It's hard being in my situation. I've isolated myself psychologically into a cocoon of nihilistic cynicism, that rejects most media as suspect. Instead of being mind raped by propagandist nonsense, I've voluntarily gone celibate and escaped its insidious drip-feeding of poisonous misinformation. My neurosis dictates that the mainstream media (man) reflects the views of the powerful and, therefore, lacks plurality of opinion. Ergo, we don't have an open debate or society, but a prevailing socio economic culture that denies all other possibilities a true voice.
The alternative media, although reliable, has no impact and thus dangles a big carrot of potential in front of our faces, leading nowhere. Because of this, when I lapse from the self-imposed celibacy regime, prime time television exists only to laugh at like a resentful director on a DVD commentary, slating the incompetence and poor quality of the production. This commentary is my survival mechanism; the equivalent of chanting for Jesus's protection whilst being set upon by horny blood thirsty vampires (yes, I watch True Blood).
The final straw for me in this bland matrix of prime time TV opinion, came last week; the BBC news camera cut too early to beloved Hugh Edwards on the 9 o'clock news. Hugh was accidentally shown pre-emptively positioning his head in to the: 'serious position' - the head placed to one side with a corresponding raised eyebrow - anticipating his opening establishing shot. Hugh was doing this to reassure us he was a serious journalist, with a serious eyebrow we could invest in. If his journalism was as well plucked, me might be a little less hopelessly confused and misinformed. Yet this was the perfect illustration of the style over substance approach of BBC News.
For reasons such as the above, folks like myself trawl the air waves for the odd nugget of hope for humanity, amongst a surging mass of ignorant hate driven tommyrot - so thank Christ for BBC 3's, "The Revolution will be Televised", it has never been more needed.
The reason this show is so brilliant isn't even because it's funny - although luckily it happens to be hilarious. No. The reason it's so important is purely because it exists at all. I can't believe I'm actually about to write these words: the BBC has commissioned a comedy show that espouses anti-Capitalist, anti-monarchy, and anti-war sentiments - not just espouses - but unashamedly and proudly lays them out on the table for people to deal with, without apologising.
For example: Who could deny the absurd hilarity of witnessing ignorant celebrities boasting about their designer suits on screen, and yet when asked about the privatisation of the NHS, they had no opinions to offer on the matter whatsoever. For me it was a profound moment in television, showing the craziness of a culture that obsesses over such vacuous people, who not only are economically detached from most people's realities, but who have fuck all to say about the societies in which they technically live.
And yet it is these empty Christmas tree baubles that are so frequently adorned by our medias attention. Seeing this recurring cultural joke obliterated within 30 seconds of a well-conceived comedy sketch made me literally cheer at the screen.
The BBC of today displays a range of opinion that rarely strays from the hollow, superficial soap opera that is neo-liberal politics. This is not controversial if you study your history. Read "Power without Responsibility" by James Curran, the leading authority on the UK press and media. He documents extensively how the BBC has never sought to challenge the prevailing order of power, and has consistently colluded with that very force - and if not, has been forcefully neutered by Thatcher, Blair et al. Additionally, review for yourself the committed work of Media Lens, an independent organisation dealing in media scrutiny, who have extensively documented over a decade, the frequent ideological biases in the BBC for Anglo-Saxon free market capitalism, and an aggressive interventionist foreign policy. They provide a damning array of evidence clearly showing this trend. Only a true moron like Peter Hitchens could claim- without hysterics - that the BBC are "a left wing organisation".
"The Revolution Will Be Televised" has given a platform for the all too often forgotten, disaffected, disenfranchised and angry hidden iceberg of opinion in this country. Opinion that felt sickened by the fawning, servile, all-round credulous moronic coverage of the diamond jubilee. Or likewise, the national media imposed euphoria surrounding the Olympic Games, which to question became a thought crime, or outlawed as unwelcome "naughtiness" as documented in the show itself. Or the revolting way in which a financial crisis perpetrated by unaccountable economic powerhouses has been reversed around and used to punish the majority of the population, with devastating austerity drives. Meanwhile the BBC has stood on the sidelines and done nothing to condemn this disgraceful insanity day after day. The fundamental public role of journalism - to defend the public interest from abuses of economic or political power - has been forgotten. Often the biggest lies the BBC tell come via their eerie silence on important matters. Thank Christ this programme, like the 'Mark Thomas Comedy Product' on Channel 4 years before it, provides some brief respite from an onslaught of distortions and half-truths.
But, as you'd expect, the show poses a dilemma. The very fact that it is shown on BBC3 at 10.30 PM on a Monday evening provides us insight. Shows like this, and the politics they promote, are pushed to the fringe by schedulers. The inexplicit lesson the schedulers teach us is this: these are the fringe perspectives of young cranks, unworthy of prime time slots and major audiences. We know from shows like the 'Mighty Boosh' that the fringe can be pulled to the mainstream with the right amount of support. However, the odds are undeniably stacked against this show. The BBC may be able to turn around and say, "nobody watched it", and pull it, ignoring the fact it was deprived a fair hearing on a prime time slot on BBC2. Yet in fairness to the BBC, a fringe slot is better than none at all and they should be applauded for this.
But this is where we come in. We need to send complaints to the BBC via the following link. We need to show we exist and that there is a demand for these kinds of perspectives. Instead of complaining about the show per se, let us complain that it's so important, it's worthy of a bigger audience. Let them know we are disheartened it fails to have bestowed upon it the Holy Grail: a prime time TV slot.
This may all seem like a dramatic response to a comedy show, but it is far from a joke. If we do not start to demand diversity in our media culture, we will one day awake in a world that has forgotten there was ever the possibility, of other possibilities.
Post your complaints here:
https://ssl.bbc.co.uk/complaints/forms/?reset=#anchor