streatman
graffiti should be allowed anywhere and everywhere. it should be appriciated as an art, not shunted like a crime. its just another way for people to express themselves so i say let them get on with it

Mr Correct
All andalism is a terrible crime and the perpatrators should be severly punished. It's not art anyway it's rubbish, childish scrawls on walls and these people should grow up!

westy 100
Has this programme helped graffiti and hip hop culture in any way? No.

All this had done is sparked kids and little chavies to start up gangs and try and graff where they can. They dont understand the meaning of graff or why people do it! All they care about is TRYING to let people know who they are and intimidate people on streets!

Look, hip hop culture died in the 80's and early 90's! Knowone can bring it back especially not the Bbc! All you have done is bacicly told kids to try and do it! Graffiti was primeraly used by political activists who let there feelings be known, NOT by chavs who swear and abuse people just for the sake of it! Peace!

kicksmaster
The cartoon is OK but theres too much waiting around with nothing much happening. Speed things up a bit!

mark crawshaw
To all the people who complain about graffiti in your area, write to your council and get a LEGAL wall put up somewhere for people to LEGALLY paint on, many towns already have this and they are great, the art is amazing

David
Two weeks after you start this totally misguided waste of money a load of graffiti has appeared on the wall at the bottom of my garden where there has never been any before. Thanks a lot BBC, are you gonna come round and clear it up?

People can express themselves artistically in loads of free and cheap ways without defacing other people's environments.

Looking forward to the next BBC series all about shooting up and carjacking... why don't you try and encourage some positive behaviour in people instead of this?

Dave
This is irresponsible of the BBC glorifying graffiti that is often the vandalism of property that doesn’t belong to them.

z20t
graffiti is glorified vandalism and i like it

seni
graff is not vandilism its art for thounds of people it their life. brilliant programe

-Kope-
a lot of you seem very bitter towards young ppl gettin into graf.. every1'z gotta start sumwhere.. even if it iz jus taggin.. if nobody new started graffin, it wud die out eventually..

eljay
graff is a way of life originatin from da suburbs of brooklyn in the mid 70's a way of bringin pure flava and signature in an artistic form of expression ...its the art form of hip-hop breakdance and b-boy freshness... and doesn't get enuff respect

mski
i have long had debates with friends and people on the internet about graffiti and how society in my opinion thinks its cool.

its slowly becomming more commercial and it is taking over our world. its on adverts for cars, trainers, in the music videos, in the magazines, graffic designers are making a mint from biting writers styles and blatently teething ideas. fair game to any true writers in the business, but i dont think this is doing the graff scene any good at all.

brought up with hip hop i learnt graff with the respect for the scene.

documentaries and programmes glamorising the subject just get kids into it as its a cool thing to do. they are going out bombin over pieces tags or dubs wih no idea about respect for other peoples work and certainly not all these kids know about the elements of hip hop and how graff is vital in the whole scene.

in my opinion graff should stay where it belongs, along side the breakers and mcs, not beside a group of k-swiss wearing mummys boys who think its cool to be doing whatevers considered cool that month or year. they should stick with their yo yos or micro scooters.

writers should write for all different reasons, and so i guess no matter who starts and who stays in the game, we'll all tell the toys from the boys.

tim
I've just sat and subjected myself to all six episodes of this programme. Initially I was angered by its one dimensional, poorly researched (not to mention poorly animated and acted) and quite frankly OFFENSIVE view of graffiti.

However, in the end I realised that in a couple of years the trendy media will have a new buzzword. And once the hangers on have fallen off I'll still be painting as will most real writers, largely unaffected by its fifteen minutes of mainstream fame.

You see, whatever the BBC, or any of its sympathisers think, Graffiti writers in general don't want their work accepted as high art or sterilised and hung in a gallery. Graffiti's power lies in the fact that it exists outside of the 'culture industry' (to borrow a phrase from the Frankfurt School).

It would be fair to say that the only person on this message board whose views I truly appreciate is Martin Jones. Righteous indignation wins out evrytime over bland acceptance, at least a reaction was provoked.

