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Post by slfriend79 on Oct 20, 2011 13:50:33 GMT
TDIboostmonster posted this on YT today.  |
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Jester
Smutty Mayhemer
Its good to have a hobby :)
Posts: 302
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Post by Jester on Oct 20, 2011 14:43:02 GMT
LOL that was simply hilarious! A testament to why these three blokes are loved so much!!
Jezza: James, No, he doesnt talk,
Richard: you need to put a coin in a slot
James: i can talk through my arse
Richard: No, if you do that the coin will fall out!
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Post by adrianmay on Oct 20, 2011 17:23:48 GMT
I'm sorry but I'm soooo sick of the whining about their incident in Alabama. Really, is that the most harrowing thing that has ever happened to them? Blah, blah. Are there really no sh*t neighborhoods in all of England. If you go into a backassward neighborhood and bait them, what do you think will happen? Wasn't that the premise of the piece? Get over it.
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Post by devil-may-care on Oct 20, 2011 18:08:02 GMT
I agree with you AM. I've only seen the Alabama bit twice. And the second time, because MOH wanted to see it. I simply can't watch it. If the guys rightly remember, the challenge was to see if you could get one of your fellow presenters shot by writing controversial slogans on their vehicles. Well, I guess that was almost a success. What nitwit came up with that idea in the first place??
When was this video shot? It seems like it's rather old.
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Post by Vivienne on Oct 20, 2011 18:10:47 GMT
It was a year after Katrina hit so I believe 2007. I can see Jeremy and Richard in this challenge. James is smart enough not to put himself in danger on purpose, except for the Polar episode.
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Post by devil-may-care on Oct 20, 2011 18:12:30 GMT
It was a year after Katrina hit so I believe 2007. I can see Jeremy and Richard in this challenge. James is smart enough not to put himself in danger on purpose, except for the Polar episode. What I meant was, when did they shoot the video of this interview? |
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Post by mightybabs on Oct 20, 2011 18:20:42 GMT
I'm sorry but I'm soooo sick of the whining about their incident in Alabama. Thank you for this comment. I'm not sure why this particular episode bothered me so much, as I know they snark on practically everybody. Maybe for me it's the perceived imbalance -- three people who are (relatively speaking) well-educated, wealthy, and influential mocking an (apparently) impoverished population. Sure, everybody could have responded differently. And I know I'm making assumptions about the people involved. The whole incident, though, just felt so unnecessary and mean-spirited. The trio have it going good. Why be mean? |
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Post by Vivienne on Oct 20, 2011 18:21:13 GMT
I wondered that too. Why did it suddenly come up now?
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Post by Vivienne on Oct 20, 2011 18:23:23 GMT
On google it said Dec 15, 2007.
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Post by Wyvern on Oct 20, 2011 18:32:57 GMT
I'm sorry but I'm soooo sick of the whining about their incident in Alabama. Really, is that the most harrowing thing that has ever happened to them? Blah, blah. Are there really no sh*t neighborhoods in all of England. If you go into a backassward neighborhood and bait them, what do you think will happen? Wasn't that the premise of the piece? Get over it. Well, yes, but you'd have to 'bait' them about something a bit more significant than the type of music they listen to, their preferred type of motorsport or, for the most part, your own apparent sexual preference. What's hard to believe, from a British perspective (which, like it or not, we British people tend to have - perhaps that's something Americans need to get over) is that people could get that het up and precious about something so stupidly inconsequential. If you drove into Moss Side saying 'R&B is Rubbish' and 'Formula 1 sucks', you'd get a few funny looks, but the chances are you wouldn't get killed. Of couse, if you walked into an area like that, all bets are off. Also, bear in mind that this is a British show for a British audience with a particular type of humour that is broadly at odds with mainstream US humour (look at the different team dynamics in the UK and US versions of the show), and that tends to lamp oon national stereotypes (and yes, the 'hick American' is a well known stereotype here, regardless of the truth). More to the point, bear in mind that this trip through Alabama showed the British public far more of the aftermath than the news media ever did - Katrina was well over a year before the episode aired and things had moved on for us. It was shocking to see what a mess things still were. It would have been wholly inappropriate in a light entertainment programme to go into the whys and wherefores of the political situation that kept Alabama in that state a year after Katrina ripped through (we had a number of current affairs programmes that did), but what you can't appreciate if you weren't here is that - much like TG's films in Botswana, eastern Europe and Vietnam - it opened people's eyes in a remarkable way to things they wouldn't otherwise have thought about. |
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Post by meimichan on Oct 20, 2011 18:33:32 GMT
Agree with you both to a point, I think. The people in that clip in Alabama did overreact, it's not legal(or morally all right) to attack people no matter how offensively they've decorated their cars. Don't take the bait, flip them off and get on with your life.
