Alf Garnett was presented as "the common man" in Til Death Do Us Part, though ...

... and so it could be argued that the viewer was supposed to sympathise with him to an extent. I never did, and have never found Alf Garnett offensive, but yes - I see the problem with the Alf Garnett stuff that some people wouldn't get the irony and identify Garnett as a role model/hero/whatever.

Alf Garnett's more complex, too, because if you don't like him, then his character is a very damning indictment of the English working classes, stereotyping them as racist and ignorant, which is also problematic.

With Hamburger, though, he's very recognisably "a pathetic stand-up comedian" and doesn't demand identification or sympathy in that same way, so I find it a lot less problematic. And far more funny. But there you go.

Posted By: Ottosson Foxtrot, Mar 20, 15:35:07