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gentlebeardsbarngrill · 3 months

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01/23/2024 Daily Recap

Hey all! It's been another long day, but we've got lots of new resources on how to help and things have been very busy!

=Renew As A Crew Updates=

Sources: Tumblr / Twitter / Instagram

So it sounds like some of the silence going on is related to RaaC adhering to the Global Strike with Social Media going on for Palestine this week. Please visit the sources above for more information, they also go over how to interact with each platform we're trying to woo (I didn't include that here because it's already in the Daily Renewal List)

=Cast & Crew Sightings=

As every day has been lately, the star of today was chaos dad himself, David Jenkins with that article that was mentioned last night from popverse.

Also for that matter, he's excited about being close to 80K

Dad wasn't the only one trolling max today, the Crew got deep into it to the point that caseybloys blocked quite a few of them and then they got the hashtag "#OhBloysHeMad" trending. Here are some highlights because I feel like all the tumblr folk need to know how hard twitter went today.

=== How to Help ===

As usual, please refer to the Renewal Task List for daily updates, but great news, we now have a Renewal Task List for our friends outside the US as well. Apparently there are different effort in different countries, so we split them up. Please let me know if there's anything additional / more countries you'd like to see!

Renewal Daily Task List - US

Renewal Daily Task List - Outside US

The Crew also got super creative and put up some awesome new resources for folks to use. I've added quite a few to the Renewal Daily Checklists, but if I missed any please let me know! Here's some examples:

UK Our Flag Means Death Updates

News from the UK Thank you to @lamentus1 and @libbyroseitm for the updates!

Here’s our report from the UK News from the UK As you probably know the second season of OFMD is yet to air in the UK. Today we had an email saying that an announcement about when it will be on TV and iPlayer here will happen “Incredibly soon”. We love the use of the word incredibly! In response to how helpful our contact has been with replies we sent a single email with lots of names on it thanking them. Our best predictions for when OFMD2 might air in the UK is late February or early March. Once Season 2 starts to air in the UK we think we will see a significant increase in interest in Our Flag Means Death. We are currently looking into ways to harness this energy! (Obviously we hope that we’ll be adopted before season 2 aires here, but if not…) One idea is to hold another watch party to coincide with the arrival of season 2 here. Another idea is to hold a flash mob. Possibly at the Cutty Sark in London. TBC. We’re working on ideas and would love to hear people’s thoughts! Please reach out to @lamentus1 with ideas!

= Pirate Omens Watch =

Pirate Omens Watch happened today on Twitter and will continue tomorrow through friday. For more details please reference below - I caught the second half and was a lot of fun! Lot's of parallels and great opportunities to tweet at @pricevideo about them!

== Articles ==

Max Delivered the Final Blow to the Horny, Quirky Comedy

Hungarian News: Ritkán látott összefogás egy elkaszált sorozatért

== COOL ANALYTICS ==

So something else that I found super cool was this post on twitter by @havethisonelife

Anyway, I just love that kinda thing, and seeing that come from articles about OFMD is just super cool.

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Okay I think that's everything. As usual, if I missed anything drastic please let me know! There wasn't a whole lot going on on IG today, seemed like twitter was the show horse.

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Evening Message of LOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE

You thought you were rid of me sending love-- but you were wrong!

Did you know you're fucking phenomenal? Like seriously. I read through all these tumblr threads, twitter, instagram, and all I fucking see is amazing people being fucking awesome to each other (and politely shitty to max which is also amazing).

People are posting in various places and saying they had a rough day, or they're sick (that was me!) and you kind buggers are reaching out and giving support and love and I'm so damn proud to be a part of this amazing crew. You are legit the best people I've ever met! (IRL or Internet).

Everyday you continue to impress me and every one of us with your creativity, kindness, ambition, and wonder. You make me laugh, I've cried a bit from some of the posts too (not a bad thing!) and in general just fucking make the world a better place. I can't wait to see all of you continue to shine, which reminds me of this quote:

"Nothing can dim the light that shines from within" - Maya Angelou

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Alright, enough of the mushy stuff-- onto the Rhys and Taika eye-porn. (Is Rhys getting some head from Taika? Badummmshhhh, ok I'll leave now). Gnight!

#ofmd daily recap #our flag means death #our flag means us #ofmd #save ofmd #hoist the ads #renew as a crew #be a lighthouse #renew our flag means death #save our flag means death #adopt our crew #did you know if you put in too many tags and then you want to search on those tags it wont fuckingwork if they arent in the first couple?#Yeah thats what happened to me yesterday #tumblr wtf #anyway

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vakariaan · 4 years

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Tag Games

I’ve been tagged in a bunch recently (thank you for thinking of me!) so I thought I’d do some of them at once :)

Consider yourself tagged if you wanna do any of them!

Tagged by @idontevenlikeblackberries

I’m gonna be really good and actually pick on or the other and not cave for both lol Stars or clouds / Tony Stark or Steve Rogers / buzzfeed unsolved or buzzfeed worth it / lavender or rose / chocolate or vanilla / latte or americano / police procedural shows or hospital shows :))))) / fast zombies or slow zombies / modern films or classic films / musicals or plays / Hamilton or In the Heights/ blue lightsaber or green lightsaber / hats or headbands / Queen or Elton John / multicolored lights or white lights / pastels or neons / flowers or succulents / log cabin or hotel / sprinkles or cookie crumbs / ghosts or aliens / single book or book series / brunch or dinner / snow or leaves / jean jacket or leather jacket / tea cup or mug / galaxies or constellations

------------------------------------

Tagged by @cxpaldi

Rules: the last celeb you have saved on your phone is your quarantine buddy.

I’m not on my mobile rn BUT IT’S JACK HODGSON (well...David Caves...in character...as Jack...so..........) ------------------------------------

Tagged by @murraywalker

List 5 tv shows and answer the following questions.

1. Silent Witness

2. Poldark

3. Line of Duty

4. Friends

5. From Dusk Till Dawn

Who is your favourite character in 2? DWIGHT ENYS THE BEST OF MEN

Who is your least favourite character in 1? They’ve had a lot of terrible people on Silent Witness lol of the ongoing ‘main’ cast rn I’ll say Matt (and NO not only for Certain Reasons)

What is your favourite episode of 4? OH GOD SO MANY I will say that one of my faves is The One in Massapequa idk what it is but there are so many parts I still cackle at.

What is your favourite season of 5? S1 was probably the most solid storywise but character wise S3 is the best I would say.

Who is your favourite couple in 3? STEVE AND KATE STEVE AND KATE STEVE AND KATE

Who is your favourite couple in 2? Ross and Demelza always

What is your favourite episode of 1? AGAIN there are so many and how am I supposed to choose???? I’ll throw y’all for a loop though and say Shadows because HOLY SHIT I was tense throughout and it 100% should have been the season finale and I’m disappointed it wasn’t. But I’m never gonna be able to choose a fave from S16 to now IT’S IMPOSSIBLE I CANNOT CHOOSE

What is your favourite episode of 5? GOTTA STOP ASKIN THIS I AM INDECISIVE but I’ll sayyyyy Dark Side of the Sun (S3 finale) is always a solid choice.

What is your favourite season of 2? S1 without a doubt

How long have you watched 1? So my mum has always watched it and I’ve watched whenever I’ve been in the room and it’s been on in a very casual way but I was never invested in it etc (I have vague memories of Leo dying etc) but it wasn’t until this year, for some unknown reason, I got totally hooked and mercifully iplayer had all the eps from S5(?) onwards? So I watched from S16 (ofc) since I liked Jack and have since gone back and watched from Nikki joining the team too.

