BBC admits downplaying the scale of Israel’s occupation

The BBC does not have a great track record of reporting on Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory.

It has consistently, over decades, understated the scale of the Israeli’s theft of land and the everyday restrictions on movement that the Palestinians face in their own territory. The Palestinians’ right to use force in self defence and in the search for freedom, enshrined under international law, is also a fact that remains largely unstated in BBC news reports.

So it is interesting that the BBC has finally acknowledged that it did indeed understate the extent of Israel’s occupation in a report by Gavin Esler on Newsnight in January. Whether this means BBC coverage will become more independent of Israel’s position, however, is another matter entirely.

Full story: BBC admits downplaying the scale of Israel’s occupation.

Lights, camera, inaction! Yes, it’s Eastenders

The other day, I snuggled down in front of my computer to watch the latest edition of BBC1’s primetime soap Eastenders – something I’ve not watched for more than 25 years. And what a treat it was. Dot’s preparing for eviction (well, it is the end of the welfare state, after all); bonny baby Lexi is causing Lola concern by burning with a fever, but only it would seem while off-camera; Phil still seems impeded by an invisible straightjacket; and the intended post-row stiffness of a mixed race party only added to the already high levels of stiffness inherent in all the acting on view. I know it’s supposed to be the gritty East End of London ’n’ all but, as an east Londoner myself, I can’t remember life there ever being quite so preposterous. Perhaps I just frequented the wrong pubs.

The social issue plotlines might be created for consumption by a mainstream, mainly white audience – which would explain the (largely white) racial mix of this East End ensemble – but that’s not the point. The question that really bothers me is: why are all the characters of colour in this show still so lacking in vibrancy? This is supposed to be the East End, after all. I mean, what if you’d spent several thousand pounds on a family holiday in some exotic location, only to find the locals liked nothing better than frittering away their days silent and alone in darkened rooms supping Happy Shopper coffee? Admit it: you wouldn’t be very impressed. But that’s almost what we were served up here. The black and Asian elements in this already insipid mix are very pale imitations of the real thing.

Okay, Eastenders has never been great at portraying cultural diversity. It’s probably never really tried, and its portrayal of white cockneys is hardly inspired. It’s always had its token black and Asian roles to play among the forest of white stiffs, facing a not wholly convincing mix of problems given the context. But, surely to goodness, they don’t have to be this crap, do they?

The BBC could, of course, improve the authenticity issue at a stroke by simply substituting the actors in question with daleks, thereby opening the show up to whole new vistas of emotional range. Take the social inclusion agenda, for instance: how exactly would a dalek hold down a job, while balancing childcare responsibilities with a love life AND a drug habit, all while looking to avoid paying the ‘bedroom tax’? And just who wouldn’t be intrigued by the whole cockney-dalek interface thing?

Such a move would boost the BBC’s diversity efforts by showing that it’s portrayal of an East End melting pot of races and cultures from home and far-away countries can also accommodate those from far-away galaxies. Yes, the daleks might get a bit obsessive about The Doctor and world domination, but as long as they can pout, pull the odd pint or sell socks on a market stall, I’m sure they’d fit in just fine.

 

It wouldn’t have happened in Dirty Den’s day. Oh, apologies, yes it did…