In short, Graffiti IS vandalism, it IS anti social , the point is I dont like society much, so it doesn't really bother me. Grafspoitation? 1Xtra, get off the coat tails, you're slowing me down.

stafism
its interestin to see people gettin passionate about graff and while when folks with a spray can and no clue dirty up and vandalise our towns and cities skilled practitioners of this trade can make a very drab lookin place look like somethin out of a comic wich is cool. Is it art? yes, but only in the right hands! i

steve
YA have this page 'biggin up' ya cartoon, makin graffiti look 'KOOL' to lil kids thn the next link down from this 1 it says:

Graffiti costs the UK over £1bn a year. Areas covered with graffiti look rundown and neglected and surveys have shown that residents feel unsafe in graffiti-heavy neighbourhoods.

In late 2003 the government announced a raft of measures to help councils tackle graffiti and graffiti offenders, building on previous laws. Plus, there’s always room for you to tackle the problem yourself.

you might get a load of kids thinkin this is great, but 2 a real writer that actually cares about the graffiti scene and gets out and duz his stuff, this is little more than irritaiting

vandal
you make a cartoon makin graffiti look 'kool', but if i painted the BBC studio's you wud get me hammerd by the police, wen your big wig employer walks long the street he dont want to see graffiti, i'll put doon all the money i have on it. Your just tryin 2 look in touch with the times coz kids think its cool now,

style
soz bbc bt comercializin graff aint on. it aint a culture or an art. its a life ppl. graff is a way of life non of u ppl who work in offices kno the feelin inside wen u dun a perfect outline on a train, or the rush of runnin from tha rail cops. u ppl in suits kno nuttin bout graff, ure ruinin the life of art that ppl like me live for. u make us look like fools

Luke...Leaz
First of all i wana big up da creators...All the episodes are basiclly true in everyday life when graffiti is involved...Graffiti is the new fashion in basiclly every country...

DA DEM INNIT!
LEAVE IT ALONE, NOT ONE OF YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THIS, YET AGAIN 1 EXTRA THINKS IT KNOWS EVERYTHING ABOUT HIP HOP CULTURE. SORRY YOU ARE VERY MUCH MISTAKEN.

I LOVE THESE KIDS THAT 'FINK' THEY KNOW WAHT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT AND SO RIGHT IN SOME LAME STREET SLANG.

YOU GOT TO HAVE A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF BRAIN POWER TO DO ANY OF THE VARIOUS ASPECTS OF HIP HOP AND FRANKLY KIDS IN THE UK AT THE MOMENT FALL VERY SHORT OF THIS.

LEAVE IT TO PEOPLE WHO DO IT BECAUSE THEY DO IT, NOT SO THEY CAN MAKE OUT THEY KNOW SOMETHING. REAL HIP HOP DIED YEARS BACK, ECCEPT WITH ALL THE UNDERGROUND CATS THAT STILL MAKE IT WITH OUT THE LAME INFLUENCE OF MAIN STREAM GET THE MESSAGE TOYS.

Em
Its true there are some real artists in the graf scene, but I reckon at least 90% of all kids who graf arent interested in art or xpression - they are just ignorant little vandals.

This smacks of the BBC trying too hard to be "down with the kids", and is pretty irresponsible. Glorifying the "thrills" of climbing over train tracks to wack up a tag doesnt sound like public service broadcasting to me.

Mackie
Its not the art that people are find offensive in my opinion its when a wall becomes covered in random taggs. Personally I find the larger pieces great

Peter McLoughlin
Who on earth is responsible for this? What do you think you are doing?

Grafitti vandalism is a scourge on our society and to think that the BBC is glorifying it with my licence fee makes me feel sick.

If I ever caught anyone vandalising anything I would grab their spray can and spray up all their clothes and see how they like that.

Stoowit
By all means spray on walls, bridges and transport...just make sure it's yours first! Otherwise, as usual you're simply expressing yourself at someone else's expense - how uncool is that?

A
Vandalise your own homes!

Nick Troake
You are promoting something that is illegal, unsightly, injurious to property and generally perpetrated by morons, as evidenced by the illiterate nature of most of the comments you show here. Stop wasting my money on rubbish like this.

steve ogden
sport? art? you're joking right? judging by the level of responses so far, it proves like this really is a hobby for mindless cretins. It's vandalism - end of story.

