Thanks to Channel 4 for re-igniting my passion - post J4E March and the Local Election dramas. The last week has been hard, tiring and wearisome – but more about that in a later post. Consequently, I’d sort of lost a bit of my English mojo…… that was of course until I watched ‘The Seven Sins of England’ on Channel 4 last night.
If you didn’t see it, you didn’t miss much – just the usual diatribe of anti English bile. Skinheads, Chavs, Divvies and Ne’r do wells – they were all there, giving their ‘man on the street’ perspective and letting us know, (through various readings taken from old manuscripts) how the English have, for over a thousand years, always been a drunken, bigoted, intolerant lot.
Somehow, I don’t think they’ll be following up the programme with ‘The Seven Sins of the Scots’, ‘The 101 Sins of the French’ or 'The Several Billion Sins of the Germans’……
Oooops, pardon me. There I go, referring to type in my foreigner-hating English kind of way….
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3 comments:
I feared the worst but I was actually fairly impressed by this programme.
Even though the programme was negative in some respects at least it was about England warts and all. It didn't confuse England with Britain, or imply that England was in the grip of an identity crisis or unsure of its nationhood. On the contrary it portrayed the yoemen of England as arrogant strutting proud beasts. And the historical narrative contained quotes from the dark ages right through to the modern day suggesting continuity and the that, actually, England hasn't changed that much. Having read several books on the history of alcohol in England I was particularly pleased with the coverage of the first sin.
It didn't tell the whole story, of course, and these things are all relative - to what extent we are any more thuggish, slaggish, bigotted or alcoholic than anywhere else wasn't explored.
I wonder whether they will be doing a programme on the seven wonders of England.
My choices would be:
The countryside
Pub Culture / ale
Democracy / Liberty
English Navy
Empire / Warfare
English Literature
The Industrial Revolution
Maybe I will suggest that to Channel Four.
The English are constantly told how much we owe to foreigners for our place in the world and the many laudable aspects of our culture and society. We are constantly told what a mongrel breed we are, thanks to centuries of (fictional) mass migration, and how this has benefitted and strengthened us, yet the undesirable aspects of our society are only ever our fault alone.
I watched this programme and while part of me hated it,(what a bunch of f**king lowlifes)part of me thought,yeah thats us,we may be foulmouthed drunks but when the shit hits the fan there is no one better to have by your side than the English.
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