Post by Teddy Bear on Jan 30, 2013 16:17:34 GMT
If you read an article today about an honour killing that had taken place, which segment of our society would you be expecting to have committed it?
You can read the article below to see why the BBC justifies cutting a line from a play that deals with the subject, and my comment to it, which I also posted there.
Teddy Bear
Judging by the prevalence of honour killings among Muslim families, it is fair to assume that there must be a background of what is deemed unacceptable behaviour in their society that contributes to it.
Why should it be ignored? That simply makes our society complicit in promoting it - by omission.
This is besides the fact that a play is a creative medium, a work of fiction designed to make the observer think or be entertained.
It is the fact that the BBC is so worried about what might be the reaction from Muslims that prevents any possibility to properly integrate.
You can read the article below to see why the BBC justifies cutting a line from a play that deals with the subject, and my comment to it, which I also posted there.
BBC cuts honour killing play to avoid ‘misrepresenting’ Muslim attitudes
The BBC have removed a line from a play about honour killing in the Muslim community to prevent misrepresentation, causing complaint from the playwright.
By Alice Vincent
The BBC have cut a line from play about honour killing in the Muslim community to avoid “potentially misrepresenting majority British Muslim attitudes to honour killing.” Playwright Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti, who was asked to amend the line in the Radio 4 play, has accused the broadcaster of “extraordinary” censorship.
Bhatti’s episode is called The Heart of Darkness and will be broadcast on Radio 4 on Friday afternoon as part of the station’s DCI Stone series. The drama follows an investigation into the murder of a 16-year-old Asian girl, who it later emerges is a victim of honour killing. DCI Stone is told to treat the case “sensitively” because of her Muslim heritage.
Bhatti spoke about the changes made to the play at Tuesday’s Index On Censorship conference, which discusses artistic freedom of expression in the UK. As reported in The Independent, Bhatti explained the controversial line: “At the end, a character says: ‘There is so much pressure in our community, to look right and to behave right.’ The compliance department came back and said, ‘we don’t want to suggest the entire Muslim community condones honour killings.’”
Bhatti continued, “It’s an extraordinary and awful situation. They said the lines were offensive but they absolutely were not. We live in a fear-ridden culture.” Bhatti said that the line was “a crucial part of the story”, and that the BBC said it could be kept in if she found factual evidence of community pressure resulting in an honour killing.
A Radio 4 spokesperson commented: “This is a hard-hitting drama about the realities of honour killing in Britain. A single line in the script could be taken to infer that the pressure and motivation to commit such a crime in a family comes from the wider Muslim community, potentially misrepresenting majority British Muslim attitudes to honour killing. Gupreet Kaur Bhatti was asked to amend this line in the normal editorial process of script development.”
Bhatti, who also writes for Radio 4 drama The Archers, had her play Behzti pulled from Birmingham theatre in 2004 after it caused protests among the Sikh community, which caused her to go into hiding. She was encouraged by police to pull her 2010 play Behud, which responded to the controversy, due to fears of more trouble.
The BBC have removed a line from a play about honour killing in the Muslim community to prevent misrepresentation, causing complaint from the playwright.
By Alice Vincent
The BBC have cut a line from play about honour killing in the Muslim community to avoid “potentially misrepresenting majority British Muslim attitudes to honour killing.” Playwright Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti, who was asked to amend the line in the Radio 4 play, has accused the broadcaster of “extraordinary” censorship.
Bhatti’s episode is called The Heart of Darkness and will be broadcast on Radio 4 on Friday afternoon as part of the station’s DCI Stone series. The drama follows an investigation into the murder of a 16-year-old Asian girl, who it later emerges is a victim of honour killing. DCI Stone is told to treat the case “sensitively” because of her Muslim heritage.
Bhatti spoke about the changes made to the play at Tuesday’s Index On Censorship conference, which discusses artistic freedom of expression in the UK. As reported in The Independent, Bhatti explained the controversial line: “At the end, a character says: ‘There is so much pressure in our community, to look right and to behave right.’ The compliance department came back and said, ‘we don’t want to suggest the entire Muslim community condones honour killings.’”
Bhatti continued, “It’s an extraordinary and awful situation. They said the lines were offensive but they absolutely were not. We live in a fear-ridden culture.” Bhatti said that the line was “a crucial part of the story”, and that the BBC said it could be kept in if she found factual evidence of community pressure resulting in an honour killing.
A Radio 4 spokesperson commented: “This is a hard-hitting drama about the realities of honour killing in Britain. A single line in the script could be taken to infer that the pressure and motivation to commit such a crime in a family comes from the wider Muslim community, potentially misrepresenting majority British Muslim attitudes to honour killing. Gupreet Kaur Bhatti was asked to amend this line in the normal editorial process of script development.”
Bhatti, who also writes for Radio 4 drama The Archers, had her play Behzti pulled from Birmingham theatre in 2004 after it caused protests among the Sikh community, which caused her to go into hiding. She was encouraged by police to pull her 2010 play Behud, which responded to the controversy, due to fears of more trouble.
Teddy Bear
Judging by the prevalence of honour killings among Muslim families, it is fair to assume that there must be a background of what is deemed unacceptable behaviour in their society that contributes to it.
Why should it be ignored? That simply makes our society complicit in promoting it - by omission.
This is besides the fact that a play is a creative medium, a work of fiction designed to make the observer think or be entertained.
It is the fact that the BBC is so worried about what might be the reaction from Muslims that prevents any possibility to properly integrate.
