This horribly racist series makes me thankful for political correctness. I cringe to see folks actually happy to buy this absolute tosh of a series. It's great to see that sensibilities how moved on from getting cheap laughs from gross racial stereotyping.
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Well I did watch it "properly" and with my critical hat on. The stereotyping was without the irony or "knowingness" of Little Britain (which I detest too) this was just plain ridicule. We, today are more aware of the negative effects stereotypes have on races and that crosses the thin line into racism. More work has too be done.
As for the actors themselves. Of course they'll say that. It was just a job. And I know of black folk who were part of the Minstral scene in the early part of last century and didn't get the offence then.. Now, thank heavens, we do.
I agree with harty122us-1. The jokes always ended up on Brown and Courtney. It was a wonderful series and really there is nothing offensive about it. Otherwise they wouldnt have remade it in India! And Little Britain isnt about being offensive--I actually feel that most of their skits have a pretty good message or theme in them...
As a man who under 'pc' terms is from an ethnic background, mixed heritage to be precise, neither i nor my parents were offended by the series. I will point out however that the term 'black folk' IS offensive to myself and others i know as so called black people aren't black.....they are shades of brown.
Before you get on your moral high horse, get the facts.
I dont think it's a racist show either.
Do you prefer the term "coloured gentleman" as used by Eddie Booth on Love Thy Neighbour?
I am from India, and I caught this sitcom on DVD recently. And I don't see why people see this show as racist. I have not taken offence to it at all. It is all in good fun. The show was a huge hit in India when it was first run and also, was remade in Hindi.
"When in doubt, I'll find retracing my steps to be a wise place to begin with"-Albus Dumbledore
Look mate, 10066126, you seem to be in a minority yourself, here as we all can see the funy side. Quit while you're behind, eh?
shareA minority opinion doesn't make it wrong. I find it offensive. You don't. That's also your opinion.
shareyou sir are a snob !
shareI second that. Only people with serious personality issues can find this series offensive. I represent one of the minorities portrayed in Mind your language and I am not offended. I've watched it with my Indian girlfriend and she did not find it offensive, never mind racist. This is not about race or religion, but about multiculturalism and being able to ridicule some of the most pathetic and idiotic dividing forces of society. It is not the stereotypes or prejudices that offend people, it's people recognizing their own personal issues and being ashamed by themselves!
shareYou're so gay just get off the forum!
shareYour opinion is *beep*
This is the best comedy that ever lived
OP you really should just watch films/programmes made after about 1990 and avoid anything made before as you appear far too sensitive. Leave all the excellent non-pc stuff to people who appreciate it.
"We live in an era where pizzas show up faster than the police" (Claude Chabrol)
Can I just say, in your review of the show you've got your facts wrong. Actually, the Pakistani character, Ali gets on extremely well with the Indian because the Indian is JAmila, a woman. He looks after her in a couple of episodes and communicates with her when others don't understand what she's saying. You're thinking of Ali's hatred for Ranjeet (the guy with the turban, who's from the Punjab, not India. They dislike each other for religious reasons. Ali is a Muslim and Ranjeet is a Sikh. Sikhs are considered heretical by Muslims. Please, if you're going to give your opinion about a show you don't like, try to have your facts straight first!
sharePunjab is in India so Ranjeet is an Indian. He is an Indian Sikh and Jamila is an Indian Muslim. Strangely, there is no Indian Hindu - who make up the majority in India.
Anyway, I am in the majority as well. I am an Asian and MYL was a great opportunity for all of us, the families - mum,dad, bros, sis, uncles, aunts, cousins gather in front of the telly and laugh our heads off. It is such a brilliant programme and believe me, as Asians we love it. We can laugh at ourselves you know.
P/S I have a Chinese colleague - she is doing her Ph D and everything about China is purrrrfect. LOL, reminds me of that red-book bashing character in MYL.
hey bahmasiva U Silly twerp Jamilia is an indian christian,see da episode in which the scottish driver comes 2 learn english and c da part in which juan talks about jesus christ,and if u remember the funny part wuz wenever juan said jesus christ every1 wud do the amen thingy including jamila,and even wen they get angry at da scottish guy 4 talking bad about jesus shrist or w/e even jamila gets into da act,and if tat doesnt prove my point dont u c da cross she wears around her neck!!!!!!!!!!!Seriously u claim 2 hav seen most of da episodes of mind your language but don't u notice anytin???????and next time watch sumtim and take note before postin a comment i hate 2 be rude but i juz had 2 CORRECT YOU!
shareI had an Indian flatmate who thought it was brilliant.For my part-all sterotypes exist because some people are like that.I'll say it aloud-I'm Politically Incorrect and I'm Proud!
shareYou sound a bit like Miss Courtney! Lol.
"When there is any doubt, there is no doubt; that's the first thing they teach you"
What a load of crap."Political correctness" is just a euphimism for ignoring reality and glossing it over.Iam an Indian and I know the quirks of Indians in terms of accent and attitude towards Pakistanis and I was'nt in the least bit offended by anything in the show(even though certain things are exaggerated and sometimes outright false).The show was hilarious BECAUSE of it's "political incorrectness" so to speak. It shows the reality of how people in a foreign country seem strange and weird to the locals and vice versa. The show celebrates the fact that people from different nations behave differently and have different values and attitudes.Behaviour that seems strange to a British observer would be completely normal as far as the Greek is concerned.Or as far the Chinese is concerned.Or as far as the Italian is concerned. Bottom line is, if we find something unusual or strange about another person,merely pointing it out is NOT equivalent to insulting them.Just stating reality.It's a funny world.Let's laugh at it AND with it.
shareGreat to hear from people praising this show.
