There is nothing wrong with the fact that now and then history teachers show a piece of “The Tale of Flanders” in lessons. But it wouldn’t be bad if, after each episode with Tom Waes, they would show an episode of the very funny “Cunk on Earth”, so that the students would hone their sense of humor as well as their historical knowledge.
Philomena Kanek first appeared on British television ten years ago on the satirical news show Weekly Wipe and has since appeared in several BBC series and Christmas specials. But only now, thanks to Netflix’s “Cunk on Earth,” can she really venture beyond the borders of the UK. However, the creator of the character has been known around the world for quite some time: the TV maker and screenwriter Charlie Brookerwhich efficiently fueled our fears of technology and the future with Netflix’s hit “Black Mirror” for five seasons.
Those bingeing on “Cunk on Earth” hoping to find some dark, anti-utopian sci-fi should look elsewhere in the Netflix catalog, because this series is a very different beast from Black Mirror. “Cunk on Earth” is a parody of expensive and epic documentary series that the BBC loves to launch: “History of Britain” or “Civilizations”, for example, as the famous historian loves Simon is a mole He confidently explains how it all works. Philomena Konk (played by Diana Morganknown from “Afterlife”) travels the world, visits ancient ruins and descends into prehistoric caves “because the producers asked me to” and tries in barely five episodes to explain how life on Earth evolved from the “chaotic mess of nature” to modern civilization. that we know today.
The way Cunk on Earth pokes fun at the typical gimmicks of this type of series — the presenter giving explanation while walking, the earnest voiceover, the drone shots that should provide some dynamic — is cool in its own right. But there really is something to laugh about when Philomena sits down with professors from prestigious universities or experts from famous scientific institutions. They sit there thinking they’re taking part in a serious BBC documentary about their field, but suddenly things like “were prehistoric man composed of the same body as us?” are thrown at them. ‘Was Jesus Christ the first victim of ‘abolition’ culture?’ or “Was the invention of writing really significant or is it a passing fad like rap metal?” Philomena asks the last question to a bearded archivist from the British Museum, who has devoted his entire life to the study of ancient mesoatome writings, and has willingly unearthed a masterpiece from the collection: confusion In the eyes of the man is priceless.
I guess most scientists gradually realized that Philomena Kanek wasn’t really a fellow Simon Schama they hadn’t heard of, but athletic enough to play the game and keep coming up with answers that matched as closely as possible. This also fits with the friendly vibe of “Cunk on Earth”. It is clear that the creators are not making fun of the people, nor the colleagues who made “History of Britain” and what is associated with it, nor the professors who have taken a day of their lives to receive Philomena. Instead, the series is a delightful ode to the absurd, a monument to quintessentially British sensibility absurdity who is on many of the best comedy shows across the channel and is totally silly in that regard but also irresistible.
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