The media are frightfully smug in their insistance that freedom of creative endeavour be extended to any loony with a grievance that it is often forgotten that in this so - called "liberal" society of the 21st century the expression of
views that the Establishment does not wish to be aired is seen to be
undesirable and in some cases illegal.
The making of a film like "The wind of change" would not be countenanced today.
Views expressed by its characters would be regarded ,quite rightly ,as repugnant and thus unsuitable for us plebs to be exposed to.
Repugnant?Yes.Prohibited?No.
It was assumed in 1961 that cinemagoers were intelligent enough to see
that the character played by Johnny Briggs was an ignorant prejudiced (the word "racist" was not in current use)thug whose attitudes and behaviour were quite beyond the pale.
Noone thought him an heroic figure.
But many people recognised him as a representative of a small and already by then decreasing body - the heirs to Mosley's B.U.F. who at that time were out on the streets of England's cities stirring up anti - semitic and racial hatred.
To deny the existence of him and people like him would have been counter
- productive.