When Film Makers Come to Town
Although the BBC must appear as if it is nationally representative, committed to regional broadcasting and film making, in truth it is happy to take our licence fees up here whilst paying only tokenism to the fact that life does exist outside of London. Recent cuts in regional budgets have only highlighted this but at least we still have Harry Gration. The recent enforced moves of various parts of the “empire”, including BBC Breakfast and Radio 5Live, to the new Media City in Salford have been followed by wails from producers unable to fill the daytime sofas with enough inane “celebrities” to bore us to submission, seemingly unwilling to venture up to the grim North.
Occasionally, the BBC will commission new programmes based on gritty Northern realism; don’t they have gritty Southern realism as well or is that not as cute? Although I’ve never watched the programnme, it would appear that Eastenders is hardly set in the land of milk and honey. In fairness, it’s not just the BBC that seem able to produce utter tripe at will when attempting documentaries about Northern cities. Rather sadly though, the consistent target over and over again, remains Bradford.Cheap shots at an easy target from lazy, uninformed and prejudicial film makers so bad they often resemble a college project on a camcorder.
Channel 4’s Make Bradford British and Paul “The Weatherman” Hudson’s attempt at a documentary ahead of Bradford City’s Capital Cup Wembley trip were both complete drivel. Relying on the external notion of Bradford as an Islamic State with the inhabitants addicted to junk food, neither painted the indigenous white majority nor the ethnic minority in any great light. So when I stumbled over last night’s BBC2 offering – Bradford: City of Dreams – it was impossible not to think here we go again. City of Dreams…only if you are on acid.
The film predictably focused almost wholly on the Asian community although billing itself as a study of Bradford’s entrepreneurial spirit; quite clearly the white majority are all unemployed dossers…well, at least me. Clearly, if you believed this garbage then we are all driving around in pimped up Range Rovers, the only cars big enough given our addiction to curry and fish & chips. The title itself, at least to anybody that lives here, was enough to promote guffaws from the sofa; this is definitely not a city of dreams unless you live under a cardboard box in Syria.
One of the central characters was taking his dream of a fish & chip shop empire to India trying to replicate the curry explosion over here. He had trainee waiters wearing flat caps and practicing saying “Ey up lad!” making me check that it really wasn’t April Fools or my Paracetamol had not been swapped for LSD. The production team must have thought what a great scam here. We’ll make a low budget pile of shit to tick a few BBC boxes about a Northern town they’ve never heard of, call it culture and blag a free holiday to India. What a great wheeze!
Remember it is public money – yours and mine – that paid for a script written by a retard and narrated by an actress from Bradford trying to sound like a five year old. Ironically, in the same week that a report was published confirming the growing social trend of “white flight” from many parts of the UK, the programme makers seemed to confirm this as the only white person left in Bradford appeared to be a multi-lingual, jobbing builder and part-time grave digger. However, the programme makers were at lengths to find people with good things to say about Bradford and so it was comforting to know, despite Mr Cameron’s assurances on immigration, that half of Eastern Europe is waiting to come here to keep the grave digger busy with his other sideline as a landlord. Pay up or your in that nice fresh hole son!
Rubbish like this does nothing to promote integration even though I accept that many simply do not view this as possible nor desirable after years of clear failure, not just in Bradford but throughout the UK. You cant force people to live cheek by jowl if they do not want to however trendy the social experiment. However, most of us simply want a quiet, peaceful life and are tolerant human beings not bigoted racists. The film makers did a great job – whether intentional or not – lampooning the Asian community as much as the city of Bradford itself.A city of dreams was based on a car body shop, fish and chips and a gravedigger; you just could not make it up.
Later in the piece the five year old gleefully told us that having over 140 languages spoken in primary schools was a massive advantage. Try telling that to any primary school teacher struggling with Bradford’s piss poor educational attainment. How on Earth is a city going to achieve first class educational standards when language can be a primary barrier? Walk around the city centre – if you dare – and listen in to the conversations. This is not an advanced city by any stretch of the imagination and most people simply shop elsewhere, a telling verdict on the city of dreams.