But had they not decorated their cars at all, nothing would have happened, and I love the show but that did feel like an exercise in trying to make it look like America sucks...an ending lesson of don't go to America? After you went out of your way to insult the people in America you came across? They did say the premise of that challenge was to get your fellow presenters shot. Well...congratulations.
Katrina hit in August 2005 Vivienne...right after I'd started grad school.
Based on the hairstyles of the presenters in that youtube video, I do think it was filmed shortly after S9 or S10. So at least the questions about Alabama would have been relevant to the time.
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Post by adrianmay on Oct 20, 2011 18:33:34 GMT
I'm sorry but I'm soooo sick of the whining about their incident in Alabama. Thank you for this comment. I'm not sure why this particular piece bothered me so much, as I know they snark on practically everybody. Maybe for me it's the perceived imbalance -- three people who are (relatively speaking) well-educated, wealthy, and influential mocking an (apparently) impoverished population. Sure, everybody could have responded differently. And I know I'm making assumptions about the people involved. The whole piece, though, just felt so unnecessary and mean-spirited. The trio have it going good. Why be mean? I'll tell you what was disgusting. When they went to "give" their crap cars to the people in Louisiana. That was insulting. Just because they're poor doesn't mean they should be grateful for you dumping your trashed, useless, cow fluid filled cars on them. They spent the entire episode going on about what a POS the cars were then tried to pawn them off as a good deal in the end. Saints. A little understanding on why that section of New Orleans hadn't been rebuilt would have been nice too. |
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Post by slfriend79 on Oct 20, 2011 18:34:28 GMT
I'm sorry for upsetting some of the board members by posting this video.  I just thought it was so wonderful that they took the time to go visit the troops in Afghanistan.  |
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Post by adrianmay on Oct 20, 2011 18:47:09 GMT
I'm sorry but I'm soooo sick of the whining about their incident in Alabama. Really, is that the most harrowing thing that has ever happened to them? Blah, blah. Are there really no sh*t neighborhoods in all of England. If you go into a backassward neighborhood and bait them, what do you think will happen? Wasn't that the premise of the piece? Get over it. Well, yes, but you'd have to 'bait' them about something a bit more significant than the type of music they listen to, their preferred type of motorsport or, for the most part, your own apparent sexual preference. What's hard to believe, from a British perspective (which, like it or not, we British people tend to have - perhaps that's something Americans need to get over) is that people could get that het up and precious about something so stupidly inconsequential. If you drove into Moss Side saying 'R&B is Rubbish' and 'Formula 1 sucks', you'd get a few funny looks, but the chances are you wouldn't get killed. Of couse, if you walked into an area like that, all bets are off. I'm certainly not defending the reaction of those people at the gas station but something needs to be explained. Those people were probably used to being labeled and stereotyped as ignorant "hicks" (the words the woman used). They weren't reacting the insignificant comments. No one anywhere is that sensitive. I'll bet most of those people don't really even have an opinion on NAScar racing or maybe even homosexuality. They were reacting to the stereotype or being county and western loving, homophobic, stock car loving, politically conservative, HICKS. Something had set these people off even before the TG people got there. |
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Post by adrianmay on Oct 20, 2011 18:48:43 GMT
I'm sorry for upsetting some of the board members by posting this video. I just thought it was so wonderful that they took the time to go visit the troops in Afghanistan. I, for one, am not upset. This is dialog. It's good for us. |
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Post by Vivienne on Oct 20, 2011 18:49:19 GMT
I don't think their intent was to put down the inhabitants. Jeremy even mentions the destruction and how the U.S. is the wealthiest nation in the world and they expected more to be done. When he gave the car away he told them exactly what was wrong and then said the engine worked fine.There was still a sense of anarchy in New Orleans during this time. I've seen in the news they are arresting police officers for killing and assaulting their own city folk.
