Hero's tale is 'too positive' for the BBC

jetsetter

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By Chris Hastings, Arts and Media Editor, Sunday Telegraph
Last Updated: 11:56pm BST 07/04/2007

Amid the deaths and the grim daily struggle bravely borne by Britain's forces in southern Iraq, one tale of heroism stands out.

rivate Johnson Beharry's courage in rescuing an ambushed foot patrol then, in a second act, saving his vehicle's crew despite his own terrible injuries earned him a Victoria Cross.

For the BBC, however, his story is "too positive" about the conflict.

The corporation has cancelled the commission for a 90-minute drama about Britain's youngest surviving Victoria Cross hero because it feared it would alienate members of the audience opposed to the war in Iraq.

The BBC's retreat from the project, which had the working title Victoria Cross, has sparked accusations of cowardice and will reignite the debate about the broadcaster's alleged lack of patriotism.

"The BBC has behaved in a cowardly fashion by pulling the plug on the project altogether," said a source close to the project. "It began to have second thoughts last year as the war in Iraq deteriorated. It felt it couldn't show anything with a degree of positivity about the conflict.

"It needed to tell stories about Iraq which reflected the fact that some members of the audience didn't approve of what was going on. Obviously a story about Johnson Beharry could never do that. You couldn't have a scene where he suddenly turned around and denounced the war because he just wouldn't do that.

"The film is now on hold and it will only make it to the screen if another broadcaster picks it up."

The independent production company which was developing the project for a prime-time slot on BBC1 is now believed to have taken the script to ITV.

Pte Beharry, 27, who was awarded the VC in March 2005, was the first person to receive the country's highest award for valour since 1982 and the first living recipient since 1965. He was honoured for two acts of outstanding gallantry which occurred just over a month apart while he was serving with the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, in the Iraqi town of al-Amarah, in 2004.

He was cited for "valour of the highest order" after he drove a Warrior tracked armoured vehicle through heavy enemy fire in May 2004 to come to the rescue of a foot patrol that had been caught in a series of ambushes. The 30-ton Warrior was hit by multiple rocket-propelled grenades, causing damage and resulting in the loss of radio communications. Pte Beharry drove through the ambush, taking his own injured crew and leading five other Warriors to safety. He then extracted his wounded colleagues from the vehicle, all the time exposed to further enemy fire.

The following month, Pte Beharry was again driving the lead Warrior vehicle of his platoon through al-Amarah when his vehicle was ambushed. A rocket-propelled grenade hit the vehicle and Pte Beharry received serious head injuries. Other rockets hit the vehicle incapacitating his commander and injuring several of the crew.Despite his very serious injuries, Pte Beharry then took control of his vehicle and drove it out of the ambush area before losing consciousness. He required brain surgery for his head injuries and he was still recovering when he received the VC from the Queen in June last year.

The script of the film about his heroics was being developed by Darlow Smithson, the production company responsible for the Bafta-winning Touching The Void and the docu-drama Tsunami, which was recently aired by the BBC. The Ministry of Defence is believed to have been supportive of the project and was offering the film-makers technical advice.

The BBC's decision to pull out will only confirm the fears of critics that television drama is only interested in telling bad news stories about the war.

The Ministry of Defence recently expressed concern about Channel 4's The Mark of Cain which showed British troops brutalising Iraqi detainees. That programme was temporarily pulled from the schedules after Iran detained 15 British troops.

A spokesman for the BBC admitted that it had abandoned the VC project but refused to elaborate.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/04/08/wiraq308.xml

Terrible though not surprising.
 
To use an Americanism - BBC Dickwads - I think I did mention that the BBC is politically Pink i.e. anti Iraq war.
 
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It is commonly known that BBC is more to the left than to the right, or even center.

This is stupid.
 
This is stupid.

I agree that the situation is stupid and that the BBC has acted stupidly.
 
A short BBC guide to British History.
MK14spit.jpg

"Meh"
no11986-pic1.jpg

"It's a boat, innit"
horatio_nelson_first_viscount.jpg

"Whozat?"
PZ7932.jpg

"God knows who that is. Nice footwear though."
winston_churchill.jpg

"Wait, I know this one, I really do. Honest. Really. Henry the Eighth isn't it?"
union_jack.jpg

"That's the flag of Pakistan innit?"

