| Re British Comedian eats dog on UK TV
|
Anyone that responded to our
last Update by sending a complaint email to Avalon
Productions will have received the following form
reply. The fact that they have a standard reply
ready clearly indicates that they are getting a
number of emails regarding this propramme.
If
you haven't sent an email yet, it's not too late.
It is important that we make clear to the media
what is, and what is not, acceptable. For anyone
that did not receive it, the last Update is
available on ITD's site.- ITD
"We are sorry
to hear that you were offended by the programme
FRANK SKINNER'S KIMONOS FOR GOAL
POSTS.
"The programme presented one man's
journey through the football-orientated landscape
with which we are all about to become familiar
during the World Cup. It was a journey in which he
shared his first experiences of Korea and Japan,
as an irreverent comedian and a football fanatic.
He chose to sample two unusual dishes,
controversial and unacceptable or unpalatable to
many: live octopus and dog meat. It should be
noted that he ate this meal "at the local
restaurant" - i.e. he sampled something freely
available from a restaurant menu.
"He
established from his host the reasons people in
Korea chose to eat dog meat and relevance to
footballers. It was made clear that there was no
question of pet dogs being slaughtered or dogs
being taken from the street, but dogs were bred
for the purpose. He made two joking remarks in the
vein of his own humour - one about dog excrement,
the other about cats cheering - but offered no
endorsement of the practice of farming or eating
dog. He concluded by observing that it "tastes all
right".
"In this short sequence in a
one-hour film Frank Skinner dealt in his own
individual and bemused way with questions which
will occur to many people when they consider Korea
and the World Cup. Clearly, this is not to all
viewers' tastes but we do not believe it went
beyond the boundaries of
acceptability.
"However, please be assured
that your comments and criticisms have been duly
noted, we will be forwarding your observations to
Frank Skinner and the programme production
company, Avalon Television so they are aware of
your views.
"Thank you for taking the time
and trouble to contact us.
Yours sincerely
K Bryan
VIEWER LIAISON OFFICER
"If you wish to take your complaint
further, you may write to the Independent
Television Commission (ITC), 33 Foley Street,
London W1P 7LB."
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| ITV |
Broadcast on ITV
Sunday
19/05/02
2205-2305hrs
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