How to do a Travel Doco, Lumley & India
Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2017 3:47 pm
Joanna Lumley India.
Infectious, frank, (occasionally) silly, informative, diverting, spontaneous, sad and beautifully photographed its all you would want from a well produced middle brow travelogue.
Even the Telegraph described it as ‘utterly irresistible’ and “she hasn’t shied away from the many less savoury aspects of life in India” and “very moving” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2017/07/0 ... us-review/
Predictably, the Guardian thinks that she overlooked British oppression and her personal responsibility for this, given her family’s role in India. There is hardly a Lumley ancestor according to the red rag who nisn’t covered in blood. Typical chardonnay socialist guilt trip where the blame for the past overshadows the now and which changes nothing. A form of psychic self-abuse which should be practiced only in private and never in print. The ‘journalist’ who wrote this should stick to her more regular happy high-brow hunting ground of the Caribbean Roar magazine and continues a recent tradition in the Guardian of employing journalists who use grievance and agenda but lack relevant education, experience as well as a light touch when reviewing what is just TV entertainment. https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radi ... ng-history. What happened to Clive James and deft wit?
Interestingly, whilst it received no disclosed funding from the Government of India, the Lumley doco. sends a message that India is a marvelous and complex country and this will likely have a clear tourism effect.
By way of contrast the legion of Egypt travelogues push only one issue, Egyptology, and do it in a heavy handed government funded way. The recent J Walter Thompson $US70 million Egypt promotional contract gives little confidence that the future will be any better. The company lacks experience in this area and ceased to be a market leader decades ago.
In any event I think that heavy handed government-funded propaganda/advertising works less well than crafted and spontaneous joy as exemplified in the Lumley program. I think most viewers know the difference between being sold something versus joining a real person on an interesting voyage.
The hapless, hopeless Greeks had a go at this a few years ago with a government funded academic/scenic/food series with a somewhat overweight and scripted archaeologist, Dr Michael Scott. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b039gly5. That the BBC got involved in this shameless piece of heavy handed commercial advertising is an outrage – maybe it was part of their charity program to Greece. Charmless, and not very interesting.
Infectious, frank, (occasionally) silly, informative, diverting, spontaneous, sad and beautifully photographed its all you would want from a well produced middle brow travelogue.
Even the Telegraph described it as ‘utterly irresistible’ and “she hasn’t shied away from the many less savoury aspects of life in India” and “very moving” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2017/07/0 ... us-review/
Predictably, the Guardian thinks that she overlooked British oppression and her personal responsibility for this, given her family’s role in India. There is hardly a Lumley ancestor according to the red rag who nisn’t covered in blood. Typical chardonnay socialist guilt trip where the blame for the past overshadows the now and which changes nothing. A form of psychic self-abuse which should be practiced only in private and never in print. The ‘journalist’ who wrote this should stick to her more regular happy high-brow hunting ground of the Caribbean Roar magazine and continues a recent tradition in the Guardian of employing journalists who use grievance and agenda but lack relevant education, experience as well as a light touch when reviewing what is just TV entertainment. https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radi ... ng-history. What happened to Clive James and deft wit?
Interestingly, whilst it received no disclosed funding from the Government of India, the Lumley doco. sends a message that India is a marvelous and complex country and this will likely have a clear tourism effect.
By way of contrast the legion of Egypt travelogues push only one issue, Egyptology, and do it in a heavy handed government funded way. The recent J Walter Thompson $US70 million Egypt promotional contract gives little confidence that the future will be any better. The company lacks experience in this area and ceased to be a market leader decades ago.
In any event I think that heavy handed government-funded propaganda/advertising works less well than crafted and spontaneous joy as exemplified in the Lumley program. I think most viewers know the difference between being sold something versus joining a real person on an interesting voyage.
The hapless, hopeless Greeks had a go at this a few years ago with a government funded academic/scenic/food series with a somewhat overweight and scripted archaeologist, Dr Michael Scott. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b039gly5. That the BBC got involved in this shameless piece of heavy handed commercial advertising is an outrage – maybe it was part of their charity program to Greece. Charmless, and not very interesting.
