Anyone watched Speechless on iPlayer and what did you think?

[Pacificsunshine]

I just watched the documentary “Speechless” on iplayer. The first episode was unimpressive. The second, final episode, gripped me. Kathleen Stock was interviewed. She was so calm and eloquent. She broke down on camera. It really wrenched me. I felt so much for her.

I don’t really have a point or a question. Just wondering if anyone has seen it.

I have planned to watch after I saw some TRAs on Reddit complaining about it.

I've only watched half of the first episode. I found it pretty gobsmacking. Such as the black professor being accused of being a white supremacist because he doesn't have any truck with victimhood culture. And the helpless university president being barricaded in by students who went around calling everyone fascists. And the woman on a zoom call telling those who were white or a non-black person of colour to hold their breath until they felt pain to commemorate George Floyd 🤯

Like I said, I've only watched half of the first episode, but so far it's been a pretty good illustration of the utter batshittery thay has ended up on these shores.

Ah ha ha me too :D

Yep, on my list thanks to transgender reddit😍

What struck me about it as well, was how few boundaries and how little respect many of these students had. To put it another way, I think some of them could have done with a good boot up the arse 😄

It reminded me of something that happened when I worked at a university about 5 years. There was a live-in protest on campus. I can't remember what it was about. Climate change I think. I spoke to one of the cleaning staff afterwards who told me what an absolute state they had left the place in, with no consideration for the people who had to go in and clean up after them. One of them had a dog, who they left poo all over the place. She said she overheard a couple of the students walking out saying they were off on a skiing the next day 🙄

Yes, regardless of what their arguments are, if any, I found these activists generally very entitled and privileged.

I've heard good things about it. Which episode is Carole Hooven on? I'd like to hear her.

I'm half way through the 2nd episode. Another heads up for r/transgenderuk, I wouldn't have known about it otherwise!

I thought the first episode was brilliant, and an absolutely gripped by the 2nd, so far.

It is frightening, how things have become. Personally, I had blind faith in the mainstream media until about a year ago. The scales really have fallen from my eyes now.

Thought it was riveting. I'd known about some of the batshittery previously - think there have been several documentaries, esp re critical race theory - but found this fascinating and disturbing on so many levels. Not least the viciousness of the protesting students and the cowardice of the institutions that simply caved in (US and UK). The individuals targeted were almost broken by the experience. No doubt that was the intention.

Chilling. Won't be the first time students have been used to attack existing power structures.

Agree with pp, huge entitlement and no self reflection. Some dangerous individuals drunk on their perceived power.

She is in the second episode. She also breaks down. It’s good to see the BBC airing some of this stuff, even if it is on demand only.

I've just watched both episodes, I thought it was bloody brilliant. And bloody terrifying. It was when it all kicked off at that college and I watched Bret Weinstein on YouTube that I thought WTF is going on? That must have been about 2017. I thought both episodes were excellent. It's amazing to see it on IPlayer - I hope it gets lots of word of mouth publicity. Highly recommend.

Like another poster, I thought the first episode was gobsmacking, not "unimpressive" at all, so am really glad I watched it as well as the second. I mean, yeah, the filmmaker called herself 'c*s" etc at the start, but it was a bit of a journey I think. I hadn't realised how completely insane the Evergreen incidents were and I really do think more people need to actually see how bad it is, that this isn't just "students being like students are every generation". The behaviour was frightening to witness. Their ideological positions, myopic, irrational, cultlike, dogmatic, scary,easy to turn violent. Very red guard sort of stuff. And taking meeting minutes or basic organisation being "colonial?" WTF? That smug male language professor REALLY pissed me off too. A dangerous man.

But yes, the Kathleen Stock & Carole Hooven stories were heartbreaking. There is no excuse for how they were treated and not backed up, the mass bullying enabled, the ostracising... disgusting. Anyone who thinks this is "righteous" or progressive in some way is lacking in basic humanity, integrity or humanitarian values. "Kindness" my arse.

I thought it was interesting when Ric Esther Bienstock (I assume it was her, she was off camera) was interviewing Christopher Rufo and he was referring to Yeleidy Rosario-Hernandez saying "she "and 'her," Bienstock kept interrupting saying "zie" and "zir" and then said quite sharply "you're misgendering zir.'

I wondered, is she denying him free speech there, in saying he couldn't choose to use sex-based pronouns rather than gender-bssed pronouns?

Ah yes, I forgot that bit...

As a PP mentioned, VERY like the Red Guards. You can just imagine them turning violent.

It's on BBC4 and I'm watching it now, the second ep. I actually started a (probably poorly-named) thread in Telly Addicts. Ihate the gimmicky jump-cut editing (hasn't that had its day yet?), but some good stuff in there, Carole Hooven and Doc Stock.

Well now I've watched it all (second ep only), I have to say, I'm much less impressed than most posters. Yes, the early interviews with CH and KS were very good, but it seemed just another American docu, filtered through the poisonous lens of US politics, that didn't leave anyone much the wiser. And since when did bringing I/P into an argument ever bring clarity?

So she's still part of the problem, not part of the solution, right? Even though she sees the problem, she cannot let go of her convictions.

It also felt pointless because he had already made clear he wouldn't be using ze/zir pronouns so constantly interrupting him to correct him just drew attention to it.

Thanks for the info, I didn't know about this, I admire Kathleen Stock so much so will watch.

Well, it is filmed in the US, so the focus is going to be on US politics. I think it provided a good insight into how ideology can take hold to the detrimental of reason and nuance. The point it is trying to make is that when things because extremely polarised, and moderate voices are silenced, you end up with the situation in the documentary. You probably need to watch the first episode to see how crazy things got with left wing activists on campuses before pushback started from Christian conservatives on the right.

I've just watched episode 2, which was excellent.
What i thought was unexplored satisfactoraly was, was she saying that pro pal supporters should have freedom of speech to chant Globalise the Intafada, and From the River to the Sea?
Also, what i came away with is how intolerant the Left are, and she chose not to point that out.

I thought it was great

I had not seen the paragliders into Israel before - though I have watched part of Screams then Silence - nor had I heard the man shouting that he had killed 10 Jews and his mother blessing him. Most horrifying was the shot of a woman, barely able to walk and with blood in her crutch being shoved into a vehicle - this I had not seen before.

Upsetting watching, esp Stock and Hooven but I also felt for Zack who basically lost his career because he asked how to teach in an equitable manner under the new rules and was accused of abuse. All broken.