Songs Banned By The BBC

[Paula A]

As somebody who has just returned from 4 days of full on campaigning to have an offensive tv advert banned. (successfully as it happens).. There can be a lot more to the blue pencil than is obvious at the time. and obviously looked at years later decisions can be seen as bizarre.

I'm not going to perpetuate the banned thing because .. well.. it's been banned as being liable to cause offence and also to potentially put people in danger.

It's very clear to me that the moment a broadcaster derives it's income by whim of government it ceases to be in any way independent of political interference. Say wnat we tell you, don't be any more than a placebo and don't report uncensored news.. I don't trust any state propaganda service to be broadcasting in the interests of the people who are forced to pay for it.

[pwdrive]

Mmm.....All this is getting interesting, I agree to an extent with what Paula says, I live down here in the Southwest and one of the emotive issues down here is that of culling of badgers to help control Bovine TB and the "Gaurdians of the countryside" efforts to try and repeal the hunting with dogs act which was introduced a few years back. On the Bovine TB front there seems to be a cosy relationship between the NFU's PR dept. and the local BBC broadcasting media, consistantly they put the Badger as one of the main causes of Bovine TB, however anyone with any kind of logic can see that the Badger is not the problem, the problem is intensive agriculture, if the Badger was the main cause then surely the desease would be classified as Meales Meales TB which it isn't....It's classified as Bovine TB...the cattle are the problem. The Badger is predominantly a woodland creature they pick up the Bovine TB when they stray into open land.
We have several Badger setts in our woodland and we worry about them as we are lovers of wildlife, don't get me wrong we are not Tree Huggers, however, we have lived in the sticks most of our lives and I have to say that public perception through the media does not reflect the reality of living in the sticks and what actually goes on behind closed doors.
It's the same on the hunting ban issue....exactly that...the "Gaurdians of the countryside" and the media constantly call it the hunting ban...It is not and never was a hunting ban it was a private members bill to introduce a ban on hunting with dogs only in an attempt to stop the cruel blood bath that always happens when a pack of dogs capture any living creature, you can still go out and shoot a fox as it's classed as vermin (sadly) or shoot anything else that is classed as vermin or game. On a personal note I can not see what sport there is in killing any wildlife that has a disadvantage unless it poses a seriouse threat to human life, so there you go.

Lawrence.

[Aerodyne]

Sorry to disagree, Steve:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Answer_Me,_My_Love
This confirms my memory of the events. Lyric writer Sigman was American - the song was a hit in America, recorded by Frankie Laine but covered in the UK by David Whitfield.
-Tony

[Paula A]

Thats completely bizarre censorship.. The BBC have always been full of religious broadcasting. It isn't a problem for them on Sunday mornings or for an hour every Sunday evening (I watch Time Team then.. more chance of learning something, though so far this series has been rather rubbish)

I don't have any objection to it, and I don't have any objections to songs which reference a fantasy, like santa claus or any other supposed mythical spirit/entity.. It's only when compliance in places such as school or other organisations is enforced do I have a problem with it.

They offered me a bible in court the other week.. sad to admit I cracked up laughing and was then reduced to fits of giggles throughout the proceedings at the ridiculous notion.. I could have played along but I'm inherently honest so what worth an oath sworn on something I find irrelevant and hilarious? They wouldn't let me swear on The Underpants of Power, which I suggested to bring a little perspective to the matter............

I'm not going into that further as some may be upset.

[Skywave]

It's very clear to me that the moment a broadcaster derives its income by whim of government it ceases to be in any way independent of political interference.
I don't trust any state propaganda service to be broadcasting in the interests of the people who are forced to pay for it.

Indeed Paula - agreed entirely. I've always maintained that the BBC is the government's mouthpiece. I've long since recognised that the government of any country needs to be able to control the 'thinking' of the plebeians of that country: we can't have the status quo threatened, can we? Look at some of the garbage that the BBC churns out on BBC1 TV for example, variously described as 'mass entertainment'.

Al.

[pwdrive]

You are spot on there.....Remember when World in Action first came out and Panorama, good reporting and exposays, I am ashamed to watch Panorama these days it just seems to be a contrived load of tripe, the media has gone down the pan so far as I am concerned most journalistic reports seem to be "embedded" when on foriegn assignments etc. When i was younger the Vietnam conflict was in full swing there were plenty of uncensored photo's, film and reports coming out, one was a live execution with a bullet to the head, who can ever forget the little girl running down the road from her village after the napalm attack and the skin hanging from her body, we had good reporters then with the likes of Brian Baron and for me Julien Pettifer in particular exposing the reallity and real horrors of conflict and war. Horrific and brutal as these images were, at the end of the day they helped to change a nations opinion on what was really happening. I am not saying that there arn't any good reporters around today as know doubt there are, it just seems to me that they are all being gagged......Along with the rest of us...what we need is a real demo to wake things up....I am ending this rant here as I realise it might be going the wrong way for the forum.

Lawrence.

[pwdrive]

On a lighter note, this comedy classic on president Reagan sums a lot up.....



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdorjqj6aS4

Lawrence.

[Skywave]

Absolutely brilliant! That's the type of comedy & satire that always get s me rolling on the floor laughing. I just loved the USA President and the Mc. Enroe sketches: sharp, cutting, character-fitting, etc. It's such a shame that there isn't comedy like that on the TV any more - heaven only knows, the way things are these days we could all do with a bit of relief in these depressing times.
So - thank you very much for sending it in. Having watched it, I'm now feeling a lot less maudlin! (And we can't have people feeling maudlin, can we? )

Al.

[pwdrive]

No worries Al...It was always one of my favourites as well...like you say it's a pity that there isn't more stuff like that on the telly these days, there are some modern day comediens that I like but I find a lot of the stand up comics are a bit to loud, I find the shouting obliterates the substance (if there is any)

Lawrence.

[Joe]

I refer the honourable gentlemen to the remarks made by Bill Hicks some twenty years ago.

- Joe