Tuesday, February 14, 2012

American Culture of escape

If American culture were a horse, it would be shot. So low has our cultural level sunk intellectually, so sick and depraved is meanstream American entertainment, so devoid of intellectual content, and any redeeming content of any sort - we had best throw it all away and start from scratch.

To quote respected author Chris Hedges: "we are chained to the flickering shadows of celebrity culture, the spectacle of the arena and the airwaves, the lies of advertising, the endless personal dramsas, many of them completely fictional,that have become the staple of news, celebrity gossip, new age mysticism, and pop psychology..."

Historian Daniel Boorstin wrote a fascinating book called "The Image: a Guide to Pseudoculture in America"  in which he demonstrates by example that fabricated, artificial events have replaced genuine, natural, spontaneous events in America mainstream media, as a way to sedate, seduce, and scam the American consumer.

Reality in American culture has been turned into a pre planned entertainment spectacle, and fantasy is more important than reality. Danile Boorstin, one of the great historinas of our day, and Chris Hedges, brilliant student of American society, both agree on this.

It is perfectly obvious to any keen observer that American culture is hypnotic, seductive, shocking and sensational, rather than insightful, educational, and inspiring.

All it takes to understand this ia a quick flick thru of your cable TV. Just notice how much of the programming is stressfully emotionally tense, violent, competitive to the extreme, or just plain mindless, trivial, and hedonistic. It will astound you.

When will the corporate media be done exploiting Whitney Houston's death for financial profit?

Scroll down for the other articles in today's issue of The Truthless Reconciler! Thanks!

No comments:

Post a Comment