Black, Gifted and Over There

 

 

Very, very funny today on Today…Justin Webb stunned before a prolonged squealing of indignation whined its way out of him.

They’re talking about racism in the acting business and why Black actors apparently have to go to the US to get work.

Black actor Gary Beadle says that we are in denial….’There is’, he said…Webb interrupts to suggest ‘racism’…Beadle says…’No…more ‘institutional attitudes’ [racism then]…and it’s ‘rampant in the Arts’.’

Which is on one level funny/ironic…because of course it’s the ‘Arts’ mob that is always taking the high  ground on moral issues…when we know they are as bad, if not worse than everyone else….Russell Brand springs to mind for instance.

 

Simon Albury

 

Then Simon Albury,  diversity co-ordinator for the Arts (to promote, celebrate and share good practice around the diversity agenda) spoke up….he laid into the BBC…

 

Bush_hitler

Having walked through the BBC’s news room  ( with the posters of George Bush as Hitler?) , in the middle of London, when London is 40% black and minority ethnic, he saw one Asian who was there merely to bring guests in, otherwise the news room was fully white, behind him was a control booth, in it were 6 white men and 1 white woman….it’s clear, he said, that the broadcasting,  film and creative industries cannot be trusted to deliver (diversity).

 

Webb lost it then, his beloved BBC under attack and he in turn attacked Albury….hardly able to get the words out he said:  ‘You’re head of the diversity organisation and you’re white…’

 

The meaning of that was perfectly clear…if you’re white you cannot possibly make a judgement about racial discrimination…because of course being white you must in fact be a racist.

Well…that’s a bit racist in itself….and it begs the question what colour does Justin Webb think he is himself?  Does he have no mirrors in his house?  And yet he quite happily sets up his little kangaroo court day in day out ‘judging’ various things about which he has little real experience.

 

Albury counters…‘It is ironic you’ve invited me here instead of Trevor Phillips or Lenny Henry’.

Webb…‘Well you needn’t have accepted’.

So there…

 

Well…perhaps someone has to stand up and make some noise because if you’re Black and complain you may not work in this here BBC town again…..

Patrick Robinson, who has appeared in television series such as Casualty, claimed that he was ostracised by one of the BBC’s executives for almost a decade after he spoke out about the lack of opportunities for black actors.

 

 

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

For the BBC, the consideration of equality and diversity is vital. Strong reach and share, high quality programming and high audience appreciation across all our output are essential to the continued success of the BBC and we recognise diversity as a creative opportunity that enhances the originality and distinctiveness of our output and drives innovation. One of the BBC’s core values is ‘working together’ and to us that’s just as important beyond as well as within the BBC. Working in collaboration with other broadcasters and media sector bodies has helped the CDN establish a clear common vision of what good looks like – in terms of increased diversity on and off screen. The job now is to find practical and creative ways to make that happen and to build on work already undertaken. It will only be by our continuing to work together that we will make the most sustained impact.

Diversity website at the BBC

 

 

Oona King was more impressed  by Albury….

Oona King, now Baroness King of Bow, paid tribute to Albury’s championing of diversity in broadcasting, and said that his legacy included being “at the forefront” of the establishment of the industry’s Cultural Diversity Network. “He was persistently coming up with ideas to unlock the unyielding grip white men had on the broadcasting industry,” King recalled. “I love white men, I think they are so great I married one … I think they are wonderful, But I felt they shouldn’t be the only group in charge of TV.”

 

 

 

But is it all to do with ‘race’?

Black actors complain of being stereotyped in the UK…however similar complaints are made by white actors who go to the US:

Oscar-winning actress Dame Helen Mirren has complained about British actors being typecast as villains.

‘I think it’s rather unfortunate that the villain in every movie is always British, we’re such an easy target that they can comfortably make the Brits the villains.

”It’s just nice to say we’re not snooty, stuck up, malevolent, malignant creatures as we’re so often portrayed. We’re actually kind of cool and hip!”

 

And….

Speak to some producers working in US television and they will admit cost is an issue.

Cheap labour

“More value-for-money, that’s really what it is. If they wanted someone experienced and I was American, they’d pay a lot of money – and I’d be better known, I suppose. We’re cheaper.”

English actor James Purefoy, who played Mark Antony in Rome, believes the network of British actors is perceived by American colleagues as cheap labour.

