The joy of twitter

I have discovered that the only way to thoroughly immerse yourself in tweeting is to be in bed, which I currently am. That way, you can read all the tweets as they come in and respond immediately.
I have been having a twitter discussion with and about Daniel Hannan, right wing MEP who wrote an article in The Daily Telegraph about Ralph Fiennes's Coriolanus the other day. I tweeted that I wondered why right wing politicians thought they could review films, which was not the most subtle comment, but it's what came to me. After further feedback from various tweeters suggesting I was being bigoted and narrow minded in suggesting that only film critics can review films (I wasn't, but never mind), I engaged in a dialogue with Mr Hannan himself. This centred round hs train of logic which goes like this.

1. No one knows anything definitive about Shakespeare (true).?2. But I think (ie Daniel Hannan thinks) that we can be sure that he didn't like mobs/common people (because they are unflatteringly portrayed in Coriolanus and other history plays).?3. Therefore as a matter of fact ('still there is no getting away from it') Shakespeare had a 'Eurocrat's attitude to hoi polloi (use of Greek to indicate classical education).
My objection is twofold. First, he follows the demagogue's path of logic. Say one thing, contradict it while appearing not to, then finish with a conclusion whereby opinion has become fact.
Second, he slips in this reference to Eurocrats, which has nothing to do with the rest of the piece, but may be the only reason for writing it in the first place. Of course the guy is entitled to write a film review, though why the Telegraph chooses to publish it is another matter. Is it because of his wit and discernment about the play/film, or is it because he has a dig at Europe?
In my experience, politicians don't just randomly write a film review because the mood takes them, and then have it published in a major newspaper. There is some kind of agenda. A hidden agenda, perhaps? I need to talk to Ken Loach urgently.

Phil Raby

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