Goodness only knows I’m no prude and I don’t believe in censorship unless it is self censorship and that seems to have gone out the window. I am talking about good taste and bad taste and the latter seems to predominate in our modern world - anything goes. We have a prince who thinks it’s a hoot to dress up in a Nazi uniform. What would Cole Porter* think if he could see and hear what is presented on the stage, on television in advertising and in film these days and the question I do have to ask is, is it really necessary or are we just intent on dumbing down as far as we can go. Ever since Kenneth Tynan used the f-word on television for the first time, ground-breaking moment huh? It has been and is so over-used you wonder why people even bother to use it any more.
There has to be something to be said for the old Lord Chamberlain’s office though he did tend to be a wee bit too pernickety at times.
What does one make of an ice-cream manufacturer whose idea of advertising is to use a pregnant woman lapping up an ice cream cone? Nothing wrong with that. No reason why pregnant women shouldn’t lap up ice creams. The difference here though was that the woman was a nun and the hoardings, if the company hadn’t been persuaded to remove them, would have been directly on the route old Popey took to Westminster Cathedral and he couldn’t fail to see them. Insensitive might one say? Or what?
Spanish politicians have criticized a video by the Young Socialists in Catalonia in which a woman simulates an orgasm while casting her vote. Both Socialist and opposition politicians have attacked the campaign video. In the video the young woman gets increasingly excited as she votes for the Socialist Party in this month's regional elections in Catalonia. It concludes with the phrase, "Voting is a pleasure", after she puts her voting slip in the ballot box. The leader of the conservative opposition Popular Party of Catalonia, Alicia Sanchez-Camacho, said the video was an "attack on the dignity of women". The health minister who is a Socialist called on all parties to show respect for women and to act responsibly. The Socialist equality minister said of the video: "If it was true, electoral participation would go up greatly, but I think we are dealing with a misleading advert. But the Socialist Party of Catalonia 's leader, Jose Montilla, who is standing for re-election, said, "If it encourages people to vote, it's a good thing".
The leader of the Green coalition in Catalonia, Joan Herrera, said it would be "very difficult to reach orgasm voting for any of the candidates, myself included". A nice sense of humour.
The latest outrage is a pub in Wales that advertised a cocktail called ‘Suicide Bomber.’ They said they didn’t mean to cause offence or upset anyone. My my my, there’s sensitivity look you.
*‘In olden days a glimpse of stocking was looked on as something shocking now heaven knows, anything goes.’