[01x04] October 20th, 2008

[Dr_Grip]

Originally Posted by Icedvovo

Happens all the time over here. There's never any real budget so everyone learns to 'make do'.

....this is exactely why i'm trying to quit the film business in favor of a "real" job. I just dont want to continue working under this conditions.

[fbc]

Originally Posted by Icedvovo

Suggestion for Charlie Cox replacement.

Michael Stahl.

I reckon he'd be great.

Maybe, maybe not. I'm a huge fan of his writing, but the on-screen work he's done has been very stiff and serious - in fairness though that was probably down to the abomination of a car show it was for.

[Icedvovo]

Originally Posted by fbc

Maybe, maybe not. I'm a huge fan of his writing, but the on-screen work he's done has been very stiff and serious - in fairness though that was probably down to the abomination of a car show it was for.

That's my thinking too. I reckon he'd be good once off the leash.

[tone76]

Originally Posted by Icedvovo

Suggestion for Charlie Cox replacement.

Michael Stahl.

I reckon he'd be great.

I’d get Stahly to replace the current script writer and make him more of a script editor, but I don’t think he’d quite cut the mustard as a host. He seemed quite wooden when he hosted Drive. I know Drive was pretty bad all round, but I get the impression he’d be a far greater asset behind the scenes at TGA.

[logifuse]

Originally Posted by Dr_Grip

2) The first instance of blatant, obvious racism on Top Gear. From the cliché of the wild man knowing the bush, to the aboriginal leader walking while Warren is riding a horse, the whole setup stank of colonialist, racist views. With zero aboriginies in the team, null aboriginies visible in the studio audience the first one visible of course knows the outback from his heart and walks while the whilte colonialist sits on a horse and makes witty remarks. If Top Gear Australia is half as scripted as Top Gear UK their interaction can only be described as intentionally racist (warren talking, him not reacting), if it was unscripted, it was a case of bad casting (which one could also see as racism) OR should have been scripted more. I intentionally downvoted the episode as 1/10 cause this annoyed me so much.

And no, i am not a political correctness freak. I laughed about Jezzas "Eaten a spaniel" comment, i had no problem with Warren's drawing in Ep. 1, of annoying-voice-guys Taxi Driver impersonation in Ep. 2, i had no problem with "style and passion"-style italy clichés... but having half of a challenge based on racist stereotypes simply crosses a line.

WTF? Do you actually know what percentage of the population of Australia are Aboriginal? Under 3%. Do you know how many of those would be instantly recognisably Aboriginal? By that I mean obviously dark skinned? Probably half. There isn't an obviously Asian presenter either, even though they make up a much larger percentage of the population. Is there a gay presenter? A cross dresser? Actually, Peter Wherrett might be available....

Aboriginal trackers are still very much in use in the outback today. And a lot of Aboriginal people who live in remote communities don't speak much (or even any) English. And if anything, it was reverse racism with Diesel obviously not having much time for the silly whitefellas & their gadgets & cars. Quite the opposite of being demeaned, he was the hero.

If you want overt racism, rewatch the TGUK vs DMotor episode. And don't mention the war!

[SL65]

Dr_Grip - have you sent SBS a letter of complaint?

I personally didn't feel it was racist but if you feel so passionately about what is a serious topic - perhaps you should let them know.

[bolly]

Originally Posted by SL65

Dr_Grip - have you sent SBS a letter of complaint?

I personally didn't feel it was racist but if you feel so passionately about what is a serious topic - perhaps you should let them know.

Seriously. There wasn't anything racist about it at all. If it was meant to be racist, the car would have won for a start. If anything, it portrayed ancient knowledge/tradition as being far superior to 'White Man's Technology'.

And besides, aboriginal trackers always walk. It's their tradition.

[Icedvovo]

Originally Posted by logifuse

Is there a gay presenter? A cross dresser?

I'm starting to worry about Charlie after the 'darling' comment.

(not that there's anything wrong with that...)

[bolly]

Originally Posted by Icedvovo

I'm starting to worry about Charlie after the 'darling' comment.

(not that there's anything wrong with that...)

Just to set the record 'straight', somebody pointed out in an earlier post that Charlie Cox's wife is the floor manager on the Top Gear Australia studio shoots. So that ends that debate. And besides, who really gives a s**t?

What's interesting to me is that Top Gear's political incorrectness is widely celebrated, then when Top Gear Australia even ventures one millimetre from the mainstream, some people start debating, "Oh. Is the tracker being demeaned?" "Is Charlie gay because he said darling?" Then we go on about how conservative the Brits are with their 'Stiff upper lips'.

James May sexuality is constantly being lampooned on Top Gear and he plays along with it the whole time. And Clarkson makes countless blatantly racist jokes, with his tongue firmly planted in his cheek the whole time.

No wonder Australian TV is so f***ing conservative. Come on! Lighten up!

P.S. I still think Charlie sucks. Just not in "that way".

[Icedvovo]

Originally Posted by bolly

Just to set the record 'straight', somebody pointed out in an earlier post that Charlie Cox's wife is the floor manager on the Top Gear Australia studio shoots.

I saw that on the credits. Is that confirmed?

If it's true, who got the job first?

[bolly]

Originally Posted by Icedvovo

If it's true, who got the job first?

