Image Credit: BBC
By Lee Clow
23 October 2020 | University Work
In September 2020, the BBC released a new documentary created by former cricketer and now TV presenter, Andrew Flintoff, labelled “Freddie Flintoff: Living With Bulimia”. This documentary is a hard-hitting hour long special that delves into Flintoff’s Bulimia suffering, an eating disorder rarely discussed amongst society. Not only is this documentary very informative and an eye opener to many, but it is also a great example of some great journalism.
But firstly, what is ‘good’ journalism?
Good journalism is being able to tell the news in an informative, entertaining and most importantly a truthfully way. It is also important in journalism that you never lie, and you do not defame anyone. This documentary does everything listed above and more perfectly, and it gives its viewers everything they want to see when watching it.
The narrative of the documentary shows the life of Freddie Flintoff and how he has suffered with Bulimia for the last 20 years. Along with the main story, the documentary particularly highlights how much of a concern Bulimia actually is in society, particularly how it affects men. As mentioned, good journalism has to be informative and entertaining and just the narrative of this documentary ticks these boxes. The subject, being Bulimia, is a disorder that many people do not actually know about and this documentary is an eye opener to this. The entertaining side comes from Freddie Flintoff himself as he is a loved personality and despite suffering from this disorder, he is still a warm and inviting presence on screen.
Throughout the documentary many significant questions were asked, some very hard-hitting, but these were important as intriguing and important answers came from them. The most significant question that was asked throughout the documentary was why do men, who suffer from the disorder, refuse to seek for professional help?
Most of the questions were directed at Flintoff as he is the main subject of the documentary and for everyone he answered, he would give an honest and truthful response. These responses from Flintoff make the documentary intriguing and really gives an insight into how difficult it can be living with the disorder. Some crucial questions were also directed to the other sufferers, who feature in the documentary, and this added an extra layer to the whole film. Going back to ‘good’ journalism, it is important you do not defame anyone, and the documentary did this by making sure the sufferers in the film were not seen in a bad light.
This documentary had huge access when in production and the openness of the interviews was apparent. Arguably this would not have been the case if Flintoff was not the presenter as he was able relate to the interviewees and give them a chance to open up. The questions asked do not hold back and sensitive answers come from them. The sensitivity of everything in the documentary can be quite surprising when watching, however it is needed as it really hits home to the viewer how important the concern of Bulimia actually is. An example of this is when Freddie is asked by a parent of a sufferer, where he sees himself in 20 years and he responses simply saying he will still have the disorder. The fact Flintoff, despite making this documentary and wanting to recover, still believes he will have the disorder is concerning and shows why it should be talked about more. This again shows good journalism as it uses sensitivity to be informative.
The documentary ends showing Flintoff’s progress four months down the line, however there are still some unanswered questions. The biggest question unanswered was if Flintoff had gained any further help and if he is on track to recovery. The documentary also does not go back and revisit the interviewees from earlier in the documentary. Despite these unanswered questions, this is still good journalism as it opens up more opportunities for follow up stories in the future. A good journalist knows how to find stories and it is clear that follow up stories can be made from the documentary.
Overall, this documentary is a brilliant piece of journalism. It ticks all the boxes of being truthful, entertaining and informative. It also does what is was set out to do and that was to highlight Bulimia and the growing concern it is in society. Huge work and preparation was put into this from both the production team and Freddie Flintoff, and this was why it is a successful film and piece of journalism.
100% a MUST WATCH documentary.
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