I loved it when I was a nipper, still do-and I'm no racist.
I loved all the characters equally, and if anything, it does a good job of showing people that everyone is the same, no matter what they look like.
Here, here, dragonsfield!
shareTrue SirCL;
I am a Black man,I enjoyed this show because while it was funny it actually shed light or brought "Cultural Awareness" to the fore for one so young (back then).
I learned a lot about humanity and differences in race, culture, religion, disability, etc "EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES" in a nutshell.
I feel people are missing the point while nasty gags and cheap skits like Little Britain, The Office (my opinion) et al poke fun at people or stereotypes, MYL points out differences politely and educates/enlightens everyone without being rude or stupid.
MYL is timeless and should be viewed for the reasons listed above, education and enlightenment not PC.
All of my friends ( me included) enjoyed the show and did not feel it was racist. Like the firt reply of this thread, the joke is on the teacher.
I always liked it , it was good clean fun and still laugh ,while thinking about it.
But , may be it were to air today,it may not be seen as PC.
tdh
let me make this perfectly clear, i'm half dutch and half indian, and i loved this show. i look forward to owning the whole thing on DVD because it took the right attitude..
PC has us living in fear. living in fear of what white people will think if you say something about non white people. Politcal correctness is a scam. there are stereo types of every group or race that are quite justified and worth bringing to comedy if respectfully and lovingly done. and this show was never mean spirited.
i'm so tired of everyone who thinks PC is the solution. well it's not. i have a very racially and culturally diverse group of friends and we all make fun of each others backgrounds all the time, but it's just a bit of fun and it goes both ways.
seriously when did observation suddenly becaome racism?
racism is when you withhold rights from an individual, or treat with antipathy, based on cultural background. NOT when you notice that 80% of cab drivers in one city happen to be from roughly the same area, and make a joke about it in a sitcom.
this show broke down alot of social barriers as many 'ethnic' groups and minorities, by letting everyone laught at each other and themselves. PC makes a humourless and ignorant world.
wow Barend3! Well said!
shareThis show was very popular with Asians for some strange reason.
It may have been very funny in the 70s but I bet it looks corny now and could not reach the dizzying heights of foreign accent silliness that Allo Allo set.
It is interesting how many of the cast went on to be rent-a-foriegner character actors on British TV.
The Greek and Italian are never off the TV, even today, playing walk-on mediterrenean types in shows like the Bill and Doctors.
I also notice that the Spanish bloke went on to play Pedro in Duty Free and Miguel in Never the Twain. Albert Moses (Ranjeet Singh) biog includes shopkeeper and Indian waiter.
Quoting youngian67 - "Albert Moses (Ranjeet Singh) biog includes shopkeeper and Indian waiter."
And don't forget that he also appeared in two 007 movies. He was a waiter in the Mojaba Club in The Spy Who Loved Me, and he also played Sadruddin in Octopussy.
I also saw Kevork Malikyan (Maximillian Papandrious) on the big screen fairly recently in 'Flight of the Phoenix'.
These guys were very funny actors and it's good to see that they've gone on the achieve success after Mind Your Language.
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Some excellent posts in reply to a ridiculous OP. My criticism of MYL is that it wasn't particularly funny - not for any reason of prejudice or so called racism, but rather that Vince Powell's sitcoms often suffer from a lack of really solid writing and punchlines. The set-up and concept are great, it's the writing that fails - great on the 'sit', less so on the 'com'.
And to the poster above who insisted on using SMS speak - grow up and use English correctly; the only reason to use abbreviations is that it's a pain to type full words on a cellphone (even though I do). To use such a corruption of English on an internet forum - for which you have access to a QWERTY keyboard - is sheer laziness. MIND YOUR LANGUAGE!
"Someone has been tampering with Hank's memories."
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Kevork Malikyan (Maximillian Papandrious) was also in the "House of Cards" trilogy.
shareQuite Right Brethren
Malikyan was also in Jewel Of The Nile
Yes they are Un-PC, yet at the end of the day, just look at how they get along, if you realized that of course. I hardly see this kind of light heartedness in these P.C times. Man, Fock P.C-ness.
sharei love mind your language for how relatable it is!
yes, if you pay extreme close attention to say, how the dialogue is worded and how the characterization is developed, then a lot of 'racist non-political correctedness' will pop out, eventually. just like 90% of our conversations and say, even half of the shows that are aired today - which tend to stereotype rather blatantly, even in non-appropriate situations. at least, in myl, the situation was appropriate: these were new english-speakers trying to convey their culture, language and heritage - and it wasn't the culture, language or heritage that was funny - but how they all misunderstood each other (yet got along so well!) because of their differences.
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Lebanese here and loved this show and never found it racist and my latina wife loves this show too. Found this on amazon for a great deal.
and for the person who said this show would be corny, I beg to differ. Just finished watching season 1 again and it's still as good, if not better, from when I watched this as a child during the 80's and 90's on the tele.
By the way, in this day of age of pc and equality, is there a show where there is this much of a mix of cultural background like this one. Probably one of the fewest shows where many different backgrounds were represented and watched by other cultures too.
It's a great show... When I watched it growing up, it didn't even occur to me that it could be seen as racist... they made fun of all cultures without exception... all cultures have aspects that can be exagerrated and made humorous... if we can't laugh at ourselves then life would be awfully dull.
shareI don't see why anyone has to consider this racist. Wonder why can't some just open their minds and don't be too sensitive on issues like these..
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