"Martin Frey" wrote in message
...
"Grimble Gromble" wrote:
"Martin Frey" wrote in message
. ..
And it was good tight drama - but I agree with thesis that it suits
the climate of fear necessary for government by diktat as favoured by
rulers like Bush, Blair and Saddam. But it was also the same BBC that
so brilliantly (if repetitively) aired the exposee of the climate of
fear in a 3 parter a couple of weeks ago.
I'd hardly call it an exposé as Michael Moore had already broached the
idea
in 'Bowling For Columbine' and later extended the idea and given it more
weight with 'Fahrenheit 9/11'. What is promising is that the BBC took up
the
idea and it hasn't (yet) disappeared from public discussion. I guess the
problem now is to persuade the patient over the pond (and a fair chunk of
our own society) that it is sick (pathological even), but there may be
help.
Grim
The programmes revealled the academic and philosophical roots, back in
the 50s, of selling your people a myth, religious or political, which
was new to me, as was the parallel rise of the same method in Egypt.
Also fascinating was that indiscriminate blood-letting led to a mass
rejection of the extremists and fundamentalism in Algeria and
elesewhere. There comes a point where common sense may prevail of
propaganda and fear - very heartening.

I am a fan of Michael Moore - but don't his films contain precisely
the jump-cutting, flashes and bangs, so much derided in so many BBC
critiques? Personally I think that, if this is required to reach an
audience then so be it. The climate of fear programmes were much more
reasoned and academic - so much desired and supposedly absent from the
BBC according to its critics.

I concur with every word you say, except exposé. It was indeed a much better
and deeper analysis than Michael's, I just felt he deserved some credit for
bringing up the basic idea earlier (no doubt he didn't originate it, but he
made it readily available in a form I come across regularly and I felt might
have inspired the BBC to make their own production). His films, Bowling For
Columbine in particular, were a revelation for me, and probably prepared me
for the BBCs production. Hopefully the BBC's production will also be made
available on DVD.
Grim