The Television & Radio Database

Search Channel 4 Films: made between 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 and 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999

Language: Any language English French German Spanish Not English

Exact Match:

<<<   On the Air: Workers' Playtime (1983)   >>>

aka Workers Playtime (1984) BFI This film, produced by New Lines (Arrowdam) at the New Cinema Workshop, Nottingham with finance from the British Film Institute, was directed, written and edited by Frank Abbott, who explains: "Broadcasting: one of the marvels of the 20th century - the machines which send sounds and images through the ether. A massive technology industry and institution has developed since the 1920s to bring one-way conversation into our 1iving rooms. On the Air: Workers' Playtime is a look at the history of the broadcasting industry with all the familiar bits left out, a look back at television from the place of the viewer." We see the work of the first broadcasting station in the UK, before the days of the BBC. We witness a demonstration of John Logie Baird's television system, which was intended as a means of communication between individuals an extension of the telephone - and which is still kept alive by a world-wide group of enthusiasts. We watch the vast radio transmitters of the '30s spring into action, speaking to the nation. We observe a camera crew in a British street seeking out the opinions of the 'general public' in a vox pop interview creating the voice of the people. And we view a modern city symphony through the lenses of the surveillance cameras which watch us as we drive to work, shop and enjoy ourselves. All of these elements are held together by the inquiry into the way in which the broadcasting institution has constructed its viewers as 'ordinary people' - the general public or 'the man on the top of the Clapham omnibus.' How radio and television has used its magnificent technological resources to mobilise a consensus - a consensus which is rapidly breaking down. Another strand of the film's historical enquiry is around the figure of Wilfred Pickles, forerunner of so many television and radio hosts. He was the newsreader with the Yorkshire accent, brought out at a time of crisis, the Second World War, to tour the factories and canteens of the nation to talk to the workers. Through the benign figure of Pickles we witness the construction of the professional ordinary man', and how conversation is transformed into an industry. On The Air: Workers' Playtime lies in the space between the look of the one-eyed monster in the corner and the look of the viewer on the sofa - it watches the machine watching us.
Broadcast	11:00pm on Monday, 9th May 1983
Strand	The Eleventh Hour
Alternate Title
Duration	Unknown
Genre	Unknown
IMDb ID	n/a - BFI
Director
Writer
Cast	Colin Bower
Language	English
Repeat	No

|   FAQ   |   Contact   |   Services   |   Terms   |   Privacy   |   Credits   |

[Page generated in 0.0812 seconds under 1.9% server load]

© 2012-2025 TVRDb.com. All rights reserved.