With its singalong rhymes and upbeat tales, Rastamouse is
like many other children’s TV shows – except this one has sparked a
bitter row about racism.
With its singalong rhymes and upbeat tales, Rastamouse is like many
other children’s TV shows – except this one has sparked a bitter row
about racism.
The patois-speaking puppet, who fights crime and
spreads love and respect, has been a huge hit with the BBC’s younger
viewers since the show hit screens at the end of last month.
He
has dreadlocks, a Rasta Tam (woolly hat), rides a skateboard and uses
words like “irie” (happy) and “wagwan” (what’s going on?).
His
mission is to “make a bad ting good”. And the stories feature his
all-rodent reggae band, Da Easy Crew, who hang out at the Nuff Song
recording studio in Mouseland.
Celebrity fans include Lily Allen,
Dizzee Rascal, Adrian Chiles, Radio One DJ Rob Da Bank and actress
Tamzin Outhwaite. But the series has also provoked hundreds of
complaints – some parents fear it is racist and encourages the use of
slang.
One concerned mother on the Mumsnet forum said: “I’m most worried
about her saying words like ‘Rasta’... My child is white and I feel if
she was to say this to another child who was not that it would be seen
as her insulting the other child.”
And a parent on Bumpandbaby.com said: “Just watched a couple videos... I think it is racist.”
One of those unhappy with the show is Levi Roots, the man behind the Reggae Reggae sauce brand.
Levi
told the Mirror: “I was asked to do the voice of the mouse, but I said
no. I am a Rastafarian and I wouldn’t want to portray a Rastafarian as a
mouse. For me it is about integrity.
“I’d never portray a Rasta
as a pig or a mouse as I don’t think the values of being a Rasta are
served by that. If it was a lion that would be very different, a lion is
strong symbol in Rastafarianism.
“Personally, I do not support this representation of us. But we do
need representation on TV and as this is the first it should be given a
chance. People need to decide whether it is right or wrong for
themselves. I have seven children and I would most certainly not want
them to watch this show.”
Rastafarian poet Benjamin Zephaniah is
less critical. He said: “It’s not the greatest representation of the
community, and the accents are not very accurate – probably because
people wouldn’t understand a real one. But it’s the first, so of course
it is going to attract criticism.
“The fact that he’s a mouse isn’t great. If you asked the community 99% would want a lion, but so would English football fans.
“On the whole, I’d rather have Rastamouse than not.”
But
psychologist Delroy Constantine-Simms has slated the show, saying:
“Rastamouse is no better than the new sambo – golliwog in drag. No other
ethnic group in Britain would allow their religion to be represented by
a rodent. Can you imagine a Jewish person writing Jewie the Crime
Fighting Pig? Or a follower of the Hindu faith endorsing Hindi the Crime
Fighting Cow?
“Or a book from a Muslim writer titled Jihad Jane? It just would not happen.”
The
row has even got as far the Voice newspaper, which aims to serve the
black community. Its entertainment editor Davina Hamilton said: “We
should applaud Rastamouse – whose mission of ‘making a bad ting good’ is
wholly positive – as a first for children’s programming. And we should
use it as an opportunity to encourage broadcasters to create other
programmes and dramas that reflect elements of black culture.”
According
to the BBC, six viewers have complained that Rastamouse stereotypes
black people, while another 95 have complained about the language in the
show.
Radio One DJ Reggie Yates, who is the voice of Rastamouse,
has defended the show. He said: “When I was a kid there were never any
cartoons that felt relevant.
“Rastamouse is an amazing opportunity for me to be involved in a show that my nieces and nephews watch and think is really cool.
“There
are a million and one children’s television programmes where all of the
characters are either racially ambiguous or very European – nobody bats
an eyelid about those shows.
“But the minute you do something
different, naturally, it earns attention. That’s not a bad thing, but it
would be nice to get to a point where people just say: ‘Oh great,
there’s another show that represents a different part of our
community’.”
Rastamouse’s love of cheese has also sparked controversy. Some adult
viewers have claimed on Twitter that it is code for marijuana. But
creators Genevieve Webster and Michael De Souza insist Rastamouse does
not endorse drugs. Genevieve added: “There is no innuendo intended.”
Despite the controversy, Rastamouse is set to go global. The
Rastamouse Company has licensed the 52 episodes to broadcasters in
Poland, Australia, Canada and Israel with a range of merchandise to
follow.
Rastamouse has also signed a deal with EMI to release an
album of reggae tracks. He has a debut single out, Ice Popp, and a
Facebook group: Let’s get Rastamouse in the Charts.
He may not be a lion, but he is already a roaring success.
How is the language issue represented?
The language in this piece is represented to show that some people may find it offensive. This is shown when it says 'One concerned mother on the Mumsnet forum said: “I’m most worried
about her saying words like ‘Rasta’... My child is white and I feel if
she was to say this to another child who was not that it would be seen
as her insulting the other child.”'. This is evidence to show how the language represented and that it can have negative connotations. Also if you look at the article there isn't much of a balanced argument from a parents point of view as there are only quotes from parents against the programme which suggests that then writer himself may only be against the programme aswell.
How
does the author represent him/herself and others?
The author uses household celebrity quotes to portray his points on the programme and get different opinions on the matter. To start with the author represents programme to seem ok and quite normal as he writes 'With its singalong rhymes and upbeat tales, Rastamouse is like many
other children’s TV shows' this quite claerly shows that it is positive. However as the sentence and the article itself goes on he starts to portray a more negative image of the programme; for example he writes 'except this one has sparked a bitter row
about racism.'.
How
does the author shape the reader's response (audience positioning)?
There is little interaction between the author and the audience as the article is mainly made up of quotes to present the argument rather than just the author writing his own words. Also showing quotes from the show in speech marks suggest that it is wrong to be using this kind of lexis for example when it says 'uses
words like “irie” (happy) and “wagwan” (what’s going on?).' The author tries to shape the reader's response by presenting both sides of the argument throught the celebrity quotes and through writing of his own. Furthermore, you do feel that the author is with the negative side of the agrument because there are only 2 peoples quotes (Reggie Yates and Davina Hamilton) to portray a positive image of the programme.
