Alan Partridge represents the Brexit-supporting segment of the population that the BBC is desperate to reflect but does not understand, according to Steve Coogan, his creator. (The Times, 25/08)
Alan Partridge returns as face of Brexit is a headline in The Times today.
Steve Coogan has made no secret of the fact that he's a Remainer, and his new Alan Partridge series for the BBC looks set to satirise Brexit supporters through his most famous creation. As Mr Coogan has previously said:
...the fact is having a fool praise something is a far more powerful indictment than just criticising it.
Still what he told the Edinburgh Television Festival about the BBC's likely motivation here rings true:
“We felt that because of Brexit the BBC maybe have internal memos saying ‘we are under-represented in a certain sector of the community’, which weirdly is represented by Alan Partridge.
“It’s almost like BBC management are saying ‘We don’t really understand these people, but apparently there’s lots of them out there’. So you can imagine that Alan being brought in suits them.”
I can well imagine that.
Yep strange isn’t it, you’d think comedy would be about mocking the establishment like it was in the 80’s and 90’s. It seems that was only when the Establishment was on the right. With very few exceptions the BBC stopped making comedy about 20 years ago.
ReplyDeleteDr Who is the worst though - they can’t make a single episode without including a differently abled cross gender mixed race multi faith character and bad guys are always right leaning capitalists it’s so bad it’s unwatchable once you notice.
Steve Coogan is a Jekyll and Hyde character: a very funny comedian/comedic actor and a very pompous, puffed-up pontificator on matters political about which he has very little understanding. His desire to extinguish free speech and replace it with government control is well known. Why he thinks being part of some mad superstate project presided over by a drunk like Juncker is "cooler" or more praiseworthy than being an independent nation like Australia, New Zealand, India or Chile I do not know.
ReplyDeleteI think Coogan has summed it up regarding the BBC attitude to Brexit, no-one (and I'm not exaggerating) in any position of influence at the BBC voted leave, and the vast majority wouldn't have any contact with anyone who did, except maybe parents. Hence their total confusion with the situation.
ReplyDelete