Room 101

[junediamanti]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, GulPlum <hp at p...> wrote:
> 
I have occasionally watched Room 101 and have often pedantically 
composed a letter which remains unsent to the production company.

The purpose of Room 101 in the Novel 1984 by George Orwell was not 
to be some rubbish bin where you got rid of unwanted things, but it 
did of course house "The worst thing in the world".  This was 
personal to every individual but it was your worst fear, the one 
that could turn the most rational individual into a quivering 
wreck.  In Winston Smith's case it happened to be rats.  He escaped 
death by rats by pleading with his captors for his lover to be put 
there instead of him, the idea Orwell was stating was that after 
such pleas you could not feel the same way about that person 
anymore.  This was the ultimate victory of the state machine over 
the private individual to make them renounce their deepest love.

If you haven't read Nineteen Eighty Four, I recommend the scene 
where Winston Smith, the hero of the book faces his greatest fear as 
one of the most terrifying in fiction.  

So accordingly, I find the rather silly TV programme a bit annoying 
because it trivialises a magnificent idea and piece of literature.

Pendantic - yes I suppose so.

June

> 
> Talking of "posh" (explanation forthcoming), I mentioned at the 
weekend 
> that "adults who read Harry Potter" was one of the items Linda 
Smith wanted 
> to consign to oblivion on Room 101 last night.
> 
> For those who don't know what this show is about (the link I 
provided 
> didn't really say much beyond the basic premise), a celebrity is 
invited to 
> discuss their pet peeves with the show's presenter, Paul Merton. 
It's all 
> done for laughs, in case anyone was wondering... Several "things" 
(depicted 
> by inexpensive props) are proposed to be banished from the world, 
and the 
> celebrity has to persuade Merton that the world would be a better 
place if 
> the subject under discussion was consigned to oblivion.
> 
> The whole thing is a million miles from being Politically Correct 
and is an 
> opportunity for people to be as prejudiced as they wish. In the 
past, 
> people have banished "people in wheelchairs", "golf", "bicycles", 
several 
> politicians, etc... Anne Robinson (of "Weakest Link" fame) got 
into very 
> hot water when she wanted to abolish "Welsh People" 
> (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/2543573.stm).
> 
> Enough on the background, on to last night's show. Ms Smith's 
argument was 
> that other than people reading HP to little children, or those 
with reading 
> difficulties (!), adult interest in the Potterverse is unhealthy 
and 
> debilitating (or a symptom of general infantilism in society). She 
was 
> particularly scathing of those who "feel no shame to be seen 
reading Potter 
> in public" on trains, etc, and "don't have the decency to disguise 
the book 
> with pornography or something". The rest of the conversation was 
variations 
> on that theme.
> 
> In some cases, especially if he's unsure of what the audience 
reaction to 
> his decision may be, Merton takes a hand-count of the studio 
audience as to 
> whether or not to allow a particular "thing" to be consigned to 
the depths 
> of Room 101. He did so in this case - with an overwhelming 
proportion of 
> the audience voting in favour of oblivion. The show's director 
clearly 
> agreed with the decision - when showing the people against casting 
out 
> "adults reading HP", he chose to show a pair of media 
stereotypical  Potter 
> fans: two very obviously overweight women wearing spectacles 
looking very, 
> very nerdy. The segment was introduced with a filmed interview 
with an 
> American stereotypically geeky guy in a bookshop buying the new HP 
book 
> (OotP) "for his wife", and much discussion ensued about whether or 
not 
> someone as geeky and unattractive as this guy could have been 
married...
> 
> All in all, the show went to great lengths to maintain the image 
of adult 
> Potter fans as sad, unattractive geeks.
> 
> (Admittedly, the show's presentation and style always shows the 
object 
> under discussion in the most unflattering light possible, so 
there's 
> nothing really unique about taking the p*ss out of Potter fans in 
that way.)
> 
> As for the reason why I thought of mentioning the topic of Room 
101 when I 
> used the word "posh", the last item Linda Smith proposed 
consigning to Room 
> 101 was... "anything posh" (She was successful).