Analysis of the Media - Essay Example

Analysis of the Media The of the British comedy is one of the most treasured television genres within British culture – and it has also garnered numerous followers in other countries as well. While some of the most well-known examples, at least outside the country, include the escapades of Monty Python's Flying Circus, there have been many television series that have carried this tradition as well. 'Allo 'Allo! and Fawlty Towers are two examples of shows within this genre that have brought unique strategies to the creation of story – and to the ways of making audiences laugh. 'Allo 'Allo! ran from 1982 to 1992 on BBC 1, created by the team of David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd, who were responsible for many of the well-known sitcoms that ruled British television. While many British sitcoms petered out after a few dozen episodes (Fawlty Towers famously ending after a mere dozen), 'Allo 'Allo! ran for 85 episodes in all (Dellabastita 193). The main premise of the story focused on the French village of Nouvion, which was being held by the German military during the Second World War. Rene Artois, the owner, has to juggle a cast of characters who come in and out: an Italian officer, German occupants, the Gestapo, the French resistance groups (republican and communist, often warring with one another), his attractive servants, his wife, his mother-in-law, and, if that were not enough, two British pilots whom he has to hide from everyone else. The comedy that results from having all of these characters interact or (narrowly) avoid one another is one of the driving forces of the program. The Germans have robbed the local valuables from the village, including the very first cuckoo clock ever built, and a painting called The Fallen Madonna by Van Clomp. The town commandant, the bumbling Colonel Von Strohm, has put these artifacts away for his own safekeeping – and has commissioned Rene to hide them in the basement of the cafe. The Gestapo is often looking for this, represented by Herr Flock, von Smallhausen, and Private Helga. From time to time, the painting is hidden inside a giant sausage; at other times, a series of forgeries is made, hidden, moved around, and even lost, leading to chaos. All of this, of course, goes on while the British pilots are trying to remain in hiding. Occasionally, ridiculous plans will spring up to send them back to Britain – and these plans usually involve the radio transmitter (which is where the show gets its name) (BBC 2010). While all of this is going on, Rene is pretending to be his own identical twin (also named Rene), because he actually created a ruse about his own death to keep the SS away from him. This means that his wife is masquerading as his “widow,” who occasionally fields advances from potential suitors and who more often tries to entertain the patrons with her singing. Because her voice is so awful, though, customers either just leave or shove some cheese into their ears to avoid the maelstrom. In the meantime, Rene is carrying on with his waitresses; Edith generally finds out, but Rene can always talk his way out of the situation. This is helpful for him, because the gay German Lieutenant Gruber, as well as the attractive females in the communist resistance are always making advances toward him. The episodes run consecutively, with the plot continuing from one episode to the next, but it is possible to watch each one and enjoy it independently. When each new episode begins, Rene shows up at the beginning, narrating the past events to the audience and bringing them up to date on his latest imbroglio (Brown 2008). When it comes to the structuring of the comedy, 'Allo 'Allo! emerges as part of a genre that appeared on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean in the decades after World War II. Hogan's Heroes, an American program, was one of the first television series that was able to use the Nazi machine as a source of comedy. The bumbling Colonel Klink, the commandant of Stalag 13, was constantly outwitted by his Allied prisoners of war, led by Colonel Hogan, who was able to run a comically diverse series of operations against the German war effort right under the nose of Klink and the equally useless Sergeant Schultz. The stereotypical blonde German woman, hungry for sexual attention, even shows up in this program with the same name – “Fraeulein Helga” – as in 'Allo 'Allo!. This program, though, was a parody of a BBC 1 drama called Secret Army (Milfull 2007). A heroic portrayal of the resistance against the Nazi occupation in Brussels, Secret Army was written as more of an action/drama series; however, 'Allo 'Allo! took this idea dn made a comedy out of it. Most of the comedy comes from two sources: the parody of World War II and the comedy of errors. The parody of World War II has to have several elements occur in order to be effective. While the number of those who remember World War II is dwindling quickly, it is a war that remains constant in the popular cultures of Europe and North America. The television documentaries and historical footage still play regularly, and the shock value of the tactics of the Nazis, who sought to remove an entire race from the planets, sustains a general interest in the historical time period. The general tone of these documentaries is one of nobility, honor and greatness (Dellabatista, 195). All of this means