“We are often referred to in Los Angeles as white Mexicans,” he told an audience of British hopefuls at a seminar on how to make it in America.

 

 

Then there’s the fact of life as an actor…you’re mostly just ‘resting’…..

As we mentioned in a previous article, it’s a fact that at any one time around 90% of actors are out of work, and only 5% of the remaining ten percent make a living from doing just acting alone.

 

There’s clearly only a small pool of successful actors and decent jobs out there….only 0.5% of actors can make ‘a living’ purely from acting.

So there’s a massive amount of competition out there treading the boards…so just how far should the special pleading and positive discrimination go?

Though this is a fair question…

As some one new to acting , being an ethnic minority, has been an interesting position.
I look at some of the roles advertised as white, Caucasian( another name used to describe non ethnic minorities) and think does that role need to be for a white Caucasian person?
For instance, a fitness instructor, the advert says must be white, why?

 

This issue has been making headlines for a while now……..here’s a Guardian article from Feb. 2012:

Why black British actors are heading for the US

 

This from The Stage in 2011:

‘Talent drain’ warning as black actors head to the US

TV and theatre is suffering from a talent drain of black British actors, with many looking to the US for work because of the lack of opportunities in the UK, leading figures have warned.

 

 

Webb’s reaction to criticism of the BBC was classic BBC…an unwillingness to accept it, usually it is either laughed off as ‘ridiculous nonsense’ or, as here, they get very tetchy.

Of course all the more enjoyable to see the self proclaimed ‘great and the good’, BBC included,  pilloried for what the BBC considers the most heinous crime…racism.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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64 Responses to Black, Gifted and Over There

  1. Pounce says:

    This may be a story if Britain had an active film industry as profitable as Hollywood. But it doesn’t , but then if the people playing the race put on their kinky books in which to attack the block they might find out that the black population accounts for 3% of the population? With the figure in mind it wouldn’t take a private in an adventure with pirates to work out that actually black British actors are not punching above their demographic , but the reason they go to the states is to make more money, just like any white British actor.

       40 likes

    • Pounce says:

      Damn the above should read pirate in an adventure with scientists

         10 likes

      • Pounce says:

        And how the above reads if written on a desk top and not an Ipad.

        This may be a story if Britain had an active film industry as profitable as Hollywood. But it doesn’t, but then if the people playing the race card put on their Kinky Boots in which to attack the block they might find out that the black population accounts for 3% of the population? With the figure in mind it wouldn’t take a pirate in an adventure with scientists to work out that actually black British actors are punching above their demographic , but the reason they go to the states is to make more money, just like any white British actor.

           28 likes

  2. Dave s says:

    Empowerment, diversity, equality, best practice, lessons learned, and so on till you feel ill.
    The meaningless words of the liberal fantasy island. They know what they mean but do the rest of us?
    This is the way a society starts to implode. Burdened with words that have no real meaning and in which reality can be lost. I thought the arts were about talent nothing else. Wrong again of course. The arts are about so much more . What the more is I have no idea.

       57 likes

    • Thoughtful says:

      you forgot the one which sends me up the wall most of all, and utterly meaningless: EMPOWERMENT !

         12 likes

  3. F*** the Beeb says:

    Anyone who adheres to the belief that only white people are capable of being racist are, themselves, unbelievably racist. You can’t rationalise with the irrational.

       96 likes

    • mo says:

      Well said F**** Beeb

         28 likes

      • London Calling says:

        Ask British-born West Indians what they feel about the hordes of Africans pouring in through Cameron’s Commonwealth open door. You might be surprised by the answer.

        Skin colour is the only issue if you are white middle-class and left-wing. Culture, attitude, and Commonwealth access to our public services for free education and health care is all a bit too complicated for Socialists, so let’s pretend it’s all about skin colour

           36 likes

  4. David Preiser (USA) says:

    Webb wasn’t calling Albury a racist. He was obviously trying to counter the contention that the lack of diversity in the control booth was evidence that the BBC had a problem by pointing out that Albury was also white, meaning that just because white people are the ones in charge and the ethnics were the low-end workers, it doesn’t necessarily indicate there’s a problem.

    In other words, people in hideously white houses shouldn’t throw stones. It’s a very poor argument, but that’s how Webb’s mind works.

