Stigmatising the BBC in letters of support to Enoch Powell (1968)

This article addresses one very specific aspect of the Enoch Powell moment of 1968: how, in the letters of support that the radical right leader received in the wake of the so-called ‘rivers of blood’ speech, Britons vituperated against the Elites as embodied by the British Broadcasting Corporation....

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Main Author: Olivier Esteves
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Université de Poitiers 2022-01-01
Series:Cahiers du MIMMOC
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/mimmoc/10150
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author Olivier Esteves
author_facet Olivier Esteves
author_sort Olivier Esteves
collection DOAJ
description This article addresses one very specific aspect of the Enoch Powell moment of 1968: how, in the letters of support that the radical right leader received in the wake of the so-called ‘rivers of blood’ speech, Britons vituperated against the Elites as embodied by the British Broadcasting Corporation. The BBC was in the eyes of Powell’s supporters hell-bent on promoting a multiracial Britain that they were averse to, as well as striving to silence the voice of disgruntled ordinary Britons, who construed their collective identity as that of a ‘silenced majority’. The BBC was also blamed for being a key player in the British ‘permissive society’ of the 1960s. Eventually, this paper ventures a few reflections on the afterlives of Powell’s moment as covered by the BBC, be it in 2008 (‘The White Season’) or in 2018, when BBC4 broadcast Powell’s infamous speech amidst fresh controversy.
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spelling doaj-art-2b80fabb2607453cb7b386868eb50c852025-08-20T03:23:34ZengUniversité de PoitiersCahiers du MIMMOC1951-67892022-01-012710.4000/mimmoc.10150Stigmatising the BBC in letters of support to Enoch Powell (1968)Olivier EstevesThis article addresses one very specific aspect of the Enoch Powell moment of 1968: how, in the letters of support that the radical right leader received in the wake of the so-called ‘rivers of blood’ speech, Britons vituperated against the Elites as embodied by the British Broadcasting Corporation. The BBC was in the eyes of Powell’s supporters hell-bent on promoting a multiracial Britain that they were averse to, as well as striving to silence the voice of disgruntled ordinary Britons, who construed their collective identity as that of a ‘silenced majority’. The BBC was also blamed for being a key player in the British ‘permissive society’ of the 1960s. Eventually, this paper ventures a few reflections on the afterlives of Powell’s moment as covered by the BBC, be it in 2008 (‘The White Season’) or in 2018, when BBC4 broadcast Powell’s infamous speech amidst fresh controversy.https://journals.openedition.org/mimmoc/10150racismeBBCEnoch Powellcorrespondance
spellingShingle Olivier Esteves
Stigmatising the BBC in letters of support to Enoch Powell (1968)
Cahiers du MIMMOC
racisme
BBC
Enoch Powell
correspondance
title Stigmatising the BBC in letters of support to Enoch Powell (1968)
title_full Stigmatising the BBC in letters of support to Enoch Powell (1968)
title_fullStr Stigmatising the BBC in letters of support to Enoch Powell (1968)
title_full_unstemmed Stigmatising the BBC in letters of support to Enoch Powell (1968)
title_short Stigmatising the BBC in letters of support to Enoch Powell (1968)
title_sort stigmatising the bbc in letters of support to enoch powell 1968
topic racisme
BBC
Enoch Powell
correspondance
url https://journals.openedition.org/mimmoc/10150
work_keys_str_mv AT olivieresteves stigmatisingthebbcinlettersofsupporttoenochpowell1968