The only voice of reason
Some questions and answers :

(Q1) is graffiti illegal? Answer - Yes.

(Q2) Why is the BBC promoting something that is illegal? Answer - to try to reach out to the ever-indefinable 'yoof' culture

(Q4) I would imagine that for most people art is a form of individual expression and also a matter of very individual taste. Which is fine. For example, one of my favourtie artists is Turner who painted some great old masters. Therefore I have a question for all budding graffiti artists -would any of you like it if I came and repainted my favourite Turner painting on the wall of your house? Answer - probably not.

Solution that keeps everyone happy? You paint your own walls and I will paint mine - not other peoples because not everyone likes every form of art.

We live in a democracy and I'll bet most people in the UK think that most graffiti that is produced is a complete eyesore especially if it appears uninvited on their own walls.

Finally, if you disagree with me (and I am sure some of you will) then please try to formulate some decent counter-arguments rather than just come up with what seems to be the standard 'its wicked' 'its cool man' 'you are outdated' or 'word up to the taggers down with the old fuddy-duddies' rubbish. I would be particularly interested to hear a response on the legality of tagging/graffiti (a law which has been around through generations of government). Further, if you think the law is wrong and should be changed, this is fine - it means that I can come and paint the walls of your house with my Turner seascape?

fraser
whats next 'prozzies' or maybe 'dealerz' The BBC has never and will never 'be down with the kids' Anyone on here who even claims there a graph artist is taliking rubbosh.. REAL GRAPH artists would stear well clear of you lame attempts to 'buy into' a youth market...

I watched one of the eppisodes and i think its nothing but patronising and self serving..

Im suprised you havent got that Tim 'ere me now' Westwood involved yet... You know just to 'ice' that 'arnt we hip cake'

Wake up BBC and stick to the things that people respect you for... rather than jumping on whichever 'youth' bandwagon that happens to be passing...

So lame its quite funny.. like your dad at a disco....

ZEPHER2
i must say that graffiti is the realist form of art its based on life style , feeling, rights, and various others , ive been writing since the earley 80"s and its only now that the media and society has deemed graffiti as art1

John
At times, I can really apreciate the effort and creativity of some of these graffers. But the etching of ones "tag" on many of my local shop windows, bus stops and personal property leave me with a feeling of anger and intolerance. Can these people be the same?

Royston Batty
Giving these so-called artists any credence or publicity will just lead to more of this grime infesting our urban and increasingly rural landscape.

The impact that these morons have in an inner-city area is wholly negative,that is according to all the folk who constantly complain about it round here.

This nonsense masquerading as art really has to stop,and the cognescenti in the world of art who give this vandalism voice should really think about the emperor and his new clothes.

Bruno
BBC have no right to try and reveal 'the truth' behind graffiti. people who dont know about it won't learn anything. just inerpret it in the wrong way. and to those of us who have lost loved ones through them risking their lives writing, its just offensive seeing it portrayed in a cartoon.

Cashcleaner
How exactly can the BBC excuse itself for protraying thuggish vandalism and anti-social behaviour as a legitimate artform? I wish I could deface public and private property and have a documentary made about my life.

ADAM MCGRATH
I CANNOT BELIVE THE BBC IS CHAMPIONING THIS CRIME. TAGGING IS MINDLESS ADN THOUGHTLESS CRIME. MY AREA IS COVERED WITH RUBBISH? UNTHOUGHTOUT TAGS? WITH ILLEGIBLE NAMES ON? SUCH AS "FAC" OR "ROME". IT REQUIRES NO IMAGINATION WHATSOEVER IN THE MOST PART AND IS A MERE EXTENTION OF AN ANIMAL NEED TO BE TERRITORIAL. THERE IS A NAUGHTY WORD FOR GRAFFIITI "ARTISTS3 6 AND ART IS A TERM I WOULD USE VERY LOOSELY.

wilton fry
Graffiti is vandalism. I really find it difficult to see how the BBC can tacitly suppot criminal damage.

danny
tagging is kids running rounds vandalising. no talent

GW
Moronic sentiments, written in moronic style by moronic people. You should be made to clean up the mess that you make of our towns and cities. Also, you should be forced to learn that "innit" is not a word.

