I don't want to start a big Right vs Left debate (for debate,
read "slanging match"😉 but I am interested in finding out people's
views on the role of politics in today's society.
*Specifically* what I'm talking about is low voter participation (I forget
what the fancy term is, turnout or something) at elections and the
apparant(?) general apathy shown towards politics in general amongst
the stereotypical man or woman on the street.
Here in the UK, at the last general election in 2001 the turnout was
only 59%, the lowest figure since 1918. There seems to be a
concensus (dunno how to spell that word) amongst many people that I
have spoken to in the past and from what I have read in newspapers
that people have switched off from politics, that ever increasing
numbers of people simply don't care, that politicians have become so
aloof that they themselves (the politicians) no longer really care about
policy and making progress....and instead are just out to watch their
own backs and attain a "prestige" post in government.
Having said that, articles such as the following suggest that
this "apathy" may not be as wholly prevalent as I might suggest.
http://www.mori.com/polls/2001/elec_comm_pr.shtml
What do you think? Do you care about politics? Or does it make no
difference who you vote for; they're all as corrupt as each other?
Should one care about politics?
Mark
The Squirrel Lover
PS Please no mindless arguments. Politics is a dodgy subject at the
best of times and likely to ignite deep seated beliefs. I am also aware
that it's dangerous to overly simplify discussions and that it may in
fact be necessary to talk in an ideological context; I just don't want it
to get out of hand.
Key thing to bear in mind here: the media, especially the broadsheets, have a pathological
interest in politics (the tabloids don't really care, they'll gossip about anything). The media
are also politicians' main mouthpiece, so the politicians are extremely keen to appease the
media. The result is constant cries of "Scandal!" in the papers and content-free doublespeak
from the politicians to avoid saying anything that offends the media.
If you haven't seen Brass Eye THE SERIES (not just the special episode everyone talked
about), I strongly suggest you get hold of the DVD and watch it. BBC News, or any other
medium with 'political' content, will never seem the same again.
Chris Morris is, to my mind, a very talented and extremely clever man.
I think I know what you're getting at regarding Brass Eye but if you've
got a moment could you spell it out for those who may not have seen
the programmes? Why is Brass Eye so good? Why should we buy the
DVD?
Mark
The Squirrel Lover
OK... 'Brass Eye' is a pretend news programme/documentary/whatever. Each week it looks
at a topic, like 'Drugs'. However everything about it is a grotesque parody of real news:
computer graphics are used to produce meaningless and completely inaccurate graphs, the
anchor (Chris Morris as 'Chris Morris'😉 is a really nasty person, but he pretends to feel bad
about what's happening to the country and there are interviews with celebrities in which they
are forced to make crude 'Right or Wrong?' value judgements. Then there are the reports on
things which would be on the news, if they weren't too bizarre to actually happen.
Chris Morris' use of language is excellent. He uses the sensationalist language of journalists
and then takes it further, using phrases like 'killed to bits' in his usual 'serious' tone of voice,
again a good impression of what news presenters sound like. Also, he gives many of his
characters strange names that somehow describe them.
Best of all, though, are the charity appeals: Morris invents a charity and then gets celebrities
to appear on camera to support it! The funny thing is just how crazy these charities are, like
one to stop 'heavy electricity' squashing poor farmers in the Third World.
There are other actors involved, but basically, most of the parts are played by Morris himself.
At first when I watched Brass Eye, I thought it was just a surreal take on the news, though I
still found it extremely funny even then. But then I started to notice the similarities to real
news... and then I really started to appreciate the show!
Sorry for rabbiting on so long, but I am a fan of Chris Morris generally, not just Brass Eye,
and I think it's a shame that more people haven't heard of him.
I know it's not an intelectual argument, but at Uni there was grafitti on
1 paving slab in fromt of the zooology building that read "whoever you
vote for, government wins" - that really struck a cord as it made me
realise that, as far as I could see, no government in the UK was going
to make things significantly better or worse. Sure, one side may put
more money into health, but they'll just remove that money from the
schools. I think it takes a ball grinder (Maggie springs to mind) to
actually make a difference to a country, for better or for worse, and we
don't have that at the moment (can you really see brown nose Blair or
mr invisible IDS standing firm to strong issue).