Petula Clark and such

I just watched an old British film, The Lavender Hill Mob, a film I first saw many years ago. And as I do most times these days when I watch these old films, I go to Wikipedia and read about some of the less known as well as some of the more famous actors and performers of my youth. Alfie bass, Sidney Tafler, Sidney James and other names young Brits today have never heard of.

Wikipedia is great because as you read about the individual there are always links to others in the field. I went to Clive Dunne and the Scottish actor Bill Fraser who, when he wasn't acting according to Wikipedia, "ran a little sweet shop and tobacconists in Ilford" where he lived.

I breezed through a few more including Cleo Laine, Engelbert Humperdink and Winnifred Atwell ending up with Petula Clarke, she was real big when I was young. She sang in many languages and was popular all over the world. Wikipedia had this short paragraph about her:

"In 1968, NBC invited her to host her own special in the USA, and in doing so she inadvertently made television history. While singing a duet of "On the Path of Glory", an anti-war song she had composed, with guest Harry Belafonte, Clark touched his arm, to the dismay of a representative from Chrysler, the show's sponsor, who feared the brief moment would offend Southern viewers at a time when racial conflict was still a major issue in the US. When he insisted they substitute a different take, with Clark and Belafonte standing well away from each other, she and husband Wolff, producer of the show, refused, destroyed all other takes of the song, and delivered the finished program to NBC with the touch intact. It aired on April 8, 1968 to high ratings and critical acclaim, and marked the first time a man and woman of different races exchanged physical contact on American television [5]. (To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the telecast, Clark and Belafonte reunited at the Paley Center for Media in Manhattan to discuss the broadcast and its impact.)"

I always liked her and this added to my admiration. But it also made me think about the history of racism in the US. Christ, this was 1968. And we are constantly reminded by the media and information factories here, not to mention the politicians, that we are the freest and greatest country in the world, that we are the shining example of democracy and freedom over the last 200 years etc. (Native Americans must get sick to their stomach when they hear this stuff) Of course, all national governments do this, it's part of the patriotism con game, but when your the most powerful nation on earth and this with a history that is as violent and oppressive as any nation on earth, it get's a bit tiresome, particularly for those of us that have lived outside its borders.

What freedom is there in an executive from an auto company deciding what should or should not be shown on television? Compare US television to the BBC of the same period and there is no comparison where artistic freedom and creativity is concerned. And talk of racial bias. Which "Southern viewers" was the Chrysler exec referring to? Certainly not the black folks. They would surely be more surprised than offended. The Southern black viewer (those that could afford TV sets) did not exist for the Chrysler boss. The Southern whites had more money and could therefore buy more cars. Also, a major problem showing such a daring scene as a white woman touching a black man's arm would be that it would start people to thinking that foreigners are maybe freer than we are and even some whites might begin to question the official state propaganda that demonized the black man. Can't have that, can we?