We live in the age of 24-hour rolling news. The digital age means that the planet is shrinking and it's virtually impossible not to know what the 'BIG' stories are. If someone important dies, a politician fiddles their expenses or a man who is good at hitting a golf ball gets chased by an angry golf club wielding wife, we know about it as it happens. Then there's blanket news coverage with scoops followed by the ubiquitous "world exclusive".
This definitely can have benefits for raising the profile of people living in poverty and for development issues. When a tsunami strikes, or an earthquake hits, the news coverage can lead to great shows of solidarity and huge sums of money raised to help the victims. However, in the film above, UK Newswipe satirist Charlie Brooker and film maker Adam Curtis show how the news tries to simplify the narrative of complex events into 'goodies v baddies' and how this can leave you feeling like you're "living in the mind of a depressed hippy." Genius!
Oh dear, genius indeed
Very impressive film… thanks for bringing this to the frontline of TH!NK3
Oh-Dearism is indeed true… Thanks for this, Ian! BBC’s Newswipe is good at pointing out other tricks and treats of the media, too.
Very good material, Ian, thx for sharing!
BBC Newswipe is indeed good at pointing out the sillier/more annoying parts of the media. Pleased you all liked it…
Think the film raises a really valid point though about how the news doesn’t think the audience can handle, or even care to think about, complex international situations. I think it has implications for how any of us tell the story of people living in poverty.