Nekro Nomikon
The kids who do this stuff are pathetic losers. They make everywhere look like a miserable urban wilderness. Welcome to the real world - it's criminal. Grow up and grow out of it.

David Watkins
No television programme should be anything but totally negative about this blatant, mindless and ugly form of vandalism, the clean costs of these young morons comes from my council tax !!

I and the vast majority of the decent public are sick to death of seeing this mess everywhere !!! it should at all costs be discouraged and not made to look like some stupid moronic fashion statement

Helena C
I think it is awful, to produce such a program about graf- it is so ugly when people destroy public places and private buildings. What gives them such a "kick" to graf everywhere? They should do it on normal paper that normal people do!

Graeme
It is incredibly irresponsible of the BBC to be highlighting this criminal activity - graffiti is very ugly and destroys our cities - It's one of the crimes that I think should be dealt with more severely.

Sam
finally dey is showin dat graff aint 'vandalism' but a art..and its one of da ways we can show our feelins and get em across to over peeps out der. If u was to go out ne where... and see sum of da stuff done its propa fresh so all u people hu is dissin it is stupid, its just the same as how u ofice people express yur feelins talkin...we like doin it thru graffin and taggin. U fink its 'vandalism' i tink its art!... peace out..luvin mi babe M!

athletic__trash
I'm in two minds with this one. Like the person above said; now you'll get little ones writing stuff like "Danny LUVS Shelly!" Blah blah blah. I'm quite sick of seeing my stuff mashed up by people like that. But in another way, graffiti may get a little more respect and this show will give others an insight. I see it as vandalism when idiots are writing rubbish but when graffers actually have an idea and want to show everyone the positive side to it then that's pretty ace.

I've been graffing for about five years and I'm eighteen now. It's good to see that young graffers are getting noticed over in my ends. Nothing makes me happier than being able to create on large canvasses and being able to invite others into my world. It's quality. But it would be a shame to see graffiti falter. It's been around for ages; let's keep it alive. And to Martin, it's a shame you feel like that. Hopefully this show will be able to show you and others like you a different side.

Alex
Nice to hear whats going on in Europe on the graffiti scene. Not really a documentry but it's a niiice little insight if your not familiar with whats going on. Props

Danny Pizzle
this documentary will show people da real flow its not anti social its quite socially where manz get togetha to show emotions on walls.

joebloggs
no offence but this is weak - graffiti has been around since the 1970's in new york, but the media and marketing types seem to think that using graffiti within their products will give them an urban look and improve their profits. Graffiti is an underground scene, not a marketing tool and its sad that it just gets rinsed to line some idiots pockets. Much of what you think graffiti is, is in fact rubbish - stuff you see in shops, on adverts etc is nowhere near the real thing. People risk their lives to paint graffiti, because its something they love doing - it takes years to develop your skills, but all this program will do is show everything graf isnt.

Bry
There are some talented people out there and it's such a shame that they have to break the law to show the world what they can do. I have not seen taggerz yet but will certainly take a look. There should definately be a history of this art form shown before showing what it is happening today to gain an understanding of the roots of graffiti (from back in the late 70's believe it or not). I admire the true artists out there but have nothing but contempt for the plastics/vandals that scribble their name anywhere and everywhere and do bring what some people live for to ruin ... peace to all.

aquarie
fair enuf this graff ting is pollutin the world but it dusnt all have 2 b aerosols, there are utha ways of creating graff. graff is recreational and ppl leave tags as a mark of identity. we need more new art in this country init? enuf of this conservative critisism. trus

Neil Jayaratne
You know what Martin Jones sorry mate you dont know what your talkin about... true say that you get them idiots tryin it with them ugly looking tags all over cities. But then you get the amazing talents of Grafitti Artists, this art is the window to the souls and creativeness from these people. Its beautiful, crazy, sexy, colourful, cool, im tellin you, you've got to open your eyes to the art that is Grafitti. because when you do your outlook on life will change as well.

