Secret Millionaire C4

[Dman]

They could surely do far more good, and their money have a far wider impact, by giving to local community groups or organisations instead. (Please correct me if I have missed the point and they already do.)

Seems to make better telly than it does philanthropy.

You don't get on the telly by doing it in private. Seems like a great ego boost if you're already rolling in it. I wonder how many cheques for ten grand they will give away when they are not on TV?

 

[nightowl]

My understanding (and I may be mistaken) is that they give to individuals. All well and good, but not a great use of their wealth. They could surely do far more good, and their money have a far wider impact, by giving to local community groups or organisations instead. (Please correct me if I have missed the point and they already do.)

saw one the other night when some guy gave £12,000 to some people doing up an old community hall. i know what people mean about a slightly uncomfortable feeling about this programme though. there is a bit of a deceitful let's get down with the poor people air about the whole thing, even if they end result is obviously beneficial for some people.

 

[Pip]

I like secret millionaire, sets a good example for the rich and the poor.

Erm.. "the poor" don't need good examples thanks very much. We're all too busy beating our children and failing to wash to pay any attention anyway.

The millionaire giving the poor mum £8000 was what pissed me off most about the last show actually. She was £4k in debt as she had to take out a loan to pay for Christmas and was cooking on a condemned looking cooker donated by a charity and he gave her money for a car because he "didn't want her using the bus". What's wrong with the bus ffs? Can he seriously be so insular that he doesn't realise how much it costs to run a car??
I thought the holiday for the dancing geriatrics was quite nice though - it's true that he couldn't cure the wifes cancer or make the daughter walk but a break from it seemed like a good compromise to me.

 

[nightowl]

i highly recommend the treneere chippy where he met the dancing couple by the way. just down the road from my gran's

 

[wishface]

Halfwit - they are placed into the sitaution without anyone involved knowing they're a millionaire.

no, my name's wishface.
And yes I know they are secret in the world they enter, but I'm skeptical of anything that's on tv frankly.

 

[october_lost]

Does no-one else see the programme as exploitative?

Bang-on and Im not talking about the dignity or pride of the people who are receiving hand outs, Im slightly mythed by the premise of the programme - as though when the rich help the poor its somehow earth shattering.

Cue some programmes about rich exploiting ordinary people, or something recognising the contribution some ordinary people do to enrich other poor peoples lives

 

[weltweit]

I saw it again last night and was not so impressed, the millionaire seemed to only find a few causes which were doing ok without him, he was only there for 10 days and gave very little in money at the end. The end game where he gave the money was quite quick and clinical as if he was just doing what the programme expected rather than what he himself wanted to do.

I guess you do not get to become a millionaire by giving money away so for some of them it must be hard to change into that mode. In the past programmes the woman who gave a lot of money impressed me the most, she gave life changing amounts to people who needed help, the other programmes have not been as impressive as that one. IMHO

 

[Orang Utan]

Halfwit - they are placed into the sitaution without anyone involved knowing they're a millionaire.

They must know what's going by now - it's the second series
I quite enjoy watching it but it is well dodgy

 

[Orang Utan]

We wouldnt be Urban75 if we didnt find fault.

Well, it is really dodgy!

 

[baldrick]

he gave her money for a car because he "didn't want her using the bus". What's wrong with the bus ffs? Can he seriously be so insular that he doesn't realise how much it costs to run a car??

yup, that's what annoyed me too. when the money runs out, she'll have to give up the car. pointless.

 

[Melinda]

Last nights show was more about him getting over his self loathing.

If he could have paid money to become white he would have.

Im not even sure he did get over it. Weird seeing someone with that much disrespect, suspicion and contempt for his own community. Well he didnt really want it to be his community.

He gave basic amounts of money. Still good, but he could have given more and probably would have, if he been in a different community and was less suspicious.

How does he raise two litle girls who are half Pakistani if he doesnt eat/ cook the food, listen to the music, go to mosque, or know/hang with any Pakistanis? Strange and upsetting to me.

Truly dug the guy who lent him the radio- solid gold guy there.

 

[miss direct]

Last nights was interesting.

Why does he have to go to the mosque to raise children well Melinda? I get what you are saying about keeping in touch with your roots etc but we don't know that he doesn't do that.

 

[Melinda]

Its not just about going to Mosque, as you say it was about keeping in touch with his roots and his community and his family. He admitted he had rejected wholesale everything in his life to do with being Pakistani- even the food.
When he made him self some chappitis and tucked in with a satisfied smile on his face, it was more than his hunger he was feeding- that was some soul food he was eating.

The prejudices he admitted- thinking badly of one of the volunteers for having a beard and wearing a shalwar-chemise and dopi? Come on thats full on seelf hatred. If a white English person had admitted to that, you would look askance at them.

He said he owed his success to the English communty. If he has left everything behind- how can he help he lovely daughters have a true sense of themselves? However fair they are (their mum is english), they will propbably still look different to most of their friends at school. More than that there is a rich cultural heritage (family?) they will be missing out on.

 

[ddraig]

I saw it again last night and was not so impressed, the millionaire seemed to only find a few causes which were doing ok without him, he was only there for 10 days and gave very little in money at the end. The end game where he gave the money was quite quick and clinical as if he was just doing what the programme expected rather than what he himself wanted to do.

