Quote: Aaron @ February 2 2010, 11:00 PM GMTOr, perhaps, the 'threat level' was raised so that Labour can say, come May, "Look, we saved you from this increased terror threat; the Tories would cut defence spending".
Cynical, moi?
(Pity that Brooker didn't make that observation, but then I guess he does has his lefty/anti-Conservative agenda to push.)
Nicely put, Aaron. Last night's episode was terrible, one of the worst things I've seen on TV for a long time. Here's my review of it, done in the style of the man himself.
The big story of the week was of course The Iraq Inquiry and in particular ex-minister and now full time millionaire Tony Blair smarmy appearance which the media, especially the BBC, were obsessing over all week like schoolboys waiting to get home the latest issue of Razzle which they'd pinched from the newsagents. However since Charlie Brooker's meme in Newswipe is media hysteria and to paid-up Guardianitas there can be no hysteria about Eye-rack (which sounds like a cut price opticians similar to spec savers), Israel or Climate Change, he instead went with the decidedly old news and one rather more difficult to play for laughs, Haiti disaster.
This presented some difficulties for Charlie since last week when the news was fresh he declared it too depressing to critique instead devoting the episode to generic abuse aimed at unenlightened broadcasters such as Sky, ITN and channel 5. However since the only significant story to overshadow it was every Liberal's wank fantasy, Blair potentially fessing up to leading an illegal war, and having to analyse this might cause Brooker to examine his own bigotry, it caused him a rethink. Maybe death and misery in a third world country is not lacking comedy value after all!
His approach was to depict the media as vultures circling the fresh carcass of journalistic integrity and to resurrect the familiar noble savage idea favoured by big-brained collosi such as James Cameron (no relation to that Bullindon airhead David) and Danny Glover , and to suggest that the coverage by the wicked conspiracy of Sky-Fox-Itn was borderline racist. THEY'RE NOT SAVAGES! YOU'RE THE SAVAGES, YOU CUNTS! Even if they are -er- looting and fighting and shit. Oh and the media were raising awareness and money whereas a lefty twat sitting on his couch in West London moaning was doing -er- what exactly?
Despite elsewhere lambasting mindless celebrity involvement, Brooker finds the time to heap praise on that notable intellectual and political commenter, Nick Kershaw, for a letter written to that enlightened and soon to be non-existent publication, The Independent.
This vulture-like media raised Brooker's hackles by questioning the efficiency of the saintly UN in this. This was only the press, in its long forgotten role as the fourth estate, basically doing its job. This lack of aid was due, Brooker informed us en passant, to fear of violence even though according to Brooker's meme, gathered from seating on a sofa in West London, was that the violence was exaggerated for ratings purposes. Hmmm.
Brooker was particularly outraged that Kay Burley described Haiti as having a "violent history" which had him falling back to the dreary knee-jerk bash Britain reflex that such people have. "What about our violent history" he whined vaguely. Yep, that's right Charlie. In living memory, Haiti has had civil wars and two homocidal dictators while Britain has had a -um- peaceful democracy since the 18th century. Nice comparison, you stupid c**t.
In fact Brooker's hatred of Sky And Fox reached almost epidemic proportions. I don't know why he doesn't rename Newswipe Rupert Murdoch Watch and be done with it.
Ben O'Reilly of Fox News, in particular, raises Brooker's blood temperature. His adjectival ire is twisted to new heights of venom to describe O'Reilly as a "rightwing blowhard" who runs a "festival of bellowing" show (unlike Brooker's own even tempered and apolitical festival of facts) on Fox while MSNBC, in its only appearance lasting all of two seconds, is politely called called Left-leaning despite being so far left that it makes Joseph Stalin look like Margaret Thatcher. And it only garners this for honourably mentioning that western capitalists are trying to cash in on this disaster. CASH IN ON THIS DISASTER! THE BASTARDS!
Although elsewhere Brooker was forced to admit through gritted teeth that Fox's news coverage had in fact been more 'fair and balanced" (That's their slogan. Geddit?) than anyone else's, O'Reilly's big crime was to have the temerity to mention that wicked and greedy capitalist scuzepot America was by far the biggest donor to the Haiti appeal while caring sharing and wealth distributing socialist states including the very rich China had given virtually nothing. I guess charity begins at home for Marxists. Since this played against the Guardian meme that Chavez is a well meaning and misunderstood hero fighting against American imperialism and not an egotistical and selfish fruitcake oppressing his people, Charlie had to counter this right-wing propaganda with a few hilarious witticisms such as "every little helps". Nice to see anti-capitalist lefties now lifting slogans from Tescos. Oh wait, they're supposed to be the enemy. Shopping and shit. Maybe Brooker never read the chapter on commodity fetishism.