P
It just the commercialisation of yet another culture, like hip-hip, like break dancing that evolved out of the oppressed part of society and now it's deemed a cool, everyone wants to get on the band wagon!!!!! Lets hope its just letting people know the truth, cause there nuff ignorant asses out there

tare 30t
I've been a graff artist for over 20years. this show seems to be sending out a fair reflection of the scene today, with a few aspirational people trying to achive something, and deadbeats doing things for the buzz and sake of destruction whether it be themselves or other people and there property. If graff is going to survive it must rid itself of the criminal element and toys who just throw up tags anywhere and everywhere who are just out to deface and destroy, and concentrate on the higher goals of any art form meningfull expression

Dan
I reckon dat Graffiti shud just b aloud in certain areas,eg..youth clubs and stuff. Too much can b a mess but it's nice 2 c a good tag sumtimez.

lost
graffiti is art. tagging is a crime.

Faversham_Gal88
i think their great and their a piece of art but not everyone sees it like that!

i dont see why its bad it puts characterism in a dull or boring place. also it give people a way to express something. theres a lot of great graffiti and i hope to see even more!

RTNRTNRTN
Taggerz is going to be big, no question. Its not glorifying graf, its just bringing a real picture to the attention of kids that dont know. Hopefully it will give peeps a refreshed idea of why people graf the place up, as apose to the uneducated presuming its completly vindictive. I hope it shows the full picture (the difference between real graf artists, living the scene and little kids that are getting up for no reason other than to tell Sarah such and such that shes fat)...p.s..love the idea of a bus shelter smashers sketch tho!!

Alex
You cant say that the bbc dont know anything about graff, the artists who are making taggerz will all have been trained in art, its an animation, there is so much cross over, they would know more than most about graff

Ben
What a joke. The last thing we need is more little kids thinking they are gangster because they throw their name up all over the city. If this was about proper graff, then fair enough, but when the vast majority of UK graffers are just kids who have no interest in the art side, and just want the 'respect', you are really promoting anti-social behaviour and all the crime that goes hand in hand with that.

Every South London graffer I've met has been an utter idiot, the graffing has just been a side project to mugging, shoplifting, car crime, drugs, etc.

Bianca Winston
I think that this will be a big hit! dis is deep we've never had an imaginative story line which involves creativeness e.g grafitti-pow!!!! I feel dat when people draw on rules dis is der way of showing life and clear thoughts, emotions~@}@~}

Martin Jones
It is a shame 1Xtra is glorifyring this crime which makes our towns even uglier than a lot of them already are. Why support people who vanadlise private and public property? What next? Follow our new series: The bus shelter smashers and the telephone booth vandals. How cool is that?

Doctor Dog
Word blad, man this webcast looks RIPE hear me now. Seen, STOP. this show be rippin up sam new styles and ting innit? Nuff respect to tha British Broadcating Corporation innit? Safe.

OrGiE
taggerz looks like its gonna be an interesting series showin the real graffiti culture of what we live day in and day out

Andrew Inkpin
Through a link on the BBC's radio player I discovered your forthcoming series "Taggerz". I would imagine that this series is intended in a spirit of cultural democracy, but graffiti writing is vandalism, i.e. law breaking. And even if graffiti did have (or is taken to have) instrinsic aesthetic value, I do not see how it can in any sense be responsible use of licence payers' money to condone or even to portray positively graffiti "artists".

The way to benefit people with "troubled backgrounds" is not to pretend it is acceptable to live as a yob, but to provide education, role models, and possibilities to have a somewhat less "troubled" foreground (i.e. future). It is not the BBC's task to imply that being a vandal is OK.

paul
oooh aint they cutting edge..... taggerz...... hasnt grafitti been around since the last century? isnt it time to change the record? Yup it all looks cliched ......and the rotters are polluting this planet even further with their aerosol gases.....

Faze
its really good because it captures the full effect of what writers go through. I have only seen the preview but already i can see that it will be a hit and maybe some politicians will see it and understand that it is not ANTI SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR.

Mark SPLINTER
You are the BBC, face it, you don't know anything about graff. This smells really bad.

BLAST
This show looks serious! I have been graffing for about 4 years now and this is the first program i have seen on our underground sport. 1xtra you are nang!

asom OOK
I'm french that's why my english may be very dirty. I am a writer and i think that writing is the best meeting of my life. there is nothing for me who can make me more happy than when I put my colors on the wall peace love & fun for everybody writing forever

scamleeds
this show will make graffiti a fashion and get little kids doing it who dont no about the scene