John Cleese drops out of Cambridge Union talk

[chedlee]

WRT old comedies, I always used to contend that the likes of Til Death Us Do Part and Love Thy Neighbour should be re-broadcast as the main (racist) protagonist was invariably made to look a chump in the end. I have changed my view on that for two reasons - a lot of comedy has a shelf life and these two series just wouldn't be funny today in the way that Fawlty Towers, in my opinion, still is and that they truly offer no insight into racist attitudes from the past, they just exploited them for extremely cheap and dubious laughs.

As for Cleese cancelling himself and the whole woke cancel-culture 'debate', this is just another load of whining crap that generally surrounds these situations. We see it all too often across the socials - false equivalence intended to undermine genuine grievances or protests in order to muddy the water sufficiently so that people don't have to challenge their own entrenched and often outdated opinions and values.

Cleese is, unlike his much loved sitcom, a dinosaur that has probably had its day.

 

[Blue Maverick]

Sick to the back teeth of the fucking lot if it, I really think I’ve seen the best of times on this planet. You can’t be yourself even between friends just in case some twat overhears it and takes offence. They want us all to be grey boring fuckers, everything you say, do, buy is under constant scrutiny in case some bellend doesn’t agree with it.

 

[DrBlueBob]

the art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon was responding to a motion that “this House believes there is no such thing as good taste”.
He replied in a mock Nazi accent using satire.
Unfortunately a bunch of over cosseted pissed snowflakes who clearly don’t understand nuance took offence and banned him.
Several artists as well as Cleese have told Cambridge to fuck off in support of Dixon.
Good for them.

Here is a link to the transcript of the speech for anyone to make up their own minds. It was just a quick Google search so I do not know if it in it's entirety but here it is.

https://blogh1.com/2021/11/10/hitle...rew-graham-dixon-said-at-the-cambridge-union/

 

[youngbob]

Would highly recommend listening to Jon Ronson's new series Things Fell Apart - the first episode has just dropped.

It's going to be looking at how we got here - i.e. "cancel culture", social media outrage, "culture wars", etc.

Things Fell Apart - S1. Ep 1: 1000 Dolls - BBC Sounds

Strange tales from the culture wars by Jon Ronson.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[mat]

You can't go banning speakers because you don't like what they are saying be it sport, politics, religion, or just a ****.

Sometimes we have to hear some uncomfortable truths which knock our belief systems but we're all better for it.

The art of debate is being killed. It's a skill that should be taught in public and private schools to be able to discuss controversial issues without getting personal.

 

[Stoned Rose]

It’s all gone very sad really, I strongly encourage my children to study the history to any issue through different sets of eyes and always to use the context of the time frames in play at the time - screw the gammon and woke brigade - do your research and feel free to formulate an opinion that you believe you could hold your own on and then be open to the fact that some issues don’t have right or wrong answers just opinions.

I did piss myself when I read that article as the concept of blacklisting yourself wold have been a prime Basil Fawlty moment after a spat with Sybil.

Tena Lady likes this post.

 

[bluejon]

You can't go banning speakers because you don't like what they are saying be it sport, politics, religion, or just a ****.

Sometimes we have to hear some uncomfortable truths which knock our belief systems but we're all better for it.

The art of debate is being killed. It's a skill that should be taught in public and private skills to be able to discuss controversial issues without getting personal.

If you don't like what someone is saying (I don't mean you, I mean the global 'you') then debate it, prove that they're chatting shit and destroy their argument. And to do that, you need to first understand their argument so you can take it apart. Sticking fingers in your ears and pretending that it doesn't exist isn't going to change fuck all.

John Cleese however is just a fucking prick.

 

[youngbob]

I generally subscribe to Bo Burnham's take on "cancel culture", which is that we're in a period of course correction after decades of neglect on these issues, and that during periods of course correction you sometimes get examples of "over-correction", where people generally mean well but maybe end up coming across as overzealous or too strict. Over time this particular pendulum will settle down, then start swinging again, then settle down, and so on and so on, but always, as Martin Luther King Jr. himself said, "towards justice".

 

[PannickAtTheDisco]

At the end of the day they're comedies and not political programmes. The kind of things said in Fawlty Towers or Fools and Horses are VERY tame even by todays standards.

It's funny for example that some people are offended by these programmes but aren't offended by the horrendous language used in today's music.

Because that suits their narrative and ideology. Delete anything people actually used to enjoy and demand that you prescribe to the shit they deem is acceptable and suits their imperative.

 

[andyhinch]

See he is trending again for cancelling a talk at cambridge Uni after they banned another speaker for a hitler impression in the context of a debate they held on free speech.

He cites he has done Hitler impressions in the past and so has self blacklisted himself before the student president does.

Some think it is for pure publicity for his soon to be aired series on woke culture

Now I think he has a point on this, what is the point of a debating society that blocks anyone who may be not on message.

However he seems to also have become an moaning old git who gets angry all the time over any old shit

Discuss

Reading your last line, I am John Cleese and I claim my prize.