Are cricket episodes usually A Very Racist Episode?

Posted by SordoCrabs@reddit | AskABrit | View on Reddit | 23 comments

I am a Yank that has watched more than a few whodunit series from your side of the pond. Not exhaustive by any means, but more than is usual for someone enduring the idiocy of Hair Furor.

In the past 6 months or so, I have watched Sister Boniface Mysteries, the first third of Father Brown, and I'm currently making my way through Grantchester.

All 3 of those series have had one cricket centric episode (thus far- I can't speak to the seasons I haven't completed), where racism against South Asians is a plot point for the story. And thus far, they are the only episodes that have Desi characters.

Is this a common trope for modern shows set in 50s/60s English villages? Or is it just luck of the draw that the 3 series I have to reference all made this particular choice?

Are there other common vehicles for introducing Indian/Pakistani characters in British period series?

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SnooDonuts6494@reddit

It makes me think about the "banned" episode of Fawlty Towers - which is often voted as the #1 best British comedy series of all time. A character called "The Major" used several pejoratives in the context of cricket. https://youtu.be/cN7L_cte7PA?t=66

IDK if it's a trope, exactly - but it does strike me that cricket is an opportune way to introduce issues of race. The most famous national rivalry in our national sport, for decades, is England v Pakistan/India... and cricket is very much associated with small English village life.

other common vehicles

Restaurants. [So called "Indian" restaurants are the most popular kind in England.]

Corner shops. [Small stores on the corner of a street, like a 711 but not a chain, often run by Asian people.]

Doctors. [The NHS [[National Health Service]] recruited LOTS of Indian/Pakistani doctors, after the war.]

Military contexts - especially back to the Empire, the Raj.

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Final_Anybody_3862@reddit

Reminds me of my village cricketing days - one of the teams in the league comprised of old pupils from the local grammar school and the team was named after that fact and the town name, which began with 'W'. So they were the 'W' Old Grammarians.

Yes, it was abbreviated.

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BoomalakkaWee@reddit

I also went to a "W" school which had an Old Girls' Association. The acronym was always pronounced to rhyme with "yoga".

The alma mater has finally moved into the 21st Century and recently renamed the association the "W... Alumnae".

Cheese-n-Opinion@reddit

I don't think it's well known as a 'thing' but it wouldn't surprise me if it crops up a lot. Seems like a perfect vehicle to get a lot of mid-20th century white English people interacting with a lot of South Asians, and perhaps also West Indians, as cricket is a hobby they have in common.

Another common trope in a similar vein is the Indian doctor. Doctors from South Asia have come to work in the UK since the '50s and I think for a lot British people outside of major cities they would be their first encounter with Asian people.

_Daftest_@reddit

You seem to be confusing "an episode about racism" with "a racist episode".

SordoCrabs@reddit (OP)

No, I'm not. The title makes reference to the "A Very Special Episode" [trope](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Very_special_episode of (American) TV, which seems to not be well known abroad.

These were one-off episodes, often in Sitcoms, that had a serious focus on a (then) controversial or underrepresented issue.

The Facts of Life, for example, had a few Very Special episodes that centered around Blair's cousin with cerebral palsy, at a time when disabled characters were about as rare as hen's teeth.

So I used the phrasing of an American trope to inquire about when might possibly be the equivalent for UK TV- episodes that explore or shine a light on historical racism.

Realistic-River-1941@reddit

UK sitcoms often include serious issues; perhaps most famously, the hugely popular series which culminated in almost every character being machine gunned down in no-man's land in a WWI battle.

justeUnMec@reddit

All three of these are relatively recently produced period pieces, in fact from the same production stable (I know several that were involved in all three), that do churn out a high volume of episodes, and yes, "South Asian immigrant unable to get on the cricket team" is a bit of a common trope in British media, it was present in "Bend it like Beckham" too (the father relaying this experience). I would definitely not be relying on cosy crime series as representative of British life, particularly ones that are basically caricatures of religious and rural life. However, it is worth considering Cricket is extremely popular in South Asia and the Carribean, and as a result a good deal of the fans of the game in this country are from these communities, many of whom arrived during the period these programmes are set in, and amateur cricket was a traditional rural past time. Because of this status, it's an easy plot point to have a South Asian character trying to join in with something they are passionate about and facing exclusion from an activity central to rural life.

South Asians would be rare in an English village even now, never mind decades ago, so cricket might just be a way to get some included for whatever reason the makers might want to include some.

South Asians tend to be underrepresented in media when compared to their numbers. Possible explanations are that black people are more visible in London where decisions are made, influence from the US market, or that British people of South Asian heritage are all doctors and lawyers and accountants rather than actors.

