Entertainment? Agree with "by morons, for morons".

Do you get British television in Brazil?

formby wrote:

Joseph Bazelgette, one of the greatest engineers of the Victorian era made his name by pumping the shit out of London. His great-great grandson Peter Bazelgette has made his name and his fortune by pumping the shit right back in again.

SIR Peter Bazelgette - knighted in the recent New Year Honours List - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16362504

Services to dumbed down television?

Bishop of Briggs wrote:

formby wrote:

Joseph Bazelgette, one of the greatest engineers of the Victorian era made his name by pumping the shit out of London. His great-great grandson Peter Bazelgette has made his name and his fortune by pumping the shit right back in again.

SIR Peter Bazelgette - knighted in the recent New Year Honours List - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16362504

Services to dumbed down television?

I fear that this is true another knighthood that has little to do with knightly virtues. Peter shares one of his ancestor's knack for making money: Louis Bazalgette was one of Prinny's early tailors and made a bomb out of him before Brummell came along. Peter's cousin, Charles, is writing a book about Louis and his business and has a nice blog: http://chasbaz.posterous.com/

NJS wrote:

Bishop of Briggs wrote:

formby wrote:

Joseph Bazelgette, one of the greatest engineers of the Victorian era made his name by pumping the shit out of London. His great-great grandson Peter Bazelgette has made his name and his fortune by pumping the shit right back in again.

SIR Peter Bazelgette - knighted in the recent New Year Honours List - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16362504

Services to dumbed down television?

I fear that this is true another knighthood that has little to do with knightly virtues. Peter shares one of his ancestor's knack for making money: Louis Bazalgette was one of Prinny's early tailors and made a bomb out of him before Brummell came along. Peter's cousin, Charles, is writing a book about Louis and his business and has a nice blog: http://chasbaz.posterous.com/

The rot set in with Thatcher when she started to sell off all those TV franchises and her bullying of the BBC because it wasn't 'on message'

What pisses me off is the condescending and cynical attitude of the cultural elite in Britain. Privately educated, Oxbridge people who make [lots of] money out of feeding the masses shit, who then accuse anyone who criticises them of being elitist, whilst they themselves, are ensconced in their own private box a the Royal Opera House.

There's a strong streak of phoniness running through British society.

The seventh class is very real and large here and makes me think there was more to this than whimsy.

formby wrote:

Film Noir Buff wrote:

http://forums.filmnoirbuff.com/uploads/ … ociety.jpg

The seventh class is very real and large here and makes me think there was more to this than whimsy.

Colquhoun was a statistician.

Every time I am in the gym or look at people who wear drape style suits, I think of the seventh class.

formby wrote:

Film Noir Buff wrote:

formby wrote:

Colquhoun was a statistician.

Every time I am in the gym or look at people who wear drape style suits, I think of the seventh class.

Well, the Drape was the suit of choice for the Aristocrat, allegedly.

One exception and he was cast out. Not to mention the Windsors are very middle class in the worst possible sense of the word.

Bishop of Briggs wrote:

formby wrote:

NJS wrote:

I fear that this is true another knighthood that has little to do with knightly virtues. Peter shares one of his ancestor's knack for making money: Louis Bazalgette was one of Prinny's early tailors and made a bomb out of him before Brummell came along. Peter's cousin, Charles, is writing a book about Louis and his business and has a nice blog: http://chasbaz.posterous.com/

The rot set in with Thatcher when she started to sell off all those TV franchises and her bullying of the BBC because it wasn't 'on message'

What pisses me off is the condescending and cynical attitude of the cultural elite in Britain. Privately educated, Oxbridge people who make [lots of] money out of feeding the masses shit, who then accuse anyone who criticises them of being elitist, whilst they themselves, are ensconced in their own private box a the Royal Opera House.

There's a strong streak of phoniness running through British society.

There was a lot of dross broadcast in the 70s and 80s too. It was balanced by some truly great drama and comedy. Now, terrestial television is mainly dross. I don't have satellite television so I can't comment on it.

The cultural elite, as you put it, have deliberately dumbed down television. They don't want the masses to be educated and challenge their dominance. The political elite are virtually identical. Look at those at the top of the main political parties - Oxbridge then Political Advisers/journalism then MP and up the greasy to the frontbench. The establishment regained control with Blair and has it placemen in all the major institutions.

I keep wondering about Bliar and just how fire resistant that Teflon coating is! From war crimes, to almost certainly accepting heavy money for political and military favours, and now tax dodging. The only explanation is that his interests are watched (far more closely than Chirac's or Berlusconi's) by cronies that he appointed. I just hope that The Daily Telegraph and The Guardian between them can get an angle on something and get him in the dock.

You only need to look at the decay in documentaries since the 70s: we had the Tribal Eye, Inventions, Survival and The World About Us, now we have Professor Goth going ‘oh golly gosh and wow’ and some smirking Tangerine Dream fan giving us a CSE level account of the universe.

All part of the overall plan, enacted superbly and flawlessly by the Establishment and the BBC is just another weapon in their tactical delivery of the kind of rigid class society our great grandfathers enjoyed.

Perhaps their biggest success in the post-baby-boomer affluent society has been the illusion of meritocracy and a classless society against the background of ever decreasing opportunities versus seemingly ever increasing qualifications.

There are of course, numerous techniques and disciplines one can use against them, not watching the shite that passes for television entertainment these days is just one of them.

Bishop of Briggs wrote:

The cultural elite, as you put it, have deliberately dumbed down television. They don't want the masses to be educated and challenge their dominance. The political elite are virtually identical. Look at those at the top of the main political parties - Oxbridge then Political Advisers/journalism then MP and up the greasy to the frontbench. The establishment regained control with Blair and has it placemen in all the major institutions.

I don't think that the elites have purposely dumbed down the masses as it doesn't make economic sense. Especially these days.

What we have here, isn't so much a failure to communicate but good old fashioned cynicism. TV companies developing programmes at minimal cost to maximising profit whilst guarding themselves against the charge of philistinism by using the classic defence of accusing the critics of being out of touch, elitist snobs.

Matthew Arnold: Culture and Anarchy (1875)

"Culture [...] is a study of perfection [...] [Culture] seeks to do away with classes; to make the best that has been thought and known in the world current everywhere; to make all men live in an atmosphere of sweetness and light [...]".

Preface:

"The whole scope of the essay is to recommend culture as the great help out of our present difficulties; culture being a pursuit of our total perfection by means of getting to know, on all the matters which most concern us, the best which has been thought and said in the world, and, through this knowledge, turning a stream of fresh and free thought upon our stock notions and habits, which we now follow staunchly but mechanically, vainly imagining that there is a virtue in following them staunchly which makes up for the mischief of following them mechanically."

Patrick wrote:

What British TV we do get here in the US has one thing going for it — they don't keep a series going forever, well past the shark-jumping stage, the way American TV does.

Ha! You never saw 'Brookside', which was a boring programme about the residents of a cul de sac and was 'terminated' with commando raids and explosions.

fxh wrote:

Patrick wrote:

What British TV we do get here in the US has one thing going for it — they don't keep a series going forever, well past the shark-jumping stage, the way American TV does.

If you are nice NJS might send you his complete series DVDs of Coronation Street. He would want them back though.

Jeez, at least, even that arsehole Murdoch doen't have that on [cancelled] Sky TV! He should change his name from Murdoch to Bummock-Buttock-Master. Hell awaits that turd. Good to burn: turds. A bit smelly. But there you go!