Assessment of Endemol
Michael, from Germany, has kindly provided a close-up European view of the Endemol television production organization. This was given as a comment in the previous post, here:
counterfem.blogspot.com/2007/09/
wanted-mras-to-sell-out-movement.html
Michael said:
To which Plonkeroo adds:
Well, that sounds about right to me - since I consider my own dealings with Endemol to be concluded.
But I have no doubt that the Endemol "talent scouts" are still sniffing around and beating the bushes, looking for indiscreet simpletons to say compromising things that might put the Movement in a counter-productive light. Sadly, such people DO exist - I cannot tell a lie!
And unfortunately, Endemol might just accomplish their design at some point in the future. Not on my watch, of course, but you never can tell how things will eventually roll. All I can do is advise my fellow workers in the Movement to stay clear of Endemol and its agents, and show zero interest if approached. I would likewise advise bloggers and other online Movement types to pick up this story and propagate it in various ways, in order to forewarn and forearm as many people as possible and also create an historical record if we need to write the official chronicle of this affair some day.
------------------------------------------------
**Post Note: Michael has made further remarks in the comment section.
counterfem.blogspot.com/2007/09/
wanted-mras-to-sell-out-movement.html
Michael said:
"Fidelbogen, be extremely cautious when dealing with Endemol. Endemol is one of the biggest (if not THE biggest) producers of trash TV here in Europe - stuff like cheap game shows, talk shows and generally "entertainment" for the masses appealing to the lowest instincts. I'm sure you have a similar category of TV shows in the U.S.
"They'd reduce the whole MRA movement to simplest catchphrases and make any intelligent discussion impossible by deliberately inviting feminazis from hell. They probably just want to produce a confrontational shouting match - the moment the sparks fly the highest you'll see the Dollar sign appear in the eyes of the Endemol producers. Avoid at all cost!
"Endemol proves day by day on European TV screens that it is the exact opposite of intelligent TV. They produce the kind of TV shows that keep the TV-watching masses dumbed down and unable of critical thought in the first place.
"I'm sure Endemol has the same interest in the men's movement (and probably even in feminists) like vampires have in blood: It sates their hunger for a while, but they don't care if they leave their victim dead afterwards."
To which Plonkeroo adds:
"Sound advice. As I recall they are a Dutch company making money hand over fist by producing twaddle programmes."
Well, that sounds about right to me - since I consider my own dealings with Endemol to be concluded.
But I have no doubt that the Endemol "talent scouts" are still sniffing around and beating the bushes, looking for indiscreet simpletons to say compromising things that might put the Movement in a counter-productive light. Sadly, such people DO exist - I cannot tell a lie!
And unfortunately, Endemol might just accomplish their design at some point in the future. Not on my watch, of course, but you never can tell how things will eventually roll. All I can do is advise my fellow workers in the Movement to stay clear of Endemol and its agents, and show zero interest if approached. I would likewise advise bloggers and other online Movement types to pick up this story and propagate it in various ways, in order to forewarn and forearm as many people as possible and also create an historical record if we need to write the official chronicle of this affair some day.
------------------------------------------------
**Post Note: Michael has made further remarks in the comment section.
posted by Fidelbogen at 7:39 PM
10 Comments:
I hope my grammar errors were at a minimum in my previous comment... ;-)
What Endemol wants to produce, Endemol is going to produce. I suppose it's just a question of who'd like to volunteer as cannon fodder. They're probably just looking for something like Mr. Malestrom vs. Biting Beaver anyway, because they'd expect the most chuckles from their target audience from such a confrontation. It makes no sense sacrificing the people behind the best blogs for a piece of "entertainment" TV.
In my opinion, it makes more sense (for any grassroots movement probably) getting noticed in everyday life than getting shown on TV, because ... Has anyone seen TV make lasting improvements to the world recently? Also, people don't expect TV to do that anymore: if someone cares about a subject, he or she turns to the web for getting real information. Web2TV is a waste of time, hopes and energy (all IMHO, of course).
A portfolio of Endemol UK TV shows is here. Decide for yourselves. They're probably most famous for Big Brother (Wikipedia entry here and here), which in Europe not only runs in the UK, but also in Germany and Holland.
Michael, I have long believed that the most exciting thing about the Movement is its grassroots character.
(Note that I didn't call it the "men's movement": I am forming the habit of simply calling it "the Movement".)
Anyway: I hope that the Movement holds on to it grassroots character for as long as possible, for that is what makes it truly revolutionary.
**I appreciate your "TV negative" sentiments. These are sentiments which I share, and I relish the opportunity to preach a few sermons upon subjects other than feminism - which I really ought to start doing, just to keep my mind fresh! ;)
I'm also TV negative. I see it as the mouthpiece of the femplex - at its heart hostile to the interests of the Movement in all its manifestations. TV never delivers what anyone truly believes, or for that matter, even looks like. Everything it presents is air-brushed, reviewed, edited, de-contextualised and sensationalised. It is barren of any authenticity - a human wasteland.
I like the fact we are still 'grass-roots' and that our commonality is person-to-person. As soon as that stops, I'll be parting ways. I want to see wrongs righted, not a new industry created - those old feminists that still carry on as if they hadn't won anything are my picture of what I don't ever want to become. To be in love with a cause - how pointless is that?
