A selection of interesting articles from the past few weeks.
Corinne Bariley-Rae talks about the premature death of her husband and how music saved her
Susanna White talks about directing Generation Kill and her reputation for creating costume dramas
Jo Brand discusses her career and recent autobiography
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
The Force - Crystal Unit
Episode two of channel four's documentary series The Force portrayed the efforts of Crystal Unit, Portsmouth's dedicated rape investigation team, in their investigation of several rape cases.
Crystal Unit is the only dedicated rape unit outside of London, and the programme shows the initial six-month pilot study of the squad. Due to the time period The Force does not show any cases that have gone to trial, and nor does it deal with the victim support side of policework. This is a disappointment; although clearly victim confidentiality needs to be protected, more time with the victim support workers would have shown a different side to the investigations, which were notably absent of any victim input after the initial report. The one exception to this was the young woman who withdrew her rape claim despite a high level of evidence; the victim support worker advocated for her side, stating he couldn't make her talk to the police.
But Crystal Unit's efforts can only work with the crimes reported; there were no efforts mentioned to encourage rape victims to come forward, or to raise awareness of domestic and marital rape. If the police do not run campaigns against these sorts of crimes, who is supposed to?
Although the programme showed several investigations, the primary focus was of a woman who woke up in a hotel room with several men she didn't know. It is clear to see why this investigation was chosen: as the women did not know the suspects, the detectives had to gain information from the hotel about booking arrangements and identities, as well as investigating the noise complaint made about the room the woman woke up in. There was a level of suspense as one suspect was on holiday and could not be questioned straight away - he was arrested as soon as he stepped off the plane. But what sort of message does it send that the major feature of a documentary about rape investigation chooses a case which concludes with the victim having lied to the police and no crime was found to have occurred? As the initial narration places the Crystal Unit's existence in a wider context of disbelief about rape, do the programme makers not think this refers to them?
It is concerning that a documentary dealing with such an emotive subject should be considered entertainment. Yet this case, with the way it builds to what seems like a serious crime and then suddenly twists into a surprisingly benign reality, has clearly been placed to be as gripping as possible. It was unnecessary to show so much investigation footage when the makers knew it would amount to nothing.
The Force shines when it focuses on the bureaucracy of the police force: Crystal unit is a trial run, but it is already in danger when a low reportage rate leaves their detectives inactive for 49% of the time. The higher-ups get restless, and questions are raised not about how successful Crystal Unit is, but how cost-effective. The decision was made to close the unit - this was then reversed on the last day of operations, but with only 50% of the detectives remaining. Previously Crystal Unit were shown to be struggling with their workload under the initial staffing levels.
Crystal Unit is the only dedicated rape unit outside of London, and the programme shows the initial six-month pilot study of the squad. Due to the time period The Force does not show any cases that have gone to trial, and nor does it deal with the victim support side of policework. This is a disappointment; although clearly victim confidentiality needs to be protected, more time with the victim support workers would have shown a different side to the investigations, which were notably absent of any victim input after the initial report. The one exception to this was the young woman who withdrew her rape claim despite a high level of evidence; the victim support worker advocated for her side, stating he couldn't make her talk to the police.
But Crystal Unit's efforts can only work with the crimes reported; there were no efforts mentioned to encourage rape victims to come forward, or to raise awareness of domestic and marital rape. If the police do not run campaigns against these sorts of crimes, who is supposed to?
Although the programme showed several investigations, the primary focus was of a woman who woke up in a hotel room with several men she didn't know. It is clear to see why this investigation was chosen: as the women did not know the suspects, the detectives had to gain information from the hotel about booking arrangements and identities, as well as investigating the noise complaint made about the room the woman woke up in. There was a level of suspense as one suspect was on holiday and could not be questioned straight away - he was arrested as soon as he stepped off the plane. But what sort of message does it send that the major feature of a documentary about rape investigation chooses a case which concludes with the victim having lied to the police and no crime was found to have occurred? As the initial narration places the Crystal Unit's existence in a wider context of disbelief about rape, do the programme makers not think this refers to them?
It is concerning that a documentary dealing with such an emotive subject should be considered entertainment. Yet this case, with the way it builds to what seems like a serious crime and then suddenly twists into a surprisingly benign reality, has clearly been placed to be as gripping as possible. It was unnecessary to show so much investigation footage when the makers knew it would amount to nothing.
The Force shines when it focuses on the bureaucracy of the police force: Crystal unit is a trial run, but it is already in danger when a low reportage rate leaves their detectives inactive for 49% of the time. The higher-ups get restless, and questions are raised not about how successful Crystal Unit is, but how cost-effective. The decision was made to close the unit - this was then reversed on the last day of operations, but with only 50% of the detectives remaining. Previously Crystal Unit were shown to be struggling with their workload under the initial staffing levels.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Thought socially outdated idealization of the musician/groupie dynamic had disappeared? Think again! The new Spotify/Doritos/Guitar Hero promotion positively revels in it.
