Comments follow an apology by the BBC for using the phrase
Lucy Frazer, the culture secretary, has raised concerns about an exhibit in the Victoria and Albert Museum which appears to describe former Conservative prime minister Margaret Thatcher as among “contemporary villains”.
The caption at the exhibition, which mentions Thatcher alongside Adolf Hitler and Osama bin Laden as people who have been portrayed as baddies in puppet shows, has been portrayed as an insult to the former PM in reports in rightwing papers.
Yes I saw that and I didn’t think that that was appropriate.
Well, I think in describing objects, in museums and galleries, I think the creator has an important role to look at history to make sure that their objects are understood. But these are matters for those individual institutions.
Punch and Judy is seen as traditionally British, but it evolved from the 16th-century Italian street performance commedia dell’arte.
Although aimed at a family audience, the original narrative in its Victoria heyday featured domestic violence, hangings and racist caricatures – a jarring and inacceptable combination for modern audiences.
In an article about the Liberal Democrats’ spring conference we wrongly described the political party Reform UK as far-right when referring to polling.
This sentence was subsequently removed from the article as it fell short of our usual editorial standards.
The BBC has apologised for the news website referring to Reform UK as ‘far-right’ following an intervention from my lawyers.
My lawyers are also in touch with other news organisations who repeated the BBC line.
Continue reading… The Guardian Read More Comments follow an apology by the BBC for using the phraseLucy Frazer, the culture secretary, has raised concerns about an exhibit in the Victoria and Albert Museum which appears to describe former Conservative prime minister Margaret Thatcher as among “contemporary villains”.The caption at the exhibition, which mentions Thatcher alongside Adolf Hitler and Osama bin Laden as people who have been portrayed as baddies in puppet shows, has been portrayed as an insult to the former PM in reports in rightwing papers.Yes I saw that and I didn’t think that that was appropriate.Well, I think in describing objects, in museums and galleries, I think the creator has an important role to look at history to make sure that their objects are understood. But these are matters for those individual institutions.Punch and Judy is seen as traditionally British, but it evolved from the 16th-century Italian street performance commedia dell’arte.Although aimed at a family audience, the original narrative in its Victoria heyday featured domestic violence, hangings and racist caricatures – a jarring and inacceptable combination for modern audiences.In an article about the Liberal Democrats’ spring conference we wrongly described the political party Reform UK as far-right when referring to polling.This sentence was subsequently removed from the article as it fell short of our usual editorial standards.The BBC has apologised for the news website referring to Reform UK as ‘far-right’ following an intervention from my lawyers.My lawyers are also in touch with other news organisations who repeated the BBC line. Continue reading…
