Triple Bill Mini Musings: Nasties, Grudges, and Battles...

Video Nasties: The Definitive Guide Part 2:
What's it about?
Jake West's follow-up documentary to 2010's examination of the 'video nasties' era in British film history. This time the fall out is covered, including such appalling events as the Hungerford massacre and the sadistic murder of James Bulger being linked to Rambo II and Childs Play 3 respectively. Other topics of discussion include the restriction of VHS cover art, former BBFC Director General James Ferman's fall from power, and the underground trading market which specialised in movies that were banned in the UK.
Who would I recognise in it?
Various commentators who appeared in the first part.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
"Draconian Days" is a fascinating companion piece to 2010's "Moral Panic, Censorship, and Videotape" and, much like its predecessor, has an awful lot of important things to say about freedom of speech, artistic expression, and censorship. We may not see sights like that of schlocky horror movies seized by the police being burned on pyres, but censorship today is still prevalent - albeit in far more insidious ways. Then it was about shielding the eyes of children from fake exploding heads, today it's the chilling aggression of social media when it comes to issues of political correctness. What hasn't changed is how some people claim offence on the behalf of others, how some people spit righteous fury without seeing - or allowing others to see - what is apparently causing offence, and how the vocal opinion of an outraged minority can (perhaps unjustly) shift the line in the sand. Both parts are extremely important documentaries and point out how, regardless of political hue, our entire political establishment were gunning for these movies. Funny then that these same flicks can now be found on shelves all across the nation, available to all (who are old enough to purchase them) and there hasn't been a mass corruption of society at large ... who'd have thunk it, eh?! Great.

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