Controversial CBC movie down, but not out
.jpg)
CBC Television has pulled the movie Prairie Giant: The Tommy Douglas Story from all scheduled broadcasts in response to criticisms it was historically inaccurate.
But it’s not unavailable.
The movie is out on DVD being sold by — guess who? — the CBC. On Monday, all the copies at the Regina Public Library had been signed out by library patrons.
When the two-part miniseries ran in March, it received some good reviews but also criticisms from historians who said its portrayal of James Gardiner, premier of Saskatchewan in the late-1920s and mid-1930s, was inaccurate.
One example cited was the suggestion Gardiner drank alcohol, when in fact he was a teetotaller. In one scene, Gardiner berates miners in the 1931 Estevan coal strike in a broadcast to the province. However, historians say the speech never happened and Gardiner wasn’t premier during the strike.
On Monday, members of the Gardiner family received an e-mail from CBC Television’s executive vice-president Richard Stursberg. He said CBC hired a historian who concluded the character created for the film does not reflect the historical record. “In response, we are pulling Prairie Giant from all scheduled broadcasts and we have halted both home and educational sales,” Stursberg said in the e-mail.
Oops. Better get it soon. ‘Cause it’s still available online.
The mini-series could return someday, Stursberg said.
My bet? It’s not coming back. Pretty expensive research blunder.
Related:
