1981: Landmarks

June 20, 2019

By AHNZ

Landmarks (1981) was a brilliant 10-part New Zealand history documentary written and presented by Kenneth Cumberland. Directly inspired and guided by another Kenneth, the Kiwi producers had seen British documentary Civilisation and did this masterpiece justice telling the New Zealand story…

“I have been wondering why they no longer care about Landmarks. It could be that they think “Oh, we make documentaries all the time which will be just as relevant”. However they also seem to want to shrink the era of the European and accentuate the negatives (Maori wars) while decreasing the positives…could also be that they see Landmarks as history through the oppressor and patriarchy?”- Correspondent

Well, no films older than c.20 years ever screen do they? It’s very rare, even if those doccos and films hold up to today’s standards. I suppose TVNZ thinks it would make their brand look old and cheap.

I suspect there’s an informal deal not to bring in “competition” from the past. The better for new content creators with their NZ On Air funding to jam their junk onto our screens.

Yes, I do think it’s outside their political narrative. Mind you, they showed Skeletons in the Cupboard on demand for weeks before pulling it. Even though Cumberland was a Statist and a Lefty, his was a New Zealand history voice prior to many PC revisions. There is also this gatekeeper point of view that we, the people, are not fit to chew our own food. We must be presented with the “right” content, all censored and vetted. We are so down-regulated as to believe everything we read or watch and buy everything advertised (The Man really does think that) therefore content must be censored, controlled, prohibited for the good of Public Safety.

It’s actually a wonder that the 1966 Encyclopedia of New Zealand is allowed to be online at all. The search function seems to be throttled back though and each page has to carry this warning..

So, that’s why some of the best TV about New Zealand ever made cannot be shown. This only includes Landmarks. There’s a wealth of wonderful stuff that only TVNZ staff get to see because they alone have access to our public broadcasting archive. That’s the reason that Jeremy Wells was able to front the mocumentary of Landmarks a few years back, totally ripping it off without credit.

—

Ref. Unauthorised History of New Zealand (2005-9)

Like    Comment     Share