Bootleg (2002)

Do you have two hours free to watch one of the greatest kids' shows ever made, about the evils of fascist regimes and the importance of collective organising and popular resistance if you want any hope of winning democratic rights and freedoms? Well if so, then have I got a treat for you:

"Bootleg (2002) CBBC" (Watch on YouTube)

This show came out when I was 10 and I have suuuuch fond memories of it. I'm sure it's not the only reason I grew up to be an anti-authoritarian, justice-minded revolutionary socialist, but damn if it didn't help push me along in the correct direction haha. I especially love how its depiction of regime change emphasises collective action – the need to have mass support among students, workers and the population at large; the power of acting en masse, taking to the streets all at once, kicking over tanks and whacking regime acolytes over the head with fire extinguishers. Being a kids' show it's obviously a bit simplified, but it's sooooo much better than the “hero and tiny group of friends defeat the figurehead and society magically reshapes itself overnight” narrative that so many narratives aimed at young people are built around. Here you can see the main characters, Smudger and Huntley, ally themselves with the pre-existing resistance movement (consisting of grown-ups) who strongly emphasise the importance of trade union support and collective action generally – acknowledging their uprising will fail if they cannot get the mass of people to rise up at the critical moment.

Anyway, I showed this to my partner (who is not as left-wing as me) tonight and he was wowed. Truly an excellent show. Even despite the hilarity of it supposedly being set in England and yet you could play, “Oh, that's a tram! That's Fed Square! Are they meeting at the Melbourne Museum?! Oooooh, good old Glenferrie Station!” tbh that was really more of an added bonus; this was great stuff.