How did you become interested in 3? Again, I’ve always been aware of it and it has been on my watch list since it started and I had seen the first half of S1 when it first aired and just never got round to the rest BUT I HAVE RECTIFIED THAT NOW WITH QUARANTINE AND I AM ALL UP TO DATE

Who is your favourite actor in 4? David Schwimmer is a comedic timing genius and I will not hear Ross Geller hate because David is an absolute gem.

Which do you prefer, 1, 2, or 5? IT ALL DEPENDS ON MY MOOD THOUGH

Which show have you seen more episodes of, 1 or 3? Silent Witness has way more eps than Line of Duty so it’s gonna be that

If you could be anyone from 4, who would you be? Monica for sure (she’s the one I most relate to anyway)

Would a crossover between 3 and 4 work? ....noooo (don’t even think a parody would work)

Pair two characters in 1 who would make an unlikely but strangely okay couple? Y’all know I’m ride or die Jack/Nikki and Clarissa is happily married AND her and Jack are like brother and sister. But if I had to IF I HAD TO, I’d put Jack and Clarissa together (which makes me super uncomfortable given the sibling dynamic BUT THEY DO JOKE ABOUT IT A LOT SO)

Overall, which show has the better storyline, 3 or 5? Line of Duty wihtout a doubt, I love Dusk to absolute bits but...come on...

Which has better theme music, 2 or 4? HOW DARE YOU I’m not answering this. Making me choose between my Queen Anne Dudley and ‘I’ll Be There For You’ the song which fills me so much comfort and joy and safety nooope.

#tag game #about me

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unicornprincessinthetardis · 4 years

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I know everyone says the 'superwholocks' have gone away but like have they really? Or have we (I was one, maybe not fully rabid but very much a selfidentified fan of all three and especially in crossover - even before I started Supernatural because that's what I'm like lol) all just dropped Sherlock because of Mofftiss's clever-clever self-important man bullshit and queerbaiting (also like has Gatiss ever flipping written something without making a part for himself??) and got slightly more sane (I mean really only slightly look at me still, in 2020, like this, but you know.) I also haven't watched Supernatural for years but that's because we never watched when it was on TV, it wasn't on terrestrial (or like non-cable basically) TV in the UK until a few years ago and even then they started with season 9 like really do you expect us to be all caught up (we already had the early seasons on dvd at that point but if we'd started at all, we hadn't got far). And also I was around 8 when it started in the US (2005, same year as NuWho, if I remember rightly) so probably shouldn't have been watching it then anyhow even if we could. By binging it in the holidays (vacation), first alone when I was sixteen, I guess my brother was too young or not interested or both and I possibly finished season 1 but I'm not sure and then i started over with him once he was 16 (or possibly 15?) and then sometimes sporadically, sometimes consistently (apart from when I was at uni) and particularly consistently once I came back from the failed attempt, we watched it up to and managed to start on season 9 then stopped because we had other stuff (recorded movies/shows and movies on dvd/bluray) to watch, and he's at uni now lol so I could watch it on my own but don't really want to and have other stuff to see (including possibly binging Merlin, Robin Hood and I daresay other things while they're still on the BBC iPlayer. And certainly Atlantis if it's there. I miss Atlantis... and The Last Kingdom which I know continues or at least has been continued on Netflix, I've seen gifsets, but... money and what they did to One Day at a Time - which I also haven't seen except in gifsets/clips lol)

Oh I tell a lie we recorded and watched 'Scoobynatural' (Supernatural S13 E16) when it aired here so probably last year or maybe late 2018 honestly idk. But otherwise I only really still watch Doctor Who. I don't even own series 4 of Sherlock. But then again I don't think I have series 9 or 10 onwards of DW and I liked enough of all of that to buy them, but that's more because I tended to get things secondhand mainly from CeX/ the entertainment exchange, and none of them were cheap for a long time and now when I have money I want to put it towards other things. Although tbh I just might be enough of a basic bitch that I would watch Sherlock if they brought it back. I did watch Mofftiss's Dracula adaptation which aired at Christmas and didn't hate it so...

#superwholock #the notion of superwholock #personal post #my ramblings #my rambles #tw queerbaiting #queerbaiting

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mhsn033 · 4 years

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Fans expected to be allowed to attend Crucible for final

Followers had been allowed to help on the gap day of the World Championship however barred thereafter

Venue: Crucible Theatre, Sheffield Dates: 31 July-16 August Coverage: Overview are living on BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Four and Purple Button, with uninterrupted coverage on BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport net put of abode and BBC Sport app. Plump particulars and instances.

Followers will be allowed into the Crucible Theatre this weekend for the finest of the World Snooker Championship.

Which contrivance the Crucible will welcome spherical 300 fans for the finest two days.

If the pilots are worthwhile the authorities says it may maybe maybe probably maybe result in various sports venues being opened to socially-distanced fans from 1 October.

More pilot events are due to be announced in the upcoming days, involving indoor and originate air sports.

“We’re happy to yelp that a decreased crowd will be welcomed to all intervals of the finest of the World Championship on Saturday and Sunday,” World Snooker talked aboutexternal-hyperlink.

“The piloting of a no need of carrying events to test the safe return of spectators will resume from 15 August with a take into tale to reopening opponents venues for sports fans, with social distancing measures in recount from 1 October,” the authorities talked about in a press liberate.

“This may maybe well also just initiate with the finest of the World Snooker Championship at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre for the period of 15-16 August, with a corpulent pilot programme to follow.”

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden added: “We are in a position to now possess extra careful progress on recovery with allowing audiences help for indoor performances, fans help at sports events and the reopening of more Covid-19 acquire leisure corporations.”

The World Snooker Championship grew to alter into the first indoor are living sports occasion in England to cling crowds since lockdown, allowing some supporters in for the three intervals on 31 July.

O’Sullivan trails Selby in semi-final

Nonetheless, no more fans were allowed to glance are living sport since 1 August due to a spike in cases that ended in all pilots being known as off, including Dazzling Goodwood and county cricket at The Oval and Edgbaston.

5-time champion Ronnie O’Sullivan beforehand criticised the choice to permit fans into the arena, announcing it created an “pointless chance”, whereas qualifier Anthony Hamilton, who suffers from severe asthma, withdrew on the eve of the occasion.

It has no longer yet been confirmed how many fans will be accredited to help on Saturday and Sunday, however seating plans had been devised that may maybe enable target audience people only to sit down down at once subsequent to folks who they bought tickets with and had been people of the same family groups.

Such arrangements would enable a metre of condominium between folks from separate bubbles.

The code of habits for fans instructed them they’d to place on a masks whereas walking across the Crucible, however may maybe procedure shut away it whereas staring on the action, and the bars would no longer be originate.

Plump occasion agenda and outcomes

BBC coverage instances and channels

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#IFTTT #WordPress

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lothiriel84 · 7 years

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Of love, bears, and icicles

Or that one time I went to London to see The Mighty Fin January Christmas show.

Hello there, my hypothetical reader. I’m taking a short break from writing Sherlock (and Time Spanner) fanfic in order to give you the account of my latest (but hopefully not last ever) trip to the UK. You know the account no one asked for? Yeah, that one.

