A Look At the Infamous 'Irish Episodes'
By Suzanne Campbell
"Tonight's episode of EastEnders contains scenes that may offend some
viewers. The BBC has apologised if they offended Irish people, as they
have no wish to misrepresent them. The BBC would like to assure viewers
that there was no intention to upset anyone through the portrayal of
the Irish visit and they apologise to anyone who has been."
And so began the introduction to the ill-fated journey to the Emerald
Isle.
The legwork that led the Fowlers and Beales to their destination
was set into motion months ago. Pauline's discovery of that fated
letter was to bring a subversive attack upon her life via the secret,
contained in that letter, that came burgeoning to the surface. A
surprising fact that would alter our Albert Square matriarch forever.
Lou had another daughter.
When thinking about the structure of a serial drama, one sees that
characters' front-burner pertinence ebbs and flows. Pauline Fowler,
although always an integral member of the community, has been
sidelining of late. Folding linens and chasing after bad boy Martin
have been her duties to the camera.
In retrospect, however, the writers have cleverly woven the key
players into motion with each other. Pauline managed, in all her
strength, to draw her family close to her once again. This is a feeling
that has been lacking, I dare say, since Arthur's passing.
The Fowlers and the Beales have overcome. Martin did not follow in
Mark's youthful mistakes; he has stayed with his family instead of
going with the dangerous crowd. Mark and Ruth have both averted and
contributed to family static, as Mark's illness slowly progresses and
Ruth's longing for children grows. Lastly, Ian, aimless in his
bitterness and paranoia, has opened a door that returned him to his
family and connected him to reality once again.
All this in place, the trip began, Pauline's clan united on the
threshold of discovery. And the show began its journey towards
controversy, which began with Pauline's quest for a cup of tea and
continued throughout the course of the episodes, until the show went
back to London.
So what was the uproar all about? What is the definition of a
harmful stereotype? Since I'm not an Irish citizen, I obviously can't
provide an authorised answer in this specific situation. However, I
think it is safe to say that, at least in part, a stereotype is when
negative aspects of a specific race, religion, nationality or other
group of people are used to represent that group, are highlighted or
strongly emphasised... and the more positive aspects of that group are
de-emphasised. And the Irish were angered by what they saw.
According to the BBC News/Ireland site, "... the BBC had met 60 of
the promises it made [last year] but judged it had fallen short of
three....
"A key failure was the promise to represent all groups accurately and
avoid reinforcing prejudice. This was not fulfilled because of the
EastEnders Ireland specials," Sir Christopher said. He added: "This is
our third attempt to state our promises. I think we are getting better
at this process."
"Will Wyatt, Chief Executive of BBC Broadcast, said: 'The BBC
applies the highest standards of quality, taste, decency impartiality
and integrity to all its programmes and services."
What Mr. Wyatt said, to me interviewing him for the Walford
Gazette, states the case of the BBC quite precisely. When one looks at
the any-day episode of EastEnders, stereotypical elements are dominant
everywhere. Here are some parallels to illustrate.
Irish: When Pauline and crew stopped in the village-no, excuse me,
town-they encountered several unsavoury characters. Before even exiting
their minivan, they witnessed two men engaged in a public row, out in
the street. No punches were thrown but threats did fly.
I think what made these first impressions of Ireland stand out
even more was the fact that while this was going on, the villagers were
busy trying to pawn off their livestock in the village square, an image
so old-fashioned that one was led to think that the mention of a hard
drive would evoke conversation about trying to get a horse 'n cart up a
steep hill instead of a computer.
Of course, while all this is going on, Pauline and Ian are sharing
a dynamic heart to heart. While we are seeing the backdrop of the
townspeople in all their primitiveness-two-dimensional cardboard cutout
characters-the two English visitors are embroiled in a deeply personal
discussion about life, revealing layers within two comparatively
refined people, civilly discussing such matters over a spot of tea.
EastEnders: There are too many EastEnders fights on record to
remember. Kathy vs. Sharon over Phil. Mark got walloped and his HIV
status was revealed to those within earshot range. Grant vs. anybody.
Bianca, out on the market at her stall, reaching decibel ranges that
only dogs can hear, whenever she found out that Ricky had to work late
or Diane insisted on them not flushing the toilet for fear it may wake
the baby.
Irish: The caricature-like innkeeper, not able to understand that
the Towlers were the Fowlers and that someone had copied their name
down incorrectly in the reservation book. So Mark 'humoured' the man,
saying that they would be sure to vacate the rooms should the 'Towlers'
ever arrive.
EastEnders: Dim-bulb stereotypes? Two words: Ricky Butcher. The
guy has gotten a worse reputation than Jayne Mansfield for being the
dullest knife in the drawer, both when it comes to matters of intellect
and matters of common sense. The bachelor party, where the boys found
themselves on a barge to nowhere on Ricky's and Bianca's wedding day
will stand out as one of Ricky's more stellar moments. Can you say will
power? The man doesn't know when to say when. Ever.
Irish: The kind-hearted barkeep telling Pauline that the English
"worry too much about time," indicating to the wary eye that the Irish
are the epitome of the slacker, that they never have any cause to worry
about the time. This was almost as nauseating as the bus scene in the
movie The Matchmaker, when the tour guide tried to get a wee grin out
of Marcy (Janeane Garofalo) by telling her to let her smile 'come out
and play.' This was, of course, followed by the singing of "O Danny
Boy."
English: Ian would be the stereotypical English yuppie, obsessed with
time, driving his employees and himself equally hard. His behaviour is
always justified through personal reasons, however. When he first
started Meals on Wheels, he drove Hattie so hard because he was
obsessed with her in lieu of his obsession with his first-time
disappeared wife, Cindy. More recently his behaviour has been rooted
yet again in Cindy's disappearance, only this time she left with two of
his three children after failing to retrieve the third.
