Louis Theroux believes the BBC is in a “no-win” scenario, a point he admits he is “hesitant” to bring up.
Louis has received increasing acclaim for his compelling films, several of which he has recorded for the BBC, including When Louis Met…, My Scientology Movie, and Forbidden America.
During his annual MacTaggart lecture at the Edinburgh TV Festival, the 53-year-old expressed his feelings towards the broadcaster, saying he was “very grateful for how much my bosses at the BBC have allowed me to do.”
‘Given all of that, I broach the next point hesitantly and gingerly,’ he shared.
‘Lately, the mood has changed. By and large, that is a good thing. We are more thoughtful about representation, about who gets to tell what story, about power and privilege, about the need not to wantonly give offence. I am fully signed up to that agenda.
‘But I wonder if there is something else going on as well. That the very laudable aims of not giving offence have created an atmosphere of anxiety that sometimes leads to less confident, less morally complex filmmaking.’
Louis cited George Orwell’s comments, which can be seen at the BBC’s headquarters, Broadcasting House, which read: ‘If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.’
The TV star continued: ‘From working so many years at the BBC, and still making programmes for the BBC, I see all-too-well the no-win situation it often finds itself in. Trying to anticipate the latest volleys of criticisms. Stampeded by this or that interest group. Avoiding offence.
‘Often the criticisms come from its own former employees, writing for privately owned newspapers whose proprietors would be all too happy to see their competition eliminated. And so there is an urge to lay low, to play it safe, to avoid the difficult subjects.’
However, the documentarian stated that by avoiding ‘those pinch points’, which are the ‘unresolved areas of culture where our anxieties and our painful dilemmas lie’, then ‘we aren’t just failing to do our jobs, we are missing our greatest opportunities’.
He added: ‘For feeling. For figuring things out in benign and thoughtful ways. For expanding our thinking. For creating a union of connected souls.’
During the talk, Louis also cautioned against avoiding some issues for fear of offering a forum for hatred and ignorance.
‘I agree it can feel sometimes that the safest and sanest response is to turn one’s attention elsewhere. To not feed the trolls,’ he stated.
‘But it’s also true that there is a big difference between platforming and doing responsible journalism. There is a strange new world out there that is growing stranger by the day. It’s our job to understand it, and for people like me that means going out to make programmes about it.’
