More Glum Than Glee-ful After Irish Jibes

We may be well into the 21st Century, but this week Ireland is being served an hour of television which appears to have come from the Dark Ages.  Glee is generally regarded as enlightened, hip and forward-thinking, but I’ve found the way it portrays my native land in its latest episode to be either negligent insensitivity or wilful stereotyping.

The latest example of Oirishness, entitled Pot O’Gold aired on Sky One tonight (Thursday) and will appear on TV3 this coming Saturday.  It’s likely going to resonate in this part of the world as it marks the series debut of Damian McGinty, a Derry native who won his spot in the series on a reality TV show.  He plays Rory Flanagan, a newly-arrived exchange student whose brogue is a step removed from Darby O’Gill and has a dress sense taken straight from Emerald City.

Feel free to check off the expected Oirish labels as I go – Rory’s accent, to begin with, was last heard when Cork featured in that episode of Heroes.  The dim Brittany believes he is a leprechaun, and offers her ‘pot of gold’ in exchange for three wishes, one of which involves Lucky Charms cereal.  He’s forced to defend U2, he’s called a potato-eater and even sings Kermit’s Bein’ Green because, guess what, that’s the colour he wears throughout the episode (until the final scene, which features somewhat of a redemption, signified by a new red ensamble).  Watch out for a re-appearance of Seamus McFly’s hat early on as well, among a host of other damning props, insults, jibes and digs all aimed at the Irish nation.  There were no 'tops of the morning' but make no mistake, subversion and irony were not at work here.  This hour of television can be classed as either laziness or casual racism, and was as subtle as a kick in the balls.

Glee is not the only television show to denigrate Ireland in this way in recent times.  Oirishness did not die with The Quiet Man as alcoholics showed in Family Guy, while The Simpsons tried and failed to show a more modern Ireland in In The Name of the Grandfather.  Obama became O’Bama when he visited Moneygall, but it’s not just the Americans who are guilty – Eastenders caused plenty of offence with a trio of Irish-based episodes in 1997 and from personal experience, sweeping generalisations are a regular feature of sports punditry here too.

Having said all this, I genuinely have great time for some aspects of Glee, especially the inclusiveness that it has often shown.  The show has won Gay Media awards for the way in which it portrays homosexuals, and for the way straight characters engage with gay ones.  I’ve also been impressed with the way in which those with physical and (especially) intellectual disabilities are central and equal at McKinley High.  The crude representation of Irish people in this episode belies this, but is not excused as a result.

Great strides have been made in American race-relations in recent years but there is room for further improvement.  Washington DC is home to an African American President, but also a team called the Redskins.  Across the land, sport teams are referred to as Chiefs and Braves and Indians and Seminoles and the Fighting Irish.  Notre Dame's logo is even of a leprechaun in a fist-fight.  Casual racism can become more than that - there is still a lack of black Quarterbacks and coaches, and it’s only eight years since Rush Limbaugh claimed NFL Quarterback Donovan McNabb got an easy ride because of the colour of his skin.  This episode of Glee has provoked little discussion stateside, at least in these terms, so I expect little rancour to emerge there, but in its own way this silence is just as troubling.

I don’t know why it is, but while racism is unacceptable in the Western world, mild forms of it exist in our media to this day.  Sometimes, in Crash or Confederate States of America a spotlight is shone on the problem, but more often than not viewers are served tripe such as Pot O’Gold.  I hope it does not represent the true thinking of those who tune in, but when such stereotyping is so regular, one must wonder why nothing is done.  Are people blind to racism because a colour is not involved?  Is it really acceptable to call an Irishman a potato-eater on television in 2011, 160 years after the Great Famine?  Does society truly tolerate this, because I know that I do not.  In the words of Santana Lopez, in this very show: “It’s mean, it’s bullying and I won’t accept it.”

I look forward to seeing what Irish critics and viewers make of it all.  Tune in to one of it’s many airings in the coming days and form your own opinion. Tweet me on @gavingrace or leave a comment below.

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Thanks to Gerard Cunningham for urging me to write this post, and giving me a couple of ideas for it as well.

Presidential Election Shows TV Still Key In Internet Age

The modern-day world may be one of interconnectivity, of social media and of instant communication, but the 2011 Presidential election has shown that old-style television is still king.

Our case study today is Sean Gallagher, the man who nearly was.  His performance, finishing second in this election, is remarkable in and of itself.  While not necessarily independent, he lacked a party machine for canvassing etc.  He had no posters (at least not on lamp posts) and still was able to get his name out there, thanks primarily to his involvement in the likes of Dragons Den.  He entered the race as a personality, and people warmed to the familiar face.  For a while, at least.

As much as television gave Gallagher a boost, it also took him down.  Monday’s dramatic television debate saw his debate unravel before the nation.  He panicked, froze and showed the people that he is not Presidential, not according to the people of Ireland who left him in droves.  28% of the electorate changedtheir first preference this week, and of those 58% deserted Sean Gallagher.  That is 16.2% of those who voted –he lost out by 11.1%.

Twitter, in particular, is a fantastic way to experience news events, elections chief among them.  Those who followed #aras11 took part in critical discussion, humorous conversation and shared links to some of the most informative (and sometimes ridiculous) columns.  Voters engaged with candidates and their teams in a way that happens on the ground, but not in such an obvious or easy fashion.

