Wednesday 31 May 2006
England’s love for their newest folk hero, Monty Panesar
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India Uncut - England’s love for their newest folk hero, Monty Panesar
Mike Brearley examines England’s love for their newest folk hero, Monty Panesar:
Monty
and Manuel [the waiter in Fawlty Towers] are both from cultures that
are foreign to the majority, yet both are cult heroes. In feeling so
affectionate towards them, are we also compensating for our prejudices?
In falling in love with the chosen outsider, do we thus make a
convenient exception? I’ve heard people say if all blacks/foreigners/
East Europeans/Indians, etc were like ‘him’ there’d be no problem.So
the racism or xenophobia stays intact, while the person chosen as the
exception becomes a more than honorary Englishman, whose name is turned
from Mudhsuden Singh Panesar, to dear old Monty (with the Panesar
pronunciation anglicised). But this may be cynical and pessimistic;
perhaps the popular attitude to Panesar humanises and moderates other
more paranoid feelings. I’m not sure.