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Post by Wyvern on Oct 20, 2011 18:55:11 GMT
I'm certainly not defending the reaction of those people at the gas station but something needs to be explained. Those people were probably used to being labeled and stereotyped as ignorant "hicks" (the words the woman used). They weren't reacting the insignificant comments. No one anywhere is that sensitive. I'll bet most of those people don't really even have an opinion on NAScar racing or maybe even homosexuality. They were reacting to the stereotype or being county and western loving, homophobic, stock car loving, politically conservative, HICKS. Something had set these people off even before the TG people got there. I think you're labouring under the misapprehension that we didn't already know that. The thing is, that stereotype is massively prevalent here even now, and in a show that plays up stereotypes it's fairly certain that at least part of that sequence wasn't quite as spontaneous as we've been led to believe (hence the US visa issue, which allegedly came about because dramatised events were presented as fact, although I don't know how much of that is true). However, what does need to be understood is that Top Gear is not made for a global audience, even though it has one. Regardless of how big its success, it's a funny programme about cars that goes out on BBC2 - the original minority interest channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation. |
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Post by Wyvern on Oct 20, 2011 19:00:27 GMT
I don't think their intent was to put down the inhabitants. Jeremy even mentions the destruction and how the U.S. is the wealthiest nation in the world and they expected more to be done. Exactly this. I'm certain that the reactions to the destruction were genuine. I think they might have reconsidered the content of certain parts of the film had they known what they were going to be driving into before they got there, but hindsight is notoriously 20/20. And yes, I know they would have known where they were going, and researchers would have told them 'this will be bad, there's a lot of damage here, these neighbourhoods are risky' but until you see something like that for yourself, I imagine there's no way of comprehending it. A few years ago we had major flooding across a lot of the UK, and the difference between seeing the damage on TV and seeing it in real life is indescribable - and the level of destruction was nothing like as extreme as when Katrina hit. To think that what was still one of the world's most powerful economies (let's face it, there's no such thing as a powerful economy at the moment, we're all completely stuffed) at the time could leave that many of its citizens with absolutely nothing for that long... it's simply staggering. |
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Heartabam
Smutty Mayhemer
Curse you careless air!!
Posts: 451
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Post by Heartabam on Oct 20, 2011 19:01:59 GMT
Oh for crying out loud. Is there anyone who doesn't find anything the TG3 do mildly offensive. Just me?
I could get uppity on the fact that Jeremy brought up the gordon brown "c**t" joke again. Im scottish, I actually got raised in the same city as him and he was my MP before being PM. I couldn't give a crap. Same way when they brought up the Burglar Alarm segment. I could have found it offensive, i was embarrassed but I got over it.
Granted its not on the same scale as Hurricane Katrina or poverty or anything like that...but...
Its when people start getting pernikity (sp?) about every detail that Top Gear, or any program on tv gets a bad name. Its an entertainment show, not a documentary.
Im not picking on anyone as everyone's comment is a valid one but...really guys? Its in the past. Its a touchy subject but Im sure none of them did it in malice and as is, in my opinion, evident in the way they spoke in the vid they realise it was a totally stupid idea. Someone asked a question about it and they answered, so they weren't going on about it. Just answering a question.
*steps off of badly worded soap box*
*starts again*
Well I liked the video. slfriend *nods* And I really loved Sweary hammond *grins*
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Post by adrianmay on Oct 20, 2011 19:21:56 GMT
OK. For the record I get it's an entertainment program. I get that is humor is sometimes questionable. They're jokes. I get it. I'm NOT personally offend that people would poke fun at American stereotypes. What's annoying is the going on and on and on. I just wanted to make it clear that people here DO get that it's just a joke but in that instance, the people at the gas station weren't reacting to something as simple as a slogan but something deeper. We're not that simple. Or maybe TG just stumbled across a group of aberrant people. Ya know like that crazy relative most of has hiding in our family trees.
I would love to know more about your visa theories Wyvern. I've been wondering about that. PM me if you'd like. I'm curious.
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Post by mightybabs on Oct 20, 2011 19:24:53 GMT
I'm sorry for upsetting some of the board members by posting this video. I just thought it was so wonderful that they took the time to go visit the troops in Afghanistan. I, for one, am not upset. This is dialog. It's good for us. Ditto. Not upset. I enjoy videos of them when they are just being themselves. Refreshing. |
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Post by Vivienne on Oct 20, 2011 19:27:44 GMT
I'm not upset either. We've seen enough of them to know deep down inside they are individuals that care. Going to Afghanistan showed that.
