World

discussion of the total so far achieved is followed byvisuals of a Blue Peter presenter laying the foundationstone for one school in Mozambique. She states:We can turn this £200 into enough money to build andfully equip one brand new school in Mozambique. Now,you might remember I helped lay the foundation stoneafter school.The camera switches to visuals of her laying the stonewith lots of African children standing behind her. Shesays that the money helps buy paper, blackboards andeverything they need. Visuals of her planting the stoneare followed by images of her preparing the classroom,putting a chart on the wall and taking chalks out of a box(15.1.99 Blue Peter BBC1 1710-1735). In another edition,an up-date on the Totaliser is followed with thestatement:Yes, our New Future Appeal to raise money to buy threedesperately needed schools needs a final push from you ifwe are to succeed.Presenter: Now, the children I met in Mozambiquereally need schools, without them the poverty of their livesis unlikely to change for the better. This is your chance tomake a difference and give them their new future. Everylittle bit of Aluminum you collect helps, so please do takeyour collections to your nearest collection point. They’reat Safeway, Savacentre, Asda, Securicor Omega Expressor even your local Oxfam shop.The focus switches back to children in regions acrossBritain, in Jersey and St. Clements who made a massivecollection (3.2.99 BBC1 Blue Peter 1710-1735). Thisimage of being part of a national collective effort isgenerated continuously throughout the reports and isused to encourage viewers and show them how they toocan participate. For example, the episode shown on1 February moved from a concentration on the targetsset to the contribution made by a group of milkmen. Thereport began:Now 300 tons means that we’ve almost got enoughmoney to build two schools, but if we reach the 500 tonsmark, we’ll have enough money to build three schools inMozambique for children who need them desperately. Soplease carry on taking your aluminum cans and foil toOxfam shops, Securicor Omega Express, Asda, Safewayand Savacentre as soon as possible.At this, the presenter then arrives in the studio on amilk float and we are told:Now, it has come to our attention that lots of milkmenand women are top people and we’ve had this letter herefrom William Edwards from Nutsford in Cheshire whotold us about a great little enterprise being run by themilkmen at his grandad’s dairy. William whose brotherTom and their family suddenly hit on the idea afterwatching Blue Peter, they realized that while theNutsford milkmen were out on their rounds they couldpick up the aluminum collected by their customers. Themilkmen all thought this was a great idea, so they putadverts in their local paper and printed notes on all theirnotebills and guess what? Each week they collect 3massive bags of foil and cans...So, a very big thank you toall the folk in Nutsford and of course all those lovelymilkies. (BBC1 Blue Peter 1710-1735)Similarly, a later episode told of what lollipop ladieswere doing for the cause:Now the other day we heard from the lollipop ladies andlads of Nottingham who asked us if we’d like their oldaluminum lollipops as they’re getting brand new ones.Well, of course the answer was yes and here they are allthe way from Nottingham.The presenter continues:Why not find out what is happening to the old lollipops inyour area. After all, it’s amazing to think that lollipopsthat have helped children in Britain can now helpchildren thousands of miles away in Mozambique.(17.2.99 BBC1 1710-1735)The programmes are strong on the issue of collectionbut offer less in terms of understanding the nature ofMozambique’s problems or of identifying with itspeople. These are points which were made explicitly bythe children in the audience study focus groups, whocommented directly on these Blue Peter programmes.C.3.2. Documentaries, Current Affairs andNews FeaturesC.3.2.1. South AfricaThere were three programmes in the sample which werefilmed in South Africa. Each programme had a specificfocus, presenting varying images of the country. GMTVvisited South Africa in January. With a promotionalemphasis, it presented very positive imagery of life forwhite residents of the country. Two other documentariesprovided a stark contrast, with their focus on the lives ofpoor black South Africans living in townships. The firstof these was Snapshot, which filmed actress Helen Mirrenon a trip to South Africa, to witness the effects on womenand children of living in a violent society. Secondly therewas Panorama – The Search for Cynthia Mthebe, whichinvolved a journalist returning to South Africa to see howa family he had met five years ago were living postapartheid.The individual perspectives offered by eachDFID – July 2000 69