1/1/2017 BernardCrick:BigBrotherbelittled

BernardCrick
BigBrotherbelittled
One surfed so easily from those mob scenes in Portsmouth to those outside the Big Brother studio when
blowsyCarolinewasvotedoutandMachiavellianNickmethisnemesis.Theonemobwas,ofcourse,uglyand
fullofhate,theotherwasfacetiouslyhighspiritedwhenitscreamed:WehateNick.Butbothweremobs.
Hannah Arendt, in her Origins of Totalitarianism, distinguished between the people and the mob.
Thepeopleseekfortruerepresentationpoliticallywhereasthemobhatessocietyfromwhichithasbeen
excludedinterestinglyshecalleditaresidueofallclasses(whichwellfitsarrestedfootballhooligans).
Themob,sheargued,ishighlyindividualistic,allfornumberoneasitwere,unlessagreatleaderemergesto
legitimise its sense of being outside society, to turn spasmodic hatreds into tendency. Our two mobs are
excludedfromsocietyindifferentways:themobonthePaulsgroveestatewas,bymanymeasuresofsocial
deprivation, objectively excluded whereas the mob on the factoid studio set is subjectively excluded it
cheerfullyexcludesitselffromconventionalideasofseriousnessandsocialresponsibility.Letuscallthetwo
thehatefullmobandtheemptymob.
SoChannel4has,indeed,createdorcribbedabrilliantshowfortheemptymob,acunningsynthesisof
game show and debased, dumbeddown documentary which even impels some serious attention. First, it
creates the illusion of naturalism. Nearly all teledramas, not just the soaps, are for us watching others like
ourselvesdoingrecognisablethingsthereisverylittleimagination,fantasyormagicrealismevenifthe
frequencyofmurder,rape,otherviolentcrimeandevensexonfirstsightandadultery,arestatisticallyunusual.
Theyclosedownratherthanbroadenimaginativehorizons.
Most of us, not all, know that it is all madeup. I remember having to tell, when asked, a former
partner'sfosterchildthatthecowboysandIndiansontheboxwerenotreallygettingkilled.Thisisthetwilight
zone of the factoids that can fool or confuse even adults. We are too often in a shadowworld between
journalism and entertainment. Channel 4 makes fatuous claims that Big Brother seriously reports on how
peoplereactunderpressure.Consideringhowheavilycutthefilmhastobe,andhowawarethehappyfamilyis
thattheyareoncamera,thisisnonsenseonstilts.
AlsoBigBrothergivestheviewerssentencingpower:theillusionofpopularpower,happilyinthiscase
illusion.Crucifyhim,crucifyhim!Notjustthetabloidsfeedthismentality,butincreasinglyBBCpresenters
willaskarelativeofavictimwhatthepunishmentshouldbe,ordrawfromanallegedlyordinarypersona
snap,prejudicedandoftenignorantopinion.Well,iftheyarenotrepresentative,atleasttheyareanauthentic
voicethatmagicwordthatlinkspopulismhighandlow.
ThenBigBrotherattractedahugemobtocomeandwatchtheexpulsionsfromtheantiParadiseofthose
votedout.Davina,thepresenter,dashesthroughthem,likeafrenziedpostmodernistAngloSaxonmessenger
inAlice,incitingandfeedingtheirlines,butallscripted,ofcourse,unlikethemobleadersinPortsmouth.She
istheaptembodimentofclamoroustrivialityorthepurityofpurposelessness.Andtheycangohomeandlook
forthemselvesonvideo.Truereality!
Lastly, Big Brother turns Orwell's potent metaphor upside down. His Airstrip One was totalitarian.
Therethetelescreenwasemphaticallynotforentertainment.ButtheprogrammeBigBrotherpretendstobe
thevoiceofthepeople,ortheemptymob.
Well,weareademocracy,aren'twe?Whycan'tthepeoplehavewhattheywant?Evenifthisentails
whatTocquevillelongagocalledthethetyrannyofthemajority?Noneedforknowledge,goodeducation,
reasoned judgments, recourse to authorities and experience. All that is what populists call elitism. Beatrice
Webbonceremarked:Democracyisnotthemultiplicationofignorantopinions.Dreadfulwoman!Butpause
a moment. Surely the will of the majority must interact with reasoning, liberty and human rights? Consider
capitalpunishment.PerhapsthecaseforpopulismwouldbestrongerifthoseinTVandthetabloidswhohide
behindpublicopinionwhileseekingtostirit,madeseriousattemptstoascertainwhatitactuallyis,notjust
viewingfiguresandreadersletters.Socialsurveyorganisationsrarelyturndowngoodbusiness.

