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The owners of TV Norway, Discovery / Dplay, still did not want to show Espen Eckbo in the dark skinned version in “Elves Above the Forest and Hello.” This has led to a debate on the racist phenomenon “blackface”.
A good debate and perhaps a clarifying debate. Is it possible to compare the dark and clumsy Southerner Eckbo in 2011 with the racist cultural expression of the United States a hundred years back in time?
TV Norway has chosen the latest definition and has therefore set a limit to what comedians can perform with, at least with them.
Read also: NRK will not be removed from the archive
In the drawer of history
Archiving is fun. Yesterday I was reminded of the things that were advertised in the “good old days”. DDT to keep children free from lice, amphetamines for weight loss and cigarettes for pregnant women.
Not forgetting the ad industry reminder that it is the woman who is responsible for her broken marriage, if she takes intimate hygiene too lightly.
Speculative, misogynistic and undocumented advertising is out of date. Fortunately. They end up in the archives. And there it is fun and interesting to study them, because access shows that society is gradually changing.
Right now, society is changing rapidly. We live in interesting times. Almost like in a global laboratory.
#Metoo took the world by storm 2-3 years ago. And what happened? Suddenly, TV series and movies about, with and more often also by women.
It has taken time, but with the combination of #metoo, streaming services and the need for new series, even movie producers have understood that half of the viewers are women.
Also, more diversity leads to more fun and more drama. Don’t forget: stories told from new angles. “The Morning Show” or “The Queen’s Gambit”. The latter was observed in 62 million households, in just under a month.
In the United States, the “black face” debate is making headlines and threatening political careers.
Much has changed
In the winter of 2020, covid-19 arrived. Social distancing has not only placed the citizens of the world in front of a television screen, it has also turned us into informed digital consumers.
Right now, a global battle is raging for our money and our attention.
In May 2020, George Floyd was assassinated. Not many months ago. He was strangled by the open stage. By a policeman. The Black Lives Matter movement went global overnight.
Much has changed this fall. Not because it sets out to censor the brilliant performance of the “Taken by the Wind” stereotype, not because the BBC changes the content of the Christmas classic “Fairytale of New York,” or because anyone believes it is right to tear down monuments of old racists.
Even the decision of TV Norway and Discovery / Dplay to censor “The elves over forest and hello” does not change the world. But so did the murder of George Floyd. Because it was so brutal, so inhuman, so racist and motivated and because it was filmed and broadcast all over the world. Where people recognized themselves. Also the black middle class. Those who have similar stories to tell. Through books, movies, music, and visual arts.
Great power
Black Lives Matter (BLM) was not an unexpected wave, but it says something about its power, when British art magazine ArtReview recently named art One Hundred Most Powerful in 2020. Then white men and white women were dethroned. At the top is the BLM.
The third place is occupied by the struggle to return the art of the colonies, from the museums of the former colonial powers to the place where they belong. It is an important battle. Easy to understand and like, but also demanding to implement.
#Metoo is also on the powerful traditional magazines list of the most influential on the world art scene. In fourth place.
Something has happened. Without restricting freedom of expression. And we know very well, after all, that censorship and anxiety rarely bring anything good with them.
Now TV Norway has made it clear that a comedian / actor must stick to his own color. And for the most part, it’s a good plan. But how absolute should the rules be? Who should measure the height of the ceiling?
Comedians thrive best, as I understand it, in open landscapes.