    However, I think what really upset ol’ Justin wasn’t the criticism of the BBC so much as it was the idea that the British film and tv industry (all right-on), and the BBC in particular, had a bigger problem with racial discrimination than the US, and that the US treated black people better on even the tiniest level. After all, Webb is on record as stating that it’s the US which “has not got over the deep stain of slavery”, and was fairly certain in 2008 that the US was too racist to elect a black President.

    I’m surprised Albury wasn’t cursed and pelted with office equipment by half the BBC staff on his way out the door after suggesting that anyone in the US treated blacks better than the BBC does.

       45 likes

    • Deborah says:

      And yet there is the desperation by the BBC to show the BBC as multi-ethnic and prove the success of people not born white and middle class eg pushing forward Patrick and Natalie in Strictly; always making sure there is a black person or woman in the cookery shows (seen the hairy bikers celebrating diversity?); making sure there is a black person seen in the Tudor monastery farm. It is deliberate and it is annoying; shows the BBC has to consider colour and ethnicity and the result is false. If there was no racism at the BBC, people of non-British origin would appear where they rightly deserve to be, not the patronising placing of them after advice (I assume of the diversity unit).

         25 likes

      • David Preiser (USA) says:

        I would never deny that there’s a deliberate BBC policy to do this. That’s one case where there is a directive from on high, and not even the BBC denies it. In fact, as we know, it’s so bad, and at least some dopey BBC journalists have it so imprinted into their minds, that they have to ask if it’s okay to report incidents where black people do even minor wrongs lest it contradict their commitment to diversity. (Pp. 67-8)

        Yet people still try to pretend this doesn’t exist.

           14 likes

      • Andy S. says:

        While not about the BBC per se, there seems to be plenty of work available for black actors in television commercials. They certainly are overly represented in ad-land than their numbers in this country.

           11 likes

        • London Calling says:

          There seem’s to be an unwritten rule in advertising today, that there must be at least one ethnic in every commercial, otherwise it’s “insufficiently inclusive.”. When they have only two or three people cast it gets pretty over-representative. Its so blatant that its fun to play Ethnic Bingo, and watch where they pop one in.

          The solution will be when only mixed race actors are allowed in adverts. Or to become President.

             6 likes

  5. stewart says:

    I have some sympathy for the BBC in this, but only a little.
    as they are victims of thir own success
    Having clearly made the decision to avoid negative racial stereotypes, there are for instance no black drug dealers or gangsters in eastenders , ‘asian’ terrorists in spooks and only white muggers in ‘only fools and horses’. And they are running out of historical dramas to shoe-horn black characters into it is difficult to see where they can find space for any more “Numinous Negros” ( See. Hollywood in Blackface: By Paul Kersey).

       37 likes

    • ROBERT BROWN says:

      Well, the left-wing muppets bombarded me with absolute crap when i had the termerity to point out the the Duke of York in William Shakes Henry V was a white guy, and they had a black actor playing him!!! They really are morons.

         18 likes

  6. bogtrott says:

    Notice in eastenders there are no sex crimes,prostitutes,gangland shootings ,etc etc.why is because it portrays one section of people in a bad light…?

       33 likes

  7. bogtrott says:

    Notice in eastenders there are no sex crimes,prostitutes,gangland shootings ,etc etc.
    why is it because it portrays one section of people in a bad light…?

       2 likes

    • ROBERT BROWN says:

      Are there any Somalis in ‘Enders? I do not watch the crap, but as they infest the Eastend, are they represented in the prog? And if not, why not?

         16 likes

  8. deegee says:

    There are three categories of roles an ethnic minority can play.
    1) Those where ethnicity is irrelevant and they must compete with every other actor.
    2) Those where there presence is tokenism.
    3) Those where the production would lose credibility if the role was played by anyone but an actor with the correct ethnicity.

    If Black actors want more category #3 roles then Black writers will have to produce more category #3 scripts.

    Not enough Black screenwriters? When was the last time you submitted a script, Mr Beadle?

       13 likes

  9. Mice Height says:

    I’ve actually written to the BBC regarding this very subject just recently.
    I’m disgusted at what little attention they’ve given to the film ’12 years a slave’.
    I also demanded that we see more gay and mixed-race relationships in Eastenders.