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1/1/2017 BernardCrick:BigBrotherbelittled

Orwell'spictureofBigBrother'sstrategy,however,bringsusclosetotheworldofsitcoms,gameshows
andtheprizeinanitiesoftheBigBrothershow.Thepartymadenoattempttoactivatetheprolesinsupportof
theregime.Theyaresimplydepoliticisedbyculturaldebasement,dumbeddown,keptfromeventhinkingof
demandingfairshares.Thepartylooksaftertheprolesbyproducingforthemrubbishynewspapers,containing
almostnothingexceptsport,crimeandastrologysensationalfivecentnovelettesfilmsoozingwithsexand
sentimentalsongswhicharecomposedentirelybymechanicalmeansonaspecialkindofkaleidoscopeknown
as a versificator. There was even a whole subsection Pornosoc engaged in producing the lowest kinds of
pornography.
That was not Stalin and Hitler's regimes it was and is savage, Swiftian satire of the British popular
press. A wicked exaggeration, of course at the time only one paper fully fitted the bill by happy
coincidencetheNewsoftheWorld.Backthen,eventheygotthenaughtybitsinonlybylongverbatimreports
ofcourtproceedings,incasetheyappearedgrosslysensational,evenfacedprosecution.Whatdemandsthey
thenhadtomakeontheliteracyoftheirreaders.
Orwell was deadly serious in arguing that capitalism, faced with a largely literate and free electorate,
couldonlybymeansofculturaldebasementmaintainaclasssystemsogrosslyunequalandinequitable.He
knewnothingofHabermasandFrankfurterschuleneoMarxism.OldGeorgeworkeditoutforhimself.Seemed
obvious14pintcommonsense.
RebekahWadeinherseclusionmaythinksheunderstandsthecommonpeopleorshemayjustbeselling
hermaster'snewspapersonthestreet.Butshecertainlystirredamobreactiononanissuethatneedssensitive
andinformedleadershipincitementstothoughtnotprecipitateaction.Thebroadsheets,excepttheTimes,
did begin to remind us that there were only five children murdered by strangers last year, compared with
hundredsofdeathsontheroadsandthat98%ofrecordedchildabuseiswithinfamiliesandthatwhiletabloid
reportsofcasesofmurder,welfarescroungers,incompetentdoctorsandsoonareusuallywellresearchedand
true(forfearoflibel),theyareusuallynumericallyinsignificant.Panicsmakenews,statisticsareboringand
demanding.WhenmydoctortoldmesixyearsagothatIhadprostaticcancer,hesaid:Doyouunderstandthe
conceptofprobability?Isaidyes.Thankheavens,hereplied.Wesadlyagreedthatmanynowbelievethat
theycanliveinariskfreeworldandthatifsomebodycan'tbefoundtoblame,thenthelawisatfault.
WhoknowshowMsWade'sreaderswouldreactifpresentedwithlesssimplisticreactions?Whichofus
lastweekdidnotfeelanoftenunexpectedrespectforthereactionsofpolice,probationandsocialservices,and
dismayatthepoliticalleaderswhotalkedfarmorestronglyoftheneedfornewlaws(sofarunreasonedexcept
that some people seem to demand it) than in rebuke of vigilantes. Stanley Baldwin once rebuked Lord
Beaverbrookforexercisingpowerwithoutresponsibilitytheprerogativeoftheharlotthroughouttheages.
WhosaysthatnowtoMurdoch?ButBaldwinlivedinelitistnotpopulistdays.Ittakespoliticalcourageto
appealtothebestinstinctsofpeople,nottheworst.
Orwell understood the difference between what the public is interested in and the public interest.
Thatiswhyhewrotethatbookwhosewarninghasbeentreatedwithcynicalcontemptandisitselftreatedas
prolefeed.

2000

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BernardCrick:BigBrotherbelittled
Published:newspaperTheGuardian.GuardianNewspapersLimited.GB,London,2000.August19.
counterstrike1.6.http://csquality.ru.http://cs16client.ru

(Textsource:OrwellProjectbyO.Dag.19992004www.orwell.ru)

http://orwell.ru/a_life/crick/english/e_bbbel 2/2