This entry was posted on
Thursday, January 6th, 2005 at
9:39 am and is filed
under Christ…, Page 3 – News in Briefs, Rupert ‘The Evil One’ Murdoch.

Today, Page 3 girl Ruth (22, from Kent) ‘can’t believe’ the Beeb is showing Jerry Springer The Opera. She says: “I’m not surprised they’ve had complaints about the swearing. Why can’t they plug the Saturday night telly gap with good sitcoms or quiz shows instead?”

RWCs have known for a long time that the best defence it to be downright offensive, so it’s no surprise that The Scum are running with this following news that makes it absolutely clear why Murdoch has an interest in attacking the BBC. But this story didn’t originate at The Sun…

The Sun – Swear box: THE BBC has been flooded with a record number of protests after deciding to screen a show with more than 8,000 swear words. Jerry Springer The Opera includes 3,168 “F” words and 297 “C” words. The Beeb has had 15,000 complaints about the show, to be screened by BBC2 on Saturday at 10pm. And TV watchdog Ofcom has had a record 4,500 protests – also the most it has ever received.The Sun – Obscene TV: BBC2 is planning to air around 8,000 obscenities on Saturday night. It will broadcast an unedited “live” recording from the theatre where Jerry Springer The Opera is playing. If people want to buy theatre tickets for this cult adult show, fine. That’s their choice and they know exactly what they are getting. But it is not what millions of us pay the BBC licence fee for. The Sun is astonished the BBC is thinking of screening such a show. Will BBC bosses be encouraging THEIR families to watch?A bit of a reach in that last sentence. This show is going out at 10pm, and is clearly aimed at adults. And, yes, this is exactly what I pay my licence fee for. Jerry Springer The Opera was previously only available to people living in or near London with the time and money for the theatre. Now it’s accessible.But of course this show (which comes to bury Jerry, not to praise him) cannot be described as an important work of art because it contains swear words. The girl with her tits out said so.One final word or two about The Scum before we move on…This acerbic opera is an artistic, hilarious yet subtle assault on trash TV. I’m struggling here to try and think of a tabloid newspaper that exploits dysfunctional people in a similar manner to trash TV, but I’m not having much luck. Perhaps you’d care to settle instead for some trashy exploitation that was plugged mercilessly by a certain tabloid newspaper…I also find it curious that The Sun would be concerned about the effect of the repeated use of swear words when it defends the repeated spewing of right wing propaganda by topless women as a bit of ‘harmless fun’…Right, now let’s get down to these complaints. All 23,000 of them.It would appear that John Beyer of authoritatively-named Mediawatch UK has been paying attention. When Janet Jackson’s breast flopped out on national television in the US, the American public were so outraged that not one of them sent an email complaint that very evening, but plenty kicked up a stink after they were told to be outraged.Here’s something else that no doubt caught his attention; the FCC’s response to ‘many’ complaints about indecency on Murdcoh’s Fox network…BuzzMachine – The shocking truth about the FCC: Censorship by the tyranny of the few: I just received the FCC’s reply with a copy of all the complaints — and a letter explaining that, well, there weren’t 159 after all. William H. Davenport, chief of the FCC’s Investigations and Hearings Divison, admits in his letter that because the complaints were sent to multiple individuals at the FCC, it turns out there actually were only 90 complaints. It gets better: The FCC confesses that they come from only 23 individuals. It is shocking enough that what tens of millions of us are permitted to see by our government can be determined by 159 … or 90 … or 23. But it gets even better: I examined the complaints and found that all but two of them were virtually identical. In other words, one person took the time to write a letter and 20 other people then photocopied or merely emailed it to the FCC many times. They all came from an automated complaint factory like the one I write about here. Only two letters were not the form letter. So in the end, that means that a grand total of three citizens bothered to take the time to sit down and actually write a letter of complaint to the FCC. Millions of people watched the show. Three wrote letters of complaint.John Beyer has gone one better by generating a record 4,500 complaints to Ofcom… without anybody actually seeing the show!The campaigner got his first nibble from the Daily Mail in early December (mirror here), and has been pedalling away on the back of this since.Here are two Usenet posts to uk.religion.christian from two ‘different’ posters with curiously similar concerns…23 Dec 2004 from RevBJ: I have now received from about 4 or 5 different sources pleas to write to BBC and Ofcom to complain at the planned showing of Jerry Springer the Opera on BBC 2. If we are for freedom of expression should we not let it be shown? If our faith is important and under attack should we complain? Like all good exam questions that can be answered “Yes” or “No” I’ll append the covering word – “Discuss” The messages have been along the lines of: The Sikhs have made a stand – but will Christians?01 Jan 2004 from David Lane: Some of you might want to respond to this (below). I am assured that it is genuine, but that you may check for yourselves if you like by visiting the show’s website (not recommended due to the obscenities on it), which confirms that two shows were filmed during December for screening by the BBC. pleas to write to BBC and Ofcom to complain at the planned showing of Jerry Springer the Opera on BBC 2. If we are for freedom of expression should we not let it be shown? If our faith is important and under attack should we complain? Like all good exam questions that can be answered “Yes” or “No” I’ll append the covering word – “Discuss” The messages have been along the lines of: The Sikhs have made a stand – but will Christians?Please note that the similarities begin before the poster even gets to the part where they start quoting the standard plea… you can see further instances of that plea here and here. The core of the plea even appears on the front page of this U.S. site).Oh, and here’s a man who is so disappointed by the BBC’s ‘copy and paste’ reply to his complaint that he finishes his post with: The following is a copy of the FAX that we are sending using the FaxYourMP.com website. Simply enter your postcode in the box press GO and copy and paste this fax to your MP!Now let’s get down to that plea, which seemingly praises the actions of hardline Sikhs in silencing artistic expression through outright bullying and suggests Christians follow suit…The Sikhs have made a stand – but will Christians?Below is a transcript of a television billing that is scheduled to be shownon BBC2 on 8th January 2005 at 9pm (unless we get enough people tocomplain).”BBC2 plans to broadcast Jerry Springer’s “The Opera”, immediately afterChristmas. This musical, notorious for containing over 8000 expletives,depicts the characters of Jesus, Mary and God as self-centered sexualdeviants who give and receive extreme verbal abuse and a horrific series ofblasphemies, all in the name of comedy. The show’s artistic director admitsthat it is a deliberate attack on “good taste”, and the BBC concedes thatthe intended broadcast “pushes back the boundaries of taste and decency”.Nevertheless, the show is scheduled to be transmitted without any cuts.”If you disagree with the BBC’s plan to broadcast this material, pleaseregister your feelings with the BBC info@bbc.co.uk tel 08700 100222) orOfCom (contact@ofcom.org.uk tel 0845 456 3000). Could you also forward thismessage to anyone else you feel would want to be aware of this. This doesmake a difference – 500 calls are considered as a very significantcomplaint, so I am sure we can do this!!!!!!!!! You need to complain to bothOfCom and the BBC.The following URL is a direct link to the Ofcom website – and to register acomplaint online. Please make use of this:http://www.ofcom.org.uk/contact_ofcom/tv_radio_otherPlease forward this message to as many people as possible, because time isof the essence as the 8th Jan gets nearer. Let us also pray for the materialthat is now being presented as entertainment on the BBC, and let us make adifference by being salt and light. The BBC plans to show the mostexpletive-strewn programme in history despite the following review fromtheir own BBC reporter:(there then follows a full repeat of this review)Surely John Beyer and the good people of Mediawatch UK (credited here by The Independent as “the successor to Mary Whitehouse’s National Viewers and Listeners Association”) have been in the game long enough to know that Ofcom can’t act until a show actually been broadcast.And what is it with that “transcript of a television billing” that actually seems to suggest that the BBC is expressing great joy and pride in the number of expletives?I’m especially suspicious about the ‘admission’ from the BBC (credited to Roly Keating, BBC2’s controller) that the show deliberately “pushes back the boundaries of taste and decency”… especially because this is a favourite catchphrase of John Beyer. Either that, or the words just magically follow him wherever he goes…Dec 2001: Mr Beyer said most people did not want programme-makers to continually test the boundaries of taste and decency.Aug 2003: Channel 4 has been blasted for pushing the boundaries of taste and decency with an advert for Sex And The City. TV campaign group Mediawatch-UK said it was appalled and wants C4 censured.Apr 2004: John Beyer, the director of Mediawatch-UK, said: “Michael Grade is the wrong man to fill this most important role… “During his time at Channel 4 he pushed back the boundaries of taste and decency.”This ‘quote’ appears to have originated in the December Daily Mail article and echoed from there to Sky.com and This is London (who at least had the decency to add the word ‘allegedly’). Did Roly Keating actually say this? Somehow I doubt it.Oh, and the show’s artistic director who ‘admits’ that it is a deliberate attack on good taste…?Chortle.co.uk – Lee rejects Springer critics: Stewart Lee has hit back at critics complaining about the bad language in the BBC broadcast of Jerry Springer The Opera before it has even