How do you Britons feel about ?

[pat grimshaw]

How do you Britons feel about the fact that a traumatic part of your nation's recent history has been being turned into a soap-opera to show off Meryl Streep's skills of impersonation?

 

[kallipolis]

This film is reaping in big money with cinemas advising would be patrons to expect full houses. The film's references to Margaret Thatcher's later life matter with dementia acknowledges that she is as human as any other person.

Meryl Streep is a very fine actress well deserving of her reputation.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...aret-Thatcher-just-formidable-box-office.html

When my father was working at the Greek embassy in London, during the eighties he had the good fortune to meet Thatcher at various diplomatic functions, and spoke highly of her intelligence, and awareness of Greek political matters.

The British people registered their approval of Thatcher by electing the Conservative Party into government, three times under her leadership, eventually removed from leadership by a coup within her own cabinet.

 

[kallipolis]

I'd already lost any respect for Streep after that Mama Mia abortion, can't see the film being that big of a success, anywhere apart from England and possibly America,
As for Thatcher herself, well the last time there was a Thatcher Thread all my posts got removed, and my name probably given over to Scotland Yard,

I doubt that the anti terrorist division would be too interested in yet, another angry Scot determined to re-write history based on events that took place before you were born.

 

[kallipolis]

Frankie Boyle - please, excuse my laughter.

I am well known on these forums for being centre left in my political leaning, thus evidencing your easy willingness to misinterpret, and misjudge people.

Your personal opinion of Margaret Thatcher is duly noted. I also repeat that Margaret Thatcher led her party to victory at three consecutive general elections, suggesting that her appeal was much greater than you are prepared to give her credit. Facts speak the truth. Your revisionist opinions are just that.

 

[kallipolis]

We can agree that your blindness to the facts of history is best shaded from the eyes of reality.

I am happy that pink is your choice.

I note your rapid removal of the rose tinted sun glasses.

 

[palemale]

Frankie Boyle - please, excuse my laughter.

I am well known on these forums for being centre left in my political leaning, thus evidencing your easy willingness to misinterpret, and misjudge people.

Your personal opinion of Margaret Thatcher is duly noted. I also repeat that Margaret Thatcher led her party to victory at three consecutive general elections, suggesting that her appeal was much greater than you are prepared to give her credit. Facts speak the truth. Your revisionist opinions are just that.

If memory serves me right, Thatcher's Conservative Party never got a majority of votes cast, getting percentages somewhere in the low forties. Of course, the nature of the British electoral system is such that no party may ever get majorities.

Of course, Tony Blair was very popular for a time, doesn't me he wasn't an asshole. Thatcher was a horrible human being.

 

[papipaco]

That video made me laugh pretty hard.... Just sayin'

 

[White Eagle]

What so i wasn't born during her reign, so i don't get to have an opinion, does the same go for Hitler and the Nazi ?

Yet again another sychophantic right winger, you do know she hated gay people don't you.
And i hardly think the Scottish jibe works considering great parts of the UK, hated her guts,



Where's my shovel.

I have to admit 2 things.
1. I think this video is very humorous.
2. I am not aware of Thatcher being so hated. Looks like I'll have some time coming up that requires much reading .
Oh, #3. I love Streeps movies, even Mama Mia, so I will have to watch Iron lady.

 

[kallipolis]

If memory serves me right, Thatcher's Conservative Party never got a majority of votes cast, getting percentages somewhere in the low forties. Of course, the nature of the British electoral system is such that no party may ever get majorities.

Of course, Tony Blair was very popular for a time, doesn't me he wasn't an asshole. Thatcher was a horrible human being.

That's how the Westminster parliamentary system of government works.

The British people transparently disagreed with your characterisation of Thatcher as a horrible human being, with three consecutive general election victories under Thatcher's belt to prove her popularity among the electorate.

 

[CowboyBob]

I had to google to see which movie you were talking about.

The Iron Lady

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1007029/

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDiCFY2zsfc[/ame]

She does look like Mrs. Thatcher in this photo.

 

[JayHawk]

You really need to get a sense of humour, Frankie Boyle rocks.

That was pretty awesome... the only time the twenty one gun salute shoots the coffin

I agree that you rock... Bendy for PM... we'd have porn flowing in the streets.


Oh and dont mind the CE&p -ers ... to much hate rolling around no matter the topic

 

[unloadonme]

The film is just entertainment and is of as transient interest as any other. The more or less universal opinion of the critics is that Streep gives an excellent performance in an otherwise lacklustre film.

As for The Lady's governments being "a traumatic part of your nation's recent history", I disagree. I remember it as a period of increasing prosperity and contentment and I always regarded The Lady herself as middle of the road politically. As Kallipolis has said, would she really have won three consecutive general elections (and John Major after her a fourth) if she was truly as unpopular as has become fashionable in certain trendy quarters to suggest was the case?

I regard The Lady as without doubt the greatest peace time Prime Minister of the twentieth century. The worst would be a toss up between Ted Heath and Gordon Brown (although strictly he's a twenty-first century PM before anyone picks me up on that), but nobody seems interested in making such spiteful comments about them.

 

[palemale]

The British people transparently disagreed with your characterisation of Thatcher as a horrible human being, with three consecutive general election victories under Thatcher's belt to prove her popularity among the electorate.

