- McLibel -

It's a drama - it doesn't have to be accurate

Posted by: Julia ( UK ) on May 18, 1997 at 15:13:52:

In Reply to: Has Channel 4 got Dave Morris right? posted by Simon S on May 18, 1997 at 03:35:55:

> I just watched Channel 4's Mclibel drama, and I can't believe that
> someone like the dramatised version of Dave Morris could have kept
> everything together to fight McDonald's in court for 3 years.
> Is the real Dave Morris like that? Is it an accurate portrayal?

The reconstruction uses the actual transcripts of the trial - to that
point it is acturate. Beyond that it is obviously dramatised - if it
was acturate it would last 313 days and star Helen and Dave.
Turning 313 days of mostly dull court time into 185 minutes of entertaining TV obviously requires some artistic license. Daves part
is certainly played as a bit of a twat - somewhat like a character from 'Citizin Smith'. Mr Rampton is (sofar) made to seem almost reasonable
and somewhat sharper than my observations in court led my to believe.

TV is TV - while the words spoken are almost certainly acurate - the portrayal of the characters is obviously manipulated to make for interesting television. If you want to know what Helen and Dave (or even Mr Rampton or Justice Bell) are really like I suggest you meet them face to face.


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