The Ratanouse Controversy

Rastamouse kids TV show sparks racism row 

 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.

Controversial Rastamouse (Pic: BBC)

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.

Check out all the latest News, Sport & Celeb gossip at Mirror.co.uk http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/rastamouse-kids-tv-show-sparks-111140
Follow us: @DailyMirror on Twitter | Link to the article

How is the language issue represented?
 
The writer uses direct speech from viewers who specifically talk about the use of language in the programme. We can see this when the writer uses direct speech in '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.”'. Here the writer uses a person who is against the language to show how the language is represented. Also, the fact that it has been written in the first few paragraphs suggests that the writer is trying to show their stance on the language issue. Also, the writer doesn't quote another person who is fine with the language used in the programme.
 
Another thing the writer does is talk directly to the reader through the use of brackets. We see this when the writer writes 'He has dreadlocks, a Rasta Tam (woolly hat), rides a skateboard and uses words like “irie” (happy) and “wagwan” (what’s going on?).' The use of '(what's going on?)' is an interrogative sentence and it is used rhetorically. It shows that the writer themselves is against the use of the language. Also, the writer writes uses italics and speech marks when quoting the language used (e.g. 'irie'). This shows that the writer is suggesting that the language used in the programme is abnormal and this is further supported when the writer writes the meaning of the word in brackets.


How does the author represent him/herself and others?





 The writer begins to represent the show as a children's humour show which is quite harmless. We see this when the writer writes 'With its singalong rhymes and upbeat tales, Rastamouse is like many other children’s TV shows'. The words 'singalong', 'rhymes', 'upbeat' and 'tales' all link to children's TV. So, upon reading this the reader has begun to take the impression that the show is friendly and appropriate to children therefore, representing the show as something positive. However, this begins to change when the writer writes 'except this one has sparked a bitter row about racism.'. Here the writer instantly destroys any thought of the show being good as the connotations with the word 'racism' are about crime and stereotypes. So, the writer has represented the programme as something appropriate for children but then the writer has destroyed this representation straight after and transformed it to the representation that this programme is inappropriate for children.


However, apart from the above the writer really doesn't say much in regards to the programme itself. The writer uses direct speech from celebrities (most of which are popular) to represent the programme.

How does the author shape the reader's response (audience positioning)?

The writer allows the reader to make their own response to the issue through presenting both sides of the argument. We see this through the way the writer starts off by talking about how the programme is a good and child friendly and then talking about it's use of slang etc. The writer uses celebrities (who are very popular) to shape the argument also. He/she uses these to portray a line of argument. However, the writer does tend to swerve towards the negative view of the show as they suggest the language is quite abnormal and inappropriate (e.g. the writer refers to the word 'wagwan' in italics and speech marks).

The writer doesn't really interact with the audience because he/she makes the article up out of quotes from other people. However, the writer uses a rhetorical question when they refer to the language used in the programme (such as 'wagwan'). The use of the rhetorical question '(what's going on?)' shows that the writer is suggesting to the reader that the programme is going awhile. By doing this the writer doesn't allow the reader to make up their own mind, instead he/she plants a question to lead them to the idea that the programme is inappropriate for young children.