First things first, I’m ever so grateful that this year’s - well, last year’s, theoretically - Mighty Fin show was in January rather than December. There was no way I would have been able to attend in December, but the one upside of being currently unemployed is that I don’t have to stress about my supervisors forbidding me from taking time off when I most need it (read: when there’s a show I desperately want to attend in the UK).

Anyways. January is probably not the best time of the year when it comes to travelling. I was aware of that, of course, but I still wanted to try - both because of the Mighty Fin show, and the fact that I’m not so sure how free to travel I’m going to be once I actually go ahead and ask for unemployment benefits. (Also, Brexit. But whatevers.)

As it turned out, England was for once a tiny bit warmer than Italy. (And by warmer, I mean slightly-less-freezing, obviously.) The rain definitely didn’t help, but as the less unastute of you might have divined (yeah, this is in fact a Cabin Pressure reference, no need to get offended) it was after all January, and seriously, I think I’ve been exceedingly lucky on all my previous trips to the UK as far as the weather is concerned. (Well, to be fair I’ve been lucky about too many things too count when it comes to each and every one of my trips, but I do believe I have already dwelt on many of those aspects in my previous posts.)

I’ve been to London so many times I’m kind of running out of ideas about what to do on a rainy day. My first day in town was spent between wandering a bit around the Gherkin, then seeking refuge into the Museum of London (which I had already visited, in point of fact). In the end I was only too glad when I could finally check in to my hotel room and happily pay for the wifi in order to watch episode 2 of Sherlock. (Which I believe I watched two more times in the following days. Yeah, I know.)

The next day I very cleverly accidentally decided to go to Dorset. (I blame this entirely on John Finnemore posting a picture of somewhere in Dorset on Twitter, and I’m most glad that he did because that was an excellent idea even for a day trip.) So I took a train to Wool, and then spent quite some time trying to figure out how to reach Durdle Door; I had googled pictures of the beautiful limestone arch on the coast there, and I was really looking forward to see it.

Bless the bus driver, he sounded a bit concerned when he repeatedly asked me if I was aware that there wasn’t going to be a bus for the return journey; but I had kind of figured out I would somehow find a way to get back to Wool, so I happily walked the distance from the bus stop to the coast, then scrambled my way down not one, but two distinct flights of muddy, slippery steps in order to get a better view of both sides of the arch. (And quite miraculously I didn’t fall or slip, not even once, though I definitely got mud on my shoes and trousers.)

You know, there is quite something about standing on a pebble beach listening to the waves gently lapping at the shore. And that particular corner of the Jurassic Coast is quite stunning, as you can see for yourself.

In the end I had to walk for over an hour along a narrow country road at nightfall in order to reach the nearest village where I dearly hoped I could get a bus back to Wool. Luckily I somehow managed to do that in spite of the fact that my phone ran out of battery when I was nearly there, and I had neither a map nor a torch with me.

(I actually had my old phone with me as well, but as it turns out it’s not good for much except maybe listening to the radio - though it took me approximately three quarters of an hour to finally tune in to Radio 4 on the train back to London, so once more thank goodness for the BBC iPlayer.)

On Wednesday I had a bit of a wander in Hampstead Heath, though it was quite muddy and windy, especially on Parliament Hill. In the evening I went to the dress rehearsal for A Midwinter Night’s Dream, which I immediately loved - I had never been to a Mighty Fin show before, though I’ve listened to the songs from a few of them, and I’m now the proud owner of three (soon to be - whatever the total number is, hopefully). Greg and Maddi were there too, and I kind of followed them when they went to say hi to John after the show; but I was quite tired and completely out of ideas as to what I could actually say to John, so I’m not even sure I managed to greet him back when he finally spotted me as I was hiding behind someone else. I’m really sorry Mr Finnemore - I’m not rude, just very awkward, I promise.

I had half a mind to go to Hastings the following day, but I had to put that off given how the weather forecast promised a snowstorm for the day (though in the end it mainly just rained in London). I would have liked to visit the London Aquarium for Sherlock-related reasons, but tickets were far too expensive for my tastes; so I took a bit of a walk along the Thames in the rain, stood for a while on the Vauxhall Bridge for reasons (though if I have to be honest I was far more impressed with the MI6 building that stands nearby), and then sought refuge in the Museum of London Docklands mainly because I deemed I had got enough rain on my coat and shoes for the day. (That, and the DLR. Don’t tell the Train Driver though.)

On Friday I decided that the weather was good enough for a trip to Hastings, and so it was in spite of a little snow we encountered on the train journey. (And by ‘we’ I mean us people on the train, which I somehow find funny now that I’ve listened to the St Ives sketch from JFSP - which I had actually had the privilege to see at one of the tryouts last Autumn, but there you go.)

It was a bit windy in Hastings, and most definitely cold - someone might have spotted me wandering along the shore in my winter coat, hat, scarf, and gloves - but otherwise a lovely day, and apparently I have a soft spot for pebble beaches anyway. Sadly the gate to the castle was locked; but there was quite a lovely view from up there, and the old part of the town is nice too.

On Saturday I took a bit of a wander around Notting Hill (mainly Portobello Market) and then Little Venice, which I had quite liked on a previous visit. In the evening I had tickets for my second viewing of A Midwinter Night’s Dream, which was brilliant for more than one reason, and I will now explain if you bear with me. (You see, John played a bear in the musical, so I simply had to make a joke about that. Arthur Shappey would definitely - and very much enthusiastically - approve of this, so you definitely have to bear with me even if you don’t want to.)

What was I saying? Ah, The Mighty Fin, yes. I loved the show just as much as I had done the first time around; it’s a beautiful retelling of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, centred on the theme of the different kinds of love and how you most definitely shouldn’t try and force someone to love you, Fairy King or not.

(’Trapped by a man / That’s my tragedy / Or was my tragedy / It ends today’, that’s how a line from one of the many brilliant songs went - bless Robbie Hudson and Susannah Pearse who created such a thing of beauty.)

All the actors were really good, and this time around John’s part was a bit longer than it had been in the dress rehearsal, and had an even more distinct Since You Ask Me feel to it. (When I went to ask him after the show John confirmed he had in fact written his own part, and the reason why it was shorter at the dress rehearsal was that he hadn’t finished writing it back then. Bless him.)

Oh, and one more brilliant thing, though strictly speaking it’s not entirely about the show. Simon was among the audience this time around, and I think I have already mentioned how much better that makes anything you might be watching. (I swear the man has the best laugh ever. You can’t possibly hear it and not feel like laughing yourself.)

I had actually spotted him before the show, and I was most definitely hoping I would maybe get to talk to him at the end of the play. Well, as it turned out he kind of recognised me as someone who had probably bothered him before, for he was the one who said hi to me as he walked past where I was standing during the interval, offered me a hug, and then had to listen as I rambled on about how much I loved the pilot for Time Spanner. He said they will probably try crowdfunding if the sitcom doesn’t get commissioned (seriously though, I hope the BBC knows better than that), so I now know what I should save my money for.

(And, um, I should have probably refrained from walking back in when I was already halfway through the door after the show, and awkwardly waving Simon goodbye. But I’m not even sure if and when I’ll be able to go back to the UK, and - oh well, never mind. I’m not going to dwell on Ms Mayhem in this post, thank you very much.)

Sunday was my last day in London, and given that the weather was not very much on my side, I spent some time in Greenwich Market, had some amazing fish and chips for lunch, and a bit of a stroll through Greenwich Park at dusk. As it turned out, by complete coincidence (I know, I know, Mycroft, no need to expand on that) my trip actually included the day when the Sherlock series 4 finale aired, so in the end I made up my mind and booked a ticket so that I could go and watch it on the big screen.

