Shake me up Judy Posted June 18, 2021 Share Posted June 18, 2021 I've been watching and listening to Simon Russell Beale since he came on the scene. Great actor...but every role he plays is usually the same: same voice; same diction; same mannerisms etc in every thing he does. That's what happens when you become acting royalty: producers, directors, and audiences just want you to play yourself, or your stock performance every time. They don't want to see an actor; they want to see Simon Russell Beale. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shake me up Judy Posted June 18, 2021 Share Posted June 18, 2021 1 hour ago, TheTeapot said: What? It is LITERALLY taught in schools. Talking of 'the party' I note that from that list I linked (and a similar one I also looked up) that 1984, another book I was lucky enough to study aat school, is not on the GCSE list anymore. Wonder why that is? Orwell's been out of fashion for years. Not left-wing enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheTeapot Posted June 18, 2021 Share Posted June 18, 2021 3 minutes ago, Shake me up Judy said: Orwell's been out of fashion for years. Not left-wing enough. Animal Farm remains on the syllabus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Wright Posted June 18, 2021 Share Posted June 18, 2021 19 minutes ago, Shake me up Judy said: I've been watching and listening to Simon Russell Beale since he came on the scene. Great actor...but every role he plays is usually the same: same voice; same diction; same mannerisms etc in every thing he does. That's what happens when you become acting royalty: producers, directors, and audiences just want you to play yourself, or your stock performance every time. They don't want to see an actor; they want to see Simon Russell Beale. You see, that’s how I find McKellen. Nice guy. I’ve had some good piss ups and socials with Serena. But he only has one character/voice/inflection. Even in Bent. And he was magnificent in that. Russel-Beale I’ve never noticed the limitations you refer to. ETA Bent the stage show, not the film. Film didn’t gel for me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shake me up Judy Posted June 18, 2021 Share Posted June 18, 2021 Is Serena his pseudonym John ? I've only read Bent and it's a fantastic play. McKellen's decision to play Hamlet is a bit daft at his age. I liked him early on but I think I agree with you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Wright Posted June 18, 2021 Share Posted June 18, 2021 15 minutes ago, Shake me up Judy said: Is Serena his pseudonym John ? I've only read Bent and it's a fantastic play. McKellen's decision to play Hamlet is a bit daft at his age. I liked him early on but I think I agree with you. Sir Ian = Serena. Drag name. Or Polari. Luvvie speak. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Declan Posted June 18, 2021 Share Posted June 18, 2021 4 hours ago, Shake me up Judy said: Hold on there fella: Of Mice and Men isn't about race or prejudice. No but it's a theme. It's about loneliness and the marginalised and Steinbeck uses race to reflect that. The migrant workers are marginalised people, but the black character doubly so. They live in a communal barracks - he lives in a makeshift hut. He's made more lonely and marginalised because of his race. Do you think a writer of Steinbeck's skill and politics casually through around racial language and stereotypes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shake me up Judy Posted June 18, 2021 Share Posted June 18, 2021 1 minute ago, Declan said: No but it's a theme. It's about loneliness and the marginalised and Steinbeck uses race to reflect that. The migrant workers are marginalised people, but the black character doubly so. They live in a communal barracks - he lives in a makeshift hut. He's made more lonely and marginalised because of his race. Do you think a writer of Steinbeck's skill and politics casually through around racial language and stereotypes? No, of course not, he was a master storyteller. He could spell too... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Declan Posted June 18, 2021 Share Posted June 18, 2021 10 minutes ago, Shake me up Judy said: No, of course not, he was a master storyteller. He could spell too... Is that all you've got? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shake me up Judy Posted June 18, 2021 Share Posted June 18, 2021 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manxman1980 Posted June 18, 2021 Share Posted June 18, 2021 Having done GCSE English and an A-Level in English Language our syllabus included; - Merchant of Venice - Romeo & Juliet - A Midsummers Night Dream - To Kill a Mockingbird - An Inspector Calls - Lord of the Flies As has been said, when you get to the stage where you are studying books rather than just reading them for pleasure you are asked to analyse the themes and consider if there was a deeper meaning. Would anyone suggest that Blyton's works are worthy of such study? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shake me up Judy Posted June 18, 2021 Share Posted June 18, 2021 They were children's books and not literature, but I think much of her vast output had value in teaching kids about a sense of adventure; danger; loyalty; independence and self-reliance in a world without adults; responsibility; morality etc. The best kids fiction has all these themes and more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manxman1980 Posted June 18, 2021 Share Posted June 18, 2021 19 minutes ago, Shake me up Judy said: They were children's books and not literature, but I think much of her vast output had value in teaching kids about a sense of adventure; danger; loyalty; independence and self-reliance in a world without adults; responsibility; morality etc. The best kids fiction has all these themes and more. And that is the problem. They are books aimed at children and some of the values included within them are unacceptable today. That's why some have been edited to remove racial connotations and others were removed from publication years ago as they were outright racist. The Daily Fail and Gammons are getting wound up over nothing (as usual) and they have the nerve to call those who oppose them 'snowflakes'! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shake me up Judy Posted June 18, 2021 Share Posted June 18, 2021 I don't think you've any idea what real racism is. I grew up in the 1960s and it was hardly Jim Crow, Nazi Germany or apartheid South Africa. There wasn't always much money but the kids I knew were mostly happy and free. We read comics and children's fiction without prejudice, and I don't recall any racism. Our dad's had fought a war against that sort of hatred. Some kids had golliwogs but they were dolls and no less loved for being black. There was an exoticism in older kids fiction that often introduced black characters but it was teaching us about different cultures and a wider world. You see it all as racist but it wasn't. Stop telling lies about the past and rewriting history. 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manxman1980 Posted June 18, 2021 Share Posted June 18, 2021 34 minutes ago, Shake me up Judy said: I don't think you've any idea what real racism is. I grew up in the 1960s. I grew up in the 80's. My grandparents fought in the wars but they acknowledged that not all German's were bad. I know that you grew up in an era when signs saying "No Blacks, No Irish and No Dogs" were acceptable. I don't think that era is one to be held up as an example. Childrens books shouldn't cover race as topics. That should be left until later when a sensible discourse can take place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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