UK Broadcasters Frame Refugee Channel Crossings as Reality TV Spectacle
In August 2020, live broadcasts from BBC and Sky News depicted refugees navigating the English Channel, accompanied by detached narration. On August 10, a BBC reporter captured footage of an overcrowded dinghy, recalling a prior engine failure near Dover. The following day, Sky News adopted a lighthearted tone, despite refugees' desperate pleas of 'please, no camera,' while framing images against the cliffs of Dover, which anti-immigration groups later utilized. This situation underscored a significant power disparity, with white journalists on large vessels and refugees in small boats, lacking context about their circumstances. A YouGov poll revealed that nearly half of the British population expressed minimal sympathy for asylum seekers. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson labeled the crossings as 'very bad' and 'criminal.'
Key facts
- BBC broadcast live footage of refugees crossing the English Channel on August 10, 2020
- Sky News aired a similar broadcast the following day with a cheerful tone
- Refugees pleaded 'please, no camera' during the Sky News broadcast
- Shots were framed by Dover's white cliffs, an image used by anti-immigration groups
- A YouGov survey showed nearly half of the British public had little sympathy for asylum seekers
- UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the crossings 'very bad' and 'criminal'
- The 2015 VR film 'Clouds Over Sidra' was created by Gabo Arora and Chris Milk with the UN and Samsung
- Ai Weiwei's 2017 documentary 'Human Flow' aimed to foster empathy for refugees
Entities
Artists
- Gabo Arora
- Chris Milk
- Ai Weiwei
Institutions
- BBC
- Sky News
- United Nations
- Samsung
- YouGov
Locations
- English Channel
- Dover
- United Kingdom
- America
- Jordan
- Za'atri Camp
- Australia
- Sangatte beach
- Dover Straits