Rob Case
There is more to feminism than feminism, as somebody once said. Seeing that feminism has metastasized, blended with the culture, and given itself fuzzy borders, it is no mystery that it would speak (albeit indirectly) through many channels. Television may be only one such channel, but it is likely the most potent now in existence. So accordingly. . .
. . .there is no obvious reason NOT to call television the "mouthpiece of the femplex". For the moment, I can think of no better explanation. I can see no stronger candidate for the office of Mouthpiece of the Femplex than the good old idiot tube. Works for me! ;)
(I could never say the same of the web - which has given us among other things the freedom to share these very thoughts right now. Would I give up the web? Sure I would, *IF* we could somehow magically turn back the clock to a less technological civilization where we didn't need the web in order to undo the effects of other things. But until that magical day arrives, God save the WWW! :)
Now we turn to consider the possible benefits of stuffing a sock in that Mouthpiece of the Femplex. In a few years, if male separatism starts happening in a serious way and reaches the stage of monastic cell formation, I can easily envision a Rule of Life wherein "kill your TV" might become a spiritual point of anchorage. Who knows what the future may hold...?
Anyway, what I like most about killing the tube is that it forces people to drink reality from MUCH closer to the source.
Which is apt to be a wise plan, I would say!
"God save the WWW!"
Isn't it the greatest thing though?
I've often wondered about the relationship between TV and feminism, especially since both became ubiquitous at the same time - the 1960's.
TV is interesting because of its one-sided nature - the TV broadcast is strident, verbal, visual, able to communicate ideas, values and lessons, while the audience is mute, less worldly and receptive. The audience can't talk back.
It parallels the relationship between mother and child. It is the ultimate power.
Although I still watch it a little, it is nothing like I once did - maybe 3-4 hours a week. It comes across as primarily entertainment for women.
The net though equalises the relationship. You can listen, read, talk, write. No-one can stand in the centre of the stage and demand that all watch. There can be no central planning and dissemination of one version of the truth. We are all individuals again.
And so the Movement is born. Not so surprising really.
Rob Case
I want to be a part of 'the movement'
Do I need to give reasons? hmmm. Do I have to give a reason?
Julie, if you wish to be part of the movement, the most important requirement is that you belong to the country club...and have a posh accent!
After all, we wouldn't want the wrong sort of people in here spoiling the scene...now, would we? ;)
Oh, you are so funny, Fidelbogan.
We don't really have country clubs over here. Yet, in Aussie anyone can join as long as you play the pokies. lol
You might be interested in the email I sent to Angry Harry about Endemol's request:
"Greetings Harry.
I felt I must respond to your invitation for MRAs to contact Andy Cadman of Endemol, about a new programme they are considering. Do you not smell a rat here? You quote Andy as saying they are looking for "people who feel a sense of dislike towards, or are uncomfortable with, members of the opposite sex and/or gender-specific movements (feminism etc)."
This is highly ambiguous. Are they looking for men who dislike feminism (a very laudable stance) or men who hate women? And I have no doubt they are also recruiting from feminist blogs. This will not be a one-way programme; and are you sure the flow will go with men rather than against them?
Take a closer look at Endemol. It is part of a very big production group. This is a list of their UK "credits" taken from their own website:
Credits include BIG BROTHER (Channel 4; E4); DEAL OR NO DEAL (Channel 4); WOULD I LIE TO YOU? (BBC ONE); FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE (ITV1); GOLDEN BALLS (ITV1); COMIC RELIEF DOES FAME ACADEMY (BBC ONE; BBC THREE; CBBC); READY STEADY COOK (BBC TWO); RESTORATION VILLAGE (BBC TWO; BBC FOUR); SOCCER AID (ITV1; ITV2) ; FAT MEN CAN'T HUNT (BBC THREE) and its spin-off FAT TEENS CAN'T HUNT (BBC THREE); ORANGE PLAYLIST (ITV1); CHARLIE BROOKER'S SCREEN WIPE (BBC FOUR); LUCY: TEEN TRANSSEXUAL IN THAILAND (BBC THREE) and DANNY: MY SECRET FEMALE BODY (BBC THREE)
Are you inspired by this list? I must admit I have never heard of, let alone seen, most of this stuff, but the titles alone give me a sinking feeling. What I have seen also tells me that Endemol is more concerned with shovelling hours of mindless pap into the empty heads of the masses, than with enlightening us or adding to the sum of human knowledge.
So I have a disturbing vision of how their programme about "people who dislike the opposite sex" might go. I see a programme fronted by a female bimbo, standing in front of a studio full of baying feminists, jostling each other for microphone time to tell us everything that is wrong with the male sex, and all against a backdrop depicting a man doing something nasty to a woman. Half an hour of this, then a brief slot featuring a rabid, woman-hating man ranting on about how he wants to rape and murder every female on the planet. Then cut back to the studio, where the bimbo fakes a show of open-mouthed horror while the feminists all chorus "we told you so!" Then maybe a token male wheeled on and asked to justify such appalling sexism on the part of men; which of course he will fail miserably to do as he is howled down by the chorus of disapproval. Then maybe a "what do you think?" audience phone-in, with a question such as "Should men who hate women be castrated? Yes or No? Vote NOW!"
I might be getting paranoid and exaggerating, but do you want to bet against it? Remember Endemol represents mainstream media ideology, which has never been friendly to men and places fluff ahead of serious thinking. Why should they change now?"
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