The British class system explained

This classic, classic sketch, with its wonderful visual gag, wasn't easy to find on Youtube, so on finding it I thought I would share it.
The participants are John Cleese, Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett.
Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett later became a famous partnership under the name "The Two Ronnies".
John Cleese later became a famous partnership under the name "John Cleese".

I found two versions. The first has a clear picture but only the first half of the sketch.

The second has a fuzzy picture and modern parody captions, but at least the sketch goes down to the punchline.


The testy relationship between "Middle class" and "Lower class" is also illustrated by The Two Ronnies on their own;

a reply to: DISRAELI

The class system was created to get the wealthier people in the country to support monarchy. If your social status provides you benefits you wouldn't naturally have on a level playing field, then hierarchy works in your favor even if only marginally as much as it works in the favor of those at the top. The secret is that you don't need to benefit a majority of people. You only need to benefit those resourceful enough to be problematic were they to be left held up in the lowest classes.

This small ladder to the top is enough to keep all of the masses in line, because the lower classes blame themselves or their ancestors for their situation, and everyone else truly believes that they can climb that ladder slowly but surely.

America claims it has no class system, and while it does not have titles or inherited power, it does have inherited wealth, which is just as troubling to heterarchy and egalitarianism.

While I personally do not support a 100% estate tax, I can understand the temptation behind it. When 80% of the wealthy people in your country inherited their wealth, wealthy people already being an extreme minority, upward mobility is a fairy tale.

a reply to: Nechash
Can't you just chuckle at the sketches?
I am a UK citizen and was born in a poor working class estate, then built my life through hard work and effort to 'upper middle class' before choosing to leave it and become 'working class' self employed with no debts.
There are plenty of opportunities in the UK if a person is hungry enough to chase the options. I'm almost sick of hearing people in the UK bleat about their situations but doing # all to change it, even if it is a challenge sometimes.

I have two friends who are GBP£ millionaires, but they are as down to earth as me and wear the same scruffy clothes when we are working together. The class system only really exists in the echelons of titles and what people call the '1%' - the rest of us can aspire to anything we want up to that '1%' in the UK if you are fit, healthy, with a brain that works, and have the passion to succeed.

Whinging about life while doing nothing to improve a situation seems the norm if you ask me with many people these days, so yes, I find the sketches funny as a representation of the UK 20-30 years ago.

a reply to: grainofsand

When you contrast squabbling in darkness to basking in the fullness of the sun, there's not much to be done at this point. Going out there to get my share of the orgy is just adding to the problems and I don't believe in violence personally, and I don't really see any other tangible way to change things on a macro level.

At this point, it's a waiting game, hoping humanity will wake up and walk away from this madness, dreading the inevitable war or plague that will come along to upset us from our present course if we choose to do nothing about it whatsoever.

I do many things on an extremely local level to improve the quality of my own life. Nothing so grand as chasing down millions of dollars, but my ancestors already did all of that for me. There is no need for another person with my genetics to hoard reserve notes.

I do have humor and I enjoy comedy, even though most of it is a mask for tragedy. I thought it was supposed to be comedy and tragedy, not tragedy as comedy, lol.

Anyway, I don't hate wealthy people, and millionaires aren't really all that wealthy anymore. I hate hierarchy, centralized totalitarianism, and an absurd level of traditionalism that leads us to ignore projects which could revolutionize existence for everyone.

The age of Chronos is not some immoral thing to dread. It is a renaissance that will free up humankind to explore the limits of what can lead them to true greatness. The puritan streak in the world that thinks we all should pay for the crime of Cain by working hard for everything we have is an insanity that needs to be laid to rest. Life can be comfortable and enjoyable for all of us, excluding depression or other mental illnesses. There is no reason for any of us to cut 20 years off of our life expectancy toiling away for a meager subsistence with this grand age of productivity in our midst.

a reply to: Nechash
Oh my, this is the jokes forum. While I understand much of what you say, it would perhaps be better suited to debate in a dedicated forum for such things.
I would love to continue but not here.

Best wishes,
GoS

a reply to: grainofsand

That's the most British thing I've heard all day. Yes, I would love to continue this whenever you are up for it.

a reply to: Nechash
So the idea of "laughing at an intended joke" is something that is alien to you?
God, what a serious nation you must belong to. You're not German, are you?

a reply to: DISRAELI

Can you explain the joke to yourself and still see it as a laughing matter?

Nein.

a reply to: Bleeeeep
How very serious and po-faced we all are.
Doesn't it occur to you that humour, mocking the absurdities of the upper classes, might be a psychological weapon against them?
Have you never heard of satire?
To illustate the point, another example;

a reply to: DISRAELI

I have no idea or wish to interrupt the further deep discussion taking place but couldn't help seeing the 2 Ronnies mentioned, they are a joy but nothing beat it for me than "Four Candles:.

ETA: Forgot link...

a reply to: LightSpeedDriver
Thank you for that contribution.
That clip doesn't last long enough for Ronnie B. to explain his alternative ending;
The new assistant is a girl, and her punchline question is "What kind of knockers were you looking for?"