Hungry? C4 to create comedy series...about the famine

Jawgap

Galwayguy35 wrote: »

What if they don't do it at all, there is enough material out there to make comedy on without doing it on the famine.

I'm genuinely surprised that some people seem to think we should forget our history and be ok about this because it happened in the 1840s.

You wouldn't see that in other countries.

Nobody is forgetting our history.

Just like Blackadder goes Forth educated a whole new generation about WWI this, if cleverly written, could actually broaden people's understanding of the period.

Allyall

Everybody keeps comparing blackadder to this.
I don't see the two as comparable. (WWI and The Great Famine).

Jawgap

Allyall wrote: »

Everybody keeps comparing blackadder to this.
I don't see the two as comparable at all. (WWI and The Great Famine).

You can't see the tragedy in WWI - the manipulation and misleading of an entire generation to go to war for nebulous reasons that had absolutely nothing to do with them - the tragedy of Pals battalions - the 19th century generalship in the age of industrialised warfare........really?

Timberrrrrrrr

Galwayguy35 wrote: »

You can call me simplistic all you like, the idea of a comedy about the death of 1 million of our people is not something I agree with.

It's not about that though is it?

Ghost Buster

Galwayguy35 wrote: »

No it's not something I agree with.

Please watch it.(life is beautiful)

Fratton Fred

Allyall wrote: »

Everybody keeps comparing blackadder to this.
I don't see the two as comparable. (WWI and The Great Famine).

40,000,000 died in world war one. Basing a comedy in that era does not mock those that died, if anything, it mocks those responsible.

Galwayguy35

Timberrrrrrrr wrote: »

It's not about that though is it?

Well that is what happened.

What will it be about so?

Timberrrrrrrr

Galwayguy35 wrote: »

Well that is what happened.

What will it be about so?

Many millions died in WW1 & 2 yet there are comedies set during those times that do no disrespect to the people that died. Maybe some of you should come down off the moral high ground and cease the hand wringing until you have actually seen an episode or two.

wp_rathead

Galwayguy35 wrote: »

Well that is what happened.

What will it be about so?

It is a comedy set during the famine
It is not a comedy about the famine

Billy86

wprathead wrote: »

It is a comedy set during the famine
It is not a comedy about the famine

It's not going to get through. Makes me wonder if people so rabidly opposed to it have any interest in comedy that doesn't laugh at things, or "lowbrow gaggery" to be honest, because it should be so blatantly obvious that setting a comedy during a tragic time does not have to mean laughing at those suffering. It's a little mind boggling, really.

Ghost Buster

wprathead wrote: »

It is a comedy set during the famine
It is not a comedy about the famine

The causes
The economics
The politics
The characters
The interactions
So many options in a non black and white world

pillphil

Galwayguy35 wrote: »

What if they don't do it at all, there is enough material out there to make comedy on without doing it on the famine.

I'm genuinely surprised that some people seem to think we should forget our history and be ok about this because it happened in the 1840s.

You wouldn't see that in other countries.

You're the one who seems to want to ignore it. How is wanting to make a program about it wanting to ignore it?

Galwayguy35

pillphil wrote: »

You're the one who seems to want to ignore it. How is wanting to make a program about it wanting to ignore it?

And when exactly did I say I wanted to ignore it?

Micky Dolenz

I like to think I see the funny side of most things but this seems a little off.

Our people didn't die because there was a potato blight, we died because a foreign oppressor wanted us dead. We have never recovered numbers over a 150 years later.

what the fcuk is funny about that?

Ghost Buster

Micky Dolenz wrote: »

I like to think I see the funny side of most things but this seems a little off.

Our people didn't die because there was a potato blight, we died because a foreign oppressor wanted us dead. We have never recovered numbers over a 150 years later.

what the fcuk is funny about that?

So you think there is absolutely no way a tragic event or period in history can be used in a comedy whilst remaining sensitive to the events in hand and respectful to those affected?
Im glad that writers down the years arent so limited in their imagination or we would have been denied some of the most poignant, bitter sweet and lasting comedy.

