Another day, another set of problematic movies and shows being pulled from streaming services.
The past two weeks have seen the Black Lives Matter movement gain a significant amount of traction. From the physical protests to online activism, progress for black people and people of colour is being made in an array of areas, including the entertainment industry.
As a result, over the past few days, a number of tv shows and films have been pulled from Australian streaming services for their blackface stunts.
We spoke about ‘Little Britain’ being pulled from Netflix on this episode of It’s Been A Big Day For…
Here are all the problematic tv shows and movies that have been pulled from streaming services.
We Can Be Heroes, Summer Heights High, Angry Boys and Jonah From Tonga
Today it was revealed that most of Chris Lilley’s filmography was pulled from Netflix. While Ja’mie: Private School Girl and Lunatics remain up, his earlier shows have been pulled, presumably because of the characters in which Chris Lilley donned blackface and yellowface. These include Chris Lilley’s character Ricky Wong in We Can Be Heroes, Jonah Takalua in Summer Heights High and Jonah From Tonga, and finally S.mouse and Jen Okazaki in Angry Boys.
Chris Lilley has responded to blackface allegations in the past. In an interview with Vulture, he said: “The funny thing is, I played a Chinese student in We Can Be Heroes, I played a Tongan boy in Summer Heights High, and I play a Japanese woman also in Angry Boys, but the only one that people talk about is S.Mouse… It’s kind of funny that there’s only certain races that it’s an issue – yes, it’s that history with blackface – but, I don’t know.. There’s no comparison. I think it’s a bit stupid that you would shut yourself off to being able to do that.”
Ironically, even though he listed a bunch of characters that people “didn’t talk about”, it is his portrayal of precisely these characters that got those shows removed from Netflix. Neither Chris Lilley nor Netflix have provided a statement yet.
The Mighty Boosh and The League of Gentlemen
Netflix has also removed both The Mighty Boosh and The League of Gentlemen from its streaming service offering. The Spirit of Jazz in The Mighty Boosh and Papa Lazarou in The League of Gentlemen are both black characters who are portrayed by white actors wearing blackface. Interestingly, The League of Gentleman is still available to stream in the UK on BBC iPlayer.
Little Britain and Come Fly With Me
As reported yesterday, Little Britain and Come Fly With Me have been removed from Netflix in Australia due to concerns about the use of blackface by its two leads, David Walliams and Matt Lucas. However, unlike The League of Gentlemen, these series have also been pulled from BBC iPlayer and thus are unable to be streamed in the UK.
Many years after the series wrapped up filming, Little Britain star Matt Lucas admitted to The Guardian that he wouldn’t make those jokes again today. He said, “If I could go back and do Little Britain again, I wouldn’t make those jokes about transvestites. I wouldn’t play black characters… Basically, I wouldn’t make that show now. It would upset people. We made a more cruel kind of comedy than I’d do now.”
Gone With The Wind and Cops
In America, a bunch of movies and tv shows have also been removed for being problematic and insensitive during the current climate. HBO Max, the recently launched American streaming-service, has just dropped Gone With the Wind from its product offering after criticism that the film positively depicts slavery. Also, the reality show that glorifies the police force, Cops, was cancelled by the Paramount Network after 32 seasons.
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