Hungry? C4 to create comedy series...about the famine

Precious flower

I'm wasn't offended by this, I would consider that a silly reaction, more confused and interested to see how they are going to do this! I think black comedy can be beneficial in some instances. I feel that often it opens up an event to both sides involved (in this case Irish and English) and prevents the other side from feeling isolated, making the topic accessible and educating people without making them feel slighted. I would say the vast majority of young English people no nothing about the Irish Famine and this could really help them engage with the topic in a friendly way helping to open up the two histories that have often been stalled by anger and reluctance to offend.:)

Galwayguy35

Ghost Buster wrote: »

It hasnt been made and yet you know what its about...

Yeah I do, it's about the famine.

The clue is in the thread title.

Ghost Buster

Galwayguy35 wrote: »

Yeah I do, it's about the famine.

The clue is in the thread title.

Wow, what a simplistic outlook you have.
Do you reduce all fiction down to two word descriptions?


Breaking Bad: - it's about drugs and so is pro drugs
Game of thrones: Its about Royalty, Booooooooi!
Dads Army: About war,...... comedy, .. mocking those who died in war!
The Bible: It's about a carpenter. Very anti semitic
Dallas: About oil tycoon. Climate change denying ecoterrorist capitalist propaganda.

magma69

Are people so stupid they can't differentiate between having a comedy set in a particular tragic time and laughing at the people affected by the tragedy?

Is Adam and Paul laughing at drug addicts and the homeless?
Is Withnail and I laughing at alcoholism?
Is Dr. Strangelove laughing at war?

Get a fooking grip people.

Galwayguy35

Ghost Buster wrote: »

Wow, what a simplistic outlook you have.
Do you reduce all fiction down to two word descriptions?


Breaking Bad: - it's about drugs and so is pro drugs
Game of thrones: Its about Royalty, Booooooooi!
Dads Army: About war,...... comedy, .. mocking those who died in war!
The Bible: It's about a carpenter. Very anti semitic
Dallas: About oil tycoon. Climate change denying ecoterrorist capitalist propaganda.

You can call me simplistic all you like, the idea of a comedy about the death of 1 million of our people is not something I agree with.

Robsweezie

''It's now very common to hear people say, 'I'm rather offended by that.' As if that gives them certain rights. It's actually nothing more... than a whine. 'I find that offensive.' It has no meaning; it has no purpose; it has no reason to be respected as a phrase. 'I am offended by that.' Well, so f**king what.”

-Stephen fry

Jawgap

Galwayguy35 wrote: »

You can call me simplistic all you like, the idea of a comedy about the death of 1 million of our people is not something I agree with.

What if they just concentrate on the million or so that emigrated?

Ghost Buster

Galwayguy35 wrote: »

You can call me simplistic all you like, the idea of a comedy about the death of 1 million of our people is not something I agree with.

There are dozens of other angles and perspectives it could take.
answer this, is Life is beautiful, a comedy about people being starved and killed in a concentration camp something you agree with?
What ever your answer I recommend expand your grasp of the possibility of comedy and watch it.

Galwayguy35

Jawgap wrote: »

What if they just concentrate on the million or so that emigrated?

What if they don't do it at all, there is enough material out there to make comedy on without doing it on the famine.

I'm genuinely surprised that some people seem to think we should forget our history and be ok about this because it happened in the 1840s.

You wouldn't see that in other countries.

Galwayguy35

Ghost Buster wrote: »

There are dozens of other angles and perspectives it could take.
answer this, is Life is beautiful, a comedy about people being starved and killed in a concentration camp something you agree with?
What ever your answer I recommend expand your grasp of the possibility of comedy and watch it.

No it's not something I agree with.

Jawgap

Galwayguy35 wrote: »

What if they don't do it at all, there is enough material out there to make comedy on without doing it on the famine.

I'm genuinely surprised that some people seem to think we should forget our history and be ok about this because it happened in the 1840s.

You wouldn't see that in other countries.

Nobody is forgetting our history.

Just like Blackadder goes Forth educated a whole new generation about WWI this, if cleverly written, could actually broaden people's understanding of the period.

Allyall

Everybody keeps comparing blackadder to this.
I don't see the two as comparable. (WWI and The Great Famine).

Jawgap

Allyall wrote: »

Everybody keeps comparing blackadder to this.
I don't see the two as comparable at all. (WWI and The Great Famine).

