[TV] The Promised Land - A Film About Whitechapel

[erobitha]

A fascinating TV documentary of Whitechapel. Not sure if it has been shared before or even what year it was aired.

[FISHY1118]

Strange there wasnt anything about jack the ripper .

[erobitha]

Strange there wasnt anything about jack the ripper .

Perhaps the film maker wanted to show the true immigrant history into Whitechapel and its importance to numerous communities down the years.

Why should an area just be defined by murders?

[Iconoclast]

Not sure ... what year it was aired.

Hi ero b,

Excellent spot, mate. You can date the broadcast to within ten years straightaway by its 'ident'. This from Wiki (I Googled '1970s bbc 2 logo' based on childhood memories):

The Computer Generated 2 was an ident used by BBC Two between June 1979 and 30 March 1986. It was one of the first computer generated television station identification in the world.

The ident package was launched in June 1979. The ident was aired through a solid-state computer device, not unlike the one used later for BBC1's Computer Originated World, built by BBC engineers, and designed by Oliver Elmes. The concept of the double striped '2' had been around for a long time: following the two television channels dropping corporate branding, a similar look was adopted by both channels featuring double striped numbers and BBC letters. The doubled striped '2' had been in use on programme promotions since 1977 and on holding slides since 1978 [my emphasis].

And now to watch the thing!

Cheers,

Ike

[Mark J D]

... You can date the broadcast to within ten years straightaway by its 'ident'...

BBC Genome?
Broadcast - BBC Programme Index

M.

[Yabs]

If this is the same one it’s 1980

[Iconoclast]

If this is the same one it’s 1980

Looks like Mark and Yabs have identified the broadcast as March 22, 1980. Human memory is a strange thing - I saw the date and immediately thought 'The Jam, Going Underground'. Was it No. 1 that day, I wonder. Anyone know?

Cheers,

Ike

[Yabs]

Some other footage in the east London area listed here along with the title in question if it’s of interest

https://beamoyes.com/2015/10/02/east-london-in-film-1955-2012/

[Iconoclast]

A fascinating TV documentary of Whitechapel. Not sure if it has been shared before or even what year it was aired.

Just finished watching it. Absolutely spellbinding. It was actually important that Jack the Spratt didn't get a mention. By focusing solely on the history of Whitechapel, you got an intimate sense of everything we think we know about the place and so much more. The dereliction, the poverty, the over-crowding were all still there by 1980 but the cultural weight had shifted from Jewish to Bengali. Mrs Thatcher hadn't quite had a chance to destroy the unions so it was interesting to see that they were thriving. As a piece of British history, this was inspiring. It rather nicely put Wor Jackie into his proper context - a sudden, short burst of attacks on sex workers which highlighted the challenges of London's east end and the inadequacies of Victorian policing, but only the briefest of lights shone onto that darkness. And when the light went out again, the people of Whitechapel and Spitalfields were still there, bearing-up and carrying-on. Britain at her best!

[erobitha]

I think what it does highlight, very succinctly, is just how important Whitechapel was to the Jewish community that lived there from the 1880s onwards. The Bengalis came into the area around the 1920s, but peak migration occurred in the 1970s. During that time the Jewish population dispersed to other areas of London, or even further afield.

Richard Jones has a good article on the history of Jewish migration into Whitechapel: https://www.jack-the-ripper.org/jewish-history.htm

I suspect back then, a fearful distrust of foreigners would have been rife in a small area that was pretty much equally Jewish as it was gentile at the time of Jack the Ripper. There seems to be no shred of evidence whatsoever that the murderer was in anyway Jewish, yet history leaves one believing that the killer most likely must have been Jewish based on the headlines and police focus.

Were the Jews an easy target?

[FISHY1118]

Perhaps the film maker wanted to show the true immigrant history into Whitechapel and its importance to numerous communities down the years.

Why should an area just be defined by murders?

I thought that would have been obvious ,it was only the most famous and first real serial killer the world had/ has ever known.

How could it not help but be defined by it ,.?

[DJA]

Looks like Mark and Yabs have identified the broadcast as March 22, 1980. Human memory is a strange thing - I saw the date and immediately thought 'The Jam, Going Underground'. Was it No. 1 that day, I wonder. Anyone know?

Cheers,

Ike

Certainly was.

[Iconoclast]

Certainly was.

Thanks Dave - the human memory really is a strange thing ...

[Mark J D]

Some other footage in the east London area listed here along with the title in question if it’s of interest

https://beamoyes.com/2015/10/02/east...ilm-1955-2012/

Reelstreets is a location-spotter site with a lot of good stills uploaded. There are several films there with actual East-End locations...

Reelstreets | Kid for Two Farthings, A

M.

[Iconoclast]

Reelstreets is a location-spotter site with a lot of good stills uploaded. There are several films there with actual East-End locations...

Reelstreets | Kid for Two Farthings, A

M.

That's another excellent spot, Mark. Some wonderful screenshots.