Cleese plays the inept and manic English hotel owner and manager, Basil Fawlty, who isn’t cut out for his job. I see in him many of the same traits of some managers I meet these days -- he’s intolerant, rude and paranoid. It is not unusual that all hell breaks loose as Basil tries to run the hotel. His marriage leaves much to be desired, too -- he’s constantly under verbal (and sometime physical) attack from his unhelpful wife, Sybil. She plays the role of a self-centered woman well.The Spanish waiter who is incompetent and speaks little English because he is from Barcelona has similarities to some waiters you come across in restaurants.
You have probably been to a hotel by the sea somewhere in the world, if not here in Turkey, and found that it is run by a stressed manager with no people skills who, to nobody’s surprise, can’t seem to please his guests.
The other night I turned on the DVD to watch the series and found myself laughing out loud through most of it almost to the point of rolling in the floor. In this episode, it is rumored that there are hotel inspectors in town, and Basil Fawlty becomes even more hyper than usual when dealing with his staff, fearing that one wrong move could result in him losing his license.
I have seen this time and again in Turkey when inspectors from the Ministry of Education or the Ministry of Tourism or from the tax office walk into a place of business or a school and the show begins. You may have been a teacher at a school and been told when you came to work that day to go home, as inspectors are coming. This is the first clue you have that the school has not properly filed your paperwork for the work permit or not added your name officially to the payroll.
In “Fawlty Towers,” the hotel inspectors are just as much a threat to Basil as they are here to any hotel manager. You never know when they will appear and just what they are looking for… or just what they want from you!
In the episode I was watching, Basil hears that the hotel inspectors are in the area just after he has been exceptionally rude to a guest, and he begins to think the guest was the inspector in disguise. From that point on, he goes out of his way to bend over backward for the guest. Actually though, the inspectors have not arrived yet at the hotel, and when they do, he is rude to them. Fortunately, for Basil sake, he has an intelligent and attractive maid to help him out of the various situations he gets into.
Perhaps the most fascinating character is Manuel, the waiter. He is obviously quite a smart guy, but sadly as he is only just beginning to learn English, he cannot reflect this very well. He regularly can make no sense of Basil Fawlty’s convoluted and conflicting demands, and his only possible response is “Que?” While learning Turkish, many of us have sympathized with Manuel, feeling the only response to a great long set of instructions from an official in the tax office, or a letter from some government body, is the Turkish equivalent of “Que?”
Sadly, though, when Basil tries to excuse Manuel’s lack of ability and understanding to his guests with the words “He’s from Barcelona,” that seems to satisfy them. On the surface, this is really funny, but the joke relies on a sense of cultural superiority -- or to be more accurate, an imputed sense of national inferiority. It makes me wonder how often I just accept a problem I face with the words, “This is Turkey!” rather than taking the extra time and trouble to explain my question better or to help a member of my staff realize that there are other ways to do things. After all, often the problem is more about Basil than it is about Manuel!
Note: Charlotte McPherson is the author of “Culture Smart: Turkey, 2005.” Please keep your questions and observations coming: I want to ensure this column is a help to you, Today’s Zaman’s readers. Email: c.mcpherson@todayszaman.com