Given that the studio stuff didn't start until waaaaaaaaaayyyy after the hosting auditions and selection, I say it's a fair bet that Charlie came first (so to speak) and his wife got the floor manger's job because of him.

[Icedvovo]

Originally Posted by bolly

Given that the studio stuff didn't start until waaaaaaaaaayyyy after the hosting auditions and selection, I say it's a fair bet that Charlie came first (so to speak) and his wife got the floor manger's job because of him.

The studio filming yeah, but the pre-production and recruitment for it would've started Day One. if Freehand had worked with her before she might've been the catalyst for Charlie getting the nod.

Pretty flukey that she was a Floor Manager, don't ya reckon?

[Dr_Grip]

Originally Posted by SL65

Dr_Grip - have you sent SBS a letter of complaint?

I personally didn't feel it was racist but if you feel so passionately about what is a serious topic - perhaps you should let them know.

We know the TGUK staff reads this forum so i reckogn the TGAUS staff does so.

Regarding logifuse's relevant comments: i never said there should have been a aboriginal/asian/transgender presenter - as mentioned above, Cox is pretty gay as he is, and who knows what ethnicity Stiggy is
All i said is that, from my point of view, it's overtly racist that the first non-white person ever shown on TGAUS simply fulfills every stereotype there is about aborignies, which is as racist as cartoons of cute black (edited as the forum disallows the n-word) boys eating bananas from colonial times. I don't care if there are many aboriginal trackers and it's their way to walk. So why doesn't Warren walk? Could have given some hilarious "my feet hurt"-lines... Why couldnt it have been a white tracker? Why did it have to be every cliché fulfilled? He even had a funny name!

And Top Gear vs. D-Motor was not racist cause there were no ethnic conflicts involved. Berating someone beacause of his nationality is not racism but nationalist chauvinism Additionally, its fair game as both national teams berated the other while the Tracker vs. GPS segment just showed off clichés about nature-loving, a bit stupid, oddly-named bushmen who are always happy to help the white man...
...for some glass pearls and a bottle of booze, maybe.

Yes, maybe i am a bit sensible on this topic cause of my nations background in racism and sending people to death camps.

[fbc]

Originally Posted by Dr_Grip

Regarding logifuse's relevant comments: i never said there should have been a aboriginal/asian/transgender presenter - as mentioned above, Cox is pretty gay as he is, and who knows what ethnicity Stiggy is
All i said is that, from my point of view, it's overtly racist that the first non-white person ever shown on TGAUS simply fulfills every stereotype there is about aborignies, which is as racist as cartoons of cute black (edited as the forum disallows the n-word) boys eating bananas from colonial times. I don't care if there are many aboriginal trackers and it's their way to walk. So why doesn't Warren walk? Could have given some hilarious "my feet hurt"-lines... Why couldnt it have been a white tracker? Why did it have to be every cliché fulfilled? He even had a funny name!

You're massively over-analysing it. There was nothing whatsoever wrong with the segment - it paid tribute to skill of our indigenous people. And frankly, without living here and knowing some of our history, you're not in a position to make such calls.

[tone76]

Originally Posted by Dr_Grip

it's overtly racist that the first non-white person ever shown on TGAUS simply fulfills every stereotype there is about aborignies

I didn't see Diesel carrying a goon bag and asking the crew if they could give him a cigarette. Now THAT would be racist.

If anything, I think that TGA's portrayal of a highly skilled indigenous tracker was accurate and positive. As someone else pointed out, it was the wise and quietly spoken Blackfella that saved that silly Whitefella's bacon, and therefore won the day.

With all due respect with Dr_Grip, maybe he should stop and get one.

[Dr_Grip]

Originally Posted by fbc

You're massively over-analysing it. There was nothing whatsoever wrong with the segment - it paid tribute to skill of our indigenous people. And frankly, without living here and knowing some of our history, you're not in a position to make such calls.

I might be wrong, i'll give you that. But telling someone he's in no position to critizise cause he's not from here is far from being a reasonable argument.

[bolly]

Originally Posted by Icedvovo

The studio filming yeah, but the pre-production and recruitment for it would've started Day One. if Freehand had worked with her before she might've been the catalyst for Charlie getting the nod.

Pretty flukey that she was a Floor Manager, don't ya reckon?

Charlie has been living and working in the UK for the last 15 years or more, and a lot of that time he's been working for the BBC. It's a lot more likely his wife was a floor manager in TV in the UK and he met her over there, then got her the job here. The odds of her working at Freehand before Top Gear Australia began are almost zero in my estimation.

[fbc]

Originally Posted by Dr_Grip

I might be wrong, i'll give you that. But telling someone he's in no position to critizise cause he's not from here is far from being a reasonable argument.

No, I'm saying you're not in a position to criticise because you clearly don't know anything about aboriginal history so therefore can't see that this segment was actually a testament to their skills.

[bolly]

Originally Posted by fbc

You're massively over-analysing it. There was nothing whatsoever wrong with the segment - it paid tribute to skill of our indigenous people. And frankly, without living here and knowing some of our history, you're not in a position to make such calls.

Yep. I agree.

[Dr_Grip]

This "testament to their skills"-part is actually the kind of positive racism i'm talking 'bout... it's clichés all over... but i am beating a dead horse here. This is not a forum about politics, but about cars.

So lets stop talking politics and get back to cars. And the depressing lack of cameras on TG AUS.