Commissions

Greenlit: The Death of Respect, BBC2

The Death of Respect (2×60′) – From the rise in family break-ups, to public drunkenness and violence, to the explosion of bad language on television, John Ware examines the apparent crisis of “respect” in Britain today.

John meets the academics whose groundbreaking work proves scientifically that British society is fragmenting, and talks to writers and church leaders, who conclude that the unintended consequences of “progress” are a country with the highest rates of teenage pregnancy and family breakdown, in which the relationship between young and old is in danger of being permanently poisoned.

Asking if the genie can be put back in the bottle, John meets people who are refusing to let Britain go to the dogs, including a village policeman tackling teenage drunkenness and fire fighters who have set up a gym for the youths who have been attacking them.

At the heart of Britain’s traditional values is the family, an institution that has been in near terminal decline for 30 years. If we can get the family right, John argues, other pieces of the puzzle will fall into place. He meets a man whose mission is to help couples stay together and a high court judge who wants to re-think the way we look at family break-up.

Channel: BBC2

TX: Summer 09

Source: BBC