Thursday 29 January 2009

ARTS CULTURE AND MEDIA

Here's where we celebrate the best of manifold British achievements in the world of the arts, entertainment and media, and look at people keen to preserve them...and those keen to destroy.




The New Culture Forum seeks to celebrate and preserve our country’s culture, to recognise and appreciate the historic roots that got us from then to now, and to defend British and indeed Western civilization against its detractors in the realms of arts and culture. You can visit it here.

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Biased BBC doesn't believe that the jewel in Britain's Twentieth Century cultural crown is the democracy-loving, truth-telling upholder of decent standards in its mission of education information and entertainment that it was in its heyday during World War Two. Take a look at the great debate here. And hold onto your hats...

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The New English Review examines society, art, media and culture and stands up for what is good and great and shows up what is squalid, mean, and destructive. There are essays each month on culture and multiculturalism, religion and fanaticism, the way we live our lives and better yet the way we lived our lives, and is one host to the great Doctor Theodore Dalrymple, of whom more soon. A cultural magazine for the Third Millennium with its feet firmly rooted in the millennia that went before. A monthly treat and hard work for the serious lover of our country and our civilisation's true virtues. Read it here.

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Freedom is a diverse value in our society and it has many uses.
One of the things that people can do with freedom is to hurt other people.
Mediawatch-UK monitors how the media go about their business and provides campaigning platforms to oppose what they consider to be harmful, indecent, or immoral uses of the media. Here they are in their own words:
Mediawatch-UK provides an independent voice for those concerned about issues of taste and decency in the media. We have an established reputation for principled protest, informed comment and reliable research. We publish newsletters, reports on the portrayal of violence, bad language and sexual conduct, briefings on film classification, content regulation and the public interest.
Visit their site and see what they are doing here.

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Geert Wilders is being prosecuted by the Dutch courts for words and film critical of Islam and Islamism. It seems he thinks that these events are neither coincidences nor the product solely of Western foreign policy.

From Wikipedia: Attempts to prosecute Wilders under Dutch anti-hate speech laws in June 2008 failed, with the public prosecutor's office stating that Wilders' comments contributed to the debate on Islam in Dutch society and also had been made outside parliament. The office released a statement reading: “That comments are hurtful and offensive for a large number of Muslims does not mean that they are punishable. Freedom of expression fulfils an essential role in public debate in a democratic society. That means that offensive comments can be made in a political debate.”

Wilders has called for the banning of Islamic books while simultaneously arguing for his own personal freedom of speech, so he’s hardly what you’d call a free speech purist. However, on 21 January 2009, a three judge court ordered prosecutors to try him. Their statement argued that "In a democratic system, hate speech is considered so serious that it is in the general interest to... draw a clear line" and that "The court also considers appropriate criminal prosecution for insulting Muslim worshippers because of comparisons between Islam and Nazism made by Wilders". If convicted, he may get 16 months of jail time and a fine of 9866.67 Euros.

Threats made by this man have recently prevented his film Fitna being shown in the House of Lords.

Whatever you think of the man and his message he is not only being censored by over mighty government here and abroad; he is under threat of imprisonment for stating his honest opinion. And all this in the middle of a war against the West being led by co-religionists of some of his harshest critics.If freedom of speech has a motto it must surely be; ‘I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.’ It’s one of the things that make our culture and our country so good. Support him or learn more here.

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Manners maketh the man.
Mediawatch-uk are running a campaign to ask the Prime Minister to influence Ofcom, the film and TV regulator to prevail on the entertainment media to take unnecessary swearing from their productions.
The great humanitarian campaigns of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to turn Britain’s cities from brutal, impoverished, gin-soaked, child-prostituting, slave-trading hell-holes involved a conscious effort to gentle the condition; that is to make more polite and considerate as well as safer and more comfortable, of the poor.
The reformers usually started with the powerful and the rich; in those days the peerage, gentry and the highest ranks of the middle class, and persuaded them to lead by example to such an extent that Britain became known as the politest and also one of the safest places to live on the planet.
All that has been under attack for decades as stultifying to individual spirits and as methods of class control. ‘Realistic’ language and ‘relevant’ film, drama and soap operas have helped to coarsen and dull the sense of decency of millions – and even the most progressive of teachers find it necessary to blame our nation’s educational and public order decline on loutish and ignorant parents.
From the politest nation on Earth to the terrors of tourist resorts, nightclubs, and football stadiums worldwide; that’s where progressive language codes have helped to get us, with disrespect for self, for others and for all deep and abiding morality growing amongst rich and poor alike. Now the brutality, poverty, addiction and even child prostitution are back.
It’s just not so much fun any more.
People live by symbols and words are the commonest of symbols that we encounter every day. I think our country would be better behaved and safer if more of us respected our language and our culture and our neighbours. So let’s ask today’s rich and powerful – government and the entertainments industry - to lead by example as their aristocratic predecessors did and choose to use their freedom of speech to promote a gentler, more respectful use of language. Sometimes, the great virtue of freedom is that you can choose NOT to do something.
It’s not as if the media approve of the realistic use of every single word in the dictionary, now is it?

The petition is here.

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1 comment:

  1. http://www.nuj.org.uk/innerPagenuj.html?docid=1104

    This is the official page for Monday 16th February where photographers are staging a protest against the terrorism act preventing them from taking photos of coppers beating civilians up! (joke)

    There is also a facebook link on the page

    ReplyDelete

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