Thursday, February 14, 2008

Heffer Confronted: Clash over Culture



It's always a challenge to 'confront' Simon Heffer when you agree with what he has written. Well, I tried!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

wish you would do more interviews. You are very good at it. I used to enjoy your long interviews on Doughty Street (whatever happened to that or its successor?). Why cant you find a another vehicle for this talent that you have? He is an idea. You could replace Paxman on Newsnight. He is getting very stale and looks bored stiff.

Iain Dale said...

Howard, very kind. Watch this space. I have a new office across from the Commons. I'm intending to do daily interviews with politicians or media people to post on the blog or, when it is up and running, the new Total Politics website.

The replacement for 18DS will, I am told, be up and running shortly, but it won't have programmes as such - it's a kind of Bloomberg for politics with very short video clips. Not sure what they are calling it yet.

Tapestry said...

Culture totally subjective? How can that be?

Culture is only visible when you go abroad, or when you experience a cultural shift at home. Otherwise it's a hidden force like gravity, one which controls nearly all your behaviour for all of your life.

No wonder Brown is itching to get his hands on a piece of it.

Anonymous said...

Iain this was very clever as I know you were in agreement with Heffer and had to teazle out ideas to contest. And very enjoyable it was.

Anonymous said...

That is good news about you. Shame about 18DS as I thought the concept very good, in that it filled a big hole. Not sure we need a Bloomberg for politics though.

Anonymous said...

A bit more dull this week, but as you say, it is tricky if you don't really disagree with Heffer. Although that is a bit of a worry in itself.

I thought his 'autistic' point was a little disingenuous - rather like Tebbit claiming his use of the word 'deviant' to describe homosexual behaviour was used in a 'dictionary definition' and not a pejorative sense.

Iain, I agree that no one wants to see our old buildings crumbling into the ground. That is a given.

But I really do thing Heffer is talking out of his arse when he is dissing 'arthouse cinemas'. Has he [have you?] ever been in one ?

Here are some films I've seen in my local arthouse cinema [and, yes, I may subconsciously be picking the more mainstream stuff], but none are, to my knowledge, made by drug addicts.

Amores Perros
Babel
Dancer in the dark
Gosford Park
London to Brighton
Lost in translation
Red Road
The Queen
Vera Drake

Of course showing these more main stream films allows, together with other funding sources, showing good quality, critically acclaimed films from across Europe. Films like the 'Science of Sleep' by Michel Gondry which might not get an airing in multiplex land.

Heffer's point about successful British films being made with 'American Money' was lamentable.

All the more reason to back films made in the UK, so we can share in their success.

Anonymous said...

It is great to see two people who know the price of everything and the value of nothing...

It is like Oliver Cromwell all over again...