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HHere are the quotes viewers are given at the start of Boris Johnson: Ukraine’s Kill Zone, a one-hour documentary following the former prime minister on his journey to the frontline of the ongoing hostilities between Russia and its estranged neighbour:
“This video shows Boris Johnson’s view of the conflict in Ukraine. The views expressed are consistent and reflect his interpretation of what is happening.”
What is this? Disclaimer? Arse cover by a company that saw the rush and panicked? A reminder of the racism inherent in all of history, in all of history? Or is it as cynical a warning as you can get that what you are about to see is delivered by a notorious liar, a self-righteous, self-righteous man whose mask ate his face long ago? Is the initial phrase “Yes, we know, you’re full of them” or “Complaints? We have a few”? Or just “I’m sorry”?
From the moment it begins, you are tormented by such questions instead of those that Boris wants you to think about (“Does Putin’s tyranny have any chance of success?”), as he confuses the soldiers trying to explain the situation to themselves and their country with his painful attempt at blokey camaraderie. They constantly refer to their guns as “50 cal (calibre), right?”. He cries, “You shot that ass!” He assures the army priest: “Okay, I will pray for the victory of Ukraine!”
Your questions go on and on. One thing I suspect many people will be asking is: Doesn’t putting someone who has abandoned any kind of moral decency, someone whose false reputation tarnishes everything he touches, in charge of records immediately puts the entire project under water?
I’d say yes, and that thing is overwriting it with almost every offering made by its showrunner who is a regular. In the course of an hour, he switched from the big performance to the new version of the Boris Show, which many of us hoped was successfully completed after the three years of 2019-2222.
The most important thing is that he must remain anonymous to keep himself and his friends safe. So he carelessly – a natural actress! – wears a balaclava. Then he picks up his jacket backwards, and even if he puts it on properly it rides up behind him to make him look silly. This can be sorted. This is not real, nags that background word again. This is a demonstration in a military environment.
The flamboyant rhetoric that has always been unfairly recognized is on full display here. As he and his crew spend their first night in a house on the edge of a killing field, they are startled by the sound of bombs exploding nearby. “The truth is,” he says the next day, “if it came out of our window, we wouldn’t know anything about it, and there you go. It causes endless suffering for civilians and soldiers who have been bombed for the last four years, you know? Sometimes it’s accompanied by a false hero who likes more than blokey camaraderie. questioning the authority of the military commander. Careful integration based on real emotion is best done.
Maybe they’ll do some fly-on-the-wall stuff with the Reflective Boris movie back at the studio? Surely then we will find a political analysis of the situation, how it happened, how it can be resolved, and what options are open to the power of the country and the nations? “I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a clear distinction between right and wrong… These things have been stopped and the West just needs to stop being proud… It’s wrong.” And there you go.
So good, you might think it’s Alan Partridge What Geopolitics. But then it concludes with the words: “It is well known, together with the Ukrainian authorities, that Mr. Johnson took a direct role in persuading Kyiv to abandon the Istanbul talks for the spring of 2022 – which were about to end – in favor of continuing the fight.
And you realize that your negative perception was correct. This is not an insulting program that is intended to be insulting. It’s a program that needs to be pulled sooner rather than later, instead of being gifted to a man who insults the honor and dignity of every tough, brave, homeless soldier he meets in the field.
Boris Johnson: In Ukraine’s Kill Zone which was broadcast on Channel 5
