Bit of a rant this week. (What, again, I hear you cry?) Don't say you weren't warned. I am just letting you know, in case you care, that I think I am done with the whole Red Nose thing. Not because it isn't a good cause - it quite obviously is. It is because of a surfeit of smugness. I'm not sure how much of it you watched. Mostly it seemed to consist of presenters of various sexes snogging each other while we were supposed to be weak at the knees with hysterical laughter. This was all interspersed with heartbreaking stories of children in Africa, in various states of distress, while celebrities looked on in horror. I can go with most of Comic Relief, it is a good thing. However, the point when I slammed my money through and turned off was Rowan Atkinson's Archbishop of Canterbury sketch. What a donk. Lazy, flabby and a bit nasty to be honest.
Why does he always have to be played as an idiot? I have read a piece in the Sunday Times about Justin Welby today. (Can't link you through to it - you would have to pay) He is a fiercely intelligent, thoughtful, forward looking man. He has overcome huge personal tragedy, with the death of his infant daughter and seems totally committed to social justice. I get really bored with always having to be a good sport when Christianity once again is picked to play the idiot cousin.
How offensive do you think the remark in the sketch about "prayer not working" was - not just to us but to those in Africa for whom prayer is all they have sometimes? Christians may have made a lot of mistakes in Africa but there are also countless Christians who have worked and are still working tirelessly for causes and people that they believe in. These people will continue working in difficult conditions, long after the Red Nose presenters have high tailed it back to Primrose Hill. Sometimes you would think that Richard Curtis had invented Africa. You can call me a miserable crow if you like. I will try not to lose sleep about it.
Christian humility is one thing but this is ridiculous.
Like you, I was Very Disappointed by the RND evening. The concept of giving to charity is one you and I both wholeheartedly agree with - and I imagine you too have spent a lot of time down the years helping children understand why it is important [and producing daft costumes for school events etc]
ReplyDeleteBut the ABC thing on Friday night was NOT funny, and I found a number of his remarks offensive. A friend who lost her hair through cancer wasn't too thrilled with all the stuff around JessieJ being shaved.
And I have actually gone back and edited my post from Friday MORNING now.
You may indeed be a miserable crow, but I am happy to sit alongside you on our little branch!
We in our household were also really disappointed by Comic Relief this year, partly because of the sour and negative humour, partly because of the unremitting misery films - what happened to the ones that gave us hope by showing us what had been achieved? And yes, the remark about prayer jarred with me, too.
ReplyDeleteI gave up on RND a few years ago. My husband and I regularly support our favourite charities (though it's so hard to choose!) and we were not happy about where some of Comic Relief funds were going.
ReplyDeleteWe have recently started supporting a child in Bangladesh through Compassion UK. Originally I thought we should do this in secret, but when you consider it only costs £21 per month to change a child's life - well, then I think a lot of people might decide to do the same if only they knew how little we have to donate. I realise that not everyone can afford to do this, but we are empty-nesters and just over £5 per week is affordable for us.
Back to RND - we seem to be switching off our T.V. more and more. I'm thankful for posts like this and comments like Angela's because sometimes we really feel like we're in a very small minority.
Kay
Thank you for your comments. I believe that the BBC pulled the repeat of the sketch later because of complaints. Think it was more about the language than anything else but I think it was a good decision to do so.
ReplyDeleteI get irritated with the BBC over this each time. The headline they used was 'celebrities and the public raised $75m'. One minor point: The celebrities hardly gave any money at all. The money was given by the public who should get FAR more recognition. The celebrities (who will all do well from the publicity) were just there to encourage people to give.
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