Homophobia on Dr Who
David Mason | 23.03.2005 17:49 | Gender | Indymedia | Social Struggles
Queer as Folk author, Russell T Davies complained about a gay-bashing joke on children's tv. Now his new Doctor Who script includes a homophobic remark which is presumably designed to give the program 'street cred' but is no better than the homophobia he complained about in The Guardian.
I found an example of homophobia in Dr Who which was written by Russell T Davies of all people.
Last night on Radio2 there was a program about the new series, and about 48 minutes into the program there was a sound clip of Rose saying 'you're so gay' to the doctor after he said that a slap on his face by Rose's mother had hurt him.
The new school guidance on tackling homophobia and bullying makes a point of stressing that 'gay' should not be used in a negative way, and says schools should "log all homophobic language and homophobic violence by any pupils or staff. This includes calling someone or something 'gay' with a derogatory meaning, or comments that question an individual's masculinity or femininity."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/sxsw_aod.shtml?radio2/r2_who
http://www.wiredforhealth.gov.uk/cat.php?catid=1101
Rose: She [Rose's mother] slapped you?
Doctor: 900 years in space and I've never been slapped by someone's mother
Rose [mocking] Your face
Doctor: IT HURTS!
Rose: You're so gay.
Two years ago Russell T Davies complained about homophobia on Children's tv (Basil Brush) but it looks like he's now guilty of it himself, which is a bit hypocritical of him, I think.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv_and_radio/story/0,3604,926125,00.html
Russell said: "I always liked writing for children because I knew that, if I got it right, I could create a moment which could burn itself into the brain. We'll all remember our favourite kids' shows when we're 70. We might remember nothing else. But there's more than memory at stake here. The younger the audience, the more impressionable. They're learning behaviour and they learn a lot from TV."
Dr Who is being promoted as family entertainment. There is still time for Russell to do the right thing and ask for this (and any other homophobic remarks) to be edited out. I have already tried to contact him about this, but no response so far.
David
Last night on Radio2 there was a program about the new series, and about 48 minutes into the program there was a sound clip of Rose saying 'you're so gay' to the doctor after he said that a slap on his face by Rose's mother had hurt him.
The new school guidance on tackling homophobia and bullying makes a point of stressing that 'gay' should not be used in a negative way, and says schools should "log all homophobic language and homophobic violence by any pupils or staff. This includes calling someone or something 'gay' with a derogatory meaning, or comments that question an individual's masculinity or femininity."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/sxsw_aod.shtml?radio2/r2_who http://www.wiredforhealth.gov.uk/cat.php?catid=1101 Rose: She [Rose's mother] slapped you?
Doctor: 900 years in space and I've never been slapped by someone's mother
Rose [mocking] Your face
Doctor: IT HURTS!
Rose: You're so gay.
Two years ago Russell T Davies complained about homophobia on Children's tv (Basil Brush) but it looks like he's now guilty of it himself, which is a bit hypocritical of him, I think.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv_and_radio/story/0,3604,926125,00.html Russell said: "I always liked writing for children because I knew that, if I got it right, I could create a moment which could burn itself into the brain. We'll all remember our favourite kids' shows when we're 70. We might remember nothing else. But there's more than memory at stake here. The younger the audience, the more impressionable. They're learning behaviour and they learn a lot from TV."
Dr Who is being promoted as family entertainment. There is still time for Russell to do the right thing and ask for this (and any other homophobic remarks) to be edited out. I have already tried to contact him about this, but no response so far.
David
David Mason
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