Goodbye Maggie

Monday 8th April 2013 was a sad day. My sister's horse got diagnosed with fatal kidney failure, a family friend's dog fell off a balcony and will probably be paralysed and Margaret Thatcher died. While the larger percentage of the world won't be bothered in the slightest about the tragic fate of the horse or the dog, Maggie's death has had a somewhat bigger effect on the general public.

In all honesty I don't know nearly as much about her policies and changes as I'd like to.. (even after watching The Iron Lady..) For me personally, she's interesting because her era was announced by Saatchi + Saatchi's iconic ad 'Labour isn't working.' An ad straight to the point that met the country's emotional needs. (Or "a truth, well told" according to a competing agency). In terms of PR, she was definitely a major media mortal whose image was honed and toned by some of the brilliantly best in the business; her PM public image was definitely different from the earlier Minister of Education Margaret! A true media madam.

But that's not the point.

I am such a spring chicken, that I wasn't even born when she finished her run as Britain's Iron Lady. Therefore I feel that I am in no great position to judge whether she was good or bad. Of course with my astute graduate level analytical skills, I can analyse whether her policies and decisions benefitted Britain in the long run.. paha. However I really cannot comment on her affect on Britain at the time. Let alone judge her as a person!

And sadly that is exactly what people are doing... The Tab Nottingham reported that there was cheering at the NUS (National Union of Students) delegate meeting on the news of her death, on Saturday night there was a 'Thatcher's Dead' party on Trafalgar Square in London and The Wizard of Oz's 'Ding Dong the witch is dead' song threatened to make it to Number 1 in the official UK charts.

Literally, say whaaa? This simply is not ok! Regardless of who she is, she was a wife / mother etc etc ie. she has family and they've just lost someone they love. When did it ever become acceptable to cheer a death?? Sadly I think that this situation is pretty much the same as the August Riots in 2011.. Oh look, a situation has arisen that allows us to behave like morons.

I really really do hope that people will pull themselves together at her funeral tomorrow and pay the  deceased Marmite Maggie (people seem to either hate or love her..) the respect she deserves.

Munney munney munney

A while ago, I read Sebastian Faulks’ novel A Week in December and surprisingly enjoyed it. When people saw what I was reading the usual comment was ‘oh it’s no way near as good as Birdsong’ and perhaps it’s not as good to some, but it’s kind of in a different league. But that’s not the point of why I’m writing this. The novel deals with various characters and their storylines, all set in London and inevitably all overlapping, all taking place within a December week in 2007. Pretty much 99% of the characters are exceptionally wealthy. While I think it’s fair to say I know a fair share of well-off folk, the lot in this novel are of a whole other league; apparently if you have under £10 million in the bank, you’re not the ‘norm’. Fairs to them I guess, as most of these characters made their millions themselves. No sign of inheritance. 

What’s sad though, is the fact that of these 99% of smug millionaires about 2% are happy. They have all the luxuries of the world at their fingertips and still they’re alcoholics, drug addicts and quite honestly complete freaks. Usually I wouldn’t have thought twice about it and put it down to the whole money can’t buy happiness blah blah cliché. This time however, it was a bit different. As I was reading A Week in December, Eva Rausing’s death was being splattered all over the media. Especially the Daily Mail absolutely LOVED telling us all about how ‘out of control’ and quite simply ‘a state’ she was, and this made me think that here is (was!) a woman, who quite literally had it all and definitely was not a happy bunny. I guess it’s sad isn’t it? Money just doesn’t buy happiness! 

