How did the Roman Empire fall, exactly?
July 22nd, 2008 • Life
Watched Road Wars on SkyOne last night. Ten minutes in, I had a brief, well… moment. I suddenly became aware that I was sat on a sofa somewhere in Surrey, watching images on a television screen.
Those images were depicting a society that has collapsed. Civillians showed no fear of the law; they were happily spitting at and punching the police, taking a smug pleasure in knowing that the punishment will be at least four sizes from fitting the crime.
I tried to imagine what I would have felt if I had been watching those images on a sofa in 1950s Britain. I can only imagine a mix of terror and disbelief; the people I see around me every day do not behave like this. No-one does.
Of course, Road Wars is both political and sensational. The police collaborate with Sky in its production, presumeably to make a broad point that the police are in control. I also suspect that high-ups within the Force quietly sanction the references to minimal sentences: most coppers I know feel that the lunatics have taken over the asylum.
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