CHIEF of police Michalis Papageorgiou must be very thin-skinned to have taken offence at his lampooning by CyBC television’s satirical show ‘Patates Antinaxtes’. The Chief wrote to the show’s producers to complain about the way he was being portrayed and to demand that his character was taken off the show.
Police spokesman Michalis Katsounotos explained that the Chief felt the show “is insulting an institution, humiliating him personally and the position of chief of police.” He also felt that the Chief’s character – portrayed as a self-absorbed man who referred to himself in the third person and was afraid of a notorious criminal – was appearing much too frequently, on the weekly show.
Nobody likes being made fun of in public, but it is a price public figures have to pay. It is true that top officials and politicians had become accustomed to being treated with deference and fawning respect by the Cyprus media, particularly the state broadcaster, for much too long, but attitudes change. Irreverence is finally making a shy appearance in our society and authority figures have become legitimate targets for mild ridicule.
Although the Chief might disagree, this is a very healthy sign. It is good for a society to be able to laugh at itself, its habits, its follies and its leading personalities. It indicates that it is becoming more open-minded and moving away from the deadly, mind-numbing seriousness with which it approached everyone and everything. There is still some way to go, but the indications are that we are lightening up.
The fact that the state broadcaster could put on a show that mocks the president, the Archbishop, political leaders and Chief of Police is conclusive proof that our society is changing for the better.
Such a show would have been inconceivable 10 years ago. What is even more remarkable is that none of the personalities mocked on the show ever called the CyBC to complain; according to the producers, the police chief was the first person to complain and demand that his character was taken off the show.
The only disappointment was the timid reaction to this request by the producers of the show. A spokesman for the show said that “we will find middle ground with the police,” suggesting that Papageorgiou’s character could be toned down. This was a big mistake, publicity-wise and on principle. What credibility could a satirical show have when it starts negotiating with the people it sends up, in order to keep them happy? The producers should have taken a more resolute stance, instead of pandering to the chief.
Public figures should lighten up and accept that in an open, democratic society they are fair game for TV producers, writers and everyone else.
