Dear Eric,
I think I am right in saying that the 'Radio Times' is no longer produced by
the BBC, so our electronic editor will not take it amiss if I say that that
is the usual ----- produced by the half-educated ----- who work in the media
these days, and who probably haven't read more than two lines of RK anyway.
But I don't get uneasy - all we can do is try to educate anyone who cares to
listen. The fact, in my view, is that RK was, very largely, an imperialist,
in the sense of the definition given in my Concise Oxford (which doesn't
allow "imperialist" to be an adjective - only a noun). The dictionary says
that an imperialist is "an adherent or agent of (esp. British or American)
imperialism". And imperialism is (one meaning) "(usually derog.) (belief in
desirability of ) acquiring colonies and dependencies".
Like many Englishmen of his period (though NOT all, e.g., Gladstonian
Liberals didn't go much on colonies) RK clearly believed in our civilising
mission, which could only be accomplished by administering those countries,
usually where we had a trading interest. The fact that the high-minded
principles were not always executed - shall we say faultlessly - doesn't
invalidate the principles, though history has now taught us that our
principles are not always applicable in other countries.
So RK was an imperialist - though I don't think G.D. could be called an
imperialist poem (if you accept the adjectival use of the word, which is
probably pretty well understood, even if not in the dictionary).
All in all, put the phrase down to sloppy journalistic shorthand - a pity,
but there it is.
Yours,
Alastair Wilson
----- Original Message -----
From: "E J Thompson" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, July 04, 2001 6:09 PM
Subject: Gunga Din - the film
> I see from the latest issue of the 'Radio Times' that the "spiffing
> adventure" film 'Gunga Din' is being shown on BBC2 on Monday in the
> early afternoon.
>
> Am I alone in feeling lightly uneasy at the reference to "the
> imperialist poem by Rudyard Kipling" in the film's description in
> the 'Radio Times'?
>
> -- Best regards,
>
> Eric
>
> mailto:[log in to unmask]
>
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