Puzzled-Horse279@reddit

The number of British South Asian is actually double the number of British Black people.

The UK media tends to copy the American trends like compare the number of British Black people will fully African names (like actor Adewale Akkinoye Agebaje) and then compare how mant British Black in British film and TV actually have names that clearly indicate their heritage (or even storylines that specify their heritage other than just being Black?)

While with Asians theres always an idea that Asians should have Asians names and therefore were not as easily marketable to the white audiences. In fact looking at casting agencies like Identity School of Acting. South Asian male actors are more liekly to get a job in a British TV drama targetted for UK audiences (like Aaron Thiara as Ravi in Eastenders or Shebz Miah as Kammy in Emmerdale) whilst British South Asian women nowadays and British Black actor are being way more likely to be cast in international media like American films or Netflix series (think Bridgerton).

Gauntlets28@reddit

I don't want to tar a great sport by generalising too much, but I think there might be an element of truth to it, due to the people drawn to the symbolism of the sport representing a kind of pastoral English identity.

Circumstantial evidence, i know, but my dad ended up cutting off contact with his best man after he became a massive racist. And one of the key reasons my dad blamed for him becoming like that was the culture of the cricket club he joined. He might be oversimplifying though, since he also said that there was quite a similarly ugly culture rife in the company they both worked at at the time, so maybe that was just what some parts of British society was like at the time.

the_speeding_train@reddit

Have things changed at all?

Not sure, but presumably the younger men of my dad's time are the older men of today, so I'm not sure. I do think it very much depends on what cricket club you're part of though. They can't all be like that.

I don’t mean cricket. I mean that people just voted for fascists.

Fantastic_Deer_3772@reddit

Idk if it's a trope (maybe it's becoming one) but I can see how multiple sets of writers would find their way to it.

Bend it like Beckham mentions racism in cricket as well

Cricket is popular in England and in South Asia so it's an easy answer for getting characters to cross paths with each other

And cricket is very village-life-y so it keeps that vibe nicely

DangerousDisplay7664@reddit

I’d say it’s just showing a real depiction of British life in those times.

StrengthForeign3512@reddit

The other common vehicle for introducing South Asian characters is “corner shop owner”.

It, like your cricket example, is rooted in the reality of late 20th century Britain.

ChallengingKumquat@reddit

Although the UK is a very accepting and multicultural country, some racism still persists. Since our Asian population is our largest ethnic minority group, racism can sometimes be directed at Asian people.

To write an episode of a crime drama which ao.s to tackle racism, the writers would need a situation where white people and Asian people mingle. Cricket is one such situation. Others could include school, work, the "corner shop" (little convenience store often run by Asian people), or a restaurant serving Asian/ Indian food.

Similarly, if writers decide to write an episode all about cricket, then thered be at least aome ethnic minority people invovled, because Indian/ Pakistani people are into cricket. So, there may be at least some issues of racism in the episode, especially if the episode is set further back in history than present day.

In reality, racism is not very prevalent any more, and many Asian people can reach adulthood having grown up in England and having never experienced any racism.

Dennyisthepisslord@reddit

It's a "cosy" atmosphere to bring up a difficult topic I guess.

Also it's probably the more diverse sport in terms of asian interest in this country.

eques_99@reddit

yeah it's a cliche in British TV dramas that racism will be examined as a subject, especially if they are set pre-1990.

TV writers seem to think it was a big thing in 20th century Britain, & I guess it was.

also, most TV companies have policies that ethnic minority actors have to be included in any cast, so again racism storylines are an obvious thing to do with those actors.

finally, cricket is very popular with people from India and Pakistan, so it's a good way to integrate them into the story.

at the same time English cricket has a lot of people from the upper classes involved in it, and they are good to cast as villains with both racial and class snobbery in their repertoire.

(in reality, working class racism was probably more of a problem)

PootMcGroot@reddit

Indian/Pakistani immigration to the UK massively increased in the 50/60s. The result of that was inevitably racism in the small villages that the shows you're watching are set in.

It's not that it's a common trope for the shows you're watching (although it is), it's that it was how it was and the shows are reflecting that. Cricket is an easy narrative to play that over, as a mutually enjoyed pass time that was often the shared point of bonding between very different cultures (cricket is a huge thing across most of the Commonwealth - it's the equivalent of baseball in the US, where even hardcore US racists somehow made an exception for the players on their favourite team).

DifferenceUpbeat2803@reddit

https://news.sky.com/story/english-cricket-is-condemned-as-racist-sexist-and-classist-in-damning-new-report-12910184