In so far as the theory of cultural appropriation had not entered mainstream conversation, it was a simpler time.
The Two Ronnies, which felt like obligatory watching for primary school children in the 1980s, presented a mash-up of sketches, rambling anecdotes and racially dubious musical numbers. Of course, it is unfair to pick out the songs about Indian cuisine or plantation life, and claim this represents their complete output. And it's not like black-face has disappeared from the BBC light entertainment schedule - is that The Mighty Boosh I see before me?
I come not to bury little Ronnie, but to critique him. Like many 'light entertainers', his work lives on, and perhaps it is fairer to remember him as the weedy bloke in Sorry, who was a white male who would probably, these days, have a YouTube channel and bang on about The Red Pill (or is it the Blue Pill?).
In Sorry, he represented the repressed and defeated masculinity that would later be the caricature of a 'gamergate' activist. As such, he is more acceptable than the cheeky chappies cantering around in black-face and making double-entendres about melons.
Always forgive but never forget.
Contains imagery that some may find offensive.
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