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Post by Wyvern on Oct 20, 2011 19:45:28 GMT
What's annoying is the going on and on and on. Fair point that you're cheesed off with it, but nobody was going on and on and on about it - that video's a few years old now, and although they still mention it occasionally if they're asked, Top Gear has got itself into all sorts of new and interesting trouble since then. The people that seem to bring it up most frequently these days are the American fans themselves. Mind you, whichever way you look at it, the blame can't wholly be laid at Top Gear's door; either the people genuinely were just a few steps away from starring in a remake of Deliverance or they were primed to play a role - and they were prepared to go on and do it. Which, if it was the case, brings me neatly around to... I would love to know more about your visa theories Wyvern. I've been wondering about that. PM me if you'd like. I'm curious. That was pretty much all there was to it - I seem to remember reading somewhere on Final Gear that an American governmental body of some kind (I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with how US government departments work to be able to make a stab at who it was) had taken issue with that film, although I suppose it's as likely that they were unhappy with the way the lack of support system was described as the 'being set upon by rednecks' thing. I suspect it was the latter. Either way, I don't think they were very pleased, but it was never confirmed and shouldn't be taken as gospel. |
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Heartabam
Smutty Mayhemer
Curse you careless air!!
Posts: 451
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Post by Heartabam on Oct 20, 2011 19:55:18 GMT
What's annoying is the going on and on and on. Fair point that you're cheesed off with it, but nobody was going on and on and on about it - that video's a few years old now, and although they still mention it occasionally if they're asked, Top Gear has got itself into all sorts of new and interesting trouble since then. The people that seem to bring it up most frequently these days are the American fans themselves. Mind you, whichever way you look at it, the blame can't wholly be laid at Top Gear's door; either the people genuinely were just a few steps away from starring in a remake of Deliverance or they were primed to play a role - and they were prepared to go on and do it. ^^What Wy said although far more eloquently than I would have managed it.  |
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Post by adrianmay on Oct 20, 2011 21:25:45 GMT
What's annoying is the going on and on and on. Fair point that you're cheesed off with it, but nobody was going on and on and on about it - that video's a few years old now, and although they still mention it occasionally if they're asked, Top Gear has got itself into all sorts of new and interesting trouble since then. The people that seem to bring it up most frequently these days are the American fans themselves. Mind you, whichever way you look at it, the blame can't wholly be laid at Top Gear's door; either the people genuinely were just a few steps away from starring in a remake of Deliverance or they were primed to play a role - and they were prepared to go on and do it. Which, if it was the case, brings me neatly around to... I would love to know more about your visa theories Wyvern. I've been wondering about that. PM me if you'd like. I'm curious. That was pretty much all there was to it - I seem to remember reading somewhere on Final Gear that an American governmental body of some kind (I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with how US government departments work to be able to make a stab at who it was) had taken issue with that film, although I suppose it's as likely that they were unhappy with the way the lack of support system was described as the 'being set upon by rednecks' thing. I suspect it was the latter. Either way, I don't think they were very pleased, but it was never confirmed and shouldn't be taken as gospel. I had to run errands so I thought about this a little more. I'm not a very well spoken person but I'll give this a try. Let me try to put it in perspective. There is a difference between calling a political figure or popular persona in a county a name or saying something rude and actually showing up in the country where no one knows you and isn't "In on the joke", baiting a culturally sensitive population, filming it, editing it, presenting it as factual to a world viewing audience of 350 million people, and then "from time to time" as you say discussing the event and holding it out as an example of what can be expected from that group of people in that country. If they weren't white, it would be called racist. Notice, there is still a viewing audience and a fan base here. We understand it was intended for entrainment and it is an entertainment show (although they are categorized as a factual program) but that doesn't mean we, perhaps I should as I, don't have a right to be irritated by it. If America is ever brought up in a TG interview, this mess is what's discussed. Maybe you haven't noticed because it means nothing to you. |
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Post by Wyvern on Oct 20, 2011 21:53:56 GMT
Whilst we're all still civil with each other, I'm going to lock this thread down, because it's in danger of reaching an impasse and that's no good for anyone. Everyone's entitled to their opinion, and that's a good thing, but I would prefer to draw a line under this. This is not the site to have a major debate on the rights and wrongs of national stereotyping, and indeed, I've seen a number of TG fansites go through really difficult periods when this kind of debate escalates. With that in mind, I am respectfully drawing this thread to a close.
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