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DEBATE
TVNorge throws its employees under the bus to save itself, says humor critic Anders Holstad Lilleng.
DISPUTED: Yesterday it was announced that TVNorge will remove DPlay’s “Nissene over skog og hei” Christmas calendar following accusations of racism directed at the character Ernst-Øyvind. Photo: Discovery
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External comments: This is a discussion article. Analysis and position are the author’s.
On Thursday, December 3, the news came that one would not believe it was possible. DPlay publishes the friendly Christmas calendar “Nissene over skog og hei” because one of Espen Eckbo’s characters is portrayed as rich in melanin. The origin of the character is not the point of the series. It is darker than the others.
Result: “Blackface” is called on social media and DPlay removes the series.
TVNorge has the latest years it was promoted as a humor channel. They have had an impressive commitment to humor. Therefore, they should also see themselves as a playground for comedians and a place where you can try and fail in your humorous work. So they are not.
Now that just nine years after the series was created, it is decided that the series will be published, TVNorge shows that they would rather throw their comedians under the bus than defend them.
HUMORAN: Anders Holstad Lilleng writes about humor for Adresseavisen. Photo: Private
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At the same time, it shows that is now undergoing a terrifying development in our understanding and ability to read humor. We have completely forgotten that there is such a thing as context. Each joke must be seen in context, that is, the context in which it is presented. If it’s a malicious joke in a malicious context, the joke is probably problematic. If, on the contrary, it is a malicious joke in a friendly context, there is probably a meaning for this joke.
Or as with the Eckbo character: the physical is not the point. In other words: What the character says and does must be read from the context “Christmas calendar where twenty-four participants fight to be the winner”, not from their appearance.
But neither the critical voices on social media nor DPlay and TVNorge can do it. Come see one of our most popular comedians, an honored comedian, with dark makeup. And that’s what they see. This reduces a very funny and well done series to a xenophobic expression.
Cartoon power
We can only wait for NRK He has more backbone than his colleagues on TVNorge, otherwise they will soon remove “Borettslaget” due to the wonderful character of Ali in “Borettslaget”. The legendary Bye and Rønning parody of “Migrapolis” is also slim. If DPlay is really going to be so principled, you should check out Toffen’s lines in “Christmas in Blodfjell.” They are considerably more xenophobic than the dark expression of Eckbo’s character. Or they can just let it go. They have already shown too clearly that they do not understand humor. For the record: the point is that Toffen should appear hostile and inedible. The things he says they weren’t allowed to say in 2011 or now, and that’s the point.
TVNorge is not it is no longer a fun playground for comedians. They have become an employer that comedians can no longer trust. It is an employer who throws his employees under the bus to save himself.
At 20:00 tonight, “Elves over the forest and hello” is on the show. We can only hope that they come to their senses and turn around before then. Because this is just embarrassing for TVNorge and DPlay.
Otherwise, they may stop promoting themselves as a place for comedians.
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