Irish: Meet Sean, introduced to viewers as an apparent 'local
lush.' Surly, belligerent and drunk while the sun was still up, he gave
Pauline a run for her money and a pint for her blouse. Her personal
impressions of the Irish were tarnished from the get-go. Sean insults
and chats Pauline up all in the same breath, not knowing that they
would be introduced as in-laws that evening. After all was said, done
and spilled, the kindly bartender told Mark and Ian: "We have to be
thankful for small mercies-he didn't get violent." Combine this with
the earlier verbal combat in the street and the Inn people, Irishmen
are roughly sketched as violent, irrational drunks who don't have a
clue.
English: Phil Mitchell was the biggest fall-down drunk to ever be
portrayed in a major character on EastEnders. He not only is an
alcoholic, he also cheated on his wife, thrashed her about and
abandoned her with a small child. We also had Nick the heroin
addict/murderer, Pete the fall-down drunk who couldn't remember where
he slept... and Angie who made it all look like fun.
Irish: Poor Maggie, the housewife feeding the world. With children
and other various relatives underfoot and a husband who could very well
be Nick Cotton in 30 years, Maggie stands alone in her daily battles. A
house bursting at the seams, constantly rotating mealtimes according to
when everyone decides to come home or wake up, Maggie is the household
saint. When Pauline questioned her about it, what did she say? "That's
all right, I'm used to it." Yikes.
EastEnders: One easily sees that if there is a negative stereotype
here, it carries over to the regular characters on EastEnders as well.
Pauline has basically been leading a mirrored life. However, the
argument can be made that although Pauline does seem to take in strays
(cases in point: Mandy and Aidan) while simultaneously acting as the
family glue, she also doesn't put up with any nonsense. When she found
out about Arthur's infidelities, she didn't hop to the kitchen to make
him shepherd's pie in the next beat. Martin certainly gets no leeway.
Eventually even Auntie Nellie overstayed her welcome.
Apparently, the Irish impressions of the fact that the BBC have
been the most noticeable culprits of late doesn't mean that they are
the only guilty parties in Irish stereotyping. As an American viewer of
EastEnders, I don't see how the Irish were any worse represented here
than in Roddy Doyle's novel-made-film The Snapper, the story of an
Irish girl who gets drunk and pregnant (by no less than the dirty old
married man across the street) all in one banner evening. It can
therefore be assumed that relativity is another factor in defining a
negative stereotype.
As previously mentioned, one of the first Irish characters we meet
in the Ireland episodes is a nasty drunk. Does that mean that all of
the Ireland segments are dismissive and negligible? That depends on how
seriously the viewer takes the show and if the viewer takes a
dramatisation as absolute fact. That is certainly an underestimation of
the viewer. Imagine then what our neighbours across the pond would
think about the U.S., based upon an American soap, say, The Bold and
the Beautiful. I don't know about you, but I am not a millionairess
Barbie doll.
But does it stop there?
One thing that the BBC do claim to attempt is more than a modicum
of reality when it comes to EastEnders. According to the BBC's
"Information-Standards and Policies" section on its Web site that
directly pertains to EastEnders...
"The production team working on EastEnders have carried out meticulous
research into the habits and lifestyles of the real-life counterparts
of the characters portrayed in the programme for the sake of
authenticity, and the programme has been widely acclaimed in this
respect. It is however, very difficult to produce a programme which
ties in with everyone's image or recollection of life in the East End
of London."
Bearing all that in mind, EastEnders is a television drama, not a
documentary. But no one wants to be ill represented on a TV show that
is broadcast around the world... not when so few shows are focused upon
them.
There were also many pleasant things in the Ireland episodes. As
the introductions began to thicken, there were several very sweet
moments between the Irish and the English; Martin's experience was
evidence of that. Whereas the boys he hung out with in England were
nothing but corrupt, the Irish lads still took part in innocent
mischief, such as trying to cross a creek on unstable rocks. Martin
smiled at the prospect of trying to cross again, even if he did end up
in the water the first time around. Therein lay evidence that there was
also a reversing of negative stereotyping.
Back to our friendly neighbourhood bartender. As Mark, Ian and he
chatted, Martin returned from his rather damp outing, sloshing up the
steps in his wet clothes and shoes. The bartender turned to Mark and
Ian, rather sarcastically saying "Keen on swimming, is he?" Maybe he
had a quicker wit than first thought.
So where does the show's liability end and the viewer's
responsibility begin? Somewhere within a grey area that varies from one
viewer to the next. Regular viewers of EastEnders are used to
characters being revealed one layer at a time. How many of us liked
Peggy Mitchell or Frank Butcher upon first sight? On the flip side of
the coin, how many of us liked James Willmott-Brown when he first
sauntered into town? The luxury of a serial drama-especially one that
airs several times a week-is that it can take its time revealing what
it wants to about characters and plot.
However, remote sequences such as the Ireland episodes are limited
by nature. Knowing that they would not be flipping back and forth from
Ireland for countless weeks limited the amount of air time that the
characters we met in Ireland received. In such a situation, characters
often become caricatures, not intentionally, but caricatures
nonetheless. There is not enough time for proper development and we are
left with a concentrated version of a person or place.
This is whence the problems with the Ireland episodes stemmed; the
normal level of development was absent. Although I personally feel that
the characters were ultimately redeemed, their actions justified by
their problematic lives, this was a mercurial situation before it
began. Maybe someday down the road, we'll be treated to another visit
to Ireland, and Sean won't be such the drunken curmudgeon and Maggie
won't be the dowdy housewife with 1,000 mouths to feed out of a 2 x 4
kitchen. Maybe Pauline will get her drink next time, instead of someone
else's dropped in her lap.
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