You’re Human Like the Rest of Them: The Films of B S Johnson
Forty years on, it seems astonishing not that people watched Fat Man on a Beach, but that it got through any commissioning process, let alone on ITV, now notorious for its pursuit of the lowest common denominator at any cost. Given the contempt in which 21st century television holds its audiences, to be explicitly told that “Now might be a good time to get a cup of tea” before Johnson recites his poetry feels like being credited with an unusual level of intelligence – at least, the viewer could opt to refuse to be patronised, and be rewarded for choosing to stick with the host.
Juliet Jacques reviews You’re Human Like the Rest of Them: The Films of B S Johnson BFI Flipside DVD.