Mardy Bum

Sam Beckett must be the most insulting artist of all time going by some of the posts here. He didn't just make fun out of the dead Irish he mocked and derided the futility of the species mercilessly.

Micky Dolenz

Ghost Buster wrote: »

So you think there is absolutely no way a tragic event or period in history can be used in a comedy whilst remaining sensitive to the events in hand and respectful to those affected?

Maybe, I'll be interested to watch it.

Foxhound38

RTE should follow it up with a romantic comedy set in the midst of the Canary Wharf bombings - what's good for the goose and all

Jawgap

Micky Dolenz wrote: »

I like to think I see the funny side of most things but this seems a little off.

Our people didn't die because there was a potato blight, we died because a foreign oppressor wanted us dead. We have never recovered numbers over a 150 years later.

what the fcuk is funny about that?

.......maybe they could make a comedy out of people who have no idea of history

yipeeeee

We really are a laughing stock of a nation.

Think it's great fun been called paddies and love our reputation of been dipsos.

No wonder were made fun of, ah the Irish are great crack.

Imagine the reaction from Israel if a comedy was made about concentration camps during world war 2.

Billy86

yipeeeee wrote: »

We really are a laughing stock of a nation.

Think it's great fun been called paddies and love our reputation of been dipsos.

No wonder were made fun of, ah the Irish are great crack.

Imagine the reaction from Israel if a comedy was made about concentration camps during world war 2.

Can I get a link to that draft of the script you've obviously read?

EDIT: Oh and for the millionth time on this thread, check out Life is Beautiful. It won the second highest honour at Cannes, best foreign language film at the Oscars and was even nominated for best picture despite not being an English language film... and the Jewish community have a lot of sway in Hollywood.

Life Is Beautiful (Italian: La vita è bella) is a 1997 Italian tragicomedy comedy-drama film directed by and starring Roberto Benigni. Benigni plays Guido Orefice, a Jewish Italian book shop owner, who must employ his fertile imagination to shield his son from the horrors of internment in a Nazi concentration camp. Part of the film came from Benigni's own family history; before Roberto's birth, his father had survived three years of internment at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. The film was a critical and financial success, winning Benigni the Academy Award for Best Actor at the 71st Academy Awards as well as the Academy Award for Best Original Dramatic Score and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

sh1tstirrer

Robsweezie wrote: »

screw it. if us Irish can dish it out about other cultures we should be able to take it as well.

Are you sure you're Irish :rolleyes:

Allyall

Billy86 wrote: »

Can I get a link to that draft of the script you've obviously read?

EDIT: Oh and for the millionth time on this thread, check out Life is Beautiful. It won the second highest honour at Cannes, best foreign language film at the Oscars and was even nominated for best picture despite not being an English language film... and the Jewish community have a lot of sway in Hollywood.

Saving Private Ryan won Academy award for best director, Best cinematography, sound, film editing, Golden Globe for best motion picture, best director, Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Ensemble Cast Performance and many more..

The Thin Red Line didn't.

Billy86

Allyall wrote: »

Saving Private Ryan won Academy award for best director, Best cinematography, sound, film editing, Golden Globe for best motion picture, best director, Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Ensemble Cast Performance and many more..

The Thin Red Line didn't.

They were comedies?

Allyall

Billy86 wrote: »

They were comedies?

They were different movies/directors/actors.

MadsL

Micky Dolenz wrote: »

I like to think I see the funny side of most things but this seems a little off.

Our people didn't die because there was a potato blight, we died because a foreign oppressor wanted us dead. We have never recovered numbers over a 150 years later.

what the fcuk is funny about that?

I would have thought if that were true, a less indirect method would have been chosen.

I'll accept that indifference and bull**** laissez-faire economics played a huge part, but I think it unlikely that it was a conscious act of mass homicide.

Billy86

Allyall wrote: »

They were different movies/directors/actors.

What do either have to do with comedies based in tragic situations, though?

Micky Dolenz

MadsL wrote: »

I would have thought if that were true, a less indirect method would have been chosen.

I'll accept that indifference and bull**** laissez-faire economics played a huge part, but I think it unlikely that it was a conscious act of mass homicide.

