Name:     Michael L. S.   [E-Mail]
      Location:  Earth
      Website:  Middle East Resource Center

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Just finished watching a three-part "documentary" by the B.B.C. entitled "Tropic of Capricorn." It follows a reporter as he traverses the countries straddling the Capricorn. Usually I LOVE travelogs. I still remember very fondly the several produced by Michael Palin years ago, and the National Geographic Channel's are above par.

But this must be one of the most irritating broadcasts I ever saw. The guy did not visit a single place en route without adverting to some great malady befalling or about to befall the locality. They were all the usual liberal pet issues: Someone exploiting someone or something else. So, there were governments roughing up helpless traditional small communities, descendants of colonialists mistreating the natives and, of course, the sine qua non: Evil big businesses devastating The Environment(tm). Global Warming(tm) got its mention at the end of the second part, but after one and a half hours of arched-eyebrows, perma-frowns of feigned concern and platitudinous but persistent indoctrination, that was only to be expected.

A group of "indigenous people" (not "natives," you see: Very un-PC) in one hamlet caviled about lack of medical and educational provisions (read: Government neglect). In a village some way down the road members of that same tribe had been offered relocation into a settlement with proper social care provisions, but this time some villagers leveled accusations that the government was trying to evict them. See: One just can't get it right. A bit later on, in a settlement established by the government, the inhabitants are opting to live in mud huts rather than the brick houses provided. That is shown to be oh-so quaint and charming. I suppose in the sequel of this crapumentary they'll go back and film the settlers crying about their mud huts' roofs leaking and it will be, yes, the government's fault! And don't even get me started on all the bullshit about the Australian Aborigines. It's not good if they are left to their own devices; it's not good if the government intervenes.

In short, whichever continent, whichever nation, whatever problem: It's the West's fault. Even the Chinese (who are infamous for not giving a hoot about human rights or environmental concerns, including across their thousands of projects in Africa) escape the pillorying and are actually portrayed in a favorable light.

Whereas I would have loved to have seen footage of the landscape as well as the urban centers visited (say, Winhdoek or Tulear), a third of the time was wasted on unremitting interviews with various campaigners and "victims."

An excellent opportunity totally squandered.

Pathetic.

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