(To be honest I was really confused - and more than a little worse for the wear from an emotional point of view - when the final credits rolled on to the screen. I watched it all over again on my phone once I was back to my hotel room, but I think I only decided I actually quite liked it after watching it a third time back at home.)

And, yes, I guess we’ve come to the end of the road. I don’t know how or when, but I promise I will try and go back there at some point, no matter what. Dear UK, you might not return the feeling, but it’s my choice whether or not to keep doing what I love. Or trying to, at the very least.

#London #and so much more #January 9th to 16th #2017 #The Mighty Fin #A Midwinter Night's Dream #Dorset #Durdle Door #Hastings #I feel so blessed #but also a little bit sad #London I miss you already

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iblamedan · 7 years

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Trouble at the RSPCA, BBC Panorama Program

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On Thursday 3rd of August the Beeb, shown a program – Panorama – Trouble at the RSPCA – this program was advertised showing issues with ‘being heavy-handed by prosecuting them and taking away their animals” also within the 30 min program was shown ex-staff of the RSPCA and ex-staff of the Charity Commission.

To go into detail the program shown three examples of people accusing the charity of being heavy handed with prosecutions – I have no doubt the RSPCA were correct to prosecute in all three cases! Since the program the RSPCA has released statements on each case – which the BBC should have sought prior to publishing the program and explained in better detail.

62 Cats in one house

62 Cats – don’t protect this persons feelings – that womans was a hoarder – if provided with advice by the RSPCA (where she used to work, so knows what it takes) and that was ignored then yes she should have been prosecuted to reduce those numbers down. The woman is now refusing to accept the court conviction and trying to claim against the RSPCA – a ridiculous notion which her solicitors should have advised against due to cost – even when she knows the RSPCA were advised by her VET1 of the situation! I play with my cat at least an hour a day and she has FIV and herpes, something some of those cats will have also had. All cats should be monitored for temp, weight, toilet habits and how much she is eating, as they don’t show signs of distress as easily as other animals – this couldn’t be done with SIXTY TWO of them along with other animals too!

Yaay maths time; let’s say you needed to spend just 10mins with each cat a day (be that grooming on a monday, weighing on a tues, claw clipping wed etc) thats 10.5 HOURS A DAY!!! That doesn’t even include feeding or litter cleaning and 10mins per day doing anything with a cat is not really enough, not to mention she had other “pets” too! Articles also state “She doesn’t have the inclination or the means to inoculate them”2 so the cats didn’t even have the needed vaccinations to protect them from the virus prevalent in the house!

The show implied it was just her and there were no others in the house with her to spread the tasks to, nor did the show or any other media advise of any paid help either. So unless this woman is some form of McFly then an average person wouldn’t be able to provide a suitable domestic environment. What if they were allowed out too, it makes no comment if they were house cats – how could you do any tasks needed and monitor 62 cats you didn’t even know if they’d been in the house, advertising as a ‘sanctuary’ you’d like to think they weren’t roaming the streets!!!

This is a clean cut case! Hoarding to the point of Cruelty is still Cruelty, regardless of intentions!

Essentially what Panorama have done here is provide validity to people who have abused animals to say – i’m allowed to and shouldn’t be stopped. The BBC should not have allowed the program to air.

Trustees

too many allegations are thrown his way and I agree the governance doesn’t sound correct! He should step down to protect the charity from further disrepute coming from his involvement

Governance

changes since the 70s but only after charity had correclty gone through a governace review 34

Barristers – known people who have protected animal abusers – why the hell would the RSPCA not make complaints about someone who is supposed to have a moral requirement to uphold the law and the law is the Animal Welfare Act.

ex-CE of the Charity Commission involved in the show is not appropriate and not acceptable that a person in such a position involves themselves regarding a specific charity – along with putting their names to a program which tried to make animal abusers seem like they’re disadvantaged by prosecution.

Heavy handed with prosecutions – no chance – 1 in 200 prosecuted is nowhere near enough! Don’t be ridiculous!

Our investigation into the RSPCA with @johnsweeneyroar, now on iPlayer. https://t.co/W1cQ2oaHiV http://pic.twitter.com/1WmJsie6Qi

— Panorama (@BBCPanorama) August 4, 2017

Sensitisation is poor reporting! This is clear from the advert directly after the program asking “Is it possible that a pill prescribed by your doctor can turn you into a killer?” – this question is clearly worded in a manner not suited to unbiased publishing and is the TV version of Clickbait! Its well known Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors remove some emotion, obviously, their main aim is to reduce depression and work by stopping serotonin from being reabsorbed – so it builds up within the body rather than being removed by the body. One of the most prescribed medications in america Prozac is an SSSI medication. Medication does not make people kill, medication removes the depression which held them back from killing and increases their emotional state and motivation to do what makes them happy, sadly some people are psychopaths – you cannot blame the medication but the services that went with it, anyone on high doses of medication or with severe depression should be receiving frequent therapy to guide them and make certain they’re not going down dangerous paths (even then most people who have a want to murder don’t go telling people about it!) The author of this received much backlash on Twitter, and rightfully so – Correlation does not mean Causation – every journalist should have this tattooed on their wrist.

Transcript of the Program - Click Here

Tonight the animal owners who claimed that one of our best loved charities is being too hard on them. It is the way they handle things. It is their away or the highway. The British public backs the RSPCA to prosecute animal cruelty, but does it always get it right? To be told I was mistreating birds of prey has left me feeling absolutely broken. And is the charity so determined to succeed it ignores the human cost? It went on for years and years, and it ground me down. I still feel injured. Former RSPCA insiders worry there is chaos at the top. I personally think that the RSPCA commentary is not fit for purpose.

We ask is the world’s oldest animal charity doing its best to keep public trust? We love our animals. My dog is called Bertie. Shall we go for a run? He is going to be my sidekick on this investigation. Or is it the other way around? Where is the stick, Bertie? He’s half toy poodle and half whippet, so he will keep me on my toes. Sometimes… It feels like he’s the master and I’m the dog. Woofety woof woof woof. Some animals don’t get love and affection like Bertie. That is why we need the RSPCA. The RSPCA has a full-scale rescue service…

It has been standing up for animals since 1824. The RSPCA gets more than 100 million per year in donations and legacies. Its inspectors see some extremely distressing sights. From stray dogs shown in this campaign video, outright cruelty. All of these dogs, filmed by an inspector, died. Many of them are in rigor mortis already. The RSPCA prosecuted the dog breeders who did this. They didn’t go to jail but were banned for life from owning dogs. The charity’s most powerful weapon in protecting animals is bringing private prosecutions. But some animal owners complain it is being too heavy-handed. This is the RSPCA headquarters here in Sussex. Critics say the charity has long been too quick to prosecute animal owners and too aggressive. Three years ago in independent report took the charity to task over the way it prosecutes people. How much has changed?

