Pulp Fiction.

Cartoon Time.

Just Finished Reading: Politics of Fear – Beyond Left and Right by Frank Furedi

I’ve just ‘rediscovered’ Frank Furedi several years after reading his short book Where have all the Intellectuals gone? About the rise of 21st Century Philistinism. In this book – and in some of his other works that I have acquired recently – he addresses the failures of modern politics and, in particular, the increasing use of fear by politicians on both sides to manipulate their populations.

It is actually quite difficult to summarise such a densely argued book and still do it justice. However, I’ll give it a shot. Furedi argues that both the Left and the Right have lost touch – actually abandoned – what makes their particular ideological stands so distinct from each other. Indeed, he argues, they have largely abandoned ideology all together. This I definitely agree with at least on this side of the Atlantic. Both sides have attempted to dominate the so-called middle ground and it is becoming increasingly difficult to differentiate between Left policies and Right policies. This is a consequence, Fruedi puts forward, of the cutting loose of the Right wing roots in the past and tradition and the Left wings dismissal of a utopian future. Both political wings are consequently now almost totally focused on the eternal present. In order to motivate people to align themselves with non-ideological proposals both sides (now barely distinguishable) use fear to persuade people to vote their way.

Unfortunately as politicians become more interchangeable and as their policies, which hardly warrant that name any more, become more focused on the here-and-now, people rapidly lose interest in the whole democratic process and simply decide to stay away from the polling stations come election time. In response to this politicians increase the fear factor and attempt to involve people – whilst at the same time distancing them – on single issues rather than fostering an involvement in politics itself. With the rising use of focus groups and other faux democratic processes individuals previously recognised as citizens or even voters are now seen as consumers of political ideas tailored to particular problems. With the resulting lack of power even more voters turn their back on the whole process. Voters are increasingly being treated like children and this on-going process further alienates people from democracy. I remember vividly some years ago when the Conservatives failed to win a General Election that they blatantly blamed the electorate for being too stupid to understand their platform of ideas. This is hardly the way to garner votes I thought.

Furedi proposes that the way out of this mess is the re-humanisation of humanism in such a way that we stop seeing ourselves as, and stop accepted the label of, being vulnerable creatures who exist merely at the whim of fate or circumstances far beyond our control. We need to see ourselves as capable of autonomous action and self-determination. We need to see that there are indeed alternatives and to reject the present malaise caused by both a fear of the future and a disconnection with the past. In order to move beyond the eternal present we must understand our history and have the strength to actively choose our future.

I was very impressed by this short volume, as you might be able to tell, and have already bought a further two of his works. Furedi seems to have a valuable insight into the stagnant politics of the 21st Century and I’m looking forward to having a better understanding his ideas. Highly recommended to anyone with a political bent.

Cartoon Time.

My Favourite Movies: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

I have been a huge John Hughes fan since my 20’s and love pretty much everything he has produced. But one of my particular favourites has to be Ferris Bueller. Made 26 years ago it still manages to make me laugh out loud after more than 20 viewings. I just watched it again this afternoon and probably enjoyed it almost as much as the first time I saw it. Starring the very talented Matthew Broderick as the eponymous Bueller and the beautiful Mia Sara as his girlfriend this is the story of Ferris taking a day off High School (‘sagging’ or ‘bunking’ as we called it) to spend it with his friends in Chicago. What little tension there is in this movie – after all it is a teen comedy – comes from the attempts of the school Principal to catch him in the act and his sister, played by Jennifer Grey (one year away from Dirty Dancing), who wants to get revenge on her brother who seems to get away with everything.

Of course the fun part of the film revolves around the friend’s adventures in the big city, where the ‘borrowed’ Ferrari is taken for a ride by the parking attendants, where Ferris bluffs his way into a posh restaurant, and takes over a float (pictured above) in the German American parade through the city. It’s often very silly (with the occasional lapse into being outrageous) but is generally good clean innocent fun. Broderick makes it his film – as you would expect – and carries it really well. Everyone else is basically there as a prop for him and, for someone so young, he does a very good job of making the audience believe that he lives a charmed life. Mia Sara is somewhat underutilised as his eye-candy girlfriend but does manage to round out her character with some good one-liners. His best friend Cameron, played by Alan Ruck, is understated but funny, learning at last to stand up to his domineering father, just before ‘killing’ his favourite car. In some ways that was the whole point of the day - to teach Cameron to stand on his own feet. In many ways this is a typically formulaic Hughes film. But Hughes produced some of the best teen movies in the 80’s and even the worst of his films have flashes of brilliance. This, being far from his worst, has something to recommend almost every scene. A great film for a lazy wet afternoon. If you haven’t experience the Hughes effect then this is an excellent place to start.

Poster Time.

Just Finished Reading: Black Steel by Steve Perry

Sleel is a matador – one of the galaxies elite bodyguards. Hired to protect an old friend from multiple assassination attempts he finally fails and is forced to watch his friend be beheaded by a master swordsman wielding a black sword. Saved from a suicidal attempt to regain his honour by Kee, sister of an ex-lover and fellow matador, he begins to regain his self respect as he learns to use a sword instead of his usual guns. Meanwhile Cierto, the man who killed his friend and almost killed him, has designs on Kee. He is looking for the mother of his unborn son and he has selected her for that role – whether she wants to or (preferably) not.

This was an unashamedly rip-roaring juvenile adventure novel with evil bad guys and damaged good guys. Here you will find few nuances or shades of grey. Here you will find simple but well plotted action scenes where good guys kill and bad guys fail – more often than not due to their own arrogance. Despite the fact that all of the main characters have sometimes extensive back stories that explain their actions (and inactions) there is little subtlety here. You get exactly what you would expect from this sort of book. It is however far from a by-the-numbers read and throw away piece of fluff. Perry has peppered this book (and others in this series) with a heavy dose of Eastern mysticism and samurai spirit – seen both from the dark side and the light. It did, at times, remind me of Star Wars in the way that The Force could be used for both good and evil. It’s that kind of dynamic. This is undoubtedly a fun and exciting read. It won’t tax your brain but it definitely won’t bore you. Recommended for a few days of pure entertainment.