Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram has been told to "leave cultural analysis to others" after questioning the image of Liverpool portrayed in the BBC series This City is Ours.
Councillor Alan Gibbons, who represents the Orrell Park ward for Your Party, said the mayor had got his comments "entirely wrong" in a lengthy response to remarks made on BBC Radio Merseyside.
Mayor's concerns over drama's depiction
Mayor Rotheram was asked for his views on the gang-drama series, which stars James Nelson-Joyce as a crime gang leader in Liverpool. The second series of the drama was recently released to critical acclaim.
Speaking on his weekly phone-in on BBC Radio Merseyside, the mayor praised the show for its "depiction of Liverpool life outside of the drugs and organised crime" and for how the city was filmed, but raised concerns about how Liverpool was portrayed.
He told host Tony Snell: "Do I think that overall, it is the image I want to portray of Liverpool? No, it's not, that's the only thing about it."
"We need to get away from the drugs, crime and organised crime to what most people are renowned for, which is the warmth of their welcome, their friendliness, their humour, that's what the Liverpool City Region is really about for me."
Councillor's rebuttal
Cllr Gibbons said one element of the mayor's comments seemed to suggest that the role of TV drama should be like the "technicolour travelogues of the 60s with a fruity documentary presenting a sanitised image of the location."
He added: "Every large urban area has crime and its tensions make for gripping drama, illuminating a side of life that, thankfully, most of us never experience. When people are under stress, they react in ways that lay bare the human condition."
"Tragically, this city like others has had its fair share of tragedies. To act as if they are not a feature of life is to ignore reality. The biggest false note however is that he seems to infer that This City is Ours and other such dramas glamourise crime. Really? From the Godfather to Goodfellas, Casino to The Sopranos, does anyone really think the message is that crime pays?"
Cllr Gibbons added: "Michael Kavanagh's lot is hardly a bundle of laughs when, just at the moment he thought he was out, the life pulls him back in."
Defence of crime dramas
The city councillor told the mayor to "leave cultural analysis to others" and focus on other topics like housing.
The ECHO's entertainment reporter Ryan Paton also recently took aim at those criticising the themes of This City is Ours in relation to the impact they may have on the reputation of Liverpool.
Ryan wrote: "The wide success of shows such as MobLand and The Gentlemen is proof of people's continued fascination with crime and I'd much rather Liverpool storytellers get the chance to put their spin on the genre, so we can then have the infrastructure that now exists in the city."
