Two Films on Countryside Issues Ch 4 10th (7.35) and 17th (7.55) August
ESSENTIAL VIEWING - PLEASE CIRCULATE WIDELY
>
> >Date: Fri, 09 Aug 2002
>
> >[SANITY] Two Films on Countryside Issues
> >Reply-To: SANITY@yahoogroups.com
> >
> >All very subversive stuff. Predictably relegated by the broadcasters to
> >unimportant times, and not trailered .....
> >
> >Please make sure everyone you know is informed about these broadcasts:
> >
> >
> >FILM 1. A VERY BRITISH REVOLUTION - MILK WARS: C4 Sat Aug 10th 7.35pm
> >
> >FILM 2. A VERY BRITISH REVOLUTION - SIXTY DAYS: C4 Sat Aug 17th 7.55pm
> >
> >Fiona Wailes
> >Sharpshooter Films
> >Tel: 020 8749 3689
> >Fax: 020 8740 9715
> >
> >
> >Dear Strachan,
> >
> >BELOW A SYNOPSIS OF THE FILMS WHICH YOU COULD USE AS A BASIS FOR GROUP
> >E-MAILING. A SERIES ABOUT THE GRASSROOTS' PERSPECTIVE AND THE RIGHT TO
> >PROTEST . JOIN THE PROTEST BY WATCHING!
> >
> >FILM 1. A VERY BRITISH REVOLUTION - MILK WARS: C4 Sat, Aug 10th, 7.35pm
> This film follows the actions and ultimate fate of a group of farmers
> calling themselves Farmers for Action. The group militantly oppose the
> pricing policies of supermarkets.. Their grassroots revolt was originally
> confined to the blockading of supermarkets and dairy depots. However, as
> their financial situations became ever more desperate they turned their
> anger on the government. This anger culminated in the fuel crisis - of
> which they were the main organisers.
>
> In all senses of the word, it's a David against Goliath story which
> questions the link between supermarkets and government. Above all, it
> illustrates the human consequences of a pricing system which does not
> even match cost of production.
>
> Protest FILM 2. A VERY BRITISH REVOLUTION - SIXTY DAYS: C4 sat, Aug
> 17th, 7. 55 pm
>
> Continuing its unique look at how the protests of a small group of militant
> farmers went from being a minor irritant to a few supermarkets to nearly
> bringing down the British government, A Very British Revolution: 60 Days
> follows the experiences of the key protestors after they withdrew from the
> refineries in September 2000.
>
> Set in the 60 day cooling off period that occurred after the fuel protests,
> the film charts the protestors' downfall once they declared themselves
> ready and willing to negotiate on behalf of the people. Focusing on the
> stories of five of the men who emerged as the main protest leaders, 60 Days
> offers a fascinating insight into the way in which the government turned
> the tables back on the protestors. This is where the real story lies. The
> gloves were off and all the black arts of spin, innuendo and outright
> smear came into play.
>
> Official pronouncements attacked not just their actions but, more
> damagingly, their motives. Stories were planted, smearing not only the aims
> of the protesters, but also their personal indebtedness, their marriages
> and their general characters. The political issues which the protestors so
> longed to discuss were for the most part buried under a hail of
> vituperation . The civil liberties aspects were mostly dismissed or ignored
> and questions about the unfairness of indirect tax were drowned out. The
> message was that ordinary people should not officially debate politics.
> These were not the actions of men who believed in democracy. They were
> the actions of self-deluded nobodies with mistaken ideas of their own worth.
>
> The personal effect on our characters was devastating. Husband was set
> against wife, protestor against protestor: The smallest personal
> differences were blown up into full scale hostilities. All this was
> cynically fanned by government and media. It makes for great television -
> but presents a sad picture of the way our society runs.
>
> The rationale behind the government's is not surprising because the
> greatest challenge to the current government's credibility has been two
> events involving the countryside - namely the Fuel and Foot and Mouth.
> TX Dates
> Channel 4 A Very British Revolution Milk Wars 7.35pm 10th August.
> Channel 4 A Very British Revolution Sixty Days 7.55pm 17th August.
>
> Unbelievably, the same Channel who happily promote fake Big Brother are
> edgy about publicising real big brother issues like the spread of
> multi-nationals or the encroaching power of the state. So what happens?
> Sheer genius: The programmes we have made, called A VERY BRITISH
> REVOLUTION - are being parked at a time which will ensure that scarcely
> anyone gets to see them. Or so it would seem. For a start they rejected
> putting them out around the time of the Countryside March - naturally a
> perfect platform. Second, and much more seriously, they're putting them
> out late afternoon/ early evening on a Saturday in August. If you know
> handful of people will get to see them. almost consigns them to complete
> oblivion. The first is being put out on August 10th, 7. 35 pm this coming
> Saturday , the second the week afterwards
>
> If you know anything about television you'all immediately realise the
> problem. The films' content scarcely makes for conventional family viewing
> and young families in particular are likely to have their hands full
> sorting out the kids. Similarly at this time of the evening young adults
> are likely to be out rather than glued to the TV
>
> We are convinced there's an agenda to this because in their own way the
> film's are highly political and in a way that the Government will not like
>
> For this reason our only hope is that we can find people who believe in
> campaigning for better television. We've heard of organisations in
> America calling upon their members to boycott films. We're asking the
> opposite - that there is a campaign to switch the television on. Equally,
> if people want to see programmes like these survive the commercial
> pressures then they need to signal the fact by telling the broadcasters
> that there is a constituency out there who do want more than sex and
> violence on their screens.
>
> For weirdly, as things currently stand, television is much more likely to
> promote Big Brother than tackle the real big brother themes of the
> dominance of multi-nationals and the sense of powerlessness that ordinary
> people often feel.
>
> Yours sincerely
>
> Fiona Wailes and Chris Goddard