You can't see the tragedy in WWI - the manipulation and misleading of an entire generation to go to war for nebulous reasons that had absolutely nothing to do with them - the tragedy of Pals battalions - the 19th century generalship in the age of industrialised warfare........really?

Timberrrrrrrr

Galwayguy35 wrote: »

You can call me simplistic all you like, the idea of a comedy about the death of 1 million of our people is not something I agree with.

It's not about that though is it?

Ghost Buster

Galwayguy35 wrote: »

No it's not something I agree with.

Please watch it.(life is beautiful)

Fratton Fred

Allyall wrote: »

Everybody keeps comparing blackadder to this.
I don't see the two as comparable. (WWI and The Great Famine).

40,000,000 died in world war one. Basing a comedy in that era does not mock those that died, if anything, it mocks those responsible.

Galwayguy35

Timberrrrrrrr wrote: »

It's not about that though is it?

Well that is what happened.

What will it be about so?

Timberrrrrrrr

Galwayguy35 wrote: »

Well that is what happened.

What will it be about so?

Many millions died in WW1 & 2 yet there are comedies set during those times that do no disrespect to the people that died. Maybe some of you should come down off the moral high ground and cease the hand wringing until you have actually seen an episode or two.

wp_rathead

Galwayguy35 wrote: »

Well that is what happened.

What will it be about so?

It is a comedy set during the famine
It is not a comedy about the famine

Billy86

wprathead wrote: »

It is a comedy set during the famine
It is not a comedy about the famine

It's not going to get through. Makes me wonder if people so rabidly opposed to it have any interest in comedy that doesn't laugh at things, or "lowbrow gaggery" to be honest, because it should be so blatantly obvious that setting a comedy during a tragic time does not have to mean laughing at those suffering. It's a little mind boggling, really.

Ghost Buster

wprathead wrote: »

It is a comedy set during the famine
It is not a comedy about the famine

The causes
The economics
The politics
The characters
The interactions
So many options in a non black and white world

pillphil

Galwayguy35 wrote: »

What if they don't do it at all, there is enough material out there to make comedy on without doing it on the famine.

I'm genuinely surprised that some people seem to think we should forget our history and be ok about this because it happened in the 1840s.

You wouldn't see that in other countries.

You're the one who seems to want to ignore it. How is wanting to make a program about it wanting to ignore it?

Galwayguy35

pillphil wrote: »

You're the one who seems to want to ignore it. How is wanting to make a program about it wanting to ignore it?

And when exactly did I say I wanted to ignore it?

Micky Dolenz

I like to think I see the funny side of most things but this seems a little off.

Our people didn't die because there was a potato blight, we died because a foreign oppressor wanted us dead. We have never recovered numbers over a 150 years later.

what the fcuk is funny about that?

Ghost Buster

Micky Dolenz wrote: »

I like to think I see the funny side of most things but this seems a little off.

Our people didn't die because there was a potato blight, we died because a foreign oppressor wanted us dead. We have never recovered numbers over a 150 years later.

what the fcuk is funny about that?

So you think there is absolutely no way a tragic event or period in history can be used in a comedy whilst remaining sensitive to the events in hand and respectful to those affected?
Im glad that writers down the years arent so limited in their imagination or we would have been denied some of the most poignant, bitter sweet and lasting comedy.

Mardy Bum

Sam Beckett must be the most insulting artist of all time going by some of the posts here. He didn't just make fun out of the dead Irish he mocked and derided the futility of the species mercilessly.

Micky Dolenz

Ghost Buster wrote: »

So you think there is absolutely no way a tragic event or period in history can be used in a comedy whilst remaining sensitive to the events in hand and respectful to those affected?

Maybe, I'll be interested to watch it.

Foxhound38

RTE should follow it up with a romantic comedy set in the midst of the Canary Wharf bombings - what's good for the goose and all

Jawgap

Micky Dolenz wrote: »

I like to think I see the funny side of most things but this seems a little off.

Our people didn't die because there was a potato blight, we died because a foreign oppressor wanted us dead. We have never recovered numbers over a 150 years later.

what the fcuk is funny about that?

.......maybe they could make a comedy out of people who have no idea of history

yipeeeee

We really are a laughing stock of a nation.

Think it's great fun been called paddies and love our reputation of been dipsos.

No wonder were made fun of, ah the Irish are great crack.

Imagine the reaction from Israel if a comedy was made about concentration camps during world war 2.