Multiculturalism Goes Mainstream

A look back at the moment the programming began to shift to a more populist approach.

  • Total running time 118min

East: Beauty and the East

BBC 2001. Director Gurdip Singh Bhangoo. 29min. Digital

East: Sitar Trek

BBC 2002. Director Sunandan Walia. 29min. Digital

Black Britain: The Colour of Friendship

BBC 2003. Director Petal Felix. 60min. Digital

Multicultural TV gradually became more mainstream. The East episode on beauty standards from 1992 mirrors the tonal shift as glossy gossip reporting thrived in an increasingly commercial media landscape, a decade on the programme follows sitar superstar Anoushka Shankar. In Black Britain journalist Adrian Chiles takes a road trip around the UK, earnestly appraising multiculturalism. It provides a fascinating reflection of the era, which reveals the hopeful but misguided politics of a ‘post-racial’ Britain. The inclusion of the far-right now appears as a harbinger for our current media culture.