The film-making career of director Ken Loach is to be celebrated with a six-week series of screenings – including the showing of a controversial documentary that has been unseen for four decades.Oh?
The Bath film-maker made a film about a Save the Children project in 1969 but the charity has until now blocked its transmission.Interesting…
The film was shot in the UK and Kenya by Loach’s production company Kestrel Films, and covers a Save the Children holiday home in Essex and a project for homeless children in Nairobi.Which didn’t go down too well with Save The Children, as you might imagine.
The British scenes feature criticism of deprived children’s parents and suggest youngsters wetting the bed are given cold baths, while political activists are shown criticising the colonial approach to education – including the banning of any native language – in Kenya.
Save the Children was unhappy with the content of the film and persuaded LWT not to broadcast it. However, Loach and Garnett refused to hand over the negative and the dispute went to court where it was decided that the film should not be destroyed, but that all the material should be sent to the archive on condition that it would not be shown without Save The Children’s written approval.Yes, well, that was the past, and they did things differently then.
We all know that. What’s the point in showing it now?
Mr Loach told the Daily Mail: “We knew we were making a film that was contentious. We weren’t there to do a PR job.But since we do have the benefit of that hindsight, what’s the point in re-hashing it?
“Save The Children thought that we were on the side of the angels and, without any self-awareness, they felt they were too.
“The bigotry, particularly with the benefit of hindsight of 40 years, is just intolerable.”
What’s in it for the charity?
Recently-appointed charity chief executive Justin Forsyth said: “I am pleased we have belatedly allowed this film to be shown after 40 years. It raises important questions about power, colonialism and charity that are still relevant today. I am enormously proud of the work Save the Children does in the UK and around the world. We save millions of children’s lives and help millions more fulfil their potential, and expect to be scrutinised and challenged to do the best possible job.”It seems nothing, other than a chance to grovel in front of the great and good at a charity event, eagerly abase oneself and disclaim loudly how awful the West was, and wait for the cheques from other self-haters to flood in…
10 comments:
So basically: We were racist abusive bastards back then... and some think we are racist abusive bastards now... but give us more money and we might not be in future. No promises though.
Tattyfalarr said ...
"So basically: We were racist abusive bastards back then... and some think we are racist abusive bastards now... but give us more money and we might not be in future. No promises though" ...
Or, at least we won't say it so loudly in future .. and we won't specifically mention you, if we forget to keep the volume down a bit ..
The real message from the film is that after more than 40 years of pouring aid into the black hole that is Africa, it's done SFA good.
As long as they can easily afford AK47's and ammo they'll be getting bugger all from me.
You've got to be a bit careful with this whole "Save The Children" thing ..
A momentary lapse of concentration and you could end up with more of the little buggers in the understairs cupboard, than you have supermarket carrier-bags .. ;)
Where would we be without colonialism?
Ken Loach, et al, would be obliged to wring their hands over piffling trifles if we hadn't once had an empire to beat ourselves up over.
Ken Loach isn't great or good; he's a lying prat.
Save the Children "...expect to be scrutinised and challenged to do the best possible job"
Just as long as you burn any evidence of that scrutiny and promise not to mention it for, ooooh, 40 years say?
Listening to the radio at night - it seems to be faily common practice to expect/get foreigners to use english when interviewed by the BBC etc.
I am often amazed how much better spoken they are than the inhabitants of the UK.
Imperialism I guess.
"So basically: We were racist abusive bastards back then... and some think we are racist abusive bastards now... but give us more money and we might not be in future. No promises though."
That pretty much seems to sum it up!
"The real message from the film is that after more than 40 years of pouring aid into the black hole that is Africa, it's done SFA good."
Spot on! And the answer isn't 'bigger sums of money' either.
"A momentary lapse of concentration and you could end up with more of the little buggers in the understairs cupboard, than you have supermarket carrier-bags .. ;)"
That's OK. Just ignore that warning that's printed on all plastic bags... ;)
"I am often amazed how much better spoken they are than the inhabitants of the UK.
Imperialism I guess."
Indeed!
So if I understand this right: they had the documentary banned because it made them look bad. Fast-forward forty years and they are misusing the documentary entirely out of context. They're only showing it now because the context is no longer relevant. If the context was relevant, they'd want nothing to do with it (say if, for example, something very anti-STC was made today by a Loach-type).
To me, it just goes to show that 'charities' like this are nothing of the kind - whether then or now.
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