Tuesday 29th October 2013
Disowned and Disabled
BBC4, 9.00pm - 10.00pm
Sixty years ago, the care of children who were orphaned or abandoned by their parents was based on the Victorian poor laws. Most disowned kids were sent to orphanages, huge institutions run with strict discipline and little love. Others were sent away to former colonies or farmed out to unregulated foster carers where their care was hit-or-miss. Single mothers were forced to give up their babies for adoption. Some unwanted children found loving homes, while others experienced hardship and bullying - or worse.
However, all that was set to change. After the Second World War a devastating national scandal, coupled with the rise of the welfare state, led to a new commitment to put the interests of the child first. Many orphanages were closed, foster care was regulated and child welfare services were improved.
But, as this documentary shows through searing interviews and case studies, it's clear that the process of change was fraught with difficulty and disaster. Despite the best efforts of social workers the difficulty of caring for children without parents grew. Although care homes closed, many of those that remained were in meltdown as their staff grappled with the troubled teenagers in their charge. Shocking methods ensued such as isolation, lock-up and even drugs, as the staff struggled to stay in control. And child abuse came into the public consciousness when it emerged that returning children at risk to their birth parents could lead to disaster.
This film follows the stories of several individuals who experienced the care system after the war. It shows how, despite many scandals and much suffering, putting children first has become a trusted guiding principle in solving one of society's greatest challenges: how to care for those without loving parents.
| Imagine: Jimi Hendrix - Hear My Train a Comin' |
In just four years, Jimi Hendrix revolutionised the music scene with his transcendent sound and explosive stage presence. A peacock, poet and perfectionist, he was a true original, who restlessly pushed his musical gifts to their extremes.
imagine... tells the story of how this shy, former private in the 101st Airborne became the greatest rock guitarist of all time, using never-before-seen performance footage, home movies and family letters.
With contributions from the Hendrix family, Sir Paul McCartney, and former band mates Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell, imagine... presents an in-depth look at Hendrix's life and career that was tragically cut short at just 27 years old in 1970.
______________________________________
Wednesday 30th October 2013
Disowned and Disabled
BBC4, 9.00pm - 10.00pm
In the summer of 2012, the Paralympic Games became one of the most watched sporting events in recent times. But just 60 years ago, disability was considered a shameful tragedy, to be hidden away and forgotten.
Part two of the series tells the largely unknown story of disabled people's battle for equality in the decades following the second world war. It was a battle led by people who as children had found themselves rejected by society; stigmatised and traumatised by years of patronising care and forced segregation.
Before the 1940s, society had always assumed that children with physical and learning disabilities would not amount to anything. Care for physically disabled children was largely based on trying to make them appear 'normal'; children with learning disabilities were often housed in institutions for 'idiots' and 'imbeciles', and received little to no education.
In the late 1960s, the first generation of post-war disabled children came of age. Inspired by the civil rights movement and the sixties spirit of liberalization, disabled young people founded a new movement to fight for equal rights. Over the next two decades, the disabled peoples movement grew in strength, putting increasing pressure on the government to improve the lives of disabled people and to end the discrimination many continued to experience.
Change was slow to come, but in the 80s and 90s a huge shift in policy and attitudes began to take place. This had a profound effect on the lives of future generations of disabled children, an effect which continues to be felt to this day. Using the powerful stories of individuals such as Kevin Donnellon and Anne Rae, who tell the moving and uplifting stories of their lives and how they fought for change, this film sheds light on the often harsh reality faced by disabled children in the late 20th century. It is also a story of empowerment about how one of the most vulnerable groups in society fought to be accepted, to make themselves heard and finally gain control of their lives - control which they had been denied for many years.
No comments:
Post a Comment