John Cleese to present Channel 4 show on "woke" thought

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Wizard Master: Mar 25, 2008

quote:

John Cleese will take on the topic of �cancel culture� in a forthcoming television series for the UK�s Channel 4.

The new documentary will reportedly explore �why a new �woke� generation is trying to rewrite the rules on what can and can�t be said�.

John Cleese: Cancel Me will see the British comedian and actor meet various subjects who claim to have been �cancelled� for their actions or statements, and activists who have led opposition to various public figures.

In a statement, Cleese said: �I�m delighted to have a chance to find out, on camera, about all the aspects of so-called political correctness. There�s so much I really don�t understand, like: how the impeccable idea of �Let�s all be kind to people� has been developed in some cases ad absurdum.�

John Cleese, Connie Booth and Andrew Sachs
UKTV to reinstate Fawlty Towers episode The Germans
Read more
�I want to bring the various reasonings right out in the open so that people can be clearer in their minds what they agree with, what they don�t agree with, and what they still can�t make their mind up about.�

The Monty Python and Fawlty Towers star has come under fire himself for his previous work.

In June 2020, Cleese responded angrily to a UKTV decision to remove from streaming an episode of his comedy Fawlty Towers that contained �racial slurs�.

The episode, The Germans, contained a scene in which the character of Major Gowen uses racist language in an anecdote about the West Indies cricket team.

Cleese told the Age at the time: �If you put nonsense words into the mouth of someone you want to make fun of, you�re not broadcasting their views, you�re making fun of them. The major was an old fossil left over from decades before. We were not supporting his views, we were making fun of them. If they can�t see that � if people are too stupid to see that � what can one say?�

The episode was later reinstated on the platform with a content and language warning.

Cleese also has been vocal about his opinions on �cancel culture� in the past, saying he worries about the effects it might have on creativity.

�[Political correctness] stuff started out as a good idea, which is, �Let�s not be mean to people�, and I�m in favour of that despite my age,� he told BBC Radio 4�s Today programme in September 2020.

�The main thing is to try to be kind. But that then becomes a sort of indulgence of the most over-sensitive people in your culture, the people who are most easily upset � I don�t think we should organise a society around the sensibilities of the most easily upset people because then you have a very neurotic society.

�From the point of creativity, if you have to keep thinking which words you can use and which you can�t, then that will stifle creativity. The main thing is to realise that words depend on their context. Very literal-minded people think a word is a word but it isn�t.�

This could be good; as someone who enjoys a laugh at the absurdity of Monty Python and finds Life of Brian/The Holy Grail some of the most endlessly quotable movies of all time, I'm looking forward to Cleese casting a sardonic eye over some of the more ludicrous aspects of so-called "woke"/cancel culture (in trademark Python fashion). Will you be watching, GBS?

# ? Aug 25, 2021 11:29

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# ? May 17, 2024 06:49

Edmund Sparkler: Jul 4, 2003; For twelve years, you have been asking: Who is John Galt? This is John Galt speaking. I am the man who loves his life. I am the man who does not sacrifice his love or his values. I am the man who has deprived you of victims and thus has destroyed your world, and if you wish to know why you are peris

# ? Aug 25, 2021 11:36

fish and chips and dip: Feb 17, 2010

As much as I liked Monty Python and John Cleese, this does seem a lot like some old chud being mad he can't put "those people" in their place anymore.

# ? Aug 25, 2021 11:44

Maximum Sexy Pigeon: Jun 5, 2008; We must never speak of this!

He really was just being himself in Fawlty Towers after all.

# ? Aug 25, 2021 11:47

Punkinhead: Apr 2, 2015

Anyone who ever though John Cleese was a "good guy" in 2021 wasn't paying close enough attention. He's no Bill Cosby but he's not an ally of any common man either and the sooner we forget him the better.

# ? Aug 25, 2021 11:48

Das Boo: Jun 9, 2011; There was a GHOST here.
It's gone now.

There are some good reads/watches on cancel culture (So You've Been Publicly Shamed, Natalie Wynn's stuff) but it's usually some old white comedian angry that he can't make people laugh with just slurs anymore. Which sucks, because there's legitimate issues to be discussed about it.

# ? Aug 25, 2021 11:50

oh dope: Nov 2, 2006; No guilt, it feeds in plain sight

He's an old gently caress who's brain has lost all plasticity. Dude's prime was ~50 years ago.

# ? Aug 25, 2021 11:51

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I like John Cleese and I'm going to give this a watch when/if possible.

Personally I don't think I've ever seen him use slurs in his comedy, but I mostly know him from Monthy Python and Fawlty Towers.

