ext_939: Sheep wearing an eyepatch (Default)
ext_939 ([identity profile] spiralsheep.livejournal.com) wrote in [personal profile] fickle 2007-08-09 03:18 pm (UTC)

They were definitely playing with stereotypes in the comedies but they were doing so from the perspective of a group of extremely talented comic writers and actors exploring the comedic potential of behaviours in their own cultural communities which, most of the time, added enough subtlety to be subverting rather than merely reinforcing stereotypes.

The most well-known, recurring, angry women characters on the programme probably didn't fulfill your criteria because they were playing with the usual stereotype but, to me, they transcended it. Imagine two very proper Aunties who begin by comparing each others' families with faux politeness and then become increasingly angry until they're spitting explicit sexual insults at each other. The sketches also worked for the white audience, not because they were laughing at the stereotyped brown people but because the characters interlocked with very similar white British stereotypes of faux polite older women.

I'm told that Goodness Gracious Me was also shown in India where it achieved some popularity despite being seen as quite offensive in many ways, heh.

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