that comedy about World War II has to have a particular structure. Many of the themes involved with that war (worldwide conflict, genocide, atomic holocaust) still bring offense when raised in discussion, and so a parody of this war must move quickly. Consider, for example, the American film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Indiana Jones, the story's hero, actually ends up face-to-face with Adolf Hitler – bumping into him in a parade. Jones is holding the diary with clues that would lead the Germans to the Holy Grail – and the chase for this diary has sent Jones into hiding. Hitler snatches the diary, eyes Jones warily, and asks an assistant for a pen. After autographing it, he disdainfully returns it to Jones and then walks on. The scene then shifts quickly. The comedy of the situation soaks in to the audience; the horrors of Nazi Germany are vaporized by the slapstick of the moment. Throughout the writing of these episodes, the following types of humor are used: the absurd, the scatological, puns, cross-dressing, dramatic irony, disguises, and the visual. Such running gags as Flick's limp, Alphonse's bad heart, and Mimi and Maria's shortness are all running favorites with the audience. Stereotypes also tended to come into play, such as the portrayal of the Germans as being militaristic and arrogant, the French as alcoholics and leches, the Italians as vain womanizers, and the English as snobby and narrow-minded. Individual stereotypes come in as well, such as the effeminate gay Gruber, the horny blonde Helga, and the gullible wife (Edith) (Brew 2007). While many of these elements of comedy have become passe, such as the use of stereotype, in the writing of this series they were effective – contributing significantly to the popularity of the program over time. By combining these elements, the writers were able to gloss over the horrors of World War II, fusing popular knowledge of the war with humorous use of stereotype and slapstick to create a popular institution on BBC 1. Of all of the famed British sitcoms, while 'Allo 'Allo! had one of the longest tenures, Fawlty Towers had one of the shortest. Broadcast on BBC 2 in 1975 and 1979, in two separate series of six episodes each, the series was written by John Cleese and Connie Booth, the two co-stars in the show. The show was set in a fictitious hotel (Fawlty Towers). All of the episodes focus on the manager, Basil Fawlty, who is constantly tense and impolite with his customers, whom he cannot bring himself to help cheerfully. Add the fact that the hotel has hired a Spanish waiter named Manuel, and that unusual and eccentric guests show up to stay in the hotel, with a variety of odd requests, and you have fodder for a humorous series. When the British Film Institute polled industry professionals about the best television shows of all time, Fawlty Towers came in number one (BFI 2000). As with many comedies, Fawlty Towers had its origins in an unpleasant experience that the Monty Python crew had at the Gleneagles Hotel, which was owned by what Cleese described as “the most marvellously rude man I've ever met”(Palin 2007, 24). The owner hid Eric Idle's briefcase, explaining that he thought it had a bomb inside it and threw a bus schedule at a guest who wanted to know the arrival time of the next bus going into town. The men's experiences at the hotel became the inspiration for some of Cleese's writing for Doctor in the House (a program on London Weekend Television) (Cleese 2009). When Cleese first pitched the idea of Fawlty Towers as an independent show, the BBC rejected it. According to Cleese, the executive said, “This is full of cliched situations and stereotypical characters and I cannot see it as being anything other than a disaster. You're going to have to get them out of the hotel...you can't do the whole thing in the hotel.” Cleese's view on this was that “it's in the hotel that the whole pressure cooker builds up”(Cleese 2009). The comedy comes from several sources. Although there is none of the historical context that informed the writing of 'Allo 'Allo!, there is much humor in this show that comes from mores in British society. Basil Fawlty is constantly thinking of ideas to elevate the “tone” inside his hotel, and much of his frustration comes from the fact that his own mistakes, and those of his employees, keep him from accomplishing this. Basil's own shortcomings include his temper and aggressive bearing, which cause him to get into loud disputes with his guests, his employees, and his wife, for whom he has such charming as epithets as “my little piranha fish.” Many of the episodes end up in a spectacular humiliation for Basil, who has annoyed or confused his guests and gotten what was coming to him. The plot lines vary in complexity but are always farcical in nature. The interplay of misunderstandings, coincidences, and cross-purposes is carried out with ingenious timing in this show. Occasionally, even the bedroom farce comes into play, which shocks the Victorian-minded Basil; even when that element is not present, though, Basil usually has almost a complete nervous breakdown before each episode ends. Each guest represents one of the traits that Basil cannot stand, including people from other countries, people from blue-collar backgrounds, and foreigners. Even those with physical challenges seem to rile him, as the mostly deaf Mrs. Richards in “Communication Problems” causes