A lot of the time, documentaries don’t quite make it on to our screens. Whether it be security reasons or public complaints, these informative films are produced but fail to be broadcasted. Here’s a list of a few examples of such cases.
Islam: The Untold Story
Back in 2012, Channel 4 had historian Tom Holland drawing in over a thousand complaints from Twitter users.
The documentary showed Holland attempting to prove that there is very little contemporary evidence about the Prophet Mohammed in the origins of Islam. The investigation involved examining the claims that rather than Islam’s doctrine originating from one specific text, it developed over many years from the expansion of Arabic empires.
The Islamic Education and Research Academy (IERA) accused him of making baseless assumptions, while the Iranian state media called it an insult to Islam.
As well as Holland being threatened directly on Twitter, complaints were sent to Channel 4. Holland’s response to this was to say that “we were of course aware when making the program that we were touching deeply held sensitivities and went to every effort to ensure that the moral and civilizational power of Islam was acknowledged in our film.”
Channel 4 claimed that they were still extremely proud of the film and made it available to watch on 4 on Demand at the time.
The Oprah Winfrey Network’s Michael Sam Documentary Series
Earlier this year, Michael Sam made history as the first gay NFL player by kissing his boyfriend in public. The Oprah Winfrey Network were after making a documentary on the topic, but postponed the project.
After being drafted by the St Louis Rams, the Oprah Winfrey Network wished to follow his journey to train for the team’s roster. However, half way through filming, production was cancelled. Network president, Erik Logan said the decision was to allow Sam his best chance at a place on the team.
Unfortunately, Sam did not make the roster but could be recruited into the Arena Football League in 2015. The Rams next game is scheduled for November 23 against Bettingsports favorites to win, the San Diego Chargers.
CNN’s Hillary Clinton Documentary
Oscar-winning film director Charles Ferguson cancelled plans for a Hillary Clinton based documentary in 2013 after a “lack of co-operation”.
100 people refused to be interviewed for the film that was set to be released to cinemas this year. Ferguson claimed that it was due to a public campaign from Republicans on the grounds of it being biased in favor of Clinton winning the 2016 US election.
The campaign began immediately after the announcement of its production from CNN. Ferguson said that “neither political party wanted the film made” and that he couldn’t make a film that he could be proud of and therefore confirmed the cancellation. NBC also cancelled a miniseries about Clinton the same week due to similar issues.
Ferguson stated that he would resurrect his plans after the election as it will be easier to gain access to the former US Secretary of State.