# ? Aug 25, 2021 11:52

Weka: May 5, 2019; That child totally had it coming. Nobody should be able to be out at dusk except cars.

PinheadSlim posted:

Anyone who ever though John Cleese was a "good guy" in 2021 wasn't paying close enough attention. He's no Bill Cosby but he's not an ally of any common man either and the sooner we forget him the better.

Personally I will continue to watch him make jokes but I won't give him any money or care what his opinions are. It baffles me that people give a poo poo about all but the most egregious opinions of celebrities.

# ? Aug 25, 2021 11:54

Punkinhead: Apr 2, 2015

Weka posted:

Personally I will continue to watch him make jokes but I won't give him any money or care what his opinions are. It baffles me that people give a poo poo about all but the most egregious opinions of celebrities.

Fair enough but don't pretend that the Brexit boy is at all progressive or nice to the lower classes and you won't have any reason to reply to me

# ? Aug 25, 2021 11:56

rotinaj: Sep 5, 2008; Fun Shoe

No thanks

I don�t want to see an hour program on how young people just can�t hear a racial slur without losing their mind, especially since odds are drat near 100% that their best example of this will be some minor issue between two or three people that will have been blown up in importance.

# ? Aug 25, 2021 12:03

Yardbomb: Jul 11, 2011; What's with the eh... bretonnian dance, sir?

John Cleese and Rowan Atkinson both turning out to be poo poo made me sad.

Also always have to say that "cancel culture" isn't real for anyone with literally any influence, you can be a bigot or whatever flavor of shithead and bounce back real easy by just quieting down for a little bit, the only time it practically ever happens is really the reverse, to the little people who blow the whistle on or otherwise point out someone being lovely and that's already called being mobbed.

Yardbomb fucked around with this message at 12:15 on Aug 25, 2021

# ? Aug 25, 2021 12:08

Chrs: Sep 21, 2015

Can�t wait to find out what an 81 year old white man thinks about cancel culture

# ? Aug 25, 2021 12:10

putin is a cunt: Apr 5, 2007; BOY DO I SURE ENJOY TRASH. THERE'S NOTHING MORE I LOVE THAN TO SIT DOWN IN FRONT OF THE BIG SCREEN AND EAT A BIIIIG STEAMY BOWL OF SHIT. WARNER BROS CAN COME OVER TO MY HOUSE AND ASSFUCK MY MOM WHILE I WATCH AND I WOULD CERTIFY IT FRESH, NO QUESTION

Yardbomb posted:

John Cleese and Rowan Atkinson both turning out to be poo poo made me sad.

They're actually cool and good hope that helps.

# ? Aug 25, 2021 12:14

By popular demand: Jul 17, 2007; IT *BZZT* WASP ME--
IT WASP ME ALL *BZZT* ALONG!

Yardbomb posted:

John Cleese and Rowan Atkinson both turning out to be poo poo made me sad.

Also "cancel culture" isn't real for anyone with literally any influence, the only time it practically ever happens is to the little people who blow the whistle on or otherwise point out someone being lovely and that's just being mobbed.

gently caress do I want to google that?

# ? Aug 25, 2021 12:14

Yardbomb: Jul 11, 2011; What's with the eh... bretonnian dance, sir?

a hot gujju bhabhi posted:

They're actually cool and good hope that helps.

Naw

By popular demand posted:

gently caress do I want to google that?

Rowan Atkinson mostly turned out to be one of those "THESE OFFENDED YOUNG PEOPLE ARE TAKING OUR SPEECH AWAY" dingbats.

# ? Aug 25, 2021 12:16

Punkinhead: Apr 2, 2015

Yardbomb posted:

Naw

Rowan Atkinson mostly turned out to be one of those "THESE OFFENDED YOUNG PEOPLE ARE TAKING OUR SPEECH AWAY" dingbats.

As most international British celebrities are turning out

It's funny how easy it was for goons to accept that JK Rowling was a piece of poo poo but can't accept that John Cleese is of the same caliber lol

# ? Aug 25, 2021 12:18

Tsaedje: May 11, 2007; BRAWNY BUTTONS 4 LYFE

Oxbridge twats in Oxbridge twattery shocker

# ? Aug 25, 2021 12:21

Punkinhead: Apr 2, 2015

I mean the guy was pretty clear, England is no longer a ethnically pure according to him and if you agree with that then go right ahead and say so so we know who you are lol

# ? Aug 25, 2021 12:21

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PinheadSlim posted:

I mean the guy was pretty clear, England is no longer a ethnically pure according to him and if you agree with that then go right ahead and say so so we know who you are lol

Can you quote him on that?

