Il-lallu kemm hu tad-dahk dal-programm, ozbricc!

Here’s a fine example of sophisticated Maltese humour. After baiting the village idiot for YouTube and taunting niggers on buses, just about all that’s left is a spot of bear-baiting at City Gate.

The Times, Tuesday, 6th January 2009
Young children on candid camera

Alexander G. Farrugia, Xagħra

Last Sunday evening, while flipping channels, I came across what I feel to be a prime example of bad-taste television! The channel in question is the local channel Family TV, which, at the time, was airing a series of “candid camera” sequences which were seemingly faux-recordings of a programme which bears the name Issa ċ-Ċans.

Candid camera-type shows have been mushrooming all over local TV lately, most of the time delivering shabby imitations of foreign gags. What really disgusted me in this particular example was that very young children were involved, and ridiculed.

The children were made to believe that they were to record a song for the aforementioned TV show. During their presentation and performance, they were subjected to continuous pseudo technical mishaps… the CD skipping, things falling in the studio and audio problems, among other things.

The director made each child make repeated takes, with the camera focusing on the children’s faces, who became more and more anxious with each repetition. Some even ended up crying. To make matters worse, the studio people, probably because their poor minds thought it would add a little bit more realism, randomly shouted at the children with phrases like “Ejja ħi! Forsi neħilsu!”, “Dan min għallmek tkanta?”, “Qed tistona!” and “Daqshekk! Skwalifikata!”.

The really repulsive part was the fact that all of this seems to have had their voice tutor’s blessing. Is this person aware of how much harm could be done when children as young as six are exposed to such things? How can one believe that, at that age, children have the concept of “candid camera”? Were parents aware of this?

If a channel really has the family at heart, it should, by principle, avoid making of its most vulnerable members! As Khalil Gibran writes, “If indeed you must be candid, be candid beautifully.”