More rubbish followed in the comment asserting that big employers had “let down” Bradfordians so, as a consequence, all we can now do is open curry shops and fry chips. Which big companies and when? Bradford’s problems lie in the rise and fall of textiles but this is so historic it simply proves that its Council are totally inept, having had decades to recognise and react to the inevitable decline of the old industries. Faced with a similar problem with the steel industry did Sheffield simply close its eyes and hope?
Modern cities have to compete hard to attract employers of scale and the brutal reality is that Bradford is way behind here in offering an educated and skilled workforce. Plus it simply has nothing to offer when compared to neighbouring cities of a similar size in terms of retail and leisure attractions.
The Council claims we need 30-40,000 new homes in the city to cater for a growing population and here’s the Catch 22. Developers like Barrats and Persimmon want big, high-yielding sites in the outlying areas yet Bradford’s growing population is low wage and so there is a classic mis-match. I passed two relics of Bradford’s past glories the other night, both with the bulldozers active. The old Grattan and Field’s printers sites are no longer and these are the types of sites that a developer may consider to be at least of a scale that is attractive. The brutal reality is that neither will yield the types of returns developers can command elsewhere.
As grim as it is though in no way did the programme makers reflect anything that was worthy of Bradford but given that this was clearly not the intention then I suppose we should not be surprised. A city that is two thirds rural, has spectacular architecture and a rich history was never even touched upon. Once again total and utter crap from the media and definitely not one for Sky+ next week. What the future holds is unclear but I honestly think there is more to the place than curry.
Hilary Robinson says
I am sorry you felt like this about Bradford, City Of Dreams. After years of denigration and news only worthy if it’s bad – I thought it was refreshing to see snapshots, at last, of Bradfordian entrerprise and community cohesion.
Steve says
Hilary this was utter rubbish and at the very least patronising to the vast majority of us that just grin and bear the old dump, hoping foe better days…but thanks for your comments anyway.
Harrison says
The only entrepreneur in Bradford are the Asians selling heroin and renting sports cars. All the car washes, takeaway etc are a front for money laundering! 50k+ cars outside houses worth nothing!
Steve says
Bit extreme but this is the land of free speech
Admin Bradford City Free To Talk Forum says
Hi there excellent blog. Would it be OK to put this blog on my forum please? It represents my own feelings on this programme.
Steve says
No problem
Gas man says
There is a school of thought of turning the good folk of Bradford into battering rams, to try and break down the doors of government and say remember us ,with the obvious reply being, are you from up north somewere and living in a multi racial community. I think I saw you on the telly the other night. Not sure, did anyone vote for me.
Steve says
So glad you have joined cyber world old boy…bet you really miss your old home town out there in leafy N Yorks!
Gas man says
Next thrilling installment tonight, think I will give it a miss and go fox hunting with my chums, Talley Ho.
Matt Nowell says
Couldn’t agree more I’ve only made it half way through and I’m appalled at what rubbish they’re trying to feed me. Where does the money come from for all these super cars? It certainly isn’t from honest curry houses, drugs would be my guess. Bradford used to be a proud city but no longer can we say that, some of the reviews and comments I’ve seen on other sites such as the Guardian are clear crap don’t reflect the thoughts of 1 Bradfordian i know
Steve says
And this from a bright lad in his twenties…what hope for the place then?
proper bradfordian says
Both of the city of dreams programmes seemed to indicate that there are very few whites in Bradford whose views obviously don’t matter. We won world war 2 just to then give our country away and never more so than in Bradford. Nearly everyone I know is ashamed to say where we are from and do you know what, although my family have always lived in Bradford, I can no longer say that I even belong here. Many a time in our local supermarket, I am in a minority in what used to be my city.
Steve says
In a City where the indigenous population represent approx 75% both programmes were ridiculously narrow in their focus. And did anybody remind them that Ilkley, much as it resents this, remains part of Bradford? Once again, utter drivel from brainless, spineless film-makers.
J Spencer says
The politician proudly orated ”We are a Multicultural society”
An anguished voice at the back cried out “and whose effing fault is that?”