Good morning. This is Bertie. Hello, Bertie. Steve Rainton has been displaying birds of prey for 20 years. He is now helped by his partner, Natalie. Amazing, we’ve had her for five years. Stand well back… Last year Steve and Natalie faced getting criminal records when they were prosecuted by the RSPCA. Good girl. Steve said it all started when somebody he knew took four birds from his farm. Worried the rest of the birds were at risk Steve took them home in cages for temporary safekeeping and rang the RSPCA. Originally we asked the RSPCA for some help. Where we were keeping the birds wasn’t safe and we needed somewhere else to keep the birds. What Steve didn’t know was that the RSPCA had received a complaint about him mistreating the birds. When inspectors called at his home he let them in. He wished he hadn’t. Once they were in they started taking photographs, you know, trying to gather evidence against me. And that’s the way I felt bullied by the RSPCA. RSPCA inspectors do not have powers of seizure, so they called the police who took Steve’s birds away. Steve was charged by the RSPCA with eight animal welfare offences. Natalie, who does not own the birds, also faced eight charges. They used my partner. They basically said they would drop all charges against my partner if I took the rap, basically. I’d never broken the law. I’ve never been in trouble. To be told I was mistreating birds of prey, it just left me feeling… Absolutely broken. Earlier this year magistrates cleared Steve and Natalie of two charges. The other 14 were dismissed. The RSPCA says it is because of police mistakes. The whole thing of them being there to help you, in my case, wasn’t the case. Up until the day they knocked on my front door while we saw them as a good charity. The RSPCA said it acted properly and lawfully throughout. There was sufficient evidence. And that it was in the public interest.

It says it prosecuted around 800 people last year, down by 50% in four years. If an RSPCA inspector investigates a complaint of cruelty, that person has less than one chance in 200 of being prosecuted. Certainly not trigger-happy. Most of it is now dealt with by way of advisory notices and warnings. In fact most of it is dealt with by a reasonable conversation on the doorstep. Giving reasonable advice. Reasonable people take reasonable advice. The RSPCA and its inspectors do good work. No question. And criticising a much loved animal charity may not make me popular. But what can happen to an animal owner if there is no reasonable conversation on the doorstep? If no advice is given?

Gwyn Protheroe farms over 5000 sheep in mid Wales. These sheepdogs are working animals. Without them he cannot do his job. Last year the RSPCA prosecuted Gwyn following the death of one of his dogs. She was a working dog. It’s not clear why she died. But she was thin and had been a small dog from birth. From the vet’s report and postmortem done by the RSPCA they found a problem with her liver and her heart. The dog lay unburied for two days. She died while Gwyn was working 60 miles away. An RSPCA inspector called the police, who removed the dead dog and two of the sheepdogs. The RSPCA said he hadn’t done enough to prevent the death and that living conditions were poor. He was charged with three animal welfare offences. It’s the way they handled things, you know? It is their way or the highway, basically, you know? The case took a year to come to court and had a big effect on the family. What was it like when he was charged? Scary. It wasn’t a nice feeling. I felt really bad for dad because he isn’t a bad person. He didn’t really, like, deserve it. What did you say to them? That it would all be all right? Which it was proved, wasn’t it? I’m sorry… A judge dismissed the case, saying Gwyn has considerable expertise as an animal owner and acted reasonably. How did you feel when that verdict came through not guilty on all counts? Relieved. A sense of justice. Because he was cleared the dogs should have been returned. But, extraordinary as it seems, they were not. RSPCA staff asked if they could keep the dogs and re-homed them. I got a phone call, she asked the question again, the people in the kennels have got attached to the dogs. The RSPCA said it kept hold of the dogs while it considered to appeal. It would be two months before they found out if they would get their dogs back. I couldn’t work out why they wanted to keep, again, prolonging the process of us getting the dogs back. You keep thinking everything is coming to a close. But it was like they were ripping the wound open again. The RSPCA says it was right to prosecute. And while some cases don’t succeed 92.5% of its prosecutions are successful.

There is very, very rigorous process by which the evidence is checked to make sure we meet the evidential test. We get the experts in, we depend on an independent veterinary opinion as to the degree of suffering. Once the matter goes to court it is for the magistrate to convict or acquit. Fighting animal cruelty is important but has the RSPCA sometimes gone too far? Barrister Jonathan Rich stopped defending RSPCA cases nine years ago. I gained a firm impression that I was really being personally targeted. It reached a stage where my involvement in cases was actually not helping my clients, because they would throw significant resources at any case in which I was involved. He also faced a number of professional misconduct complaints linked to animal welfare cases. Two from the RSPCA. I have seen a lot of the rough and tumble of the bar. But this was in an entirely different league. And it went on for years and years and years, and it ground me down. I still feel today, I still feel injured. None of the complaints succeeded. One from the RSPCA took eight years to be fully resolved. I got pretty low. I was treated for depression. I’m not embarrassed to say that. Do you still defend animal cases? If the RSPCA are involved I will not be appearing as an advocate. Which is a great shame, given the expertise I believe I brought. Barrister Sara-Lise Howe believes she has been singled out, too. She says the CPS was warned she wanted to undermine RSPCA private prosecutions. I have no doubt that they have been targeting me. I was 16 years in court, I’d never had these accusations. Just trying to represent my client. To get the court to look at the law. The RSPCA says the criticism to the CPS about Sara-Lise Howe was made in error and nnot at their request. It respects and upholds the vital role played by defence lawyers in testing the prosecution’s case. For the RSPCA to do its job properly it must be well run.

This June the Chief Executive Jeremy Cooper resigned. The second to do so in three years. Trouble at the top should be a worry for any charity. If I am a donor I want to know my money is going to be well spent. And the chances are significantly higher that my money as a donor is going to be well spent if the charity is well governed, well led, sound decisions are made. The RSPCA staff are overseen by 25 unpaid trustee is called the council. They are supposed to keep an eye on things, not run the show.

One of the key rules, really, is that trustees in a large charity shouldn’t really dabble in operational matters. That is for paid staff. But we’ve discovered that’s what’s been going on at the RSPCA. Chris Lawrence used to be the charity’s chief vet before he became a trustee. The RSPCA are essentially is a great organisation. Fantastic staff who work incredibly hard. But you come to a point where you have to say enough is enough, I can’t any longer support the way this is happening. I had real concerns about the way the RSPCA was being run at council level. He’s never spoken publicly about leaving the charity he loves. The Council found it really difficult to properly delegate. What does that mean? It means almost micromanagement. Chris Laurence resigned as a trustee last year. His fellow trustee, David Canavan, is still there. The RSPCA spends £50 million a year responding to complaints from the general public about abuse of animals. He’s speaking to MPs about fundraising. The two years, the RSPCA allowed him and another trustee to run the charity unpaid, while it was without a chief executive. For any charity, doing both jobs at the same time, for such a long time, would be a no-no. For a large charity, that is off the bscale, in terms of being so unusual. I find it difficult to see how a large charity could properly run itself if it doesn’t have a permanent chief executive who is independent from the nonexecutive trustee team. This is the Manchester Animal Hospital, the RSPCA’s busiest. It provides extremely subsidised neutering, micro-chipping, vaccinations, to quite a poor -ish area within Manchester. Three years ago, Steve Carter was asked to look at redistributing some of its vet services to branches across the North of England. Among them, Rochdale, 16 miles away. It was a branch that struggled financially. It tried to do the best it could, but it overextended itself. Steve Carter says getting more vet services could have helped Rochdale’s finances and says David Canavan was keen on the move. At the time, he was also an unpaid trustee of the Rochdale branch. That’s a conflict-of-interest, isn’t it? I believe it is. I made it very clear to trustees and two senior management that this was not a decision I could support in any way, shape or form. Steve feared it could have meant closure for the Manchester Animal Hospital. I did not want to see that provision deteriorate in any shape or form. That was one of the main reasons that I decided I had to leave the RSPCA. The RSPCA says it did discuss its Northern operations. No changes were made and there was never any suggestion the Manchester hospital would close. It says there was no improper interference by David Canavan and as acting chief executive he oversaw a period of stability and sound management.