# ? Aug 25, 2021 12:22

Punkinhead: Apr 2, 2015

Dumb Sex-Parrot posted:

Can you quote him on that?

�Some years ago I opined�, wrote the erstwhile comedian, �that London was not really an English city any more"

~ John Cleese, you goofy poster lmbo

# ? Aug 25, 2021 12:23

Yardbomb: Jul 11, 2011; What's with the eh... bretonnian dance, sir?

And lol

"In June 2005, Atkinson led a coalition of the United Kingdom's most prominent actors and writers, including Nicholas Hytner, Stephen Fry, and Ian McEwan, to the British Parliament in an attempt to force a review of the controversial Racial and Religious Hatred Bill, which they felt would give overwhelming power to religious groups to impose censorship on the arts. In 2009, he criticized homophobic speech legislation, saying that the House of Lords must vote against a government attempt to remove a free-speech clause in an anti�gay hate law."

"In 2018, Atkinson defended comments made by Boris Johnson over wearing the burqa. Atkinson wrote to The Times stating, "as a lifelong beneficiary of the freedom to make jokes about religion, I do think that Boris Johnson's joke about wearers of the burka resembling letterboxes is a pretty good one.""

"Atkinson has also supported the Free Speech Union and gave a keynote speech at a meeting of the group."

Like most groups with those kinds of names, "Free Speech Union" is just kind of a lovely right winger group concerned they won't be allowed to be as lovely anymore.

"The group was established on 24 February 2020 by British journalist Toby Young as a "non-partisan, mass-membership public interest body that stands up for the speech rights of its members"."

"In January 2021, a group of student activists who had joined the Free Speech Youth Advisory Board criticised the way the organisation was run, saying that they were censured if they disagreed with the groups 'right-of-centre' views. Having been led to believe that it was a grassroots campaign, they commented that it was an astroturfed front for the Free Speech Union."

"In Byline Times, Nafeez Ahmed revealed that Young had previously defended the pseudoscientific research of the Pioneer Fund, a Nazi endowment in the US established just before World War II. This included "defending the belief in a biological basis for 'racial differences in IQ', justifying the under-representation of women in science, technology and maths (STEM) subjects.""

# ? Aug 25, 2021 12:24

Punkinhead: Apr 2, 2015

Yardbomb posted:

# ? Aug 25, 2021 12:24

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PinheadSlim posted:

�Some years ago I opined�, wrote the erstwhile comedian, �that London was not really an English city any more"

~ John Cleese, you goofy poster lmbo

Sorry can you also link to where you got the quote?

# ? Aug 25, 2021 12:28

Yardbomb: Jul 11, 2011; What's with the eh... bretonnian dance, sir?

Dumb Sex-Parrot posted:

Sorry can you also link to where you got the quote?

https://twitter.com/JohnCleese/status/1133604249693110272

(He's also wrong about the last bit)

# ? Aug 25, 2021 12:29

putin is a cunt: Apr 5, 2007; BOY DO I SURE ENJOY TRASH. THERE'S NOTHING MORE I LOVE THAN TO SIT DOWN IN FRONT OF THE BIG SCREEN AND EAT A BIIIIG STEAMY BOWL OF SHIT. WARNER BROS CAN COME OVER TO MY HOUSE AND ASSFUCK MY MOM WHILE I WATCH AND I WOULD CERTIFY IT FRESH, NO QUESTION

I mean yeah Rowan Atkinson said that it's sad things are getting to the point where actually, genuinely innocent and sometimes even supportive jokes are being labelled as offensive, and John Cleese basically said that he doesn't spend a single second of his life thinking about someones gender identity because why should he?

So yeah I guess they are pretty horrible people.

# ? Aug 25, 2021 12:31

Yardbomb: Jul 11, 2011; What's with the eh... bretonnian dance, sir?

a hot gujju bhabhi posted:

I mean yeah Rowan Atkinson said that it's sad things are getting to the point where actually, genuinely innocent and sometimes even supportive jokes are being labelled as offensive, and John Cleese basically said that he doesn't spend a single second of his life thinking about someones gender identity because why should he?

So yeah I guess they are pretty horrible people.

"In 2009, he criticized homophobic speech legislation, saying that the House of Lords must vote against a government attempt to remove a free-speech clause in an anti�gay hate law."

Uh-huh and the dogwhistle about "London isn't really an english city anymore" sure is nothing, surely not pandering to "THESE FUCKIN BROWNS IN LONDON" type thoughts.

