Quote:
Originally Posted by Jan S
the man's like so many old people - they don't see how their comments and attitudes can cause offence and are often quite bewildered and upset when people call them out on it. the trouble is, he's only 67 - 10 years older than me - and his views are like those i'd hear aired by some 80 year old volunteer ladies in the shop i used to work in. 10 years is a blink of an eye, and yet he's like a dinosaur. a dinosaur that has, till now, been able to cover his generally unpleasant personality behind the big bright biggins persona.
just like most those older people who get called on their bigotry, he does the whole 'but i have friends who are a/b/c so i can't be...'. The thing is, the kind of jokes he might be able to crack with leslie joseph and not offend aren't necessarily going to be taken the same way by others who don't know him or who are prepared to ignore his off-colour remarks for the sake of showbiz luvviness.
he's a bigot & a liability on the show, though he's in good company with that latter observation.
|
I love this comment. These are aspects I always consider with much older cast members. It is common that they lose some of their filter as they age. It's a lot like going backwards in brain development/time. Just like children's brains develop over time they're more prone to say inappropriate things and with the elderly as it is similar. They're not able to control emotions as well, can fly off the handle over the slightest thing and tend to be more anxious around unfamiliar surroundings or people. I've done care-taking so I've had to 'catch' things like this.
It's majorly exacerbated with people who are shut-in's to begin with or people who just never were big "thinkers". The only way to really combat mental decline is to stimulate the mind, play puzzles, watch TV shows, stay in contact with the outside world... in other words, stay stimulated. People who don't do those things or lead a very isolated/sedentary lifestyle tend to regress a lot faster imo.
I think in Biggin's it's fairly mild, but for all we know, his outside life is a huge air bubble like you said and that this strong of an opinion is accepted by his peers... or he is not used to strong personalities or people who can contradict him so he is trying to "win" people over by having 'strong' opinions
(i.e. race to be the fastest moron...)... I feel it's a mix of both.
I saw it really bad in Angie though. She should've never been cast. I think at one point she said she was a shut-in and I could totally see it.
Brain Atrophy In Elderly Leads To Unintended Racism, Depression And Problem Gambling
https://www.sciencedaily.com/release...0921100332.htm
Notice what I italicized in the header...