I don't think this statement is accurate. She was apparently one of the most unpopular post-war Prime Ministers ever:

During her premiership Thatcher had the second-lowest average approval rating, at 40 percent, of any post-war Prime Minister. Polls consistently showed that she was less popular than her party. A self-described conviction politician, Thatcher always insisted that she did not care about her poll ratings, pointing instead to her unbeaten election record.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Thatcher

I guess one of the problems with the British system is that a Prime Minister who is deeply unpopular with a majority of voters, and a very divisive figure, can attain and hold power for a long time, even if their party never gets close to a majority of votes.

 

[anchihiro]

The Iron Lady is a platform for more awards and possibly that third oscar for Streep. Not a soap opera for her impersonation skills as you so lazily put.

It may work simply because although she leaves a bad taste for british memories, the usa and majoritive oscar etc voters won't feel the same.

 

[rareboy]

Apparently Streep is incredible.

 

[pat grimshaw]

…I remember it as a period of increasing prosperity and contentment …

Perhaps I've been listening to the Whinging Poms who migrated to my country —and I haven't found anything on Wiki— but I was under the impression that the North and all of Britain's manufacturing industry was allowed to die for the cause of 'economic rationalisation' during her regime.

I am choosing not to spend money on seeing this movie because I understand the suffering of all those people and these industries are presented as some kind of incidental background to the drama of the 'Shakespearean heroine'.

I saw a gushing publicity interview where Streep 'ummed' and 'ahhed' and then meandered through a stream of conscious monologue mentioning the words 'passion', 'journey' etc etc to convince herself that Thatcher was a feminist.

So I'm guessing that millions of women across the world who seek to 'self-actualise' themself will be spending their money to see this Hollywood-style, historically-incorrect gushing tear-jerker.

 

[unloadonme]

Perhaps I've been listening to the Whinging Poms who migrated to my country —and I haven't found anything on Wiki— but I was under the impression that the North and all of Britain's manufacturing industry was allowed to die for the cause of 'economic rationalisation' during her regime.

Well I live in the north and I don't think it was allowed to die at all. It would certainly be true to say that a lot of manufacturing industry closed down, but there were new industries too such as the Nissan plant in Washington.

The spinning industry employed many people in the north and it's now largely gone. That was due to cheap foreign competition and the desire of the British to have inexpensive rather than good quality clothes. That's the global market in operation and there was little or nothing which successive British governments of both stripes could do about it.

The Lady is perhaps best remembered (or most reviled if you read some of the other posts) for the mineworkers' strike in 1983. As I understand it, the majority of the mines were outdated and uneconomic. It simply cost more to dig the coal out of the ground than it could be sold for when it was got to the surface. Has it ever been the role of government to prop up uneconomic industries indefinitely?

The Office of National Statistics has produced figures which show that manufacturing as a percentage of the UK's national economy fell from 25.8% to 22.5% under The Lady from 1979 to 1990. The comparative figures for the Labour government of Tony Blair was a reduction from over 20% in 1997 to 12.4% in 2007. Much of what is said about The Lady comes from people who are are just not interested in inconvenient truths like these.

 

[kallipolis]

I don't think this statement is accurate. She was apparently one of the most unpopular post-war Prime Ministers ever:



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Thatcher

I guess one of the problems with the British system is that a Prime Minister who is deeply unpopular with a majority of voters, and a very divisive figure, can attain and hold power for a long time, even if their party never gets close to a majority of votes.

I am always well aware that your often stated Irish Republican sympathies colours your feelings towards Margaret Thatcher, who along with her cabinet narrowly missed a murder attempt when the IRA exploded a bomb at a Brighton hotel where the annual Conservative Party conference was being held.

I can only relate to the fact that Thatcher won three consecutive general elections for her party, which indicates that facts speak much more accurately than your prejudices.

I am sure that Margaret Thatcher's legacy, and perceptions of unpopularity among those with a dedicated agenda is a matter of political partisanship, when appreciating that Thatcher's three consecutive election victories is the stuff that irritates those who would have turned the UK into a Marxist-Leninist state had they had their way.

And of course as an American you would also feel some righteous anger when recalling that Al Gore won the popular vote in the 2000 general election, despite George W. Bush being handed the crown by a decision of the United States Supreme Court.

 

[rareboy]

Perhaps I've been listening to the Whinging Poms who migrated to my country —and I haven't found anything on Wiki— but I was under the impression that the North and all of Britain's manufacturing industry was allowed to die for the cause of 'economic rationalisation' during her regime.

I am choosing not to spend money on seeing this movie because I understand the suffering of all those people and these industries are presented as some kind of incidental background to the drama of the 'Shakespearean heroine'.

I saw a gushing publicity interview where Streep 'ummed' and 'ahhed' and then meandered through a stream of conscious monologue mentioning the words 'passion', 'journey' etc etc to convince herself that Thatcher was a feminist.

So I'm guessing that millions of women across the world who seek to 'self-actualise' themself will be spending their money to see this Hollywood-style, historically-incorrect gushing tear-jerker.

I'm sure that the Hollywood movie industry will be crushed by you not buying a ticket and harrumphing on a porn site forum about la Streep.

 

[pat grimshaw]

^
So, I suppose that means you'll be including yourself amongst those millions to whom I alluded in my last paragraph.

I think it's a pity that this teary soap opera will, in time, be accepted as the reality. People prefer to believe the gaudy version over the truth, they remember Shakespeare's Richard III instead of the real one; they believe John Wayne and Erroll Flynn single-handedly won World War II and that Conan Doyle's 'Sherlock Holmes' is a flabby, gun-toting Russian-Jewish Irishman.