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Title: Consequences: The private side of Britain Rating: 3.0 out of 4 Reference: Director, Glen Richards.
Reviews and Numerical Ratings 3 Very good look at privatization in England; potential for application to Canadian context. Deals well with the history of restructuring: mad cow disease (BSE), deregulation of communications, garbage collection, hydro, postal service. Sometimes confusing because multiple textual/audio/images played simultaneously. Maude Barlow’s narration sounds as if she’s in a tin can. Slow at parts with some boring imagery. Lecture topics: privatisation, deregulation, neoliberailsm, Thatcherism, public utilities, safety net. Peter Mallory & Riley Olstead 3 Pictures of narrators continually overlap the images of urban life in a distracting, irritating way. Other images, e.g., abattoirs & mad cows, are more effective. Content is alarming for what it foreshadows in Canada. Reveals strategy government uses against municipalities and relation of policy to events. Kathy Bischoping & Sujatha Varghese 2.5 This is a provocative illustration of the downside of privatization in England. It is accessible & appropriate for first to 3th years students. The purpose of this video is to counteract the current ideology of privatization in Canada by turning to England as a case study of its negative consequences. We see the devastating effects of privatization of the meat industry (e.g. Mad Cow disease), the railway system, garbage collection, water, power, & health care. It offers a compelling counter argument to the dominant discourse, but provides no theoretical tools with which to think about privatization. It is perhaps is best shown as an ideological shake up, a discussion starter, or a way of introducing critical concepts, questions, & approaches. Also problematic is its pacing; at times it feels too fast, particularly when long quotes from the press are shown and the voice on off is speaking about something else forcing the viewer to listen & read at the same time. Keep the pause button handy. Albert Banerjee 3 Would bring forth discussion in tutorials & lectures - however, given its length, it would be more appropriate for a lecture class discussion. The video is fairly rich in its content, and the topics are current, so students can easily have a discussion or debate about them. I do find the beginning of the video to be wearisome. For 3rd & 4th year students. Minh Hoang (undergraduate) 3.5 It was exciting to witness how the the process
of privatisation unravelled. The implications & consequences of
this process – including loss of jobs, environmental concerns,
and health risks - were established well. Interestingly, mad cow disease
& e. coli infections were argued to be due to the deregulation of
agriculture & the water supply system. Privatization is shown to
have powerful tentacles that have grasped onto every form of industry
once owned by the government and thus, once subject to greater demands,
more intense scrutiny & higher expectations. It’s disturbing
to see how the railway, tap water, all utilities, social services, transportation/
bus services have come under the dominion of privatization and has served
as a vehicle to widen the gap between the rich & the poor. The video
reveals that the entire social framework of Britain has crumbled under
the monopoly of the rich. The video exposes that increased disharmony
& harm will come if privatization continues to be the dominant economic
structure within society. This video was visually pleasing as well as
intellectually stimulating. A greater analysis of the consequences of
this economic trend on a global scale would have been engaging, but
it is a good entry point into such a discussion. For students at any
level. Belinda Godwin
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