Published by Mason Oldridge, 29 November 2023
CONTAINS SPOILERS!
Britain. Britain. Britain. Believe it or not, it’s been 20 years since Tom Baker first uttered those opening words on what would become one of Britain’s most successful sketch comedy series. But whether it feels like a lifetime or five minutes ago, times have certainly changed since its airing and the beloved show has become the ultimate victim of cancel culture.
Cancel culture sees us living in an era in which something that can be regarded as offensive is effectively removed or someone saying something offensive is basically shunned from society - essentially the modern day equivalent of being made an outlaw. A black sheep whom we mustn't speak to, reference or, Heaven forbid, defend and support. The snowflake generation has bred a world where right-wing ideology has shifted from being a mainstream standpoint to a controversial characteristic that is frowned upon. However, defenders of free speech, including the British government, are fighting back with a so-called ‘war on wokery’ which largely impacts comedy. Comedian Ricky Gervais is a pioneer of this and arguably the single strongest force against cancel culture we have in relation to comedy. He said “offence by definition is subjective - I don't think you can say a joke is offensive” and how “you have to say I found that joke offensive”. He went on to say “just because you're offended doesn't mean you're right” and that’s where a lot of the issue arises from. People misconstrue their opinion and pose it as a fact. It’s what it is, not what they believe.
Little Britain takes a madcap look at British society with creators and writers David Walliams and Matt Lucas performing all the main characters. These include caretaker Lou and fraudulent wheelchair-user Andy, the antisocial teenager Vicky Pollard, flamboyant Welsh lad Daffyd Thomas who falsely proclaims to be ‘the only gay in the village’, cross-dressers Emily and Florence, obnoxious Marjorie Dawes who runs a weight-loss programme and the camp Sebastian: assistant to the Prime Minister.
Skits involving Lou and Andy typically see the faking paraplegic opting for a ridiculous decision despite Lou advising against it, only for Andy to instantly regret his poor choice. The gag is that this generally inconveniences Lou more than it does Andy, who confirms his decision using his catchphrase “I want that one!”, one of many turns of phrases in British life that has been born out of the series. However, other sketches see Lou having to cater to Andy’s disability requirements, with Andy then standing up and partaking in some physical activity while Lou’s back is turned. Throughout the series, this has included diving at a swimming pool and beating a gang of bullies. Andy then manages to return to his wheelchair just in turn for Lou to turn around hilariously oblivious. As touched upon before, it is interpretation that can cause issues with how material is viewed as offensive. This individual character is not representative of the disabled community and is not presenting taking advantage of our generous benefits system as a stereotype. On the other hand, characters such as Vicky Pollard and Daffyd Thomas are actually taking aim at the stereotypes of ‘chav’ and ‘gay’ respectively by exaggerating them as opposed to suggesting they are accurate. Furthermore, an overweight character leading a weight-loss programme who fat shames its attendees is employing irony rather than stereotyping, though in a cancel culture, this is likely to be confused. Cross-dressers Emily and Florence have caused particular controversy, though this is simply making a joke of two men who are particularly bad at their hobby and compensate by highlighting their attempt to appear as the opposite sex and makes no explicit statement on transgenderism, something which is totally separate. The show never links the two but rather the oversensitive world we find ourselves in does.
It is not just representation that the show has been attacked for but also the methods used. Blackface, a common practice throughout history, is now deemed unacceptable. Both Walliams and Lucas have used blackface to portray black characters in the show. Again, they are not providing any comment on the black community or mocking them but simply using blackface as a means of portrayal. It is worth noting that the comedy film White Chicks never created any uproar, despite the African-American Wayan brothers using whiteface to dress up as not only the opposite race but also the opposite gender and do so in a derogatory manner. Also, nothing has been said about Anthony Hopkins using blackface to portray the titular protagonist in Shakespeare’s Othello. Could this be to do with the fact that the latter doesn’t contain toilet humour?
So how do we resist a woke takeover? Unfortunately, the pair haven’t defended their past work as well as they could have. In 2017, Lucas said he “wouldn't make that show now” but didn’t express regret and explained their attempt at playing a wide range of characters. However, fast forward three years to 2020 when the woke brigade was in full force and thus came the removal of the show from several streaming services. Instead of defending their work, the duo apologised, saying “we want to make it clear that it was wrong and we are very sorry” as well as publicly retiring the characters of Emily and Florence in reference to the changing attitudes. In the vein of Gervais’ comments, what makes it wrong? Based on societal views, it wasn’t wrong at the time so can it really be retrospectively wrong? Sure, some jokes are particularly edgy but that doesn’t justify removal. Whereas Gervais uses his work to explain the concept of offence, which often forms part of his stand-up routine, Walliams and Lucas have submitted to the backlash, likely out of fears of being cancelled. After all, this is what cancel culture does: pressures one into conforming to wokery using the threat of cancellation. This was further supported by Walliams’ departure from Britain’s Got Talent in 2022 following the reveal of a private conversation he had about some of the performers. In the same year, Little Britain was returned to streaming, albeit edited versions with entire removals of some characters. Censorship is one of the biggest threats against free speech but this issue stretches beyond a comedy series. Not only is free speech at risk but we are beginning to see the eradication of history preservation. However, Little Britain maintains a stronghold on daily life here; a device can’t malfunction without the user proclaiming “computer says no”. The show may have come under fire in cancel culture but, luckily for fans of the comedy, it also has too much a place within British culture for its legacy to fade. For now…