him such difficulty that he faints when he hears her name by the end of the show. Sometimes Basil's anger takes the form of physical outbursts. Generally, the target of these outbursts is the waiter Manuel. He is a gentle soul, but his limited English serves as a starting point for much of the comedy in the show. When Manuel hears commands in English, his mistakes in interpretation frustrate Basil to no end. In different episodes, Basil beats Manuel with a skillet and hits his forehead with a spoon – it is this stereotypical violence that has given Fawlty Towers its only primary source of criticism. Between Basil's abuse and Sybil's condescension, the portrayal of the Spaniard is not kind in this show. Basil's frustration about his current social standing is another source of his frustration. He refers to his guests scornfully as “riff-raff” or “yobbos,” and much of the tomfoolery that ensues on the show comes from Basil's attempt to find favor with those above him on the social ladder, while taking his anger out on those whom he finds beneath him – particularly his guests. The interplay between Basil and his wife, Sybil, serves up some of the most memorable comedic moments in the show. While she might agree, at least in principle, with his desire to make the hotel a more upscale establishments, she disagrees loudly (and sometimes violently) with his schemes. When Basil is trying a new idea, he usually gets Polly (the maid) or Manuel to help him – and to hide the truth from Sybil. Despite the anger that courses between them, though, it is clear that there is still some tenderness between them. “The Anniversary” is all about Basil's attempt to put together a surprise party for her (which goes awry when he pretends to forget the significance of the day, in order to make it even more of a surprise to her, and she storms out). However, Sybil is not a flat terror; instead, she often has the better hand when it comes to managing the hotel, particularly when there are difficult customers to be dealt with. There are other times, though, when she is talking loudly on the phone in the middle of a very busy scene at the hotel, and her braying laugh and loud voice make her a source o annoyance to others on the show. Manuel may be one of the most memorable characters from the show. From Barcelona, he still has only a limited grasp of British customs – and the English language. The most commonly uttered word to come from him is “Que?” (What?). The purpose of including this character was to show Basil's insensitivity and high temper; in each of the twelve episodes, Basil flies into a rage at the confusion that Manuel shows at a variety of requests. His enthusiasm never flags. Interestingly, the actor who plays Manuel (Andrew Sachs) received two serious injuries while working with the show – the first when Basil hit him with the aforementioned skillet, and the second when he had to put chemicals on his clothing to set them on fire during the filming of “The Germans” – chemicals that burned through his clothing and injured him severely (McCann 2007, 204). The exaggerated Spanish accent that Manuel uses is one of the main sources of comedy in the show – again, a stereotype that would be less acceptable in modern times. Both 'Allo 'Allo! and Fawlty Towers stand out as iconic television shows in the comedy genre. While they had considerably different tenures on television, in terms of new episodes completed, and while they found different sources for their humor, they both used the specific interplay of relationships among characters to amuse their audiences. The confluence of missed meetings, coincidences and the use of stereotypes, as well as the inclusion of occasionally bawdy humor, served as the comedic bedrock for parts of these two programs – and for the British situation comedy at large. Works Cited BBC, 2007. 'Allo 'Allo! due for screen return. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6431533.stm BBC, 2010. 'Allo 'Allo! http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/alloallo/index.shtml BBC, 2010. Fawlty Towers. http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/fawltytowers/index.shtml BFI 2000. Top 100 TV shows. http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/tv/100/ Brew S, 2007. The Den of Geek interview: Richard “Herr Flock” Gibson. 13 December 2007. http://www.denofgeek.com/tv/19349/the-den-of-geek-interview-richard-herr-flick-gibson Brown M, 2008. Listen very carefully – 'Allo 'Allo! is coming back. The Guardian 3 July 2008. http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2008/jul/04/culture.theatre Dellabatista D, 2010. Language, comedy and translation in the BBC sitcom 'Allo 'Allo!. In Translation, humor and the media: Translation and humor, Volume 2, Delia Chiaro, ed. New York: Continuum International Publishing. Foster P, 1975. The war of the channel chuckles. Evening Times 19 September 1975, p. 8. McCann G, 2007. Fawlty Towers: The story of the sitcom. London: Hodder & Stoughton. Milfull T, 2007. Theatre: 'Allo 'Allo – What went wrong here, then? M/C Reviews 23 June 2007. http://reviews.media-culture.org.au/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2094 Palin M, 2007. Diaries 1969-1979: The Python years. London: Weidenfeld & Nicholson. Slide A, 1996. Some Joe you don't know: an American biographical guide to 100 British television personalities. Noew York: Greenwood Publishing Group. Read More