To mark his 21st anniversary in broadcasting, the commentator Darcus Howe picks up on his chosen topic for another piece of work racism. However, when Howe came to England 'racism' was something that all ethnic groups faced from white people and it bonded the community together. Now Howe travels to the Midlands and several other areas of England to find that racism is rife within the ethnic community. He interviews those within the West Indian, Indian, Pakistani and Somalis communities to find that they are split with hatred and racism views of one another bringing the communities to the boil.
I'm not a massive fan of Darcus Howe because at times he seems to hold his opinion like that of God and will slowly speak as if others should all be in awe of what he says. However what he does do well is open debates and while a little simplistic and over-dramatic in his presentation, he isn't afraid to get into it in the area of racism. Here he looks at something that the vast majority of us already know about it and it is an interesting subject that is only slightly damaged by the way Howe seems to think that his observations here are revelations they are not. For most people in big UK cities, we know racism is rife between all groups and we have mostly learnt to grow tired of only white racism being the one that the police, government and pressure groups are interested in. I have had the pleasure of living in Witton in Birmingham for several years, an area that is predominantly Pakistani, and had to move out of the area because neighbors of all ages made it clear that Witton was 'theirs' and not for people like me (whites). So Howe's shock about Pakistani businessmen saying they won't hire blacks because 'they are lazy' surprised me because I wondered how he had managed to avoid seeing this for so many years.
Howe goes to areas in Walsall where he sees an Ede celebration where the roads are blocked by Asians in Alum Rock and blacks are prevented from entering, black areas of London where Somalis are roundly hated and feared and so on it is a relentlessly depressing film that is worth seeing mainly because it is depressing. At the start of the film, Howe's subjects are mainly teenagers and this was easier to take because teenagers of all races will band together and hate outsiders talking tough at the same time. However the film also takes in adults who feel the same way and not loons either! The film cannot answer any questions but rather finishes with more than it started but it is worth seeing and should serve as a wake up call to those in power who see white racism as the problem. Recently a white football commentator was driven out of his job for muttering that a player was 'a f**king lazy n*gger' and fair enough, that sort of language is not welcome in society, but yet racism within ethnic groups goes unchecked I tried to report a racist attack on me (a white person) and was basically told to forget it. The film should be seen by many people as possible because many people do not get involved outside of their groups and may not know that this exists trust me, the film is correct when it observes that some inner-city areas are just waiting for a match to set them off.
Howe is increasingly outraged throughout the film and it bothered me a little bit that he seemed to have been totally unaware of the scale of the problem. He tries to interview Pakistanis in Walsall but gives up when they just take the p*ss and treat him like a dog, he listens to young Asian women listing nicknames for 'them' (ie blacks) and talking about how 'they' all loaf around too much and, at the end of the film, when attempting to get someone to speak on behalf of the Somali community his camera crew are attacked by a Somali community worker! He doesn't help matters by having his usual holier than thou attitude (even ending the film with a shot of him hugging his Asian wife as if to say 'why can't you all be like me?') but his frustration is very real and understandable.
Overall this is a depressing film that left me with no answers, solutions or positive hope but it is one that I'm glad I watched and would encourage others to seek out simply because it breaks a few myths. Whenever anyone calls 'racist' it is usually only whites that get driven out of jokes, vilified by the media and prosecuted by the courts but this film shows that that is only part of the problem. People who stand for the BNP have been removed from their public jobs due to their beliefs but at the same time community groups receive government funding easier if they only focus on specific ethnic groups thus encouraging further segregation! Howe's presentation may be a little annoying but his subjects just take his rope and hang themselves without shame. Next time I open a paper and see a full page spread about a white celebrity that is being hounded for an off the cuff remark that is called 'racist', I will recall this programme and recall the fact that none of the people featured here will ever be touched by the law for racism and I hope that I will be able to keep my spirits high but I doubt it. A film that should be seen by everybody who works and lives within communities, even if it isn't actually that good a film.
I'm not a massive fan of Darcus Howe because at times he seems to hold his opinion like that of God and will slowly speak as if others should all be in awe of what he says. However what he does do well is open debates and while a little simplistic and over-dramatic in his presentation, he isn't afraid to get into it in the area of racism. Here he looks at something that the vast majority of us already know about it and it is an interesting subject that is only slightly damaged by the way Howe seems to think that his observations here are revelations they are not. For most people in big UK cities, we know racism is rife between all groups and we have mostly learnt to grow tired of only white racism being the one that the police, government and pressure groups are interested in. I have had the pleasure of living in Witton in Birmingham for several years, an area that is predominantly Pakistani, and had to move out of the area because neighbors of all ages made it clear that Witton was 'theirs' and not for people like me (whites). So Howe's shock about Pakistani businessmen saying they won't hire blacks because 'they are lazy' surprised me because I wondered how he had managed to avoid seeing this for so many years.
Howe goes to areas in Walsall where he sees an Ede celebration where the roads are blocked by Asians in Alum Rock and blacks are prevented from entering, black areas of London where Somalis are roundly hated and feared and so on it is a relentlessly depressing film that is worth seeing mainly because it is depressing. At the start of the film, Howe's subjects are mainly teenagers and this was easier to take because teenagers of all races will band together and hate outsiders talking tough at the same time. However the film also takes in adults who feel the same way and not loons either! The film cannot answer any questions but rather finishes with more than it started but it is worth seeing and should serve as a wake up call to those in power who see white racism as the problem. Recently a white football commentator was driven out of his job for muttering that a player was 'a f**king lazy n*gger' and fair enough, that sort of language is not welcome in society, but yet racism within ethnic groups goes unchecked I tried to report a racist attack on me (a white person) and was basically told to forget it. The film should be seen by many people as possible because many people do not get involved outside of their groups and may not know that this exists trust me, the film is correct when it observes that some inner-city areas are just waiting for a match to set them off.
Howe is increasingly outraged throughout the film and it bothered me a little bit that he seemed to have been totally unaware of the scale of the problem. He tries to interview Pakistanis in Walsall but gives up when they just take the p*ss and treat him like a dog, he listens to young Asian women listing nicknames for 'them' (ie blacks) and talking about how 'they' all loaf around too much and, at the end of the film, when attempting to get someone to speak on behalf of the Somali community his camera crew are attacked by a Somali community worker! He doesn't help matters by having his usual holier than thou attitude (even ending the film with a shot of him hugging his Asian wife as if to say 'why can't you all be like me?') but his frustration is very real and understandable.
Overall this is a depressing film that left me with no answers, solutions or positive hope but it is one that I'm glad I watched and would encourage others to seek out simply because it breaks a few myths. Whenever anyone calls 'racist' it is usually only whites that get driven out of jokes, vilified by the media and prosecuted by the courts but this film shows that that is only part of the problem. People who stand for the BNP have been removed from their public jobs due to their beliefs but at the same time community groups receive government funding easier if they only focus on specific ethnic groups thus encouraging further segregation! Howe's presentation may be a little annoying but his subjects just take his rope and hang themselves without shame. Next time I open a paper and see a full page spread about a white celebrity that is being hounded for an off the cuff remark that is called 'racist', I will recall this programme and recall the fact that none of the people featured here will ever be touched by the law for racism and I hope that I will be able to keep my spirits high but I doubt it. A film that should be seen by everybody who works and lives within communities, even if it isn't actually that good a film.