Living in a Daydream

Having recently read a great article that discussed all different forms of reality, it brought forward a little developing thought in my mind: what reality are we living in? Can we still actually distinguish between fact and fiction? This may sounds slightly odd and I know that Google haven’t actually yet launched their ‘augmented reality glasses’ but let me explain…

Take Facebook; the epitome of a ‘virtual’ Internet reality. Although the idea behind it is a personalized profile to communicate with ‘friends,’ this medium allows us to completely construct a (partially) fictional persona. Don’t lie, some of your photos will be edited (and those that aren’t, untagged!). I’m pretty sure that subconsciously we are fully aware that the comments we post on each others walls will be seen by at least 25 others besides the originally intended, and so the pressure to appear witty/effortless/interesting is on. You don’t agree? Come on, everyone knows if a comment really is only intended for the other person’s eyes it does so in the form of a private inbox…

 

Then there’s the very obvious and ever-present (constructed) reality show. Yes Big Brother was brainless, but at least what we saw was actually occurring in the Big Brother House! As much as I love the likes of Made in Chelsea I put money on the fact that although it’s marketed to us as ‘reality’ the scenes are about as real as my dream last night, in which I finally gave in to Ryan Goslings über persistent begging to go out with me. Shows like the X Factor are no doubt worse and are almost certainly more planned and scammed than anything else!

These shows then provide the opportunity for the rise of the notorious celebrity…in itself an immense facade of planned PR stunts. We think we know Lady Gaga? What’s her real name? And does she really like meat/Kermit dresses or does she know that by wearing them she’ll get press coverage? And you tell me that the delightful Kim Kardashian’s wedding wasn’t a publicity manoeuvre…a fictional fairytale.

Lastly, as much fun as it is to follow, fashion sometimes seems to be one big fictional visual. Most people by now know that pretty much all photographs that we’re presented with of models and celebrities are photoshopped. But what probably most people don’t know is that an H&M scandal was recently uncovered revealing their photo ‘models’ were in fact computer generated bodies with facial images attached. Very real. And let’s not even get started on cosmetic surgery…

In hindsight this article is probably very cynical and I sound like I’m generally very displeased with culture. Far from it! I love Made In Chelsea just as much as the girl next door (if not shamefully more), I think that the H&M models are super sexy and I obviously watch X Factor. (although only at uni. With a big group of people) All in all I just feel that it’s important that our impressionable and naïve juvenile generation with our unquenching thirst for knowledge and culture, remain aware of the broader picture! Even if our access to reality is based on fiction as Deborah Kests says, as long as we’re aware of that it’s all chilled!

a pause for thought

I’m currently writing two essays AND trying my very hardest to keep on top of current affairs, so that when I’m taking my well deserved 4 hour gossip/coffee break in the Hallward Café, I can avidly discuss who’s next to be hauled into Levenson or whether Germany will in fact ever recruit a president who is more capable in his job than my 10 year old cousin would be.

And it’s exactly in this mix of historical essays and current affairs that things get interesting. Yes, I admit, I have reached that stage of education where I actually find my subject interesting! (To be honest, considering it’s costing me £3,290 a year, I may as well.) Let me explain…

Presentation Work: The Profumo Affair: 1963

-       a British political scandal, where John Profumo, Secretary of State for War had an affair with Christine Keeler, the reputed mistress of an alleged Russian spy. He then denied it in the House of Commons but later admitted to lying and resigned. This was the first time that such a scandal was splattered all over the media and where the traditional British ‘cover up and carry on’ was completely abandoned…government and media conflict…

Essay 1: The Kinsey Reports

-       in the 60s, the American Alfred Kinsey released a couple of ‘sex surveys’ which showed that ‘scandalous’ and ‘unimaginable’ things such as petting and homosexuality were in fact very normal and common! HUGE tabloid coverage and intervention of ‘the establishment’…government and media conflict…

Essay 2: The 1968 Student Movement and generational conflict in West Germany

-       in 1968 the students of West Germany criticized their elders and the government, accusing them of still having fascist tendencies and urging them (through pretty radical methods) to confront this Nazi past and deal with the politics of memory.  There was obviously huge media coverage, but whilst some papers supported the government, others supported the students and some journalists and publishers were arrested…government and media conflict…

Current Affairs: News of the World Scandal

-       no need to elaborate here I feel, but yes, surprise surprise…government and media conflict…

George Orwell once very nicely said: “Each generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.”

 Sadly though, I feel that these examples pretty much just highlight that although Joe Bloggs may now read The Guardian on his super sleek iPads, the press mentality is still exactly the same. Just that now I can go and twitter about it.

Oh how Times have changed..?
(sorry)