Peter Rhodes on subtitles, the N-word and a new character in the White House
More innocent amusement, courtesy of television subtitles. Viewers following the Jeffrey Epstein affair must have been confused by the arrival of a new character in the drama. According to the Sky News subtitles, it is one Donna Trumps.
A few days ago, as one branch of the BBC was busy sacking MasterChef's John Torode for uttering the N-word, another branch was cheerfully broadcasting to millions of homes a film in which the same word is used repeatedly and with great malice – the 1980 Jack Nicholson movie, The Shining (BBC4). So one use of the N-word is grounds for dismissal but another is, what? Artistic freedom? Doesn't it all reek of confusion and hypocrisy?
Over the past few years I have renewed my TV licence online at least a dozen times. The process is quick and easy: click the keyboard for a few minutes and, behold, you have settled your debt with Auntie and signed up for another year's wibbly-wobbly leftyism and 12 months of harrumphing on the sofa. But this latest renewal, a few days ago, was a different beast.
