Do British children learn this stuff in school? I didn't, but it wasn't 'history' then. I remember MLK's death. Rosa Parks I learned about much later.
I hear the point that this was one tiny moment, and there were probably others they could have used. And that people from some advanced future should surely have outgrown the bigotry rubbish. But for whatever reason, this particular bigot decided that was the moment it all went wrong, so it made sense to him. Just as trying to "get back to the British Empire" makes sense to certain sorts of bigots, oblivious of the fact that we can't just re-annex other countries. Bigotry doesn't make sense.
I thought the episode handled very sensitive material with real delicacy. They weren't there to inspire or make things happen. They were guardians of a moment, gently witnessing, working to ensure it unfolded as it should, evidencing the pain they felt at not being able to intervene. The looks on faces as Rosa was arrested and they couldn't stop it happening reminded me of a humanity I don't think the show has had in many seasons.
I'd do wonder how this will have played out with fans who might share some of that irrational bigotry, so kudos to the show for tackling it. I've already seen one next tweet calling it PC preaching.
One of the best in a long time, IMHO.
Haven’t seen episode yet...but, just to drop in, yes we do learn it in school. I think I covered it in primary, then twice more in secondary, including reenacting the bus etc. I actually think we would be better off teaching it in schools with a wider focus...I.e making sure that British History is taught alongside it. (Roots was also shown in my secondary school, as an aside) It’s a very different history, with a different form of racism occurring, and integration occurring for very different reasons. I actually think it would do more good over here to talk about things like windrush, the Brixton riots, two-tone and Ska than constantly revisiting MLK, Malcolm X etc. Since we were also taught about the slave trade, there’s no reason why the lines can’t be shown to explain how the UK got its mix. (Not to mention, the NF scumbags just used roots as a source for more racist name calling.)
There is radical difference between someone whose ancestors were chained in a boat and dragged across half a world to result in their being born in a land, and someone who came across the world from former colonies (sometimes colonies originally ‘founded’ by other nations...which is an even longer look at history) in the hope of a new life and having children and slowly but surely integrating into a culture not that far removed from their parents, grandparents et al (cricket teams are usually a dead giveaway from a cultural standpoint xD)
History is complex, and it’s too easy to focus on certain areas to create a ‘them and us’ by accident, and a more detailed look is sometimes the best way. Not least as people will usually be surprised that there is no ‘them and us’ just a ‘we’, but not if we learn a fragmented, non-culturally relevant concept of history.
Ironically, Who had a good handle on this with Ace years ago, and it was beautifully done with simple things here and there (Remembrance and Ghost Light had scenes and lines that paint a whole picture.)
Anyway. Still dunno whether to look forward to the episode or not. Will check in afterwards.
I mean, I agree with the episode. Racism is bad, and white supremacists are very fucking evil. But, this still shouldn't be an episode of Doctor Who.