However, while twitter is the internet’s brightest point, the reality is it does not have the mass reach of other media.  As of 5:30 on count day, 3800 people had tweeted using the #aras11 hashtag, taking part in this national conversation.  But on Monday night, 900,000 watched the campaign’s most infamous moment in the Frontline studio.  That’s half the amount of total voters.

There are few bigger advocates of twitter than myself, and this is not intended to take anything away from the medium.  However, despite the modern world in which we live, television has again shown it’s hold and power in Ireland.  More than anything else, it can capture, retain and influence the general public.  Ireland is now multi-cultural, modern and the internet is at the fore of our future, but our people remain entrapped by the old reliable television.  This may be 2011, but the story of this Presidential election is an old-style tale. 

In one foul swoop a dragon was slayed and a President crowned, while we all tuned in.

Viewers Deserve Better Than Mattie Muck

There's always been a routine to Sunday nights in the winter in my house. El Familia watch whatever they want on the TV as I log online on the laptop to watch the Chiefs. So right now, we're doing very well against the Titans while t'others watch Mattie on RTE 1. Awful doesn't cover it.

RTE comedies have generally been poor in recent years. The Panel and Podge and Rodge have had their moments, but I struggle to think of a decent RTE scripted comedy...ever. Mattie is no different. Don't just take my word for it; as a show Mattie is full of idiotic, flat, scarcely believable characters in constructed and unrealistic situations.

As if that wasn't bad enough, RTE are now advertising Mrs. Brown's Boys, made by Brendan O'Carroll. The ad looks awful, though that's hardly surprising given the type of material spewed out by O'Carroll in recent years. In many ways, this is comedy for the populace - Shortt and O'Carroll do well when it comes to drawing in punters, even if their works are largely shunned by the critics.

However, the best comedies of recent years, The Office and Extras, The Royle Family, Alan Partridge, Father Ted and (to a lesser extent) Phoenix Nights are completely different to this and offer a more critical, introspective show which we don't get from RTE. How a station which can give us The Panel and the Rubberbandits on Republic of Telly, can at the same time shove such shite (a term often used in Mattie tonight) I shall never know. Instead, we're set for offerings like this:

Oh look, Winning Streak is on now. Merry Christmas indeed.

SKY Shine With Champions League Coverage

Sorry for my brief silence.  I’ve been doing other things and to be honest I’ve also been struggling to think of anything to write about that’s not related to Darren Sutherland.  It’s really knocked the boxing community here in Ireland for six.

I guess the biggest story on a wider sporting scale this week is the return of the Champions League.  This year, more than ever with so many debutants, the group stages don’t seem overly appealing – I always feel that it is a competition that doesn’t truly get underway until the knockout stages.  Clashes such as Liverpool v Debrecen and FC Zurich v Real Madrid are unlikely to inspire anyone bar the most die-hard of fans, or at the very least the fans of the underdog.

I am, as I’ve no doubt mentioned on here before, a fan of Manchester United so I tuned in to a fair chunk of their game against Besiktas in Turkey last night.  TV3 have the rights back here in Ireland so, naturally, I watched it on SKY.  I was glad I did.

Their coverage is immense.  Now, the punditry was meh – Michel Salgado’s English made him a puzzling choice for the studio panel – and I am a fan of Martin Tyler and Andy Grey.  What I really enjoyed last night, however, was the technical elements of what I was watching.  I accept, now, that this may be old news to many of you reading but since I’ve literally never been at home on a Champions League evening in recent years, it was my first time watching all eight Champions League games at once.

To give you a brief overview of how the system works, when you press the eponymous red button you are presented with a choice of eight games (on a Tuesday that is.  ITV have first choice on Wednesday evenings from this season meaning there will be seven games to choose from tonight).  Naturally, I picked the United game but when there was a goal, a little banner flashed across the screen.  I press that little red button again and, lo and behold, I’m watching Guti score in Switzerland or Inzaghi poaching one against Marseille or whatever – it really is a stunning service.

Now what SKY are doing is not revolutionary – I know of at least one other provider in the States that does something similar on an NFL Sunday, while the BBC have been giving viewers the opportunity to choose between sports at the Olympics or matches at Wimbledon for a few years now.  Yet, I enjoyed last night and again tonight, though the service was marred by the aforementioned absence of one game, in this case Liverpool v Debrecen.

In a world (and a blog) where we sports fans love to give out about all sorts, I’m going to take this rare opportunity to tip my hat in the general direction of SKY and say thanks for the entertainment.  Now if only the same levels of commitment could be shown to other sports...

Bring Back Bunce

I'm just watching the boxing on ITV4 now. I heard a familiar voice interview McIntosh after his knockout defeat to the very impressive Nathan Cleverly in their British Title fight - the one and only, Andy Kerr.

It was nice to hear Kerr's voice on TV for the first time in a number of weeks. He's a man I came to like as he co-hosted Steve Bunce's Boxing Hour on the dearly departed Setanta Sports News. The Boxing Hour was one of the best sports magazine shows I've ever seen. Always jam-packed with guests, Buncey's show was lively and fun. It wasn't perfect, but it was the only place to go for an unbiased review/preview of boxing events.

After Setanta's collapse, the show is no more, but a campaign to revive it has begun. Supported by The Big Man himself, http://www.bringbackbunce.net has attracted attention from the boxing world and beyond. If you are a boxing fan then go there, sign the petition, and hopefully one day we'll see Bunce (and Andy Kerr) back on our screens.