A. A. Gill Quotes About Television
-
Is it a particularly British trait to so utterly adore truly appalling men, from Tony Hancock through to Steptoe and Alf Garnett, Captain Mainwaring, Rigsby, Del Boy, Victor Meldrew and on to David Brent from The Office. The most deeply adored characters are all simply vile.
→ -
Television gives us the gift to see ourselves as we'd like to be seen.
→ -
Television in the 1960s & 70s had just as much dross and the programmes were a lot more tediously patronising than they are now. Memory truncates occasional gems into a glittering skein of brilliance. More television, more channels means more good television and, of course, more bad. The same equation applies to publishing, film and, I expect, sumo wrestling.
→ -
Get up now and go and find Robert Kilroy-Silk. Smile in a warm, friendly sort of way, then punch him on the nose. Now go and find Robert on television, despite my best endeavours, this is still relatively easy to do. Wait for a close-up, same smile, and punch him on the nose. If you followed the instructions carefully, you will have noticed a distinct difference. On the one hand, you were suffused with a sense of public-spirited righteousness; on the other, you're probably dribbling blood. That's the difference between reality in life and reality on television.
→ -
Americans think the only funny Brits are John Cleese, Benny Hill and whoever makes our toothpaste. They're not laughing with us, they are laughing at us.
→ -
I still secretly believe that afternoons are the time for the test card and you shouldn't watch television when the sun is out.
→ -
Beautifully shot, impeccably paced, it was a clear, unrelenting look at the National Trust, its friends and enemies, and it makes you want to burn your passport and beg the Luftwaffe to have another go.
→ -
Television is a constant stream of fact, opinions, lies, moral dilemmas, plots: an infinitely complex and sophisticated torrent of information. How could it not make you cleverer? The only people who ever thought television rotted the brain and made kids dumb were those with a vested interest in other ways of learning, or those who were intellectually insecure, usually about books.
→ -
An American has invented a remote control that will turn off any telly within a 20ft radius. What a marvellous device! What a splendid invention! What a really helpful and improving way of devoting your time to building something that turns off culture. Next week, I'm instigating Burn a Book Week, to encourage even more conversation. I've come up with a fantastic little device which I'll call a box of matches.
→ -
Making a programme that appears to condone a positive stereotype actually enforces all the negative ones as well. It says that they all have a valid point. To assert that Americans are naive, Germans humourless and the French arrogant is one thing: they're big enough to take it. But to say that there's a conspiracy of Jewish bankers, that gypsies are thieves, Pakistanis are dirty and refugees are muggers is something quite else.
→ -
I don't know how long a child will remain utterly static in front of the television, but my guess is that it could be well into their thirties.
→
Related Authors
-
Adrian Chiles Television presenter -
David Tang Businessman -
David Starkey Historian -
Anthony Bourdain Chef -
Marco Pierre White Chef -
Gary Lineker Soccer player -
Jeremy Clarkson Broadcaster -
Mary Beard Professor -
Simon Heffer Journalist -
Giles Coren Columnist -
Gabby Logan Presenter -
Jemima Khan Journalist -
Clare Balding Television presenter -
Jay Rayner Journalist -
Cyril Connolly Critic -
Lynn Barber Journalist -
Angela Bettis Film actress -
Allegra Huston Writer -
Miranda Hart Actor -