But seriously? What on earth is this coming to? Bad BCC.
 
You forget, that in the case of WW2, we were fighting a threath, in WW1, you.. well.. the Germans had it comming. I suppose those other two are Nelson and Wellington? After all, the British have portayed Napoleon as a tyrant for 200 years now, it seems just, and Winston was a part of WW2, were we had a clear, defined, evil and actual threath. Zhe Germans.

The difference is, that this war has no clear enemy, a clear evil in an ideology defined though, and there was no threath. Therefore, it's far more controversial. The Beeb just handled this case porly.
 
The BBC needs to realize that they can be critical of the political leadership without degrading the individual heroism of the men in combat. A soldier on the ground is not fighting for some high political ideal, he's not fighting for his political leadership. He fights for the man standing beside him. Johnson Beharry didn't perform these incredible acts of bravery and heroism for anyone other than the men he saved. That is the point of the story, and it's a story that can be told in any conflict.
 
Too positive...too negative. A story is what it is, show it all. Or at least come up with a better excuse, seriously.
 
The BBC needs to realize that they can be critical of the political leadership without degrading the individual heroism of the men in combat. A soldier on the ground is not fighting for some high political ideal, he's not fighting for his political leadership. He fights for the man standing beside him. Johnson Beharry didn't perform these incredible acts of bravery and heroism for anyone other than the men he saved. That is the point of the story, and it's a story that can be told in any conflict.
I could not have said it better. No matter what opinion of the war you have, you still need to have some pride in the fact that you've got soldiers that are that brave. Shame on the BBC.
 
I just wanted to say thanks for finding this, I have to write a paper on representations of violence in mass media and this is basically perfect.
I owe you a beer Jetsetter!
 
I know that guy. Isn't he the one from the Courvoisier bottle?:D


Seriously tho, I kinda understand where the BBC are coming from on this. I think they feel (like many do) that the war is unjust and shouldn't be shown in any kind of positive light. Obviously that's bullshit tho and Blind_Io explained why much better than I ever could.:thumbup:
 
The BBC needs to realize that they can be critical of the political leadership without degrading the individual heroism of the men in combat. A soldier on the ground is not fighting for some high political ideal, he's not fighting for his political leadership. He fights for the man standing beside him. Johnson Beharry didn't perform these incredible acts of bravery and heroism for anyone other than the men he saved. That is the point of the story, and it's a story that can be told in any conflict.

Yup. However, I was under the impression that Blair was very much in bed with Bush (so to speak) and that any positive media that can be taken from the mess that is the Coalition's efforts in Iraq should be glorified by state media. I thought the BBC was owned/controlled by the British government and that it should therefore be an outlet of propaganda supporting the conflict.

Why is this (apparently) not so? :?
 
Why is this (apparently) not so? :?

The Beeb isn't state owned or run, it is technically owned by the public so should report completely impartially, although this is not always the case. It is often one of the only major news networks that will openly criticise the government.
 
No denying, the BBC strays to the left.
 
Yup. However, I was under the impression that Blair was very much in bed with Bush (so to speak) and that any positive media that can be taken from the mess that is the Coalition's efforts in Iraq should be glorified by state media. I thought the BBC was owned/controlled by the British government and that it should therefore be an outlet of propaganda supporting the conflict.

Why is this (apparently) not so? :?

You can tell the story of the men without glorifying the conflict, it's been done before. Look at the film Blackhawk Down, that was not a glorious victory or a glamorous conflict but they were still able to tell the stories of individual acts of heroism. If anything it would become and indictment of the conflict, that such men are fighting and dying for no real cause other than their own survival; men who pledged to defend their country have been sent to this hellhole to grind Bush's personal axe. No WMDs, no Al Quaida involvement - just Bush lying and saying "[Saddam] tried to kill my dad." These men don't deserve to be there.

It's all in how you tell the story.
 
men who pledged to defend their country have been sent to this hellhole to grind Bush's personal axe. No WMDs, no Al Quaida involvement - just Bush lying and saying "[Saddam] tried to kill my dad.

Uninformed sheep of an American! The Italians was the cause for our misinformation that our entire government believed congress, senate, and the executive. Investigate Valerie Plame aka Valerie Wilson and why her husband was needed to look in on African Yellow Cake. Hint the info came from Italian Intel Boss Nicol? Pollari
 
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