Spitting the Politics of Tomorrow Today

​Back in 2014, I posted several videos from the British political satire puppet show, Spitting Image.  The show was on the air in the U.K. from 1984-1996 and won 10 BAFTA Awards.  (In fact, it even won two Emmy Awards in 1985 and 1986 in the Popular Arts Category.  They had tried bringing the series to the U.S., though its harsh brand of political and social satire didn't catch on here.)

Created by Peter Fluck and Roger Law -- who went by "Luck and Flaw" in the credits -- with Martin Lambie-Nairn, the show used impressively accurate, yet wildly-overdone caricatured puppets to took a scathing look at politics and society, with a special place in its heart for the Royal Family, and didn't spare Americans any either.

(An episode I once saw when in England had Ronald Reagan at a dinner party.  As he was talking blather, a guest came by, lifted up the top part of his head on a hinge, dug a fork in and spun it around like trying to get spaghetti.  He then popped the top of the head back in place and wandered off.)
 
The other day, a friend had watched a musical from a while back, and it reminded me of one of the most remarkable pieces of political satire I've ever seen, and one of the most brutal.  All the more remarkable because it came from puppets.  And one that 36 years later has resonance today.  (I don't want to give away what song or which musical, but for those who don't get the connection, you can check here after watching it.)

The satirical piece I recalled came from a remarkable Election Night special that Spitting Image did in 1987 -- some live, as it covered the results, some recorded -- and as scathing as the broadcast was, it was topped by a savage final scene. I saw it years back at a Museum of Broadcasting event that was a tribute to Spitting Image.  The whole evening was wonderful, but when they showed this one particular clip, the room was absolutely stunned.  It was impossible to forget.
 
I wanted to find it on YouTube to show to my friend.  I’d posted it here nine years ago, so I hoped it was still there.  Unfortunately, it’s been taken down, and all I could find was the audio that plays over a graphic image.  But on the hope that I could find it somewhere on the Internet not on YouTube, I did a wider search -- and found it!!  I can't embed it, but I was able to download the video and will post it below.
 
Savage is the word.  As much as Americans might think they're tolerant of political satire, I don't think I've seen much that compares to Spitting Image.  And this particular clip is easily the most savage of all.  I can't even begin to imagine it making it on the air in the U.S., nor what the reaction would have been if it had.
 
No one in the U.S. (or anywhere, other than England ) is going to recognize who almost any of the British politicians are that the puppets portray, especially 36 years later.  However, there will be a few that some might recognize, like Neil Kinnock and, I believe, John Major, Edward Heath, and several others that might seem familiar, even if you can’t pinpoint who they are.  The important thing, though, is just knowing that these are all then-current British politicians -- and that the audience in England would know exactly who they are.  And even not knowing who anyone is, the point of the sketch is as 100% clear as could be. There is no subtlety here.  Subtlety is thrown far out the window.
 
The special aired on June 11, 1987.  It was broadcast right after the polls closed, with the presumption that the Margaret Thatcher government would win in a landslide, which it did.

This video in question is how they closed the show. It begins right after the news coverage signs off, with a Tory analyst explaining the good news and bad news for his party that's far in the lead.  "The bad news is 60% of the country voted for someone else. The good news is we have their names and addresses."  Margaret Thatcher then visits the Queen to say she wants to form her new government immediately and not wait, since the results are a "foregone conclusion."  When she goes to leave, the Queen stops her, "What about the customary curtsy?"  Perturbed at having to delay, Thatcher sighs and says, "All, right -- if you must," and the Queen curtsies to her. 

What comes next to close out the night is one of the most no-holds barred, brutal wrenching pieces of political satire I’ve ever seen.  Or expect to.  And I don’t think that oversells it or is hyperbole.  I can’t imagine this being done on U.S. television.  I’m stunned it was done on British television.  It’s a chilling piece of work.  The fact that it’s done with puppets doesn’t make it any less any less powerful.  Indeed, that might have been what let them get away with it, that it’s just puppets.  But honestly, that still doesn’t explain how it got aired.  Clearly, it’s a different culture.  Whether they could do something this savage today is another question.  (That said, Spitting Image returned to the air a few years and is still being done, available on Britbox.  They even did an election special about the 2020 U.S. election, which can be found in two parts here.)  
 
For those interested, I also found the full 1987 election special that this video is a part of.  You can find it here. 
 
And so, with all of that background out of the way, this then is how they ended the election special broadcast.  It is very powerful.  I would be shocked if there is anyone watching who doesn’t offer a couple “Oh, my God’s” during it.  Oddly, I find it particularly moving when the credits start to roll over the scene as it continues.  And be sure to watch it until the very end. 
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