Through the whole time other food stuffs were being exported out of the Island. The British took advantage of the situation and turned the screw on us.

Streetwalker

yipeeeee wrote: »

We really are a laughing stock of a nation.

Think it's great fun been called paddies and love our reputation of been dipsos.

No wonder were made fun of, ah the Irish are great crack.

Imagine the reaction from Israel if a comedy was made about concentration camps during world war 2.

What do you expect? Look at our reaction to being fuc ked over by our supposed betters time and again. Ah sure it'll be grand. :rolleyes: We are a laughing stock for a reason.

Jawgap

Micky Dolenz wrote: »

Through the whole time other food stuffs were being exported out of the Island. The British took advantage of the situation and turned the screw on us.

As I already pointed put earlier - from 1846 through 1850, more food was imported into the country than exported.

If the Government really wanted to exterminate the population why allow an amount equivalent to 50% of the island's food production to be imported????

Micky Dolenz

Jawgap wrote: »

As I already pointed put earlier - from 1846 through 1850, more food was imported into the country than exported.

If the Government really wanted to exterminate the population why allow an amount equivalent to 50% of the island's food production to be imported????

Are you British by any chance?

Jawgap

Micky Dolenz wrote: »

Are you British by any chance?

What has that got to do with anything?

The stats cited were compiled by an Irish historian (a Professor of economic history in UCD) if that helps :rolleyes:

Micky Dolenz

Jawgap wrote: »

What has that got to do with anything?

The stats cited were compiled by an Irish historian (a Professor of economic history in UCD) if that helps :rolleyes:

Your PM said this, among other things

"The famine was a defining event in the history of Ireland and Britain. It has left deep scars. That one million people should have died in what was then part of the richest and most powerful nation in the world is something that still causes pain as we reflect on it today. Those who governed in London at the time failed their people."

Allyall

Billy86 wrote: »

What do either have to do with comedies based in tragic situations, though?

I don't see why Life is Beautiful keeps getting mentioned, other than it was succesful.
There hasn't been any mention of Jakob the Liar, which wasn't terrible, but flopped.

I don't mind that a person wants to make a comedy about the famine, or any subject, as long as the 'comedy' is unique to that event. Otherwise it's pointless. The fact that a British TV station has commissioned it does make a difference, whether or not anyone cares to admit it.
It would be the equivalent of an American commissioned sitcom based during the aftermath of Hiroshima.
Just very bad taste.

It's not always about freedom of speech.

Jawgap

Micky Dolenz wrote: »

Your PM said this, among other things

My PM???

What are you on about??

And mod or no mod should you be quoting PMs in a thread?

um7y1h83ge06nx

We could probably go around in circles here, from my reading even historians can't get a consensus on whether it was a genocide or not.

MadsL

Micky Dolenz wrote: »

Through the whole time other food stuffs were being exported out of the Island. The British took advantage of the situation and turned the screw on us.

Do you seriously regard that as homicide? If you do, was turning off your TV during Live Aid and refusing to help the Ethiopian famine also an act of homicide?

The export of agricultural goods was subject to contract, even today future contracts for the export of agricultural produce would still be valid in time of famine/drought.

This effect was also noticed during the Ethiopian famine...

Instead of replenishing the country's emergency food stocks, grain was exported to meet Ethiopia's debt servicing obligations. Close to one million tons of the 1996 harvest was exported, an amount which would have been amply sufficient (according to FAO figures) to meet the 1999-2000 emergency. In fact the same food staple which had been exported (namely maize) was re-imported barely a few months later. The world market had confiscated Ethiopia's grain reserves.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO109B.html

Micky Dolenz

Jawgap wrote: »

My PM???

What are you on about??

And mod or no mod should you be quoting PMs in a thread?

PM

Jawgap

Micky Dolenz wrote: »

PM

I'm not sure what link is too, but I've checked and I've never sent you a PM (as in a private message) - so perhaps you'd care to withdraw your remarks?

I doubt there's much point in reporting the issue.....

