scrutiny for its alleged 'woke proselytising'."

Lord Grade said the Trust has failed to recognise that what appeared to be public debate "is the attempt by extreme political activists to impose their narrow and destructive agenda and taste on the rest of us". He added: "I seek reassurance that your pursuit of Talking Pictures is not evidence that Ofcom is being 'captured'."

Talking Pictures TV, run by father and daughter in Watford, attracts 3.5 million viewers a week. It faces a fine if it is found to have breached broadcasting standards. Lord Grade said the channel "adds greatly" to viewers' choice and introduces younger audiences to "the very different, historic social attitudes inherent" in shows of yesteryear.
As a result of broadcasting content made "before society embraced diversity and multi-culturalism" it will "inevitably breach what are today regarded as acceptable standards", he said. But he added that deciding to investigate and potentially punish the channel "is a serious error of judgment and a very worrying precedent".

While there is a line about what it is and is not acceptable, it is down to the broadcaster not the regulator to make that decision, Lord Grade said.

"What next? Will Ofcom want to see Olivier's Richard III banned since he only pretended to be physically handicapped?" he asked. "Under your Talking Pictures probe, to be consistent, you MUST make sure Gone with the Wind is locked in the vault for its stereotypical portrayal (an Oscar-winning performance) of a black maid servant. Another one for your hit list: Orson Welles blacked up to play Othello in his movie.

"We, the audience, are not so stupid that we do not understand full well that these films and TV shows were the product of another age (the scratchy black and white prints are a clue)."

A spokesman for Ofcom said: "Our investigation is in its early stages and we have not yet drawn any conclusions about whether the content has or has not breached broadcasting rules."

Indeed....No one forces anyone to view content like ya said Paul,they just dont want ANYPONE TO SEE IT just because they dont like it which is crap!!

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

You may laugh it off, but wait until these bans extend into areas you think are important or special.

This is how it starts. It needs to be nipped in the bud right now.

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

When I worked in my own office I would listen to radio 4 extra, this would often do play and shows pre 90's, It would often have a warning that the program contains language of the day that some might find offensive.


OFCOM never bothered them.

---------- Post added at 13:57 ---------- Previous post was at 13:57 ----------

What does "WOKE" mean?

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

LOL, so not a biased definition at all then.

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

Not sure if the Merriam-Webster dictionary has ever been accused of being biased...

How about the Sun, then? :D

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/107602...ng-definition/

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

Amazing how sleepy the woke crowd get to their "abuses" of speech to those who disagree with them.

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

The ‘woke’ people are those who exercise their right to be offended on behalf of others, even when those others are not offended.

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

I think there's cases where there is genuine offence, times do change.. E.g the classic Dam Busters film. One of the pilots has a black dog named with the N word. Its been changed. I don't see a problem with that, doesn't detract from the film and better than not showing it all. It should be the exception rather than the rule to change things though.

Warnings like TP give about programmes/films reflecting language of the time, seem fair enough to me. Unless there is a genuine major issue of offence like the above example.

As for 'woke'- like 'gammon' its a term designed to provoke a response. Its become a bit boring....

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

gammon ?

Well I know of gammon steak, I must be missing some other use.

I believe it means ppl like ME who are awake and aware of whats really going on......

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

It's a real problem. While it is undoubtedly good that we are fighting prejudice , by focusing on minor things like old TV shows, we are actually giving the extreme right wing a way in to take control. All they have to do is say they are fighting the "woke" culture which is focused on banning all those old films and TV shows we love. They don't just campaign on fighting bans of old TV shows and films, they fight against things like gender neutral toilets, and trans rights, together with the right to pick one's own pronouns, leading to a situation when instead of two, facebook offers 58 genders (https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlin...facebook-users ), as well as offering a "custom" option.

By pushing minor complaints like old TV shows that, TBH, people had probably forgotten until someone find some old tapes in an archive somewhere and put them on Cable TV, the Left are giving the right a weapon to use against them.

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

Exactly, it's counterproductive. I know of people who have been vehemently anti racist all their life who these people are now calling racist for the most spurious of reasons.

---------- Post added at 22:11 ---------- Previous post was at 22:05 ----------

I believe it's meant as an insult to white/pink middle aged & often overweight.men.

Curiously, the woke believers don't class this as being racist. It appears to be fine for (usually white) woke people to insult & criticise white people, but this must never be done to non white people because 'that's racist'.

I was actually told by one that it's racist for a white person to ever criticise a person of colour!!

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

Of course you were, Richard...

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

Yes I was, don't make me out to be a liar just because it doesn't suit your woke agenda.

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

You do seem to he obsessed with race a bit Richard, you end up turning every thread into the subject !

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

Can everyone just stop being disablist please? It’s not fair.

This is about racism, not disablism.

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

Pray tell, Richard - what exactly is my "woke agenda"?

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

Spot on. Racial hatred, discrimination, etc is unacceptable. But trivialising the issue as befits ‘wokeism’ is morally indefensible.

The woke community will see off channels like ‘Talking Pictures’ if the government doesn’t step in to put an end to this nonsense soon.

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

Agreed. Enormous strides have been made to stop discrimination against minority groups over my lifetime. Things aren't perfect, but if the UK adopts this nonsense from the United States, I think that it will get peoples backs up and be counterproductive.

Alienating people who have fought all their lives to make things better serves no useful purpose at all and could even make things go backwards.

There is a growing backlash from many & varied people/groups, the likes that we never saw when sensible political correctness was introduced.

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

Thankfully, Ofcom have seen sense:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/202...ackface-scene/

I wonder if the letter from Lord Grade made any difference?

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

Paywall .........

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

I know, but that's all there is up yet. You can see enough to be able to confirm what I said.

Apparently, if you stick any old email address in, it gives you access.

Yes Racism is the worst ever!!



We need more love in the world dues!!!!

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

No, racsm is no worse than any other type of discrimination, but you could be forgiven for thinking it is because of all the noise that some people make about it.

These are often virtue signalling white people too, whilst IME the majority of black people prefer to just get on with their lives and find the whole thing embarrassing.

The latest nonsense is a call for white people to be 'less white' :rolleyes:

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

Well I'm pink, I think its outrageous and insulting that Im called white. :erm:

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

It seems that commercial companies are trying to get onto the bandwaggon to try and show how right on they are:

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-s...-b1806122.html

It is indeed reverse racism.

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

Thank you, Lozza Fox...

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

Disney's disclaimer before one of the episodes of The Muppets

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

Even Short Circuit and Breakfast at Tiffany's now carry warnings on Sky about their racial stereotypes and attitudes. Its getting a bit out of hand now.

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

Don't get me wrong, as out of hand as it is getting, I'd rather have warnings than having content cut.

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

Yep - unless at the time it was made it was intended to offend they I think a warning about it is suitable.

Oh my lord,how bloody stupid!!!!!

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

Agreed.

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

How is it stupid?

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

It was The Muppets, Den, for heaven’s sake.

The nation’s gone totally mad now.

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

You do understand that the world has changed a lot in the last 50 years and attitudes to what was acceptable then might not be acceptable now thus that is why they come with a warning which l am sure to the majority of viewers is perfectly reasonable.

Yes the world is completly stupid now Den!!!!!!

NOTHING WRONG WITH THE MUPPETS!!

Re: Talking Pictures in trouble for showing racist material again.
 

The mind boggles...