Brighton, a stone’s throw from RSPCA HQ. We’ve been told that what happened here reveals more cracks behind the scenes. Nationally, the RSPCA has a policy against anyone importing dogs for commercial purposes. But here in Brighton, the local branch was re-homed scores of dogs from Spain and Portugal in apparent conflict with that policy. Around 150 dogs over three years were imported by another animal welfare organisation, and brought to these RSPCA kennels. They were then re-homed. The Brighton branch had lots of British Staffies, which are hard to home, and was keen to offer a mix of breeds. The RSPCA said the dogs were not being imported for commercial purposes. The RSPCA told us the Brighton branch didn’t profit from re-homing these animals, but we found out the issue did worry some staff. They couldn’t support others transporting animals hundreds of miles across Europe, when there were plenty of British dogs to help at home. Trustee David Canavan got involved in 2014. At the time he was also effectively running the charity. We understand that David Canavan told the branch that so long as 40% of the dogs in my kennels were brought to them by inspectors, they could fill the remaining space is how they wanted, providing the trustees and legal department didn’t object. The RSPCA said any suggestion David Canavan acted contrary to its policies is completely untrue. He referred the matter to the Chief Vet and the RSPCA revised its policy, so the branch had to get permission on a case-by-case basis. It says the branch was trying to help as many unwanted dogs as it could, and its main focus remains local animals. At the top is the RSPCA a smoothly running organisation? I personally think that the RSPCA, currently, is not fit for purpose. I think it stems from the background of counsel. I don’t think the government process and structure has moved on much since the 1970s. Wipe-out this is the headquarters of the Charity Commission, it’s the body charged with making sure our charities are up to snuff. It told Panorama that the RSPCA’s governance is below the standard it would expect from a modern charity. It is monitoring the trustees’ role in leading change will consider regulatory action if the required improvements aren’t made quickly enough. The RSPCA says its trustees are working with the Charity Commission to implement the recommendations of a recent independent review. The RSPCA has its own reform agenda.

It wants for more powers to investigate, so it has to rely less on the police. Its supporters say only the charity has the necessary expertise and resources to prosecute. Critics argue it should be left to the police. The type of cruelty that the public disapproves of is obvious. It doesn’t require a specialist organisation to prosecute. I’m on my way to see one of Sara-Lise Howe’s clients. Sarah Mellanby lost her appeal against conviction for seven animal welfare offences earlier this year. That some of my cats there. That’s Leonard and Elmo. Puff Daddy, Thomas O’Malley and that’s Hubert. Sarah used to a large home to shelter unwanted cats. So who have we got here? That is Lionel Blair. LAUGHTER I know, super hair. Dennis the Menace, Charles Worthington. Some people would say looking at this that you are a mad cat lady. Yes,

they probably would. Are you a mad cat lady? Guests. Where are your cats? I don’t have any. Four years ago she had more than 60. You had 60 cats, 62 cats. Isn’t that a bit crazy? Well, I’m too soft, I’m just too soft. They were unwanted cats and I was homing them. Some of the cats she took and had cat flu, which is contagious and can be nasty. I kept them and kept them comfortable. It’s not good, but they were alive, they were as well as they could be. The RSPCA, which made repeated visits, disagreed. It says some were emaciated, as well as cat flu others had problems with their eyes and teeth. And it says she failed to seek appropriate care from a vet. All her cats were removed and Sarah was tried and convicted. I think a lot of the people who have had problems with the RSPCA are people who would be described as vulnerable. The mad old lady who takes into many cats, they have got themselves into a mess for caring, because they care too much. I think that is a big difference from someone who delights in seeing an animal suffer. The RSPCA tried to help and advise Sarah. The appeal judge said she was deaf to that advice and the idea that the RSPCA were treating her harshly was not supported by the evidence. But he did reduce her sentence, so, after four years, 21 cats could come home.

A vet who supported Sarah throughout, is no fan of the RSPCA. What does somebody like Sarah do with cats that are left on her doorstep? Take those cats in or discard them, shut the door and leave them to die? What’s the options? Yes, we know that a lot of these cats were chronically infected with cat flu. They have been and they will remain that way. The RSPCA asked the court to make Sarah pay some of their costs. She now has a £100,000 charge on her home, to be paid to the RSPCA when she sells it.

My heart’s been broken. They’ve just warn me down and I’ve been depressed. They’re just like this giant machine that just crawls through people’s lives and they’ve got no way of getting out of it. The RSPCA says it prosecuted as a last resort. It was endorsed by the appeal judge and the Crown Prosecution Service. The costs were high because it took so long to conclude the case, and this was not the RSPCA’s fault. The RSPCA says it only prosecute when mistreatment is serious, cruelty blatant and when other ways to help animal and owner have been exhausted.

Back in Wales, the Protheroes are still waiting to hear if they’ll get their sheepdogs back. Three days after Panorama wrote to the RSPCA, the dogs were finally returned. Can one if you open the door while I left her in, please? Outside the Protheroes’ solicitors… It’s a big relief. It’s nice to see them. They’re looking OK, aren’t you? Hope they’ll be as happy to be home as we are to have them home. The RSPCA says the delay in returning the dogs was lawful and proper, while it decided whether to appeal. For many, including its critics, the

RSPCA remains a great British charity. I think the RSPCA is overall a force for good. The inspectors do good work every single day, there are out there in all conditions. Charity fight the RSPCA depend on more than donations, they also need public support. Public trust and public confidence in the work that charities do will only be sustained if charities are seen to be doing the right thing. That means behaving in a responsible, transparent and accountable way.

The RSPCA says it is committed to continually improving everything it does. But to its critics, it stands accused of being a charity that sometimes lacks charity – to humans.

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Hyperallergic: “Documentary Reporting Has Become So Rigid”: Adam Curtis on Storytelling Today

Stills from HyperNormalisation (all images courtesy Adam Curtis)

Around the turn of the 21st century, civilization was in distress. The Middle East was embroiled in war. Far-right movements were growing or even taking power in the West, culminating in the election of Donald Trump to the presidency in the United States. The consequences of events throughout the 20th century were piling on top of one another. The institutions seemed to be failing us. The people found that the old sources of information were lacking. Hungry for answers, they began turning to alternative sources. Some found that the work of a certain man, a British filmmaker, made sense to them. His documentaries stood out for their unusual editing and use of music, an approach to history that defied convention, and his distinct manner of narration — you may even be reading this now in his voice. That man’s name was Adam Curtis.

Curtis has been an established, respected journalist in his home country for decades, but didn’t garner much attention in America until his films began circulating online in the 2000s and ‘10s. Now his popularity has exploded, with uploads of his newest film, HyperNormalisation, cumulatively getting millions of views. Many journalists have tried to “explain” the Trump phenomenon, but few have done so by connecting it to a broader picture involving the failings of neoliberalism and a drastic shift in the discourse of democracy.

Now, Curtis is coming to America to present “Into the Zone,” a weekend-long film series at the Cinefamily in Los Angeles. The program includes Starship Troopers and Blow Out, and other films that express themes commonly found in his work. Hyperallergic was able to speak on the phone with Curtis about HyperNormalisation and his other films, as well as the slipshod reporting around Syria and Russia.

* * *

Dan Schindel: HyperNormalisation has raised your profile here in America. Until now, a few of your series have gotten DVD releases, but never any theatrical run or airing. Your work has been spread around in the US mainly via the internet, mostly with uploads that aren’t strictly legal. How do you feel about that?