       31 likes

  10. Dinsdale Oblong says:

    According to the bio of Angela Lansbury on Today this morning, she moved to America after struggling to find work here.
    Presumably because of those nasty white men portraying elderly ladies that we see so often on our screens.

       28 likes

    • pah says:

      And there’s me thinking it was because she couldn’t act …

         9 likes

      • Banquosghost says:

        I do enjoy the repeats of Murder she Wrote, I think she deals with the god awful scripts very well. More importantly though, its set in the ’80’s which provoke such memories.

           3 likes

    • ftumch says:

      “Presumably because of those nasty white men portraying elderly ladies that we see so often on our screens.”

      I blame Les Dawson

         6 likes

  11. Jeff says:

    The dear old BBC just can’t get this right, can they? As far as I’m concerned they seem to tie themselves in knots to achieve a ludicrous level of “diversity”. If any of you have children you may have seen productions like Merlin, set in the fifth century in Romano Britain. Half the cast appear to be mixed race Rastafarians with flowing dreadlocks. I swear I saw a couple of them high fiving during one episode. Is Mel Brooks employed at the BBC?
    The other masterpiece is Robin Hood where Friar Tuck, who has traditionally been portrayed as a podgy white bloke with a penchant for roast deer, is now an athletic six foot West Indian!
    I understand that the next series is going to be even more pc and diverse. Sherwood Forest is to be replaced by Hampstead Heath and there’s a very interesting storyline featuring Will Scarlet and Little John…
    Richard Greene will be spinning in his grave.

       49 likes

  12. David says:

    I switched off just as (and because) Albury was getting into his ranting stride. It’s the BRITISH Broadcasting Corporation. London may be 40% black, but the UK isn’t.

       30 likes

    • The General says:

      Give it a few years !

         21 likes

    • Dave s says:

      London is no longer an English city. It is different to the city of my childhood which I roamed around from an early age. Now you liberals may well like this.
      Fair enough but the new London has very little to do with old England. That is still stubbornly very much there and year by year drifting away from the London of the 21st century.
      Which is why the liberal is the most destructive of people and the least realistic. The BBC to a T.
      What it means for the future I do not know but what the liberal has done is to carry out an experiment on human beings without any thought for the consequences. Fantasy and desire mixed in with greed and folly.
      The very opposite of a conservative view of human nature.

         31 likes

      • Joshaw says:

        “London is no longer an English city.”

        And yet I’m often struck by how certain events, particularly traditional ones, look pretty much the same as they did 30/40 years ago. Applies to some areas as well. The reason, of course, is little or no real integration, as smaller towns and cities in the North have discovered.

        Trouble brewing.

           16 likes

        • Dave s says:

          I have noticed this. Visit any steam fair, County show, racecourse ,car rally, caravan rally, preserved railway, stately home, country park etc. Does not matter where it is . The visitors are nearly all 100% indigenous. The thing no liberal wants to talk about.
          The reality of life in a fracturing England.

             15 likes

          • David Preiser (USA) says:

            As I’ve said before, multiculturalism as practiced by your politicians and advocated by the BBC produces only a collection of monocultures. It cannot produce a healthy society.

               9 likes

    • London Calling says:

      The BBC Producers all live on the nice West London Thames route – Putney Barnes, Chiswick, Richmond, Strawberry Hill, Teddington, Hampton.
      – far from 40% Black, more like 40% BBC.

         19 likes

      • johnnythefish says:

        Indeed, as the photo of Webb’s living room only goes to prove….

           9 likes

        • David Preiser (USA) says:

          Is that a real photo or is it doctored? It’s as much a breach of the BBC’s impartiality guidelines for Webb to be pictured with an Obamessiah poster on his shelf as was Rod Liddle’s Guardian article about fox hunting.

