More stuph

[dreamer_easy]

Ricky Gervais and the British way. "Anyone from anywhere can be cruel, anyone from anywhere can be witty, but there is something particularly British about cruel wit." I didn't see the Golden Globes or hear any of Gervais' remarks - what interests me, always, are the cultural differences between the English-speaking nations.

"only around 6 percent of U.S. scientists are Republicans". What the hell?

Words about "The Scream"

Jocularity: Crunks 2010: The Year in Media Errors and Corrections, in which we learn that Lizo Mzimba was not in fact taped to a wall. (The previous year's edition discusses the spread of amateur factchecking, a subject close to my heart. :)

Comments

[qthewetsprocket.livejournal.com]

Re: the Gervais article - having lived in both countries, I think the author's talking out of their ear a little bit. And massively over-generalizing (what, in an opinion piece?? *GASP*). Good-natured ribbing between friends is a phenomenon I witnessed and experienced on both sides of the pond. Bad-natured ribbing was not. When a remark was mean-spirited, in my experience, it tended to go down just as badly in the UK as it did in the US.

I don't think you can put a nationality on someone making a cheap bid for publicity by trying too hard to be controversial.

[jblum.livejournal.com]

I do think it applies to *fictional* comedy, though -- so many Britcoms hold their characters up for agonizing ridicule, without nearly so much we're-all-friends-really stuff to offset it...

[dreamer-easy.livejournal.com]

The obvious counterexample is that guy who walked off Buzzcocks! But broadly speaking, I think the article has a point - there's a lot about mock abuse and teasing as a form of male bonding in Watching the English, and off the top of my head I can't think of a US parallel to the banter in Top Gear, let alone NMTB - with the exception of the Roast!

[tysolna]

... which is why, apparently, the US version of Top Gear is inferior compared to the UK version. Also, have you seen the Top Gear UK-Australia "Ashes" match in the last episode?

Re: Gervais - I've seen the clip in question, and quite honestly, didn't think it was that bad, but it probably didn't go down too well in the luvvie world of Hollywood. ;)
Which reminds me of the Sport Relief 2010 gala where James Corden made a "motivational" speech which laid into many a sports star.