Steven Fry in America: Mississippi

Steven Fry in America: Mississipi

[Broadcast: 26/10/08 BBC1 21:00]

I thought that the programme showed an interesting insight to the area of Mississipi, although as the programme went on it became less relevant and slightly boring to watch. However the parts of the programme I found interesting were when the content was relevant to a wider audience that could relate to Hurricane Katrina that hit the area in America and was mentioned during the programme.

The programme presented an interesting perspective, one that was not to knowledge of what I would think of the majority of an audience; the perspective of the people of the area coping in a positive way to the natural disaster. The Mardi Gras scene shows the audience how they are trying to move on in a united and supportive way with one another; that despite the tragedy one must move on and celebrate life and how easily it can be done, insinuated by the numbers within the community participating in the featured celebrations.

I think it's interesting how this is a BBC production, and the BBC were one of the main news corporations to broadcast news of the hurricane in August 2005, and so the programme gives insight to the topic that the media (including the BBC) did not pick up on or choose to broadcast (until now because the BBC have).

The programme is presented in a charming way of getting Steven Fry, an intelligent, trusting and valued opinion to the audience who is a good choice of presenter because the audience doesn't concider any real bias of the tour of America, although outside the UK it may be seen as a bias opinion; the UK views the programme with their own knowledge of community and can only judge the American community through their own opinions and Steven Fry's. He roams around in a London taxi which seems charming and representative of the definition of the tour; an Englishman seeing America but the charm seems completely out of place and innapropriate, highlighted dramatically when Fry drives through Angola Prison in the Mississippi area, a reknown black prison, which intimidates his little London cab greatly.

The programme seems to be mainly related to religion, music and culture; the visiting of voodoo, christianity, jazz music, blues music and knowledge of the history of the genres and background and their place in American culture. The episode brushes up on the industrial revolution and modern presence of the motor industry and the Ford/General Motors development and competition within America.

The programme touches up on the communities and cultures within America, in this episode visiting a Mong area, and questions the unity of the USA. It presents an interesting aspect of the America that is perhaps never shown very well, from a UK based perspective, of how America fits together within their own country, the togetherness, unity and community or lack of those things within the country.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00f7g56/b00f7dj2/Stephen_Fry_in_America_Mississippi/

jL