             8 likes

  13. Guest Who says:

    I rather like the notion of a new category to the outrage roster that is so insane, it may just catch on: ‘villainist’.
    Guess the likes of Mr. Huhne & Ms. Pryce could gun for the MSM on the basis of how they got treated vs. the hue but no cry over all sorts of colourful Lords aleaping and their criminal behaviours.
    Actually Rennard & Prescott may have cause to be aggrieved too, given all they did was abuse power to make female staff either feel uncomfy (Rennard – they say)… or the warm kiss of a ministerial desktop (Prescott – admitted). Even two Jags only used his to shunt the Mrs. and her ‘do around, as opposed to mowing folk down.
    So it all boils down, as always, to how the media perceives things, with each ‘news’ item now being mainly a mini ‘little kangaroo court day in day out ‘judging’.
    And depending on the affront top trumps and tribal banner of the accused, according guilt until apologising… meaning more guilt.
    In this case, all parties seem to deserve each other.
    It’s just a shame they are also all on the public tab no matter what too.

       11 likes

  14. pah says:

    Despite attempts to display the opposite the Normans are 100% white. THAT is why there are few black or brown faces in the plum jobs at the BBC.

    I’d be prepared to bet that there are disproportionately few Anglo-Saxons or Danes in that room too.

       12 likes

    • Dave s says:

      An interesting point. Sometimes I think the destruction of the grammar schools was because the Norman ascendancy really feared the competition. Literally pulling up the drawbridge of their wretched castles which let us remmeber were built to keep us down and for no other reason.

         8 likes

  15. Doublethinker says:

    The same story was run again on the media Show R4 at 4-30 pm . In this version later in the day, after no doubt some rapid research, the BBC was able to counter the allegation that it was racist, by pointing out that it had 10% ethnic minority artists whilst the broadcasting industry average was only 5% and as the BBC is 70% of the industry, it is way ahead of its rivals. So all those in the BBC accused of working for a racist organisation can rest easy in their beds and sleep the sleep of the righteous.
    One interesting point did emerge, in that because the population of London was said to be made up of 40% ethnic minorities, then perhaps London should have special programmes which feature ethnic actors etc to a much greater extent than the output broadcast to the rest of the country.
    Other proposals included more punitive measures to be taken against theatres, TV companies etc which don’t meet certain quotas for ethnic minorities. No doubt the BBC will take this up with enthusiasm and we shall see ethnic minority actors in all sorts of unusual roles in the future.
    One interesting point was that only 1 member of an ethnic minority held a senior post at the BBC . Now will the BBC hideously white senior managers sacrifice their jobs and allow themselves to be replaced by ethnic minority candidates. No pay offs or the creation of extra senior posts of course. Or don’t their liberal left principles run as far as self sacrifice on the alter of their anti racism. Perhaps they just like the idea of sacrificing their fellow country men to the God of Multicultralism but not themselves.

       31 likes

    • Joshaw says:

      “perhaps London should have special programmes which feature ethnic actors etc to a much greater extent than the output broadcast to the rest of the country.”

      So white actors from the regions wouldn’t get a look in?

      Our orchestras are, as far as I’m aware, 100% white or E Asian. This attracts criticism from time to time. However, their audiences, including the highly accessible Proms, are also more-or-less 100% white. How can orchestras be expected to fix this when the interest is simply not there?

         27 likes

      • Dave s says:

        Well one rather large group does not seem to like music very much.

           22 likes

      • Joshaw says:

        I should have added: “assuming that anything needs fixing in the first place”.

           1 likes

      • David Preiser (USA) says:

        This is why they have Gospel and whatever Faser is supposed to be nights at the Proms. The BBC believes that non-whites simply won’t interested in white people’s Classical music, not because of the quality of the music but because they don’t like to see so many faces which don’t look like them. So they stick in these other concerts.

        At the same time, those same people at the BBC will say that I’m racist for not enjoying those concerts, or at least racist for complaining about them being included in a Classical music series. Yet they would never dream of including a Beethoven concert in a hip hop festival. There would be outrage if they did, but it simply wouldn’t occur to them to look for diversity there.

        In this way, the BBC reinforces the color barrier, and contributes to divisiveness. All because of what they think are good intentions.

           19 likes

    • johnnythefish says:

      ‘One interesting point did emerge, in that because the population of London was said to be made up of 40% ethnic minorities, then perhaps London should have special programmes which feature ethnic actors etc to a much greater extent than the output broadcast to the rest of the country.’

      Ah, that would be in support of the Left’s ‘London is a world city’ agenda.

