Thursday, March 29, 2012

World Out of Control

I haven’t done a blog post for quite some time. I’d apologise for that, but I don’t think anyone has really been hanging onto the edge of their seat in desperate anticipation.

Today’s post (inspired by a thought I had in the shower this morning and Madonna’s new album) is about ‘Dignity’.

The media bombards the public with intricate details about the lives of so-called “celebrities” – a term in itself that has grown effete as many of these people are certainly not to be “celebrated” – and whether it be disgraceful paparazzi catching them with their pants well and truly down or egocentric personalities desperately seeking attention by lassoing the spotlight towards their own gratuitous vanity, one begins to wonder where human dignity has vanished to.

Let’s take a look at Madonna. I was a bit of a big fan during the 1990s. I enjoyed her brazen attitude towards the prudish and her outspoken ways, but I think that tied in with my own personal desperation for validation of my own sexuality, which I was struggling with at the time (the song Human Nature really spoke to me. I suppose it was the Born This Way of its time.)

However, with her recent album and related music videos, she seems to be striving for something a little more perverse and shocking with less purpose. I still admire the woman, but sometimes I think her arrogance gets in the way of her grasp on reality.

As one of my friends (Tina) said; “She needs to put some pants (‘trousers’) on!”

Placing Madonna to the side now, let’s look at Generation Y – oh, and don’t we just LOVE bagging the lower generations! It’s our prerogative. Baby Boomers did the same to use… now it’s our turn. Hoorah! – Well, have they no sense of style or grace? This whole ‘trouser-waist-below-buttock’ look is astonishingly ridiculous, and yet, the fashionistas (I hate that word – “pretentious wankers” is more apt) of today would claim it as radical and sexy. I just fear that one of them might suffer from a poo-stripe-related wardrobe malfunction. *shudder*

(I must point out that I am well aware of the nature of teenagers and their rebellious ways – I was one myself once and I think dignity left my side for a period, so I am no way removing myself from the equation. Lack of judgment is prevalent amongst that demographic in all eras!)

I mock the fashion with my tongue in cheek (not THAT cheek, you dirty blighters!) as we all know that dress-sense has declined over the years.

This has just made me think of Edina’s response to her mother’s “it wasn’t like this in my day” in regard to Patsy’s involvement in a scandal…

“Oh what was it in your day? Woman shows ankle to chimney-sweep shock!”

(Gold!)

Anyway, I digress (a lot)…

Dignity is a word which is becoming as extinct as the poor Black Rhinoceros.

Dignity is not about repression, it is about composure and respect for others sensibilities.

One might argue that, for women, it is female empowerment; but when does it collapse in on itself and just demean woman once more.

Is it freedom of expression or challenging conceptions and ideals or is it merely a subconscious desire to seek attention and validate our insecurities.

It’s not just about the way we dress or the exposure of our bodies; I am also talking about the disgrace that people go through in a desperate attempt to become famous. We see countless reality TV shows depicting so-called ‘lives’ on our screens, but the producers and executives know quite well that they are feeding the public’s reprehensible desire to watch others be traumatised, humiliated and derided. But whose dignity is lost, the victims on screen or the viewers at home?

It’s a world out of control!

As Mama Morton and Velma Kelly sung in the stage production of Chicago – “Whatever happened to class…?”