The wave of anti-racism that the death of George Floyd has ignited has spread to the realm of culture, where celebrities and works from different eras are facing backlash and restrictions based on the higher standards of today.
The latest show that has been under fire is “Fawlty Towers”, one of the most beloved and respected British comedy sitcom of the 1970s. UKTV, owned by BBC Studios, announced that it will remove one episode from the sitcom because the said episode contained racial slurs.
While the broadcaster did not specify which word they found problematic, many believe that the part where ‘The Major’ uses the n-word as he is describing an athlete from the Caribbean.
In a response to this removal, creator and star of the show John Cleese expressed his disapproval. “Fawlty Towers” famously holds a special spot for Cleese, who co-wrote the show with his then-wife Connie Booth after he left Monty Python after the third season of “The Flying Circus”.
In an interview with “The Age”, Cleese said that his show is not racist because it does not laugh with the racist character but rather laughing at the character of the ‘The Major’. The respected comedian said that the show depicts ‘The Major’ as a fossil from bygone eras, which is made fun of.
Cleese, known for his disdain of authority figures, said that the executives must be “so stupid” that they cannot make the distinction between agreeing with racists and poking fun at them.
He extended his criticism to the BBC, although it does not involve itself with the operations of UKTV. Cleese argued that everyone at BBC is only interested in keeping their jobs and easily caves into external pressure, unlike a few decades back where they would fight for their programs.
Cleese did clarify that he agrees and supports the Black Lives Matter movement as a whole, saying that he respects the part of the movement which focuses on removing social discrimination.
“Fawlty Towers” now joins other British comedies such as “Little Britain” and classics such as “Gone With The Wind” in the list of TV / movie productions that are being pulled out of service for their racial insensitivity.
Share your thoughts on this decision with us, and be sure to follow us on Facebook for more news like this one.
Replaced!