         5 likes

  16. Thoughtful says:

    Taken from the Monday thread:

    The Media Show Radio 4 and an accidental admission of the ‘Massive left wing bias’ at the BBC

    Ed Vaizey, minister for UK Culture, Communications and Creative Industries is today asking senior figures in TV, film and arts to explain the lack of diversity in their industries. We talk to two people attending that meeting; playwright and actor Kwame Kwei Armah and senior TV executive Pat Younge, and ask the founder of the Cultural Diversity Network, Clive Jones, why he thinks black, asian and minority ethnic representation in the creative world is low and is actually going down.

    Worth a listen to as apparently a ‘more liberal group of people you could never meet, than those in the BBC’ !! apparently they will be horrified to learn that they haven’t been as diverse in the sharing of their jobs as they should have been.

    Apparently the ‘admission’ is at 10:54

       9 likes

    • ember2013 says:

      The problem with gathering just liberal minded people together is that the argument becomes a race to see who can be most anti-white/anti-British asap.

      Hardly a balanced discussion.

         20 likes

    • David Preiser (USA) says:

      No, I’ve just listened to it and the quote is “than those in TV”. Not the BBC specifically, although they’re part of the collective.

      They all know the percentages in jobs don’t even remotely match the percentages of the population in London or in certain other metropolitan areas. I heard lots of emotion, lots of feeling bad about it, lots of demands that something be done, lots of harsh criticism of the status quo, lots of disgust at the lack of non-whites in television jobs. They all wanted enforced quotas, with executives being held to account for not meeting them.

      But not a single one of these fools said a word about trying to encourage and mentor and train non-white youths so that some of them might be, you know, qualified candidates for those jobs. Instead, these media professionals complained that there weren’t enough people hired as if there were simply thousands of non-white media studies and radio production and journalism graduates itching to get into the BBC. There aren’t, of course. The diversity at those university programs isn’t much different from that at the BBC Board. You want black commissioning executives? Start creating them from high school onwards. Only then can they claim racism is the reason for the lack of hires.

      But nobody wanted to discuss that and instead treat non-whites as playthings for their own self-satisfaction. As usual, race is an artificial construct used to control and divide.

         8 likes

      • johnnythefish says:

        ‘But not a single one of these fools said a word about trying to encourage and mentor and train non-white youths so that some of them might be, you know, qualified candidates for those jobs.’

        Excellent point. A chance for the BBC to do its bit for those eternal victims of educational apartheid and institutional racism they keep banging on about – the black youth of inner city London.

           9 likes

        • David Preiser (USA) says:

          Alternatively, the BBC could continue in Divide-and-Conquer mode by creating their own version of BET. If they use the license fee to do all those non-English language channels, surely this is another British demographic the BBC is required by law to satisfy.

          Which is better value for money, BBC? Your Persian language service, or fulfilling the needs of British people at home?

             5 likes

      • London Calling says:

        Statistical representation and colour is a false divide – as always. How many illiterate niquab-wearing women from rural Pakistan are managers in the BBC?
        None.
        Its discriminatory I tell you!

        A talent-only policy might result in 100% ethnic or 100% white British. Statistical representaion tells you nothing. When you see a quota-based recruitment policy, it mean talented whites or talented blacks have been excluded in order to maintain the quota.

        Irrespective of all this the point of Socialists playing the race-card is to ensure 95% of ethnics continue to vote labour “because the other parties are racist”, whether they are or not is immaterial to socialists, closet racists in their own lives (homes schools and healthcare)

           4 likes

  17. joeb says:

    Albury suggested that the industry have “an independent external regulator” regulating how many black people and ethnic minorities work in it.

    Can you imagine? Ridiculous. It just beggars belief. Who are these ‘soft bigotry of low expectations’ lunatics?

    And Webb was just patronising in the extreme.

       22 likes

  18. The Poltergeist says:

    It’s more insulting when minorities are thrust into historical and period dramas and nothing is noticed about their race or culture. A recent episode of The Paradise comes to light.

    The quality of drama writing on the BBC is very poor at present. I don’t think most people would care what colour the main actor or cast were if it’s a quality drama.

    Look at Boardwalk Empire – fantastic show that shows history as it was, warts and all and trusts its audience enough to understand the historical context. A character such as Chalky White would never happen on a BBC show even though he’s a complex, fascinating character.

    The BBC like to rewrite history to suit their agenda and tickbox culture.

       16 likes

    • joeb says:

      ‘The Paradise’ was really poor. It was like watching a branch of BHS in Victorian outifts.

