Completely off-topic, I just wanna mention I hope to learn HTML coding
when I get time so I can make this blog look better. However, I’m so busy
with coursework, dissertation work and reading so it looks like I won’t have
any free time for months!
Anyway, the point of this blog post was to talk about the
Big Fat Quiz of the Year controversy that’s been going off recently. If you
haven’t heard about it, or don’t even know what Big Fat Quiz is I’ll fill you
in. Big Fat Quiz is an annual show that sums up the year’s events in a
comedy panel show format. It has some big names in comedy, with this year's contestants being Jack Whitehall, James Corden, Russell Howard, Jonathan Ross, Richard Ayoade and Gabby Logan and all this hosted by Jimmy Carr.
However, the source of the controversy is not the show
itself, but the Daily Mail. They published a story about how lewd and disgusting
the jokes were (though went on to repeat the jokes in detail and link to clips of the show) and how awful it was that the show was broadcast seconds after
the watershed. The former point is a matter of opinion. I personally found the jokes
hilarious, but of course people can be offended by them. However, the latter is
completely ridiculous. You can’t slate Channel 4 for abiding by the rules, for
doing what they’ve done in previous years when the show has been on TV. The
Daily Mail’s fear is that during the holidays, children may be up late and see the
show. The simple answer is that it’s not Channel 4’s problem. If parents can’t
stop their children from watching things they deem inappropriate, they need to
up their parenting skills.
Ignoring the watershed issue, I do feel they are completely
free to report like this if it reflects reality. I can’t even argue against
their use of emotionally manipulative language as this is what the readers sign
up for. However, the reality was that “Ofcom had received five complaints by last
night, but that number could quickly grow” (last night
being 24 hours past the original broadcast). The Sachsgate scandal they so eagerly
compared it to reached almost 45,000. In the Big Fat Quiz’s case, even when the
complaints increased as a direct result of the article’s nonsense, the number
only reached around 160. Compared to the amount of viewers this is an almost
miniscule number and is thus more of an opinion piece than a new story.
Now we all know of the Daily Mail, it’s like an
embarrassing family member. You wince at what it says and quickly change the
conversation. However, this instance deserves some sort of repercussion. Not
because it is particularly awful what they have done (the comedians are hardly likely
to suffer because of this), but simply because the Daily Mail cannot “manufacture
outrage” as Twitter are nicely phrasing it. It gives them a power they should
not have. Sure, newspapers have a significant level of control, but the stories
must be rooted in reality in some way or another. If the Daily Mail can do
that, why can’t I tell employers I’m fluent in German? Only my boyfriend says I'm good, but there could be more people who agree.
If we want to complain about Big Fat Quiz, why not report
how all the male panellists were comedians, and the only female was an unfunny
presenter? I’m not criticising Gabby Logan here, but her job does not involve
being funny whereas the rest are professional comedians. She was more of a
visual prop than anything else. The comedy world, whilst deprived of female
comedians, still has a few faces to choose from. Miranda Hart would have been a
brilliant choice due to her high levels of fame right now, or a more panel-show
friendly comedian like Sarah Millican.
Anyway, that’s all I wanted to say. If you want to say
something comment below!
-Khia
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