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Television drama responded to 1982's Falklands war with a handful of plays
that were often almost as controversial as the conflict itself. The earliest of
these was Don Shaw's 'The Falklands Factor', broadcast only ten months after
hostilities had concluded. Although the subject was contemporary, Shaw chose to
present a historical drama to illuminate the background of the war and draw some
sometimes uncomfortable parallels.
The play dramatises a little-known incident from 1770-71, when Dr Johnson was
enlisted by prime minister Lord North to help turn the steamroller of British
opinion against a seemingly inevitable war with Spain over occupation of the
Falkland islands. By drawing attention to this episode in the wake of the 1982
war, the play raised a number of obvious questions for its audience: could war
again have been avoided and who, if anyone, would have had the eloquence and
influence to intervene as successfully as Johnson had?
As such, 'The Falklands Factor' would seem to sit within the liberal camp
that disapproved of a military response to the Argentine invasion. However, the
play also shows how the subject of sovereignty over the Falkland islands was
allowed to remain ambiguous, with the prime minister himself secretly conspiring
to "hand the islands back to nature". This begs another question: had Britain
taken a firmer stance in 1770-71, would the circumstances underlying the 1982
war ever have arisen? The direct link between the events of 1770-711 and 1982 is
made explicit with a voiceover and the knowing line Shaw gives Lord North: "I
hope no-one ever needs to go to war over the Falklands, or for that matter, any
writer write about them."
The original edit of the play's conclusion even used a montage of news
footage from the recent war. However, an eleventh hour re-edit was imposed,
resulting in the omission of all the contemporary footage. The BBC reported that
the change was made to avoid offending the families of servicemen who had died
in the conflict, though Shaw alleged another motive. He suggested that the edit
amounted to political censorship, with the BBC being extra sensitive of
offending the government in view of the impending general election. As John
Naughton wrote of the re-edit in The Listener: "It makes one wonder how the BBC,
which has often been courageous on great issues, can sometimes be so craven on
small ones."
Oliver Wake
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1. The British expelled (1:57)
