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MrGuedes Posted 11 years ago
Vocabulary
Connotation of Channel 4 and "continental"
Hello!
I have just come up with a question after watching the a scene in Keeping Up Appearances, season 2, episode 1. My question is probably mostly cultural, but I think this place seems appropriate for this as well.
Basically, Hyacinth sees a man wrapped solely in a tower walking out of the house of her neighbour Elizabeth, and then getting back in. Worried that this "strange man" has spent there, and that Elizabeth has not realised the "dangers of strange men", she is expressing her concerns to her husband Richard. The following conversation ensues:
RICHARD: Hyacinth, perhaps her husband has come back from Saudi Arabia.
HYACINTH: It is not her husband. (pause) I warned her against watching Channel 4. She'll come to no good identifying with the continental classes.
And in a later scene:
HYACINTH: We have to move.
RICHARD: Move?!
HYACINTH: I shall miss this house. Over the years, I have made it a centre of culture and taste.
RICHARD: Why shall we have to move?
HYACINTH: If this area is heading for a moral decline, what choice have we? I will not raise Sheridan in a continental atmosphere.
My question is about the connotation of "Channel 4" and the term "continental". I assume that it refers to continental Europe.
In this case, I'm not sure, though. Could it be that the British have the idea that continental Europeans are less preoccupied with privacy, more open to strangers, and even—as Hyacinth called it—to "moral turpitude" (I find that rather offensive, since I am a continental European myself and I do not find such practices here)? And could it be that Channel 4 broadcasts those ideas? But isn't Channel 4 owned by the BBC (at least, there seems to be a channel called BBC Four: http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour)? If so, how does it broadcast continental ideas?
Thank you in advance for any reply!
I have just come up with a question after watching the a scene in Keeping Up Appearances, season 2, episode 1. My question is probably mostly cultural, but I think this place seems appropriate for this as well.
Basically, Hyacinth sees a man wrapped solely in a tower walking out of the house of her neighbour Elizabeth, and then getting back in. Worried that this "strange man" has spent there, and that Elizabeth has not realised the "dangers of strange men", she is expressing her concerns to her husband Richard. The following conversation ensues:
RICHARD: Hyacinth, perhaps her husband has come back from Saudi Arabia.
HYACINTH: It is not her husband. (pause) I warned her against watching Channel 4. She'll come to no good identifying with the continental classes.
And in a later scene:
HYACINTH: We have to move.
RICHARD: Move?!
HYACINTH: I shall miss this house. Over the years, I have made it a centre of culture and taste.
RICHARD: Why shall we have to move?
HYACINTH: If this area is heading for a moral decline, what choice have we? I will not raise Sheridan in a continental atmosphere.
My question is about the connotation of "Channel 4" and the term "continental". I assume that it refers to continental Europe.
In this case, I'm not sure, though. Could it be that the British have the idea that continental Europeans are less preoccupied with privacy, more open to strangers, and even—as Hyacinth called it—to "moral turpitude" (I find that rather offensive, since I am a continental European myself and I do not find such practices here)? And could it be that Channel 4 broadcasts those ideas? But isn't Channel 4 owned by the BBC (at least, there seems to be a channel called BBC Four: http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour)? If so, how does it broadcast continental ideas?
Thank you in advance for any reply!
Top answer
I think this character is a terrible snob, as well as narrow-minded, and she probably thinks that continental Europeans are permissive or morally lax. Probably she would view anything "foreign" as objectionable. It is making fun of her, not Europeans.
- I think this character is a terrible snob, as well as narrow-minded, and she probably thinks that continental Europeans are permissive or morally lax.
- Probably she would view anything "foreign" as objectionable.
- It is making fun of her, not Europeans.
- When it launched, Channel 4 gained a reputation for being permissive or daring, and there were complaints about the type of material that it aired.
- Channel 4 is unconnected with the BBC and is a completely different channel from BBC4 (which didn't start until years later).
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8 Answers
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I think this character is a terrible snob, as well as narrow-minded, and she probably thinks that continental Europeans are permissive or morally lax. Probably she would view anything "foreign" as objectionable. It is making fun of her, not Europeans. When it launched, Channel 4 gained a reputation for being permissive or daring, and there were complaints about the type of material that it aired.
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Well, she is clearly quite snobbish, and she always wants to try to stand out, to make it look like she's from an upper class. I was, however, unaware how this could relate to "continental" ideas. I thought it might be more related with British ideas, but it makes more sense that it is really her ideas only.
Thank you, then, for your clarification!
Thank you, then, for your clarification!
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MrGuedesHello!I have just come up with a question after watching the a scene in Keeping Up Appearances, season 2, episode 1.The word season is used in the US. In the UK, it is series.
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AnonymousThe word season is used in the US. In the UK, it is series.'Season' is not uncommon in the UK these days.
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My understanding is that Channel 4 (at the time of the episode) dedicated much of its programming to modern culture, the arts, and interests of minority groups. Hyacinth is stolidly middle class and narrow minded even if she has higher cultural and class pretensions. She wouldn't understand Channel 4 programs and would suspect them of being a corrupting influence.
The "continent" in "co
The "continent" in "co
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AnonymousThe word season is used in the US. In the UK, it is series.
fivejedjon'Season' is not uncommon in the UK these days.I also have the idea that "season" is also used in the UK, but I may be wrong. I think it makes more sense to distinguish between the entire TV series (every single episode of it) and just one
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MrGuedesI also have the idea that "season" is also used in the UK, but I may be wrong.Not as much as it is in North America.
The terminology used to define a set of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Episode produced by a television series varies from country to country.
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MrGuedesI also have the idea that "season" is also used in the UK, but I may be wrong.I think its use is increasing here. This is just my perception. I personally welcome it because, as you say, it makes a useful distinction.
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