Dynargh dhe'n Blogofrob

Wednesday 14th May 2003

Ali G in the USA is broadcast in the USA, and has been met with an unenthusiastic response. While the States produces some of the funniest comedy around - Seinfeld, The Simpsons, South Park, Futurama plus all those films - it doesn't surprise me that American don't 'get' Ali G. I'm quite glad they don't, to be honest. British comedy is very parochial and funny mainly to those in the parish - whether it's the more stylish and subtle programmes like Spaced or the brilliantly puerile such as Bottom, it is characterised by its Britishness. Americans wouldn't get it, not because of the often argued assumption that they have no sense of irony, but because they aren't British, they don't give a shit about the British and they're quite happy with their own products. The only reason that good American comedy is so popular in this country is because, having had to swallow over the past 40 years a interminable volume of American culture, the British are familiar with American humour, understand it and have grown to like it. The mistake that is often made is that the reverse might be true. Why should it be? It's no surprise to me that the only comedy that has managed to sucessfully travel to the States is either the very basic (Benny Hill) or those broad comedies made with a very decided objective of attracting an American audience - Four Weddings, Shakespeare in Love, Bean...there are of course exceptions, Monty Python being the most evident.

However two things relating to the States's rejection of Ali G do bother me. First, apparently some victims, like Ralph 'man of the people' Nader are considering suing. Grow up, you fucking humourless idiot.

Secondly, and this is the thing that really bugs me, tv reviewers in the States objected to Ali G referring to 11 September as "7/11". Apparently this trivialises the tragic event and is tasteless. Hang on just a bloody minute, this is hypocrisy of the most contemptible sort. It takes a very stupid or wilfully blind person to rush to condemn from an easy moral position, completely ignoring the United States's own trivialisation of the event in terming it "9/11" in the first place. It's a horribly 'trendy' media tag, a corporate brand (easy to fit on Baseball caps and T shirts) and an iconic logo, designed to promote gung-ho glamour and mock-Hollywood heroics. All of what "9/11" is, as opposed to "September 11" or "The Attacks on New York and Washington", gave George W Bush the power to manipulate his people into supporting a questionable war. Ali G is still sometimes about satire (as it used to be all the time) and referring to "9/11" as "7/11" (a corporation) along with the reaction that this has had (highlighting the all too frequent American political and media hypocrisy) demonstrates that it can still work.

22 - posted at 10:58:46
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Comments

Rob, I don't agree with you on Ali G or 9/11, sorry September 11, and the comment section isn't really long enough to hold my response... The day I returned home (Monday) we went back into "Code Orange" Boston and NYC are the suspected prime targets this time. There is crazy security on the waterfront, and they are doing random car searches into Boston. If we had trivialized 9/11, we would not be taking such precautions, or putting out warnings. Trivialized things do not take up time or resources; people don't talk about them, or live with them. I do, however agree that GW created his own agenda out of it, but he is not representational of the majority. And yes, Ralph Nader should be shot, the damn Green Party...

1: Kristen (at work) - 17:04:21 on Wednesday 21st May 2003 (permalink)

Hey Kristen,

How's it going? I wasn't really talking about America(ns) in general but more the American politics and the media, like I said at the end of that entry - of course to normal people and those who try to keep the peace on a day-to-day basis its a deadly serious issue.

Thanks for your opinion :)

2: Rob - 10:05:11 on Thursday 22nd May 2003 (permalink)

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