      Never mind the terrific ‘Boardwalk Empire’, even simple, knockabout, American stuff like ‘Dexter’ is head and shoulders above this tripe that our taxes pay for.

         13 likes

  19. The Sage says:

    Thank goodness then for Crimewatch, which very fortunately is able to make use of the full range of ethnic minority actors.
    As the old joke goes, “How to we get more black faces on to TV. Answer: Put Crimewatch on every fortnight.

       26 likes

  20. johnnythefish says:

    ‘…….and we recognise diversity as a creative opportunity that enhances the originality and distinctiveness of our output and drives innovation.’

    Ah, the tortured squeal of the BBC’s Management PC Bullshit Generator in overdrive.

       9 likes

    • DavidA says:

      Is this only in relation to management/editorial places at the bBBC?

      Certainly the on-screen presence of non-whites, particularly in the news/current affairs side of things appears well over-representative, if anything. To the point where a white BBC news reporter is a rarity, and a white reporter with an English name (rather than Polish/Russian/German etc) virtually non-existent.

      I recall an article in the Telegraph a couple of years ago which dealt with one of the reasons for this, namely the over-representation of ethnic “minorities” on the BBC’s internal journalism course, which is (or was then) virtually the only route into employment as a reporter.

      http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/7798083/Half-of-recruits-to-BBCs-trainee-scheme-are-from-ethnic-minorities.html

      Bear in mind this was back in the heady days of the death throes of the last Liebour government and people were only just starting to wake up to the bBBC’s very own brand of Institutional Racism against whites.

      Shown in this instance, by discriminating quite blatantly against perfectly well-qualified white candidates in favour of ethnics and/or females (or especially ethnic females….) during the selection procedure.

      Quite clearly, it’s alright to hit the ethnic quotas for employment at foot soldier level, but they aren’t quite so keen on giving up any of their own well paid management slots in the name of diversity.

      A bit like their attitude to immigration generally, of course. It’s all very fine for other people to lose their jobs, or have their home areas turned into a facsimile of Bangladesh. Indeed, that is to be lauded as progress toward the multiculti dreamland.

      Just as long as it isn’t THEIR job, THEIR home, and little Tarquin and Hermione can still get a nursery place. Suffering is just for the peons, after all.

         11 likes

      • Guest Who says:

        Could go some way to explaining, if not excusing the topic choices and narrative slants chosen by new graduates joining the cubicle gardens.
        May also come a time soon when Tulip and the girls (also some of the women) feel moving up a few floors is in order, which would be an interesting manifestation of the #lawofunintendedconsequences

           6 likes

      • David Preiser (USA) says:

        Okay, so this gets right to the heart of my suggestion that the BBC go out and train some non-whites so they’re viable candidates. Except clearly this was the wrong way to go about it. If the training scheme was, as the BBC claims, geared towards making them competitive candidates and not to guarantee jobs, they should quit playing games and just have a program for non-whites, period. Meanwhile, they can then have a separate, non-discriminatory training program where they pick the best applicants based on merit and don’t have to lie and shove this BS in people’s faces.

        If they’re choosing candidates for training based on ethnicity, it’s racial discrimination. If they want to create viable, trained applicants for jobs, then racial segregation is the only option to avoid discrimination. Anything else is dishonest.

        As always, race is used to divide and control.

           6 likes

  21. Stew Green says:

    Do you see people are individuals or as a race/skin colour ?

    * Media-show: Typical RACIST anti-racists shout “racism! no jobs for us” even though most new minorities are still kids and secondly proper evidence of discrimination means people would win big in the courts. There magic solution of quota sees people as a race so is racist. (Should we have quotas for whites to collected for prison ?) The show was weird, it was like entering another green/left alternate reality

    1 Oversimplification & PROJECTION (that common green/left phenomenom where they accuse everyone else of having oversimplistic view of the world with kneejerk reactions to things while at the same they demonstrate by showing a oversimplistic view of the world with kneejerk reactions plus magic solutions)
    2. – being arts Students they fail to start with the mathematics or context : minorities have dramatically spiked up 250% in the last 20 years
    Name a Scunthorpe voice on TV, bet you can’t, but you could name doubly proportionare number o London voices. TV doesnt represnt the population

       1 likes