In recent weeks, for relatively obvious reasons, I’ve been drawn to elements of art, music, pop culture and entertainment that may have heretofore felt overtly doomy and dystopian, but now seem slightly more relevant.
Reports of spiraling sales of copies of Orwell classics like “Animal Farm” and, of course, “1984” amply broadcast that I am not alone in this capacity. Conceivably, by seeking out depictions of dictatorial opprsession, tyrannical federal incursion, reckless global antagonism, saber-rattling, armageddon and apocalypse, we are able to put current events in some sort of context. Maybe it’s comforting? Maybe it’s preparation? Who knows?
Speaking strictly of music, suddenly songs like the foreboding paranoia-disco of “1984” by David Bowie, the nuclear-doomsday skank of “Living Through Another Cuba” by XTC, the decptively joyful “We Don’t Need This Fascist Groove Thing” by Heaven 17 or even the sombre reflection of George Michael’s “Praying For Time” don’t seem quite as histrionic as they may once have.
In thinking of other examples of this particular theme, I remembered the video below, and gave it another watch.
Regardless of how shitty things are and how ass-backward of a direction the Trump Administration is taking us, this video seems just as ridiculous today as it did in 1983.
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