# ? Aug 25, 2021 12:31

BAGS FLY AT NOON: Apr 6, 2011; A Soft Nylon Bag

There are legitimate discussions to be had about the topic, no doubt, and I�d love to think that this is his way of actually making an attempt at understanding but the odds of an 81-year old white guy doing that are pretty slim and instead it�ll just be making fun of the most extreme cases (or paid actors) of the very thing he�s ostensibly �investigating�.

# ? Aug 25, 2021 12:32

putin is a cunt: Apr 5, 2007; BOY DO I SURE ENJOY TRASH. THERE'S NOTHING MORE I LOVE THAN TO SIT DOWN IN FRONT OF THE BIG SCREEN AND EAT A BIIIIG STEAMY BOWL OF SHIT. WARNER BROS CAN COME OVER TO MY HOUSE AND ASSFUCK MY MOM WHILE I WATCH AND I WOULD CERTIFY IT FRESH, NO QUESTION

PinheadSlim posted:

“Some years ago I opined”, wrote the erstwhile comedian, “that London was not really an English city any more"

~ John Cleese, you goofy poster lmbo

Um, you haven't quoted what you think you have.

# ? Aug 25, 2021 12:32

Danaru: Jun 5, 2012; 何 ??

quote:

"The major was an old fossil left over from decades before."

# ? Aug 25, 2021 12:36

putin is a cunt: Apr 5, 2007; BOY DO I SURE ENJOY TRASH. THERE'S NOTHING MORE I LOVE THAN TO SIT DOWN IN FRONT OF THE BIG SCREEN AND EAT A BIIIIG STEAMY BOWL OF SHIT. WARNER BROS CAN COME OVER TO MY HOUSE AND ASSFUCK MY MOM WHILE I WATCH AND I WOULD CERTIFY IT FRESH, NO QUESTION

Actually sorry, I freely admit I wasn't up to date with some of the poo poo you guys have mentioned. My bad, I spoke out of turn without checking first.

Thanks for filling me in my dudes

# ? Aug 25, 2021 12:36

Punkinhead: Apr 2, 2015

a hot gujju bhabhi posted:

Um, you haven't quoted what you think you have.

Well gently caress you've convinced me

# ? Aug 25, 2021 12:39

putin is a cunt: Apr 5, 2007; BOY DO I SURE ENJOY TRASH. THERE'S NOTHING MORE I LOVE THAN TO SIT DOWN IN FRONT OF THE BIG SCREEN AND EAT A BIIIIG STEAMY BOWL OF SHIT. WARNER BROS CAN COME OVER TO MY HOUSE AND ASSFUCK MY MOM WHILE I WATCH AND I WOULD CERTIFY IT FRESH, NO QUESTION

PinheadSlim posted:

Well gently caress you've convinced me

Read my previous post, my bad

# ? Aug 25, 2021 12:41

Lurkman: Nov 4, 2008

https://twitter.com/JohnCleese/status/1271294990199619585

Knocking down these statues of confederate generals has me concerned guys, you see Socrates is like Nathan Bedford Forrest in a way because

# ? Aug 25, 2021 12:41

Yardbomb: Jul 11, 2011; What's with the eh... bretonnian dance, sir?

a hot gujju bhabhi posted:

Actually sorry, I freely admit I wasn't up to date with some of the poo poo you guys have mentioned. My bad, I spoke out of turn without checking first.

Thanks for filling me in my dudes

I really liked both of them a lot back when but yeah, it's unfortunate that they turned out to have some pretty wretched stuff in their heads, Atkinson especially cut me deep with all that bullshit when I loved Mr Bean so much as a kid. :sigh:

# ? Aug 25, 2021 12:42

Ratjaculation: Aug 3, 2007

Michael Palin = Best Python

# ? Aug 25, 2021 12:44

signalnoise: Mar 7, 2008; i was told my old av was distracting

I can't wait to find out the ways I am a shithead in my old age or die before I get there

# ? Aug 25, 2021 12:45

Punkinhead: Apr 2, 2015

signalnoise posted:

I can't wait to find out the ways I am a shithead in my old age or die before I get there

Why wait?

# ? Aug 25, 2021 12:46

rotinaj: Sep 5, 2008; Fun Shoe

Always glad to see the British following in our footsteps

# ? Aug 25, 2021 12:47

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Yardbomb posted:

https://twitter.com/JohnCleese/status/1133604249693110272

(He's also wrong about the last bit)

Ah poo poo, I was hoping this would have been a comment about the economy or rising real-estate prices driving out your "common Londoner" but yeah this isn't good at all.

Damnit John.

# ? Aug 25, 2021 12:47

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