Micky Dolenz

MadsL wrote: »

Do you seriously regard that as homicide? If you do, was turning off your TV during Live Aid and refusing to help the Ethiopian famine also an act of homicide?

The export of agricultural goods was subject to contract, even today future contracts for the export of agricultural produce would still be valid in time of famine/drought.

This effect was also noticed during the Ethiopian famine...

http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO109B.html

What has that to do with the prosecution of the Irish people?

sorry Man, I'm not going to argue examples of wrong doing over the globe with you.

Micky Dolenz

Jawgap wrote: »

I'm not sure what link is too, but I've checked and I've never sent you a PM (as in a private message) - so perhaps you'd care to withdraw your remarks?

I doubt there's much point in reporting the issue.....

Prime Minister Tony Blair, made that statement.

But yeah, report away.

MadsL

Jawgap wrote: »

I'm not sure what link is too, but I've checked and I've never sent you a PM (as in a private message) - so perhaps you'd care to withdraw your remarks?

I doubt there's much point in reporting the issue.....

He means Prime Minister. I guess he also assumes you are British.

My name is URL

Jawgap wrote: »

I'm not sure what link is too, but I've checked and I've never sent you a PM (as in a private message) - so perhaps you'd care to withdraw your remarks?

I doubt there's much point in reporting the issue.....

He's quite clearly talking about talking about Tony Blair =/

Jawgap

Micky Dolenz wrote: »

Prime Minister Tony Blair, made that statement.

But yeah, report away.

You mean prime minister?????

Who says I'm British?? And why is my nationality relevant??

For the record, I'm Irish........born here, reared here (and have even represented my country abroad on an occasion or two)


.......I also have certain quals / experience in history, archives and research.....

Jawgap

My name is URL wrote: »

He's quite clearly talking about talking about Tony Blair =/

Yeah, I finally figured that out. I guess my nationality wasn't the only assumption being leapt to......

MadsL

Micky Dolenz wrote: »

What has that to do with the prosecution of the Irish people?

sorry Man, I'm not going to argue examples of wrong doing over the globe with you.

You are deflecting. I asking if refusing to send money to a famine hit area is also a homicidal act in your view?

You claim that the British nation wanted the Irish dead. It has been pointed out that other nations, even in the modern age, export food in times of famine, and also that in fact more food was coming in than was being exported.

If it was an intentional genocide then it is a funny way to go about it, regardless of the historical outcome.

Billy86

Allyall wrote: »

I don't see why Life is Beautiful keeps getting mentioned, other than it was succesful.
There hasn't been any mention of Jakob the Liar, which wasn't terrible, but flopped.

I don't mind that a person wants to make a comedy about the famine, or any subject, as long as the 'comedy' is unique to that event. Otherwise it's pointless. The fact that a British TV station has commissioned it does make a difference, whether or not anyone cares to admit it.
It would be the equivalent of an American commissioned sitcom based during the aftermath of Hiroshima.
Just very bad taste.

It's not always about freedom of speech.

Life is Beautiful was made in Italy, Hitler's closest ally in WWII. It obviously keeps getting mentioned because it shows that comedy can be made about tragic circumstances, and be very successful because of it.

C4 is British of course, but the writer is Irish and/or has lived and studied for years in Ireland, and they made 'our' most sitcom of all time in Father Ted os Hiroshima isn't a perfect example unless it was made by a channel that had done something similar on Japanese TV, and written by a Japanese-American writer. It also doesn't help things that we have basically never produced a good comedy TV show domestically (off the top of my head, at least?).

mal1

Without being shot, why do some Irish feel so passionate about the famine? It's no longer in living memory, our grandparents weren't even alive to witness it. It's just a part of our history.

um7y1h83ge06nx

If it turns out to be brilliant satire then fair enough, something akin to Siegfried Sassoon's poems and critics of World War 1.

Modern TV likes to keep things dumbed down though so I'm not holding my breath.

MadsL

mal1 wrote: »

Without being shot, why do some Irish feel so passionate about the famine? It's no longer in living memory, our grandparents weren't even alive to witness it. It's just a part of our history.

Sinead O'Connor exposure at a young age perhaps?