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Frankly not funny
Posted: 9th Dec 2010
I work on the media team and one of our (often difficult) jobs is to try to change attitudes towards people with a learning disability in the media. So it is with a deep sigh that we hear that Frankie Boyle has been up to his old tricks again. On his Channel 4 show he has made some incredibly insensitive, vile and tasteless jokes about Katie Price’s son Harvey who has severe and multiple disabilities.
We’ve been discussing this here at Mencap and questioning where Channel 4’s sense of responsibility is. They chose to air this and give Frankie his platform for such hateful drivel. A Channel 4 spokesperson has said that ‘the joke aired in the context of a late night comedy show’. Eh? So it’s OK to make hateful jokes and encourage negative views of people with a disability as long as it’s late at night?
Frankie Boyle has said previously that ‘the number one priority today is “Don’t frighten the horses”. It’s like we’re back in the 1970s in terms of compliance.’ To be honest, I think it is in fact Frankie Boyle that is dragging comedy back 40 years, to the days when comedians revelled in racist and sexist jokes, and jokes about people with a disability.
Unfortunately Mencap often hears about the bullying and abuse of people with a learning disability, people who are the victims of ‘jokes’ and physically attacked because of who they are. The media does have a part to play generating in the negative, and often inaccurate, views of people with a disability in society.
Earlier this year Mencap worked with concerned mother (and fabulous campaigner) Nicky Clark after Channel 4 chose to broadcast Vinnie Jones and Davina McCall using the word ‘retard’. At the time both Channel 4 and broadcast regulator Ofcom didn’t seem to think that this was enough to offend and said that the word was ‘justified by the context’. In fact, Mencap polled the public and found that 3 out of 5 Channel 4 viewers find the word offensive and that only 1 in 10 thought it was ok to use the word as a joke. Ofcom announced that the use of the word in this instance was “clearly capable of causing offence” and that Channel 4 had in fact breached the Broadcasting Code. It was the first time that Ofcom had upheld upon appeal a complaint it had previously dismissed since the Broadcasting Review Committee was formed specifically for this purpose in December last year.
So after all of this, how can Channel 4 possibly say that these jokes are appropriate to air? It also makes me question how in touch Channel 4 is with their audience. More importantly, if this represents a general trend for their comedy programming, how can we expect the general public to understand and accept disability? It seems we have a long way to go.
Comments
Are Boyles jokes about people with learning disabilites tateless – Yes. But put this in the wider perspective of Boyle’s act as a whole. How many other individuals and minorities did he single out before his joke about Prices’s son? Those complaining that actually saw the programme must have sat through the show up til then – maybe they even laughed at some of his jokes about other minority groups and individuals? It’s Frankie Boyle, you know what your going to get. The easily offended should look elsewhere for their entertainment.
Boyle’s warped sense of humour and verbal incontinence are not the main problem. Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross have suffered similar conditions. They are simply not nice to have in polite company but may grow up one day.
The problem is with the TV companies paying money them on the assumption their audiences like this sort of “entertainment”.
I’m a Jock, I’m Registered Blind and I come from pretty close to where Mr. Boyle comes from. He’s nice and safe up on that stage – easy for him to mouth off – nobody can challenge him. For him AND Channel 4 its a question of power – we are not equal and we should know it. Let him come down to the streets of Glasgow and see if he can slag off a laddie with learning difficulties in front of his parents and family and see how far his jokes would get. I’m afraid he would find out about disability very quickly. This society is not inclusive and intellectualising the debate solves only to fight on the terms of the “able”. We need understnd that this is a war and we need to take the battle to them. So come on Mr.Boyle show us “yer balls” and do a show loaded with your hateful “jokes” to an audience of the “disbled” their family and friends! Or are ye feart? Pardon the language Mr. Moderator but we of the lumpenproletariat sometimes forget.
People are (and should be) free to say whatever they want without fear, if people don’t like it then change the channel, seriously what is wrong with you!
Channel 4 need to take this very seriously. Frankie Boyle has (hopefully) committed a career suicide. I agree with the statement by Jenny Brannan – how are we going to improve as a society in accepting disability if this cruel and extremely unamusing tripe is allowed to be seen as okay to broadcast. Time for change. Contact offcom if you feel strongly about this. I shall. As a parent of a child with a learning disability I am disgusted with this so called comedian and for Channel 4 for considering his material acceptable for any audience.
lighten up. it’s comedy. you’ve got to get the laughs wherever you can.
I would like Frankie Boyle’s comments to be seen as they truly are hateful. They are a hate crime. Harvey has right to live free from discrimination. It it not ok that channel 4 refused to apologise. A grown man can commit a hate crime against a child, and because the child has a learning disability it is considered humorous.
Well,what’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. So perhaps we can take the piss out the fact that he’s ginger, ugly, Scottish and suffering the public humiliation of a career nose dive.
Until then, we can switch off the telly in our droves and make our objections known til this odious man is reduced to performing in matinee end-of-pier shows where he belongs.
Channel 4 have are seriously misguided, confusing nasty with edgy.
They seem to think they’re cutting edge. Ironically they’re back in the comedic dark ages with Bernard Manning et al.
Hopefully there will be a backlash.
Frankie Boyle seems to be wearing out his welcome with a lot of people, if my Twitter feed during his show is anything to go by! Here’s hoping.
Every time you mention his name, you’re giving him PR and he’s appearing in more and more tweets, search engines etc. I wouldn’t give him such a platform – he doesn’t deserve it. I’d rather put someone who makes us all laugh in the spotlight.
Excellent blog Jen. yes its awful. I complained about the Gilbert show and got the predictable response even though the character is clearly supposed to be learning disabled and the laughs are aimed at him complete with laughter track. So sad but then C4 have a strange idea of what is a “good” disability and what is ok to mock and ridicule. Sadly. Feel so sad and thinking of Harvey in all this. probably like my daughters he wouldn’t knowingly hurt anyone.