Journalist and filmmaker Adam Curtis

Adam Curtis: I think it’s one of the realities of the modern world. I am neutral about it. What I’ve noticed right from about the year 2000, 2001, is that you put out a film live on television, and within about five or six minutes, it tends to appear on YouTube. The BBC squeal about it and then try and get it taken down, then it turns up again. I just accept it.

I like the idea that you make a film, it goes out, then it turns up on the internet in various forms and people go and find it. I’m happy with that. The BBC would hate me for saying this, but I don’t mind. It’s partly because also I work for the BBC and it’s a public broadcasting organization. I feel that the public should be allowed to see it in as many ways as they like. The BBC don’t like that, but it’s inevitable these days.

DN: They’re already sort of cutting out the middle man there. Your last two films, HyperNormalisation and Bitter Lake, premiered directly on BBC iPlayer.

AC: The interesting thing about online is that you can do things that are more complex and involving and less patronizing to the audience than traditional documentaries, which tend to simplify so much because they’re panicking that people will only watch them once live. They tend to just tell you what you already know. I think you can do some more complicated things, and that’s what I’ve been trying.

DS: I’ve seen people share political documentaries on video sites like they’re tracts, passing them around on social media.

AC: I’ve noticed with HyperNormalisation, in the United States, it’s got passed around like an underground thing. I think that’s not a bad way to publish a thing. I’m not trying to make a traditional documentary. I’m trying to make a thing that gets why you feel today like you do — uncertain, untrusting of those who tell you what is what. To make it in a way that emotionally explains that as much as it explains it intellectually.

DS: Both Bitter Lake and HyperNormalisation are much longer than films you made before. Before, you would have to cut them into multiple parts for airing, but now you’re free to expand.

AC: It has disadvantages too, in that you’re off live TV. But cumulatively, I’ve had very big audiences for both films, far more than I would for a live television showing. One of the reasons I like online is that I have this image that a lot of the people will watch it on their laptops with headphones. If you do that, then you can make the music and the noise and everything you do visually more involving.

DS: How so?

AC: What I’ve discovered … it’s a bit like going up a ladder on a computer game. For a long time, I knew about the BBC archive, and I could explore it and find hidden stuff. Then I met a cameraman who works for the news department in the BBC who was spending his spare time going around our bureaus in foreign countries — he started with Afghanistan. He was literally going to the cupboards in the back of the offices, taking out the original rush tapes, digitizing them, and bringing them back home. No one wanted them, so he gave them to me. He gave me Afghanistan. You know, when you send out a news crew, you’ll use 10 seconds of what they get. There’s usually about two hours’ worth of material, because the camera people film all sorts of things. As you look through it, it was just amazing.

There was one shot in the Afghanistan rushes which was of an assassination attempt on the president, Hamid Karzai. I timed it, the news used 10 seconds of it. I used about four minutes of it in Bitter Lake, but the actual shot lasted about 15 minutes, and it’s just extraordinary. The camera is walking along next to a car, and then there’s shooting. You can’t see really what’s happening. The camera goes and hides as complete chaos breaks out, but then the cameraman comes up very bravely and just films everything — the aftermath, the car speeding off. You get a real sense of what it must have been like to be there. I thought, “I’m just going to run it.”

I’ve noticed that people really like stuff like that, because news reporting and documentary reporting has become so rigid, so formalized in the way it edits shots that you don’t even look at that 10 seconds that they use anyway. You think, “Oh yeah, okay. That’s the way they’re doing it.” It’s like you don’t look at the Mona Lisa any longer. You just say, “Oh, that’s the Mona Lisa.” What audiences really like is just getting a sense of letting something run. I want to do more of it. In Bitter Lake, I was experimenting with just letting things run so people get a sense of what it was like. You can make your point visually and emotionally at the same time as you are saying it intellectually.

What I was saying in that film is that when we were going to Afghanistan, we thought it was a simple country full of goodies and baddies. Actually, it was a world we didn’t understand. I wanted to get a sense of drifting through this world, almost like a drug experience that comes in and out of focus. Using the rushes allowed me to do that. It made my point in a much more powerful way than me just saying it or interviewees saying it. If you notice, I had practically no interviewees in that film; I’ve just let the footage tell the story. I’m just lucky I got these rushes.

DS: How do you pick the music you use?

AC: The BBC has a blanket agreement for music rights, so I’m at a very advantaged position of being allowed to use a lot of music that I wouldn’t if I was making something by myself. That is the joy of working for a large and bureaucratic corporation. I have a contrary attitude to music. I like things that you wouldn’t necessarily expect. I tend to shy away from the big pieces of music that you would not normally be allowed to use. I just go for what I feel is right.

The thing I find about a lot of factual films these days — it’s as true in America as it is in Britain — is that the use of music tends to be either very clichéd or very boring. It’s as if the editor or the director doesn’t get out enough. They choose music which is completely predictable — if they’re making a film about bankers, they’ll put Pink Floyd’s “Money” over it. Your heart sinks. Whereas I like the idea that you choose music that feels not appropriate literally, but emotionally to what you’re trying to say.

Part of the function of journalism if you’re using music and images is to create an emotional platform from which you can draw people into the argument that you’re trying to put forward. It’s not a manipulation. It’s just: “Let me tell you a story.” As you tell a story, you draw people in. Music is so important in that.

DS: You collate a lot of history and culture into each of your films, often without any annotation explaining the references or documents to the viewer. How do you choose what to incorporate and how to present it?

AS: The thing that really pisses me off about a lot of television-making is that it deeply patronizes the audience. It treats them like they’re making an educational video for a class of 13-year-olds — which is not to denigrate 13-year-olds. I decide that if I know something, then the audience will probably know it. If they don’t, they can pause the film and look it up on Google. I have this attitude, instead of patronizing the audience, you say in a nice way: “Come on, come on, catch up.” You make them part of your excitement at the story you’re telling. You treat them as grownups. I try not to over-densify it where it’s unnecessary. Maybe I get it wrong sometimes, but that’s what I try to do.

What I’m doing is like writing an essay. I’m saying, “Look, we all know at this present moment that we feel uncertain. We don’t trust what we’re told. We don’t trust those in power over us. We don’t trust that they actually know what’s going on. We know that they know that we know. We’re caught in this loop of distrust.” I wanted to explain how that happened. To do that, I go back and I find a number of stories. I put them together, and I say, “I think this means that. This is how I think it happened.” I’m not saying this is a comprehensive history. I’m just saying that these are elements which go back to some of the main roots of why you feel as you do. It’s almost like I’m trying to make you go up in a helicopter and look at your own time a bit more.

Most journalists, most political people, and most think tank people just react like, “Oh my god, there’s another event happened. Oh my god, it’s this.” No one ever tries to put it in context, explain it. That’s what I was trying to do. To do that, you choose stories that you think dramatically illustrate what you’re trying to argue. For example, I think that with Syria and what is happening in Syria now, the roots of that give you a great insight into what has happened to our trust in politicians. So I decided to tell that story [with HyperNormalisation]. Also because no one has done a proper history of Syria.

DS: Do you usually find that a film comes from wanting to explain some feeling or aspect of life, or from examining a specific event and then working backwards to the root of it?

