OK, winter break is over and soon I'll be filling up the blog with music reviews again...but for a moment a slight digression, if I may...skip to the end if you want to see where I'm going with this.
I spend a good portion of my time watching television, though notably I spend a very high percentage of that time watching documentaries and educational programs like those on the History Channel. I try to avoid the reality shows that masquerade as documentaries.
I spend more of my time watching channels like the History Channel and National Geographic (avoiding all the horrific animal-attack shows) as well as a lot of cartoons and anime (though I avoid Adult Swim and its toilet-humor, unfunny, imbecilic, cheap to produce stuff.) Anime like Bleach and Moribito I do watch.
However, I do watch the commercials for all the prime time shows and I'm sickened to note that reality shows are still alive and kicking (kicking us when we're down, I mean.) They are still cheap to produce (and show it), go for cheap laughs (and show it) and are still voyeuristic, sensatinalistic and even more cruel. Howie's new show is a prime example -- let's play cruel jokes on people, really make them cry or feel horrible, and then laugh at them. It's a new low NBC (not ABC, sorry).
I had high hopes for NBC's (not ABC, sorry) new international dance competition show -- showcasing the best from around the world -- and I was soon disappointed, mostly by the obvious bias in judging that even the dancers noticed...and the obvious manipulation by some of the judges to help their teams by downgrading major competitors, not to mention their self-centric attitude. Do they really think that the only thing called dance involves Western ballet and ballroom based moves? Do they really think that dissing 2 time world champions and calling them inferior, or other champions, saying they need to 'improve'...really makes us think that they are being unbiased, fair and for that matter, knowledgable?
Interestingly enough, to me the fairest judge was the one from China, in spite of the abuse he and his country was taking (one judge even rolled her eyes when asked to judge a Chinese dancer of national fame--time to hit China because you can, is it?) The back row, minus India, all lost my respect within an hour of watching their childish and obvious tactics.
Needless to say, I'm not watching it anymore. I'd love to see more of some of these performers, especially China, but I'm not sitting through anymore "We're better than you and I'm the expert" bull anymore.
Given the economic times and my penchant for watching the History Channel, I did notice one thing that bothers me more. A program called the Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire detailed the Roman empire and how it turned to greater acts of cruelty as entertainment -- this done to entertain its populace and keep them from rebelling. It also began to have a leadership that didn't earn the right to rule but was given the throne. I noticed two trends:
1) cruelty became entertainment and accepted as 'fun'
2) corruption increased when people were given privileges without having to earn them (leaders that were given their position -- as emperor -- abused their power in ever increasingly extravagent ways)
I looked at the Greeks, too, from Classical to Helenistic (where the Helenistic age all went into greater cruelty entertainment and greater excesses as people didn't earn their power.) They fell to the Romans.
What happened when Rome fell? (at an unimaginable height of cruelty and excess and corruption)...the dark ages began.
The 'Holy' Roman Empire began and eventually that fell when the Renaissance (and then the Age of Reason and Enlightenment, the split of church and state --though not entirely) began and people began to rebel against the abuse, cruelty and extravagence of the church.
(Along the same lines of things I never knew: Did you know that priests used to be able to marry? And the reason the church changed to celibacy - with abuses allowed -- was because they didn't want the priest's
property to go to his family? They wanted to keep it --i.e. isn't that greed? envy? ) It fits with the items I noted about the fall of a civilization.
Only now are we realizing that stuff we think we invented during the Renaissance and afterwards, was actually previously invented by the Romans, the Greeks, the lost Minoans, ancient China, etc. Things like water engines, flush toilets, complete gearing systems including computers as well as engineering that actually could shear mountain faces off and drill systems that went through moutains to create a way to 'drain' a lake! And yes, China did know about gunpowder as something other than a fireworks thingy -- they had landmines, torpedos, missiles and even firing systems that fired off multiple missiles (arrows to explosive missiles) at one time.
So what, you ask?
Imagine how far civilization could have come if such knowledge hadn't been lost -- or supressed by the new fanatic intolent religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam (all based off the same god and prophets and basic belief system and all three systems encouraging supression of spirit and knowledge -- while encouraging a strict hierarchy where a few control the masses.) (This was why so many leaders liked the idea -- it gave them power. Ask Denmark, Norway and Sweden...they'll tell you.)
I know I sound severe about those religions, but I'm looking at it from the perspective of what shaped those religions and what religious leaders did while in charge of those religions. It's just plain disturbing. It's the basic tenets of some of that justification for doing harm and the organized power structure that I really worry about.
The British Empire Fell, the India Empire (s) fell, China fell, Japan fell, Soviet Union fell, Germany fell and so on and on and on -- they all seem to have corruption, excess, abuse of power, lack of worthwhile
earned leadership and cruelty to others and their own, not to mention a sense of privilege, 'we're better than you' and arrogance.
I see a lot of reality television where cruelty is the entertainment. I see a lot of power and excess and people abusing that power. I see a lot of good ol' boy insider situations where people get their power without really deserving it, without earning it. I see this reflected in television, politics, institutions and average people defending their abusive actions.
So perhaps the American Empire (sorry, let's be precise...the American Republic) is about to fall as well very soon, if it's not already falling...
Will we see another dark age? And which religion will try to keep us in the dark this time? How much knowledge will be lost and how much life?
Who exactly will emerge as the next great empire, I wonder? China maybe? Successors have always needed vision, drive, intelligence, natural resources and unfortunately, a strong military -- but with leaders that earned their position that don't abuse that power.
I'm researching and compiling a list of things the new empire will likely need in order to reach dominance, and adjusted it for modern views and realities....right now, no one is in a good position to achieve empire status...but tolerance, innovation, intelligence over fanaticism still are requirements...other items like resources, vision, power and so forth are lacking in those that might be the next big empire...
Maybe the three big (organized hierarchy) religions with the common me-only-me base will be supplanted as well? (and yes, as I noted before, I was researching a bit....check your real history, all of them were reacting to political events around them, Roman occupation, war, cruelty-as-entertainment, slavery...so they had a good reason to believe others outside their group were bad and to be killed -- still carry that attitude to excess and you get what? How much blood needs to be spilled?)
I wonder.
So while there's still time before the end of it all, I'll just focus on talking about music and for the most part, keep my mouth shut about the rest. (After all, in all those situations, those that tried to point out the problem found themselves
discounted,
disparaged and
killed off.) I'd rather not be killed, thank you very much...nor disparaged. Discounted, I'm not sure. :)
So I won't do this type of off-the-cuff, unedited, unplanned editorial very often. I'll stick to music and trying to make people laugh (but without abuse and cruelty -- or toilet humor -- if at all possible. No guarantees, even I occasionally like that stuff...I'll admit that I like the anime Shin Chan, but in small doses!)
But for the few of you that read this, in agreement or not, thank you for taking the time to do so.
OK, I'll shut up now. :) (
thanks)
CG Anderson
very tired and sad at the moment, 2008 has been a very sad year for me...but music does make me happy, so I'll be back to doing that soon...thank goodness for musicians, artists and writers, you keep me sane(r)!
cganders1@yahoo.com
If you went to SAKURA.CON in the US, you might have heard them before. They toured here recently. This group out of Osaka, Japan is hot and rising fast!
