NationStates Jolt Archive


British Civil Rights Film Released

Zarakon
03-06-2007, 16:18
People will only wake up to the destruction of their civil liberties when it is too late to do anything about it.

That is the fear driving a new documentary film which aims to do for civil liberties what Fahrenheit 9/11, Michael Moore's anti-George Bush polemic, did for the anti-war movement.

Director Chris Atkins wants Taking Liberties to shake the British public out of their apathy over what he sees as the dangerous erosion of traditional rights and freedoms under Tony Blair.

"This film uses shock tactics. We needed to be unashamedly populist.

"We wanted to give people a slap around the face and then they can go away and unearth some of the more complex cases," says Atkins.

But although it shares a producer - and some stylistic tricks - with Fahrenheit 9/11, Atkins is wary of too many comparisons with Moore's film.

Tony Blair was a "handy villain", he says, but it is not enough to try and pin the blame on one political leader who is, in any case, standing down soon.

"We didn't want to make the British Fahrenheit. We didn't just want to say 'this guy's an arsehole, let's get rid of him'.

"This issue is far more important than one leader. Once you give up traditional liberties such as free speech and the right to protest you are not going to easily get them back," says Atkins.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6705375.stm

There's more to the article, stories about enviromental protesters being held for a day in a half under anti-terror law and such.

I think, given the current situation in the UK, this should've been made a while ago.
Bodies Without Organs
03-06-2007, 16:20
That is the fear driving a new documentary film which aims to do for civil liberties what Fahrenheit 9/11, Michael Moore's anti-George Bush polemic, did for the anti-war movement.

Can it really be quite so counter-productive?
Atopiana
03-06-2007, 16:36
Methinks I will see this film.
Compulsive Depression
03-06-2007, 17:16
But civil liberties mean the terrorists win!
Newer Burmecia
03-06-2007, 17:42
I'd love to play this on a big TV in at Parliament Squa...

Oops, silly me.:rolleyes:
Turquoise Days
03-06-2007, 19:46
I'll be seeing that then.
Extreme Ironing
04-06-2007, 12:05
This film looks very interesting.
Call to power
04-06-2007, 12:12
I guess I will watch it not that I'm the target audience or take kindly to shock tactics....

its sad though that Britain is turning into new America, what has gone so wrong?
Vetalia
04-06-2007, 12:38
Can it really be quite so counter-productive?

Yeah, I think Fahrenheit 9/11 actually helped Bush way more than it helped them...
Rambhutan
04-06-2007, 13:06
I guess I will watch it not that I'm the target audience or take kindly to shock tactics....

its sad though that Britain is turning into new America, what has gone so wrong?

Tony Blair
Andaras Prime
04-06-2007, 13:32
Let's face it guys, in order to 'protect' the nation from 'terrorists', we have to make laws so restrictive and oppressive that the terrorists realize that their vision of how our nations should be run has already been achieved, so they'll not longer attack us.
Hydesland
04-06-2007, 14:55
Great, more sensationalist crap.
Forsakia
04-06-2007, 16:32
Hasn't anyone told them?
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y107/TP4CCCC/fascism.jpg
Call to power
04-06-2007, 16:45
Tony Blair

pfft we have a pick of Cameron, Brown or Campbell, I think Blair-ism is more a symptom rather than a cause
Kyronea
04-06-2007, 17:04
I'm extremely wary of a film like this, given its comparisons to Farenheit 9/11. Every single one of Michael Moore's films is filled with cliches, idiocy, and a general lack of understanding of anything, as he shows in most of his fictional movies, like Canadian Bacon. It's even worse when he's promoting something as a documentary when it's more of a shockyouignory.

As such, I probably won't watch this film unless a lot of people around here tell me it's actually worth watching.
Glorious Alpha Complex
04-06-2007, 18:04
Eh, I see V for Vendetta to be one of the most perfect propaganda films there could be, but that's just me.