I guess you do not get to become a millionaire by giving money away so for some of them it must be hard to change into that mode. In the past programmes the woman who gave a lot of money impressed me the most, she gave life changing amounts to people who needed help, the other programmes have not been as impressive as that one. IMHO

agree with this and was mightily miffed at the fuss over such small amounts last night. but then that's why these people are rich init.

 

[Melinda]

agree with this and was mightily miffed at the fuss over such small amounts last night. but then that's why these people are rich init.

they really were very small amounts. From the reaction of Scabber (!) and his girlfriend, I thought he had given a substantial amount. I was rather taken aback at £4k. And Scabber's Dojo was the longest established project too. What Scabbers really needed was a project management course and some solid advice on handling a budget.

 

[miss direct]

I thought he got 14k.

In any case, that is quite a lot for a community project.

 

[no-no]

roots schmoots, eating a bit of curry now and then and going to the mosque makes him somehow more pakistani does it?

 

[Dillinger4]

It pisses me off. Those millionaires are the reason so many people are living in poverty in the first place.

I hate seeing them trying to cleanse their conscience on TV, like they are jesus for being rich, or something. What a bunch of fucking dicks.

As zenie says, its all a bit 'let them eat cake'.

 

[weltweit]

Dillinger4, why are millionaires the reason many people are living in poverty?

 

[Orang Utan]

Dillinger4, why are millionaires the reason many people are living in poverty?

Stupid question - by exploiting others

 

[Dillinger4]

Dillinger4, why are millionaires the reason many people are living in poverty?

For them to make a big enough profit margin to become a millionaire means that a whole bunch of people are going to have paid shit wages. You only become rich by fucking people over. Or something. Fuck knows, I am not an economist. But I do hate rich people. If all their millions were shared out between a million people, we would all be a pound better off.

 

[Melinda]

roots schmoots, eating a bit of curry now and then and going to the mosque makes him somehow more pakistani does it?

Making a deliberate decision to cut himself off from everything to do with Pakistan, and automaticaly thinking badly of people from that community isnt the most conducive way of making yourself more Pakistani, no.

 

[october_lost]

It pisses me off. Those millionaires are the reason so many people are living in poverty in the first place.

I hate seeing them trying to cleanse their conscience on TV, like they are jesus for being rich, or something. What a bunch of fucking dicks.

As zenie says, its all a bit 'let them eat cake'.

WORD.

 

[Melinda]

I thought he got 14k.

In any case, that is quite a lot for a community project.

I thought the £14k went to the guys with the mini bus dealing with keeping kids off the street?

£8k went to the radio station. It may have been £6k that went to Scabbers, and £1k to the cracking guy who lent him the radio.

 

[october_lost]

For them to make a big enough profit margin to become a millionaire means that a whole bunch of people are going to have paid shit wages. You only become rich by fucking people over. Or something. Fuck knows, I am not an economist. But I do hate rich people. If all their millions were shared out between a million people, we would all be a pound better off.

Tis a wee bit more complicated than that. There are inventors and artists who dont screw people over and can amass a small fortune, but as a rule you dont get rich by working hard, but making others work hard for you.

 

[Dillinger4]

Tis a wee bit more complicated than that. There are inventors and artists who dont screw people over and can amass a small fortune, but as a rule you dont get rich by working hard, but making others work hard for you.

I know its not as simple as that. But none of those are inventors or architects or artists. Not one. They are all venture capitalist fuckheads. Trying to atone for all the people they have exploited to reach 'the top'.

Nothing makes me more fucking angry than the worship of wealth and status that we have today.

 

[no-no]

Making a deliberate decision to cut himself off from everything to do with Pakistan, and automaticaly thinking badly of people from that community isnt the most conducive way of making yourself more Pakistani, no.

I got the impression he didn't have any contact with pakistanis, other than his parents. He said he was the only pakistani at his school, he's a product of his environment.

I have german blood in me somewhere I don't feel the need to reconnect with my german roots though other than to eat the odd hotdog and listen to some can. Roots aren't important at all.

I think the show has good intentions at heart, I don't see how it's exploitative.Perhaps the millionaires could give more and place the cash better.Then again we don't know how much charity work they do normally offscreen as it were.

If the rich really want to salve their consciences they should vote for higher taxes, job done.wealth redistributed.

 

[WouldBe]

I thought the £14k went to the guys with the mini bus dealing with keeping kids off the street?

£8k went to the radio station. It may have been £6k that went to Scabbers, and £1k to the cracking guy who lent him the radio.

I thought it was 14K to the radio station and 8K for the mini bus.

 

[miss direct]

I preferred the one the previous week where the guy went in the hospital.

 

[Melinda]

I got the impression he didn't have any contact with pakistanis, other than his parents. He said he was the only pakistani at his school, he's a product of his environment.

I have german blood in me somewhere I don't feel the need to reconnect with my german roots though other than to eat the odd hotdog and listen to some can. Roots aren't important at all.

Im not sure your case is a close enough comparison?
Roots ARE important, if they werent it wouldnt hurt so much to make a deliberate decision to cut them off. If you were at peace with where you were from, then why cut thm out in the first place?

I think if you were from a 'visible' minority (sorry couldnt find a better way of saying that quickly! ) it would be slightly different. If you spoke with a foreign accent maybe, if your community were economicaly deprived, if you had decided that you were going to cut off all ties to any German people in your life, move away from German communities and bought into thinking they were scary, worrying or dangerous and felt judged for 'marrying out' perhaps and condemned by them for doing so (even if that wasnt actually the case).