Your aim is to win an all-expenses paid night in a hotel room, where you too can play Guitar Hero and eat Doritos just like a real musician! Or like you usually do on a Saturday night, just in a nicer room.
The way you do this? By signing up to their website, connecting it to your facebook and getting as many groupies as possible. And those groupies? People you know on facebook. Obviously the Spotify/Doritos/Guitar Hero triumvirate wouldn't want to be involved in any potentially illegal coercing, so it's all a matter of uploading nice benign pictures of people's underwear - unmodelled. But wait - do I see all male images of musicians and pretty frilly pink girly underwear as the groupie icon? yes I do. Sure, you can win by accumulating fans too - but when groupies gain you four points and fans a mere one, it's pretty clear how this is going to be won.
I've written to both Spotify and Doritos asking them why they've chosen to incorporate such sexist ideals into their promotion. I await their reply.
Your aim is to win an all-expenses paid night in a hotel room, where you too can play Guitar Hero and eat Doritos just like a real musician! Or like you usually do on a Saturday night, just in a nicer room.
The way you do this? By signing up to their website, connecting it to your facebook and getting as many groupies as possible. And those groupies? People you know on facebook. Obviously the Spotify/Doritos/Guitar Hero triumvirate wouldn't want to be involved in any potentially illegal coercing, so it's all a matter of uploading nice benign pictures of people's underwear - unmodelled. But wait - do I see all male images of musicians and pretty frilly pink girly underwear as the groupie icon? yes I do. Sure, you can win by accumulating fans too - but when groupies gain you four points and fans a mere one, it's pretty clear how this is going to be won.
I've written to both Spotify and Doritos asking them why they've chosen to incorporate such sexist ideals into their promotion. I await their reply.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
What's been missing from Saturday night television? Racism!
But it might be making a comeback.
Two incidents this week, from different shows, countries and circumstances. But one similarity: they didn't mean to offend, so they couldn't accept something was wrong.
Incident Number One.
In the aptly named "Red Face" segment of the Australian variety show Hey Hey It's Saturday a Jackson 5 tribute act performs, which has six incidents of blackface. Guest judge Harry Connick Jr is completely appalled.(Note: the link shows both Connick's reaction and the act itself).
After Connick awards them a zero, host Darryl Somers makes a hasty apology, not for the utterly racist spectacle, but because the show felt it had offended him. Not for cheerfully showing an outdated, offensive form of entertainment, but because they had offended their guest Harry Connick Jr (who again deals with it beautifully).
The next day Somers states "To most Australians I think it's a storm in a tea cup" .
Incident Number Two.
The hopelessly stupid dancer and tv presenter Anton Du Beke, who is currently appearing on Strictly Come Dancing, "jokingly" called his dance partner Laila Rouas a derogatory term for an Asian person after seeing her fake tan. Rouas is part-Indian and part-Moroccan. It is also rumoured that he asked if she is a terrorist.
Du Beke apologised. Both Bruce Forsyth and Len Goodman had outbreaks of Old White Man Syndrome, Forsyth telling everyone to get a sense of humour
and Goodman claiming things aren't like the old days.
The over-arching theme of these apologies (and later statements) is that what happened didn't matter,and to think about that is to linger unnecessarily on a subject that is closed.
Except this isn't just about tedious ballroom dancing and morons pretending to be the Jacksons. This is about blackface and acceptable language, and there is a history behind these things.
Calling an Asian woman a derogatory term is not the same as an American calling a Brit a "limey" because limey is not yelled at people in the street. Limey has not been written on the door of someone's home to intimidate them. Rambling on about how things are different these days does not help, because that is a good thing. Just because you are older does not mean you live in a bubble.
It is not acceptable to wear blackface if you are Indian: just because both African and Asian people are not Caucasian does not make them the same. It is not acceptable to wear blackface because you really love Michael Jackson. And it is not acceptable to show blackface on a television show. It is definitely not acceptable to show blackface on a reunion special when that act was originally featured in 1989. Not 1969, 1989.
The producers of the show seem to ignore this. It is not that an act was shown twenty years ago and they thought it would be nice to show it again. It is that a blackface act was selected and ok'd for viewing by several departments not once but twice, both in eras when such humour is not acceptable. At all. And once the initial apology has been made, the show's producer and presenter announces that "most Australians" wouldn't be bothered by it. Even the black ones?
We are not divorced from the cultures and history that created such slurs, even though we'd like to erase it from our collective memories. We can't pretend that individual actions don't count towards a wider consciousness, especially when those actions are broadcast.
