Little Britain: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 16:44, 4 July 2017

Famous and popular Britcom, a character-based sketch show produced in Great Britain, written and performed by Matt Lucas and David Walliams. The show started off as a radio program and was turned into a TV-show and broadcast in Britain from 2003 to 2006, due to its huge domestic success it was eventually adopted by several international production studios to find its way to an audience all over the world.

Characters

The fictional characters of the show display a great variety of British, Welsh and Scottish stereotypes and clichés of social, sexual, and political topics, which is typical for sketch comedy in Britain. The show is a satire of British society, culture and various traditions of Great Britain. The targets that are satirized are diverse and include people of all ages, ethnicities, and social positions. The show is guided by a narrator, Tom Baker (famous as Dr Who). The narrative frame suggests an educational character - explaining Britishness to foreign people - which is constantly undermined.

Vicky Pollard is one of the most popular characters in the world of Little Britain. Her character is based on the concept of a Chav, defined as "a young person, often without a high level of education, who typically behaves in a loud and annoying way and wears designer clothes" [1]. Her standard response begins with the catchphrase “yeah, but no, but yeah”.

The Show’s Humour

The creators do not flinch from ridiculing the underprivileged, the disabled, the overweight or any other minority. Furthermore, the producers criticize the concept of an alleged core culture representing Britishness. The name of the show derived from the term ‘Little Englander’, which is used to describe a group of English nationalists, who are considered to be narrow-minded and xenophobic. Combined with ‘Great Britain’ the satirical character of the show becomes apparent.

References

Mills, Brett. “’I’m Anti-Little Britain, and I’m Worried I Might Start Laughing’: Audience Responses to Little Britain.” Reading Little Britain: Comedy Matters on Contemporary Television. Ed. Sharon Lockyer. London: IB Tauris, 2010. 147-170.

Mowatt, Ian. “Analysing Little Britain as a Sketch Show.” Reading Little Britain: Comedy Matters on Contemporary Television. Ed. Sharon Lockyer. London: IB Tauris, 2010. 19-33.

Sedlmayr, Gerold. “’Yeahbutnobutyeahbut’. The Dismantling of Britishness in Little Britain.” Journal for the Study of British Cultures 15/1 (2008): 11-23.

Oxford Learner's Dictionaries. Oxford University Press. 2017. [2] (cited on 04.07.17).

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-'''Little Britain''' is a so-called britcom, a character-based sketch show produced in Great Britain, written and performed by Matt Lucas and David Walliams. The show was broadcast in Britain from 2003 to 2006, due to its huge domestic success it was eventually adopted by several international production studios to find its way to an audience all over the world.
+Famous and popular Britcom, a character-based sketch show produced in Great Britain, written and performed by Matt Lucas and David Walliams. The show started off as a radio program and was turned into a TV-show and broadcast in Britain from 2003 to 2006, due to its huge domestic success it was eventually adopted by several international production studios to find its way to an audience all over the world.
+== Characters ==
+The fictional characters of the show display a great variety of British, Welsh and Scottish stereotypes and clichés of social, sexual, and political topics, which is typical for sketch comedy in Britain.  The show is a satire of British society, culture and various traditions of Great Britain. The targets that are satirized are diverse and include people of all ages, ethnicities, and social positions. The show is guided by a narrator, Tom Baker (famous as Dr Who). The narrative frame suggests  an educational character - explaining Britishness to foreign people - which is constantly undermined.
+Vicky Pollard is one of the most popular characters in the world of ''Little Britain''. Her character is based on the concept of a Chav, defined as "a young person, often without a high level of education, who typically behaves in a loud and annoying way and wears designer clothes" [http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/chav?q=chav]. Her standard response begins with the catchphrase “yeah, but no, but yeah”.
+== The Show’s Humour ==
+The creators do not flinch from ridiculing the underprivileged, the disabled, the overweight or any other minority. Furthermore, the producers criticize the concept of an alleged core culture representing Britishness. The name of the show derived from the term ‘Little Englander’, which is used to describe a group of English nationalists, who are considered to be narrow-minded and xenophobic. Combined with ‘Great Britain’ the satirical character of the show becomes apparent.
+== References ==
+Mills, Brett. “’I’m Anti-''Little Britain'', and I’m Worried I Might Start Laughing’: Audience Responses to ''Little Britain''.” ''Reading Little Britain: Comedy Matters on Contemporary Television''. Ed. Sharon Lockyer. London: IB Tauris, 2010. 147-170.
+Mowatt, Ian. “Analysing ''Little Britain'' as a Sketch Show.” ''Reading Little Britain: Comedy Matters on Contemporary Television''. Ed. Sharon Lockyer. London: IB Tauris, 2010. 19-33.
+Sedlmayr, Gerold. “’Yeahbutnobutyeahbut’. The Dismantling of Britishness in ''Little Britain''.”  ''Journal for the Study of British Cultures'' 15/1 (2008): 11-23.
+''Oxford Learner's Dictionaries.'' Oxford University Press. 2017. [http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/chav?q=chav] (cited on 04.07.17).