The Video Nasties Myth

Why this choice of subject for a crime blog?  The answer is simple if you remember the furore was used by the Tories as a Law & Order issue.  This all began when Conservative MP Graham Bright wished to introduce a Bill banning a certain number of films that had been issued on video and had not been classified.  Mr Bright said that it only concerned about thirty films, including Driller Killer, I Spit On Your Grave, Night of The Demon(Not the classic!), some cannibal films.  A report on the subject was being sponsored by an all-church coalition, in which some guy in charge, would work with a university team of researchers.  Eventually, a rough draft was readied, and was waiting to be properly written and presented, when the university team had a break.  This is where the deceit came into play.

    After the break, it was being presented to the media, and the university team leader was approached by some senior Tories saying, "Well done.  Exactly what we are looking for".  he thought the comments a bit strange.  He then received a massive shock, as the man in overall charge started going on about how many children were being subjected to these films by their parents, and what they were watching.  This bore absolutely no resemblance to the rough draft they had worked on.  After the press conference, he asked the team leader how he came by these facts as his research team had no knowledge of this, whatsoever.

    He received total silence.  Shortly afterwards, this team leader entered the university, with others, and took all the files and data that had been worked on.  They also wiped all the computers.  The university team had no back-up proof about their research.  And as for the "films" that children had allegedly watched, all the titles had simply been made up.  The whole project had been hijacked by some Conservatives to be used as a Law & Order issue.

    The tabloid explosion was predictable.  Screaming headlines and hysterical editorials ignored the facts.  Truth is the enemy of the liar, the bullshit merchant, tabloid newspapers, et al.  One major point that the newspapers ignored was that two churches distanced themselves from the report, very unhappy about how the data was allegedly collected.  These were the Catholic and Methodist churches.  I do not believe Mr Bright was involved in this, but his Bill was undoubtedly hijacked for political purposes.