Well, well...
Look at the furore this'ns provoked.
I'm sick of the way that the press insists on describing the Brasseye special as a "satire of paedophilia", when it is quite clear that the show's aim was to satirize the media and the culture of hysteria that surrounds it. Depending on historical location, the "subject matter" - Paedophilia - could have been replaced by any number of issues that've provoked the public and the press into violent, prejudicial anger and sensationalism. The point here is that the *subject* of the programme's neither here nor there - it's the crazy reaction that it produced that's the real issue; and this is what Morris wants to address: crazy reactions.....
It's ironic that a show that set out to satirize hysteria ended up generating so much of it. The Brasseye Special strikes me as a vision of the way an alien might interpret the demented behaviour of the press and the general public when confronted with issues too difficult, too important and, perhaps, too close to the bone, for stupid, silly human beings to properly engage with/tackle. I don't pretend that I (being as stupid and silly as anyone else) can offer any reasonable solutions to a problem like child abuse, but, equally, I'm 100% certain that the voyeuristic, Hollywood narratives spewed by the tabloid press regarding this matter; the crazed demonising; the estates on the march against the omnipresent threat of child rapists; the desperate, bored, attempts to feel - to experience catharsis - present on the death wreaths of Sarah Payne ("So senseless, so wasteful.... WHY?", etc.) and the increased sentences for sex offenders are entirely inappropriate and do very little to combat the problem. People get their rocks off through a little bit of fear and loathing, and the press makes some cash, but really, all this stuff? It's as insane as Brasseye, which only sets out to condense and describe the experience of a culture enjoying one of the darker pleasures of media overload.
It disturbs me that, as a society, we are so aculturated within this dangerous, tabloid mediasphere that we are completly unable to recognize the insane, hyperbolic ramblings of the press and our corresponding reactions, etc. for what they are; but cringe and scream "despicable!", "disgusting!", "outrageous" when confronted with our grotesque reflection.
We live inside a culture that has ceased to be able to distinguish between 2d Hollywood narratives peopled with "goodies" and "baddies" and clear distinctions between "right" and "wrong", and the subtle, challenging, complex problems presented to us by the realm of the 3d. Objectivity collapses, and we can no longer be sure where the boundary between the voyeuristic enjoyment derived from the violent action film; the crisis laden soap, etc. ends and the business of our fleshy lives begins. The BBC recently aired a cop drama "dealing" with the issue of child murder. It reduced this horrific subject to an exciting, "emotionally complex" two parter. In what way is this form of idic tourism any better than Brasseye? Unlike Brasseye it has no agenda, except to entertain, and, as a result, it only serves to hypocritically celebrate the serious issues it allegedly *attempts* to address. In contrast, Brasseye is honest about the "evil", libidinous undercurrents roaring untamed beneath the surface of our culture/media. It makes the darkness visible, forcing us, if we have the stomach for it, to deal with the blackest areas of the popular/individual psyche.
The child abuser is amoungst us dressed in our skin and our stories, and what has been our reaction to this revelation? To call him "the other", to string him up and brush him under the carpet. The government pushes for the ITC to take stronger measures to prevent us from raising this demon again.
Someone's recently threatened the Channel 4 building with detonation. The Star's "named and shamed" those resposible for the programme. One of these people I know reasonably well, and my Mother works at Channel 4.
[ 30-07-2001: Message edited by: Jamieon ] |