AC: It comes from finding a really good story. For example, I made a series called The Century of the Self, which was all about the rise of the idea of the individual self and how it’s intimately related to the rise of consumer capitalism over the last 100 years. That’s not how it started. It started when I simply found out that Sigmund Freud’s nephew, a man called Edward Bernays who lived in America in the 1920s, started public relations as a profession — using, he claimed, his uncle’s theories of the unconscious. I thought, “That’s really interesting. I didn’t know that. If I didn’t know that, probably lots of people didn’t know it. I want to tell that story.” After that, as I discovered more and more, I built the series.

I’m a simple creature — all journalists are. We like stories. If we find a good story, we use that thing because journalists know that people like stories too. When you have those documentaries where a man or a woman turns up on the screen and starts telling you great generalities, I just go ahead and turn off.

DS: You spoke about wanting to explain Syria with HyperNormalisation. Was there a specific story having to do with Syria that sparked that?

AC: I realized that the father of the present president, President Assad Sr., back in 1975 was furious with Henry Kissinger for not making a comprehensive settlement between Israel and Palestine. A lot of people who’ve studied this argue that the failure to achieve a comprehensive settlement at that point in the 1970s, when the Americans could have done so, has led to a lot of the problems you now face in the Middle East. It’s not the only reason, but it’s one of the most powerful reasons. I’m not arguing pro- or anti- Palestine or Israel. As Assad Sr. said to Kissinger at the time in fury, “You are going to release demons under the surface of the Middle East.” You could argue that is what has happened.

I wanted to try and explain why the horror in Syria is happening. I know it’s very difficult to report from there, but there is a tendency to assume that it is a seriously weird place where seriously weird people are doing seriously weird and horrible things to each other. It’s not like that. It’s a complex society. It’s as complicated as yours or mine is.

I just was trying to explain the roots of this, and the role that we in the West have played in the Middle East. I didn’t put this in HyperNormalisation because it goes too far back, but one of the earliest coups the American government did through the CIA was in Syria in 1949, when they tried to “bring democracy” to the country. We have a long history there. So much of the reporting at the moment is ahistorical. It’s, “Oh my god, it’s another horrific thing that’s happened.” The other idea lurking under it is that it’s full of evil people doing evil things to victims — a goodies-and-baddies mentality, which I think is a very, very dangerous thing for journalism. It’s the sort of thing that led us to invade Iraq. We just think that there are evil people subjugating innocent victims. It ain’t like that.

I’m not saying that there aren’t some evil people there. But some people are neither good nor bad. There are complex struggles for control going on there. That’s the other thing I really think about the misreporting of the Middle East by the West: It’s as if no one discusses power. Ever since its modern borders were set in 1920, Iraq has been a society driven by complex struggles for power. It’s like Game of Thrones, but even more complicated. The same is true of Syria. It’s as if we don’t talk about power any longer. Because we’re encouraged to think of ourselves as totally independent individuals, the language of power has gone into disuse. But there are complicated struggles going on, and through looking at that, you can better understand things.

DS: You speak about not wanting to go back too far in HyperNormalisation. Where do you decide to draw that line when you want to go back to contextualize current events?

AC: You can argue that the roots of anything go back a millennium, but you have to start somewhere. The basic story I was telling in HyperNormalisation is that, as the postwar liberal idea that you could create a predictable world began to collapse, out of that came all sorts of forces which have now led partially to the uncertainty we feel today. The economic crisis of the mid-1970s was the reason I decided to start in 1975.

In your country, I start in New York, which is where power began to shift from politicians toward the world of finance. In Syria, that’s when the failure to solve the Israel-Palestine problem began to unleash all sorts of forces within the Arab world who wanted to challenge it. Remember that when Osama bin Laden held his first press conference in 1997 to announce his alliance against the West, the thing he went on and on about was Israel and Palestine. It’s so deep in the Arab mind, and we just don’t realize that here. 1975 is when a shift in power happened in the Middle East at the same time as the shift in power away from politics toward finance began in the West. It’s arbitrary, but I chose that moment because those two things are at the root of a lot of other things we have today. It’s a dramatic moment.

DS: What sort of film do you think you might make next?

AC: I’ve just now been given everything the BBC ever shot in Russia for the last 60 years, which is extraordinary. I’m fascinated. It would be more about our complicated relationship with Russia. I’ve got this theory that we continually project onto Russia — and not just with the Cold War, but after it and throughout history. We create a simplified, fake version of Russia and ignore what’s really going on there. Vladimir Putin is not a nice man, but he is part of a complicated struggle.

I was watching a film about the John Birch Society in the 1960s, at the time of the Barry Goldwater campaign. You see they are obsessed with Russia. The journalist turns back to the camera and says, “This is really strange. It’s almost like these people, who are anxious about everything, about the decline of the middle class, the fact that they have no hope in the future, they’ve projected it onto the other.” He’s talking in 1964 about right-wing, middle-class people in the suburbs of Southern California

Now we’re doing it again, but this time it’s the liberal middle class doing it. Underneath, there’s something even more complicated. It’s like we continually reinvent Russia. There’s this strange alliance between the liberals and the CIA, who are convinced that Russia is behind Donald Trump. It’s almost like it’s a desperate attempt to avoid having to face that possibly it was their fault they lost the election.

Beyond that, I just think that it’s about time to do something comprehensive about Russia. This footage I’ve got, some of it is so beautiful and so amazing. I don’t know whether people would be interested. Right now, liberals are so anti-Russia that I think you can’t do anything. The mood is not right yet.

DS: I think that means it’s the perfect time for a corrective. That rhetoric just gets worse and more hysterical. I heard the great comparison that the way liberals talk about how Russians supposedly connected to Donald Trump are dying is identical to the conservatives’ “Clinton Body Count.” It would be great for someone with a platform to get people to question how we’re thinking about this.

AC: Funnily enough, I sort of want to do that. There is a dark demon within me wanting to say this, or to produce something that says: “Look, look at what you’re doing. You’re trying to avoid the fact that whether Russia actually hacked into the Democratic Party computers or not, it didn’t truly affect the outcome of the election, because what they produced was so boring. The election was lost because you had a bad candidate and a load of other people were presented with a big button that said ‘Fuck off’ and pressed it. That’s the reason. You’re flailing around trying to blame it on Russia.”

Beyond that, it is interesting, the alliances that are forming. For 40 years, the liberal middle class hated the CIA, and they had good reason to. The CIA’s done some really bad things. But suddenly the CIA are noble heroes. It’s very weird. That’s why any film I make about this shouldn’t just be about Russia. It should be about the relationship between the West and Russia, as it offers dramatic insights into the growing lack of confidence in the liberal mindset. I think the route that mindset is going down is potentially quite dangerous. I’d like to play with that.

The trouble is if you do that, they’ll turn around and say, “Well, you’re just like Donald Trump.” Do you see the problem? If someone comes along and says, “Hang on, let’s look at the joint intelligence report about the supposed Russian hacking. Actually, there isn’t very much hard evidence in it,” you are immediately accused of almost being an ally of Trump. That’s not very good, is it? It means there’s something very peculiar going on. I haven’t really got my head around it, but I would like to do something about it.

DS: Have you seen the Adam Curtis Bingo Card?

AC: Yeah. It’s not as good as The Loving Trap. That’s much better parody. It gets my voice. It pins me down beautifully.

“Into the Zone: A Weekend with Adam Curtis” takes place March 17–19 at Cinefamily (611 North Fairfax Avenue, Melrose, Los Angeles).

The post “Documentary Reporting Has Become So Rigid”: Adam Curtis on Storytelling Today appeared first on Hyperallergic.

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