Caller Says Historic Films Should Not Be Made Because We Don't Like What Happened

14 July 2018, 16:24 | Updated: 14 July 2018, 16:29

After a fundraising event was criticised for showing the film Zulu, a caller tells Maajid Nawaz that Hollywood films depicting historic events should not be made because they'll never accurately portray what happened.

Katherine told Maajid that she felt uncomfortable watching Zulu because "too many Africans were killed."

When Maajid pointed out that that's what happened in real life, she said: "I know that, but, I just, because it's based on history you can go to the library, you can go and get videos to depict how it really was."

"Are you saying we shouldn't make films on historic events because we don't like what happened?" Maajid asked.

But she made the point that people can learn history through books or documentaries, opposed to people watching a film that "based on what Hollywood wants, or what cinema-going people want to see".

Michael Caine featured in the 1964 historical war film Zulu depicting the Battle of Rorke's Drift between the British Army and the Zulu's in 1879. Picture: PA

"I believe in making films based on historical events from a documentary point of view."

"Not motion picture?" Maajid asked.

Katherine replied: "Nope."

Her comments come after the film Zulu was shown at a fundraising event in Folkestone, where critics say it "could have a negative effect on relationships within the changing and richly diverse communities".

In response to the controversy, Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi, who played his great-grandfather King Cetshwayo in the film, said that "even if the past is uncomfortable, and perhaps especially when the past is uncomfortable, it needs to be examined and unpacked rather than hidden away."