[hardy-l] Nursing Sorrow

[Niemeyer, Paul J.]

Thanks for the information, Tony.  What's particularly sad is that this censorship seems to be on the part of PBS, which once used to show all programs unedited under the guise of bringing "culture" and "truth" to the American public.  (Some individual PBS stations may have edited things or simply chosen not to air programs that violated "local standards," but they were not the rule.)  I hate to say it, but the new censorship could be the result of Exxon/Mobil pulling out of MASTERPIECE THEATRE: when the show had corporate financing, PBS knew they could always run it; they didn't have to worry about individual stations dropping MP or prudish viewers refusing to send in donations because they caught a glimpse of a nipple.
 
And, oh, yes, the ironies abound!  The BBC TESS aired on PBS with a "parental guidance" warning, and in the introductory segment host Laura Linney solemnly told us that "Thomas Hardy was a dangerous man" who shocked the sensibilities of Victorian Britain.  Of course you can go to the PBS website and download information on teaching the TESS video in the classroom.  We all know what H. L. Mencken said about the intelligence of the American public. . .
 
Speaking of which, I suppose everyone has heard that Facebook has banned photos of women breast-feeding their babies?  America, it seems, still needs to grow up.
 
Shaking my head,
 
Paul Niemeyer

________________________________

From: Dr Tony Fincham

Have now checked the UK version of the 2008 Tess, as broadcast by the BBC - there is no evidence 
of any attempt to hide or disguise Tess' breast as Sorrow latches on - so the fuzziness detected in
the US must be home-grown prudery.
 
I suspect that Hardy would have been amused to find Mrs Grundy's descendants alive & well 
in the 21st Century. But then Dorchester provided its fair share of Pilgrim Fathers.
 
Tony Fincham.
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