Friday, January 23, 2009


Killed anyone recently?


Most of my readers are Christians. (Actually, all the ones I know about.) That means they're pro-life - anti-abortion, not to be mealy-mouthed about it. (I mean, who isn't 'pro-life'?) So that means we're murderers-in-waiting. How do I know? The BBC says so, and the BBC is famous for its accuracy. Isn't it great to have such a wonderful broadcasting service to serve us!

2 comments:

Si Hollett said...

The very first episode of Spooks was about a 'pro-life' terrorist group. It's sadly old news that the BBC would happily portray pro-lifers like that - murderous whack-jobs.

I can't think of a time where pro-lifers have been portrayed positively by Auntie, nor any of the other analogue channels.

Then again, the BBC can say what it wants. However, it can't claim to be impartial if it isn't (and when it can't do that it can't claim public money).

Gary Benfold said...

That's true, Si. A difference, however, was that the 'Spooks' episode imported an American pro-lifer; the BBC could reasonably argue that there have been murders by pro-lifers in the States - murders of those involved in abortion.
And impartiality is not straightforward - or even required, I think, - when it comes to drama. Portraying a crooked accountant, for example, doesn't violate impartiality.
The problem is the relentless poor portrayal of those who don't tow the pluralist/secularist morality line; and you may remember that a further episode of 'Spooks' did portray 'born-again Christian terrorists.'