BBC Learnings · Section 10

Is there anything good about shame

In this programme we'll be talking about the emotion of shame. What can you tell us about this word, Sam?

Level: B1 · 115 sentences

Transcript

  1. In this programme we'll be talking about the emotion of shame.
  2. What can you tell us about this word, Sam?
  3. Well, it can be a verb or a noun.
  4. As a noun, it's an emotion
  5. for the uncomfortable feeling we have when we feel embarrassed
  6. or guilty about something that we've done.
  7. It's a very strong feeling.
  8. We'll explore this topic in more detail shortly, but first a question.
  9. Now, it might seem like a random question,
  10. but all will become clear later, I promise.
  11. The chemical which is used to make
  12. cooking pans non-stick was discovered by accident.
  13. When was this?
  14. Was it a the 1930s, b the 1960s or c the 1980s?
  15. What do you think, Sam?
  16. Ah, well...
  17. First, I've no idea what non-stick cookware
  18. has to do with our topic of shame,
  19. but as to the question itself,
  20. I think it has something to do with NASA and the space programme.
  21. So I'm going to say 1960s.
  22. Well, we will find out later
  23. in the programme if you are right.
  24. The idea of shame is not new by any means,
  25. but social media has made it
  26. a very modern concept, hasn't it?
  27. Yes. When it's used as a verb, to shame someone,
  28. it means to say or write things
  29. in public designed to make other people feel bad about their behaviour.
  30. And this is something we see a lot in social media.
  31. This topic was discussed on a recent edition
  32. of the BBC radio programme Woman's Hour.
  33. One of the guests was Heta Howes from City University London.
  34. Does she think that shame is always a bad thing?
  35. If you have too much shame, it's crippling,
  36. it's sort of debilitating and that's bad.
  37. But the right amount of shame
  38. can be really positive because it affects change.
  39. And I wonder if we're starting to see
  40. that a bit in modern culture as well
  41. from sort of social media platforms,
  42. that if someone's done something that we consider
  43. to be a little bit wrong,
  44. we can sort of publicly shame them
  45. and maybe affect some positive change.
  46. So is shame always bad?
  47. Well, she does say that too much shame can be crippling and debilitating.
  48. Both these words mean that shame
  49. is so strong that we really can't manage the emotion.
  50. We can't deal with it.
  51. We can't do anything to put it right.
  52. But she does say that a bit
  53. of shame can be positive because it affects change.
  54. This means that it causes change.
  55. If someone is shamed on social media, it's very public.
  56. and can mean that they change their behaviour.
  57. I suppose though there is one group I
  58. think have to accept public shaming
  59. and perhaps deserve it more than others.
  60. I think I can guess. Would it be politicians perhaps?
  61. These days we are very cynical about politicians, aren't we?
  62. Social media is one area where the public can directly contact
  63. and comment on what their representatives are or aren't doing.
  64. But politicians are a particular kind of person, aren't they?
  65. Cultural historian Tiffany Watt-Smith made this comment on the same Woman's Hour programme.
  66. Shame can be very, very useful and the idea
  67. of someone who doesn't experience it at all,
  68. like a sort of Teflon-coated politician, I mean
  69. that's a kind of frightening image.
  70. What's she saying here, Sam?
  71. She's talking about how some politicians
  72. do not seem to be bothered by shaming.
  73. They just ignore it and move on.
  74. She describes them as Teflon coated.
  75. This is, aha, a reference to non-stick cookware.
  76. Teflon is the brand name of the chemical which was used
  77. to make pots and pans non-stick.
  78. The pans were coated or covered in this material.
  79. The reference to politicians is that there are some to whom
  80. criticism and shame just don't stick.
  81. They manage to avoid any negative consequences of their actions
  82. and this, she says, is scary.
  83. Here's Tiffany Watt Smith again.
  84. Shame can be very, very useful and the idea
  85. of someone who doesn't experience it at all,
  86. like a sort of Teflon coated politician, I mean
  87. that's a kind of frightening image.
  88. It's nearly time now to review our vocabulary,
  89. but first let's have the answer to the quiz question,
  90. which was about non-stick coating on cookware, or Teflon as we heard.
  91. When was it invented?
  92. a the 1930s b the 1960s
  93. or c the 1980s What did you think, Sam?
  94. I guessed the 1960s and I think it was invented
  95. as part of the US space programme.
  96. Well, a lot of people think that and, like you,
  97. A lot of people are wrong.
  98. It was actually discovered by accident in 1938,
  99. so well done if you got
  100. that right, but no shame if you didn't.
  101. Now on with today's words. OK, yes.
  102. We were talking about shame – an uncomfortable feeling of guilt
  103. and embarrassment at something we've done.
  104. Shame can be crippling and debilitating.
  105. Both these adjectives mean making someone
  106. unable to deal with the situation.
  107. They can feel so badly about what they've done
  108. that they find it difficult to move forward emotionally.
  109. We then had to effect change.
  110. This means to make change happen.
  111. Note this is effect with an E
  112. and not effect with an A.
  113. Teflon is a non-stick covering for cookware.
  114. And something that is coated with something is covered with something,
  115. so teflon coated means covered in teflon.