Grayson Perry's Big American Road Trip
Discussion
Finished watching this last night.
I have to say, Perry puts a lot of (so called) journalists and political commentators to shame with his objective and compassionate reports from the fronlt lines of American society. It really parallels the polarisation of global politics and opinion and I think the conclusions he draws are, broadly, bang on the money.
He also has a very fun way of going about things and is not afraid to take the mick out of himself - at one point he calls himself a 'libtard' as he talks about the perils of living in bubbles.
It also paints a broad but relatively accurate picture of the USA for anyone who does not really understand the general differences in society there.
Well worth a watch: https://www.channel4.com/programmes/grayson-perrys...
I have to say, Perry puts a lot of (so called) journalists and political commentators to shame with his objective and compassionate reports from the fronlt lines of American society. It really parallels the polarisation of global politics and opinion and I think the conclusions he draws are, broadly, bang on the money.
He also has a very fun way of going about things and is not afraid to take the mick out of himself - at one point he calls himself a 'libtard' as he talks about the perils of living in bubbles.
It also paints a broad but relatively accurate picture of the USA for anyone who does not really understand the general differences in society there.
Well worth a watch: https://www.channel4.com/programmes/grayson-perrys...
MG511 said:
I really enjoyed this series too, Grayson was excellent and engaged well with everyone....
Yes, I thoguht so too. Took a very sympathetic and balanced view will all. There were only a few times hit chose to push really awkward questions and got reaction from people and I felt he chose those points well.MG511 said:
...Those 'bikers for Trump', blimey...
Kudos to him for not making more of that. I felt he handled them respectfully and with enormous empathy. He saw the big picture there.
Huge thumbs up from me too.
Recommended it on the 45th pres' thread...not sure there will have been many takers!
When I first became aware of him I just thought he was a bit of a fruit loop. Being odd for the sake of it. But this show demonstrated a very intelligent and considered bloke.
(Am sure he spelt 'Philanthropist' wrong though).
Recommended it on the 45th pres' thread...not sure there will have been many takers!
When I first became aware of him I just thought he was a bit of a fruit loop. Being odd for the sake of it. But this show demonstrated a very intelligent and considered bloke.
(Am sure he spelt 'Philanthropist' wrong though).
Randy Winkman said:
I liked it a lot too. He took the Ed Balls approach of focusing on why some people think things that are so different from what you do. His look was funny when the guy in the final programme spoke of small boys wearing dresses. Really funny.
I thought his look of disbelief at the "gender intro intro" was amusing.Most of all I thought the reaction of the people at the wealthy folks dinner party was most telling.
tangerine_sedge said:
Yes, I really enjoyed this, it was a very 'Louis Theroux' approach to asking simple questions and letting the subject answer without judgment.
An illuminating insight into US and UK politics.
It is an excellent series. An illuminating insight into US and UK politics.
He isn't quite like Louis Theroux. Louis often (moreso in the past) poses as a fish out of water and asks faux-naive questions. Grayson looks comfortable in all company, asks fairly straight questions and lets people answer. He certainly doesn't mind asking some quite pointed questions, but picks his moments. Some of the responses Martha's vineyard party were a little awkward.
The pro-abortionists ("honk if you love abortion"?? ) were an odd, extreme bunch - and I'm in favour of a woman having the right to choose, within some limits, as in most of the UK.
Nostalgia and identity plays a big part in these things, with somebody like Trump (and others in other countries, including the UK) playing up to those things, in, what I see as, a fairly transparent & cynical way for those who "wanna believe".
The Anti-vaxxer was a confused, inconsistent woman.
As he says, the middle ground seems like sanity. I agree.
Murph7355 said:
Randy Winkman said:
I liked it a lot too. He took the Ed Balls approach of focusing on why some people think things that are so different from what you do. His look was funny when the guy in the final programme spoke of small boys wearing dresses. Really funny.
I thought his look of disbelief at the "gender intro intro" was amusing.Most of all I thought the reaction of the people at the wealthy folks dinner party was most telling.
Randy Winkman said:
Even as a UK liberal middle class person I thought they US liberal elite came out of the series worst. They just didn't get it.
They were a small sample of people. I have met British people just like those Martha's Vineyard people at parties in equivalently wealthy UK areas. I have also met some some moderate, decent, non-smug, liberal, educated people in the US. MC Bodge said:
Randy Winkman said:
Even as a UK liberal middle class person I thought they US liberal elite came out of the series worst. They just didn't get it.
They were a small sample of people. I have met British people just like those Martha's Vineyard people at parties in equivalently wealthy UK areas. I have also met some some moderate, decent, non-smug, liberal, educated people in the US. Randy Winkman said:
MC Bodge said:
Randy Winkman said:
Even as a UK liberal middle class person I thought they US liberal elite came out of the series worst. They just didn't get it.
They were a small sample of people. I have met British people just like those Martha's Vineyard people at parties in equivalently wealthy UK areas. I have also met some some moderate, decent, non-smug, liberal, educated people in the US. I don't think going down the radical rabbit hole of any extreme would have added much. I like the way that, because it only really lightly touched on the various view points, it neither endorsed nor condemned, but rather said, "this is what some people think" and, furthermore, "you might not agree, but it's better if you can try to understand and debate the ideas rationally and politely". His advocacy of acceptance of others was a key message, for me.
Digga said:
es, I think it fair to say, whatever social or political extreme, the show avoided exploring the worst of any of it. That is, in no way a criticism, because the series did paint a reasonably accurate, albeit broad-brush picture, for those not familiar with the USA and also expanded the ideas to reflect on the UK well.
I don't think going down the radical rabbit hole of any extreme would have added much. I like the way that, because it only really lightly touched on the various view points, it neither endorsed nor condemned, but rather said, "this is what some people think" and, furthermore, "you might not agree, but it's better if you can try to understand and debate the ideas rationally and politely". His advocacy of acceptance of others was a key message, for me.
Yes, his point about people taking things further and further to find acceptance within their tribe, increasing the distance between tribes, was a good one. One only needs to look at dark corners of this forum to see behaviour like that. I don't think going down the radical rabbit hole of any extreme would have added much. I like the way that, because it only really lightly touched on the various view points, it neither endorsed nor condemned, but rather said, "this is what some people think" and, furthermore, "you might not agree, but it's better if you can try to understand and debate the ideas rationally and politely". His advocacy of acceptance of others was a key message, for me.
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