Many people, especially of the older generation regard my contemporaries (16-26) as a community of layabout rebellions. Their belief is that the music industry is an illustration of this ethos. The lack of values, principles, and commercialism are the only attributes attached to my peer group.
‘Life was better 40 years ago’ is the only sound bite that one hears from the mouths of a generation that failed to think for itself. Well maybe life was better 40 years ago in some respects, but certainly not all.
In the 50’s women and children were beaten up by their drunken fathers and husbands, but were too suppressed to voice their fears. The community that supposedly sheltered its neighbourhood handicapped the victims of abuse; who grew to fear society’s opinions more than death and were in turn forced to live a life of eternal sufferance.
In the 60’s music and drugs was thought to be a change for the better. Rock ‘n’ roll was supposedly the saviour of mankind, and flower songs became the medium of peace. Free love became the epitome of liberation, but instead gave way to a surge of venereal diseases. The ethnic minority was considered to be ‘normal’ and women discovered that they to had rights. Change was brought about by people sitting on picket fences smoking dope. However, change never materialised, it was all talk: dreams that remained in the disillusioned world.
The 70’s saw rebellion against the establishment, and people decided that they had a mind of their own and did not need to be told by the government what they should and should not do. Violence therefore became the answer to everything; such was the great mentality of the 70’s era. By burning the British flag and mocking the aristocracy, the 70’s youth believed that a portrayal of free and individual thought was being illustrated, banal rebellion is not a substitution for the abandonment of commercialism and independence, it is an empty holler.
Was a better society created? Did justice prevail? Only for the privileged! Drugs were cool if you were the bourgeoisie or a ‘celebrity’ otherwise you were just another juvenile delinquent residing on a council estate. Timothy Leary’s doctrine was only subscribed to the elitist group; the ‘flower power people’ were nothing more than a motto, a promotional stunt for mediocre pop groups and the likes of Timothy Leary who professed to be the guru of a subliminal world.
If the love that the flower power people promoted was of any substance then it would have preceded the years and prevented tragedies such as Stephen Lawrence’s murder. Free love was nothing more than a period of experimentalism and social liberation. To disguise it as a universal social revolution: the saviour of mankind is absurd.
The 80’s was a period of greed, the birth of pure commercialism. Beliefs were murdered to pave way for consumerism. Making money was the only aspiration people had and entertainment was a substitute for happiness for those who were unable to succeed in the money-making business. Singing along to Culture Club’s songs and mimicking Kyle Minogue’s hairstyle meant that you weren’t a dead beat, just in denial.
Aids was still killing people and third world countries still existed, but society wanted to continue living in this mythical yuppie world where money was the only comfort and necessity in life. It’s funny how people can abandon their beliefs in order to become a part of contemporary trends!
The 90’s was a mixture. The early 90’s was an extension of the 80’s. The mid 90’s saw remnants of the 70’s but with more substance and truth. However the late 90’s and now the year 2001 sees the return of the pretentious 80’s. Manufactured happiness embodied by the likes of Britney Spears and Steps amongst many others. But it has also heard the cries of Satanism, and social corruptors by so called respectable members of society disguised as child protectors but most are notably corrupt politicians and parents who fail to understand their children.
A plea for help from this saturated world has been illustrated by bands such as Marilyn Manson and the Smashing Pumpkisn, but society’s fear of the truth has plagued and stigmatised the image of these sincere bands, who voice the opinions of my generation.
My social group may be plagued with descriptions of insignificance and corruption: described as being a bunch of punks filled with void anger, but one needs to differentiate the various social/political communities of my generation.
There is the group who enjoys night-clubbing, taking drugs and just having a goodtime. In the morning that group will resume its place on the treadmill that churns out synthetic replicates who die as unknowns.
Then there is the group who is disillusioned;, fuelled by the merry chants sang by Westlife and Five, still believing in the myth of love and world peace.
Then there is the realist group, acknowledging that entertainment is a form of escapism (unless it embodies an ideology of substance). But we can’t escape for the rest of our lives. This group is sick of the hypocrisy, deceit and emptiness that consumes everybody’s life.
We stand and shout for justice, equality and honesty; peace still remains a myth. But we’re not just shouting we’re trying to do something about it. Commercialism has made it difficult for people to project their credo, but we still manage to find ways to voice our beliefs. If we didn’t, then you wouldn’t be reading this right now
True, we are an angry group of people, but we have every reason to be. The 80’s society believed that affluence would resolve all problems; the 70’s youth believed that rebellion against every social order was the answer to happiness and peace. The 60’s children believed that love was all that was needed, and the 50’s believed that a secure job was the most important thing; later to discover that company loyalty was a falsehood
These things do help; of course we need money, individuality, love, occasional escapism but there is the greater spectrum that needs to be recognised.
Hypocrisy has contaminated every pore of life. Politicians are constantly abusing and violating weaker parties, people are being murdered because of the colour of their skin and people are dying because they haven’t got enough to eat. And the 70’s rebellion has not influenced victims of abuse to fight for justice. Sufferance is greater than it has ever been; while in the mean time plastic pop is telling us what a wonderful world this is.
Our generation needs a voice, that voice is only spoken by the likes of J.D.Salinger, Billy Corgan, Marilyn Manson. People who have acknowledged how futile and empty this world has become. We don’t want to die as empty carcasses taking with us the memory of a grey world. But we’re not going to find happiness by rejecting the truth and immersing our self in this bubble gum world either.
We’re trying to create a better world for ourselves where truth becomes a virtue; but we cannot do that by singing soppy ballads and selling flowers. We can only achieve our objectives by acknowledging and accepting the truth, and then getting rid of the pollution that is trying to suffocate us. So why don’t you jump off the mainstream bandwagon and join me in my quest for a more sincere world.
You can start by joining VERITY HOUSE.