Spiral wrote: ↑Fri Aug 11, 2023 12:19 am
Now I've watched the first episode, I feel somewhat more vindicated in my comments about framing than some of the replies since its release led me to expect. Simple fact of the matter is, people either don't understand framing, and they don't understand composition, or they do and they simply don't want to acknowledge it. It's as though people are holding to the standard that nothing short of wall to wall spirituality would validate what I've said, when in fact I've never made such a claim. Ep.1 should've been titled 'The Passion of the Chairman'. The meta narrative of ep.1 is Pace's Passion (as in the Latin 'Passion' associated with Christianity, meaning suffering, bearing i.e. the cross - not the way we use 'passion' in every day language). There are church organs (synthesised) playing over the intro sequence where the owners are playing football and their comments on their religion overlaid, which sets the tone from the outset. This is a deliberate compositional choice. This has the effect of predisposing a passive viewer to unconsciously pass the subsequent images and spoken words through a prism or filter of religious meaning, because an association in the viewer's mind has happened between the owners, their faith, and the club without the uncritical viewer even consciously noticing it (nobody has mentioned the church organs yet, I think I'm the first to comment on the church organs opening up the entire documentary). The cinematic language tells the viewer: this is a spiritual story.
Throughout the episode Pace is metaphorically 'suffering', such as at the moment of relegation (I use inverted commas on 'suffering' not to suggest he wasn't hurt by relegation, because I believe he genuinely was; I use the inverted commas to highlight the analogue to religious Passion, this is what I mean to convey by putting the word 'suffering' in inverted commas). What is his mercy from this suffering? His Church, i.e. God. The scene immediately following the dust settling on relegation is his visit to the church. The meta narrative here is thus: life is suffering, consolation is found through the Church. This narrative arc told through the edit sequence is another conscious storytelling choice. Pain...god...mercy. His visit to his church juxtaposed against the pain of relegation communicates this spiritual message which the viewer has been primed to be receptive to by the compositional choice in the opening sequence. Who is the saviour in this story of Passion? Vincent, of course. Here the Saviour is placed outside of He who suffers (
He/Pace who suffers suffers for
all of us/Burnley fans), and thus the world has its saviour (with the benefit of hindsight this was a good choice of saviour). This spiritual theme, communicated through editorial 'wordchoice', image, sound and recorded speech, is readable from the first scene in ep.1, and I've not even watched the other three. There's enough cinematic language being spoken that ep.1 can viably be viewed critically through the lens of The Passion.
Hi Spiral, firstly, I guess I must disclose that I've not yet watched any of "Mission to Burnley." All I've done is read all the comments on this thread and TV reviews in The Times and The Guardian.
My thoughts: we know Alan Pace and all the ALK Capital ownership group are Americans; we know Alan Pace and several of ALK Capital are members of the Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormons); we know that Alan Pace's father came to Lancashire (and maybe elsewhere) in his Mormon missionary service; we know that Alan Pace was involved with Salt Lake City football club; we possibly also all know that the Mormon church has significant wealth.
We all know that when Alan Pace and ALK Capital acquired their majority stake in Burnley Football Club that they borrowed money, both from the club and from MSD to fund a large part of their purchase. (This loan from the club to ALK Capital, via Calder Vale and the rest of the corporate structure based on the 31st July 2022 financial accounts remains owed to the club). Over the period since ALK Capital bought their shares we've been introduced to new investors: Malcolm Jenkins, JJ and Kealia Watt, Dude Perfect. JJ Watt and Dude Perfect in particular appear to have very public profiles through which they can promote the club. I don't think it stops there.
"Mission to Burnley" is also promoting investment in Burnley Football Club. Yes, it's great for the fans to watch 4 episodes that cover very
exciting times in the club's evolving history. I don't know whether you have spent much time in the US. I lived for a short time in New York. For more than a decade I worked for US owned businesses and visited the US for work regularly, often for 2 or 3 weeks at a time. Church and religion flows through a lot of US society. It's not just the Pilgrim Fathers who left Plymouth some centuries ago, or the Irish who emigrated in the 19th century, or the southern churches where many of the superstars of pop learnt to sing in the 1950s/60s. My work colleagues, when I was in New York, would speak on Monday morning (if Christians) about the church service they attended at the weekend. Other colleagues who were members of the Jewish faith would leave the office early on the eve of their sabbath to observe their faith.
I contend that "Mission to Burnley" is particularly promoting investment in Burnley Football Club to US investors. This is why Alan Pace's Mormon faith features in the series. Yes, maybe Alan Pace will be delighted if there are few more making their way to the Church of Latter Day Saints on some weekends. But, he and his ALK Capital colleagues will all count "Mission to Burnley" a success if it converts a few more wealthy US investors to become investors in Burnley Football Club.
And, more money invested in Burnley Football Club means more success on the football field for the Clarets and more for us all to enjoy and celebrate as fans.
Exciting times.
UTC