Two incidents this week, from different shows, countries and circumstances. But one similarity: they didn't mean to offend, so they couldn't accept something was wrong.
Incident Number One.
In the aptly named "Red Face" segment of the Australian variety show Hey Hey It's Saturday a Jackson 5 tribute act performs, which has six incidents of blackface. Guest judge Harry Connick Jr is completely appalled.(Note: the link shows both Connick's reaction and the act itself).
After Connick awards them a zero, host Darryl Somers makes a hasty apology, not for the utterly racist spectacle, but because the show felt it had offended him. Not for cheerfully showing an outdated, offensive form of entertainment, but because they had offended their guest Harry Connick Jr (who again deals with it beautifully).
The next day Somers states "To most Australians I think it's a storm in a tea cup" .
Incident Number Two.
The hopelessly stupid dancer and tv presenter Anton Du Beke, who is currently appearing on Strictly Come Dancing, "jokingly" called his dance partner Laila Rouas a derogatory term for an Asian person after seeing her fake tan. Rouas is part-Indian and part-Moroccan. It is also rumoured that he asked if she is a terrorist.
Du Beke apologised. Both Bruce Forsyth and Len Goodman had outbreaks of Old White Man Syndrome, Forsyth telling everyone to get a sense of humour
and Goodman claiming things aren't like the old days.
The over-arching theme of these apologies (and later statements) is that what happened didn't matter,and to think about that is to linger unnecessarily on a subject that is closed.
Except this isn't just about tedious ballroom dancing and morons pretending to be the Jacksons. This is about blackface and acceptable language, and there is a history behind these things.
Calling an Asian woman a derogatory term is not the same as an American calling a Brit a "limey" because limey is not yelled at people in the street. Limey has not been written on the door of someone's home to intimidate them. Rambling on about how things are different these days does not help, because that is a good thing. Just because you are older does not mean you live in a bubble.
It is not acceptable to wear blackface if you are Indian: just because both African and Asian people are not Caucasian does not make them the same. It is not acceptable to wear blackface because you really love Michael Jackson. And it is not acceptable to show blackface on a television show. It is definitely not acceptable to show blackface on a reunion special when that act was originally featured in 1989. Not 1969, 1989.
The producers of the show seem to ignore this. It is not that an act was shown twenty years ago and they thought it would be nice to show it again. It is that a blackface act was selected and ok'd for viewing by several departments not once but twice, both in eras when such humour is not acceptable. At all. And once the initial apology has been made, the show's producer and presenter announces that "most Australians" wouldn't be bothered by it. Even the black ones?
We are not divorced from the cultures and history that created such slurs, even though we'd like to erase it from our collective memories. We can't pretend that individual actions don't count towards a wider consciousness, especially when those actions are broadcast.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Stephen Gately 1976 - 2009
Former Boyzone member Stephen Gately died on Sunday morning at the age of thirty-three.
Gately was the first boy band member to publicly announce he was gay, provoked by a former member of Boyzone's security selling a story to The Sun. Gately had good reason for keeping his sexuality under wraps: Louis Walsh later admitted it would have been difficult to have had an openly gay man in Boyzone, stating "It wasn't cool then to have a gay guy in the band".
Although Gately's reasons for publicly acknowledging his sexuality were less than altruistic, it cannot be denied that a young high-profile entertainer in a market aimed predominantly at young girls announcing his homosexuality paved the way for later performers ranging from fellow boy-banders Mark from Westlife and Duncan from Blue, to Will Young. Will Young advanced this by discussing his homosexuality whilst on the cusp of success, rather than in his decline.
Notably Gately not only announced his homosexuality but was willing to express it within his work, something Will Young has been reticient to do, by performing with a man in the Boyzone video for "Better"
Mika has yet to get around to either of those options.
Gately was the first boy band member to publicly announce he was gay, provoked by a former member of Boyzone's security selling a story to The Sun. Gately had good reason for keeping his sexuality under wraps: Louis Walsh later admitted it would have been difficult to have had an openly gay man in Boyzone, stating "It wasn't cool then to have a gay guy in the band".
Although Gately's reasons for publicly acknowledging his sexuality were less than altruistic, it cannot be denied that a young high-profile entertainer in a market aimed predominantly at young girls announcing his homosexuality paved the way for later performers ranging from fellow boy-banders Mark from Westlife and Duncan from Blue, to Will Young. Will Young advanced this by discussing his homosexuality whilst on the cusp of success, rather than in his decline.
Notably Gately not only announced his homosexuality but was willing to express it within his work, something Will Young has been reticient to do, by performing with a man in the Boyzone video for "Better"
Mika has yet to get around to either of those options.
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