aired…. Lee said: ‘No one involved in the creative team of the stage production has ever said ‘that it is a deliberate attack on good taste’. We think the show is in very good taste and has a positive agenda. If the BBC have said it “pushes back the boundaries of taste and decency” then they did so without our knowledge and have obviously misunderstood the show, and backed themselves into a very difficult, ill-considered position when it comes to defending their decision to broadcast it.If indeed they said it at all. Lee should retract his barbs and recognise that the creative team behind the opera and the BBC may just be victims of the same offence. But I’m willing to forgive him this time… especially when he provide useful analysis like this: ‘Apparently (the show) includes 3,168 F-words. Who has had the time to count this? Have you any idea how long it would take to sing 3,168 F-words? There obviously aren’t 3,168 F-words in it, there couldn’t be that many in two hours even if that was the only word which was sung… ‘I also read that there are 297 uses of the word “cunt”. There are in fact only seven – three as a noun, and four as an adjective.He also goes on to say: ‘Neither Mary, God, not Jesus are represented as “self-centred sexual deviants” – unless being ‘a bit gay’, which Jesus says he is, counts a sexual deviance, which we hardly feel it does. Both God and Mary are represented with the utmost respect, as is their holy due.’So, the plea which is doing the rounds contains:- a ‘quote’ from the BBC which is suspect at best and appears to deliberately goad conservatives- an ‘admission’ from the creators of the show that was never made… and appears to deliberately goad conservatives- a false suggestion that complaints to Ofcom would see the show cancelled before transmission- a false claim about the number of expletives- a false claim about blasphemous content- a less-than-subtle suggestion that Christians take matters into their own hands in much the same way that these criminals did.In other words, John Beyer is knowingly deceiving and exploiting the Christian community. He even has the cheek to – in his latest press release – suggest that the letters are driving him (rather than admit that it’s him driving the letters).In this same press release he suggests that: “There must be other West End productions that would be more enjoyable and appreciated by a far greater number of licence-fee payers? Why not, for example, screen a seasonal pantomime, with well-known and liked television and radio personalities, currently showing at provincial theatres across the country?”Because, John, these are already available at provincial theatres across the country!Scotsman – BBC to air Springer musical in face of anger at language: A BBC spokeswoman said: “It is a serious work. People who can’t get to London to see it at the theatre can now see it in their own home. It will transmit well after the 9 o’clock watershed and carry appropriate warnings. We have had 15,000 e-mails, calls and letters to date. There is evidence that most of these are from an organised lobby encouraged to contact us. Of course we take comments and complaints seriously but many would appear to be misinformed on the content of the show.”Exactly. And that’s the kind of report you would expect to see in a newspaper, in that it includes facts presented in context.Sadly, The Sun isn’t a newspaper; it’s a tabloid. And the owner of this tabloid requires his writers and editors to attack and malign the BBC whenever possible. That’s why Rupert Murdoch is in bed with John Beyer today.But I can’t help but wonder what John Beyer makes of a topless woman parroting his concerns about the boundaries of taste and decency. Perhaps I shall email him today and ask. After getting in touch with Ofcom to have a closer look at the complaints they received.UPDATE – As noted by Justin in the comments, today’s Daily Mail points out that: The expletive-laden songs… are sung by the lead cast members and the 27-strong chorus. The total number of obscenities is calculated by multiplying the number of swear-words by the number of people singing them.Bwahahahahahahahahahaha! Hey, if I watch the show in stereo, does that mean that I’m exposed to 594 c-words instead of 297? What happens with surround-sound? Or if I sing along myself? What if the little voices in my head urging me to Kill! Kill! Kill! join in too?Incidentally, a little bird tells me that the BBC had been receiving mostly email complaints about this (monkey see, monkey click), and that nearly every email contained the phrase “self-centered sexual deviants”… meaning that the majority of complaints can be attributed directly to Mediawatch’s campaign.At least, that was the case until today. Now The Sun is bleating about it (and the Daily Mail is back on the case), the number of emails has jumped and they’ve finally started receiving a few phone calls. In other words, nobody really got off their arse until the bird with the tits told them to.These so-called ‘moral guardians’ have created a facade of public outrage. They have lied and cheated to do so. And it will be a cold day in hell before I’ll stand by and just watch it unfold.Tomorrow, I plan to wear my patented Angry Pants.You have been warned.