Written by Imraan Sumar | 20 December 2010
Posted in Comment - Culture

Justin Bieber at Q102 Jingle Ball. Photo: Stephen Eckert

Zac Efron for President and People called ‘Cher’.

I’m not one for sensationalism; yet looking at the news these past weeks has led me to believe that this is an important statement to make. People might actually care, well at least if I was a contestant on the X Factor. Excuse this cliché-filled piece. After all, it is Christmas! (Okay, stop rolling your eyes please, I thought that was quite good…)

I was always a believer that people are, to a great deal, a product of their circumstances. I don’t mean that in a condescending way, and neither do I say that in order to condone any sort of behaviour. But honestly, knowing how a person grew up, when and in what context I’ve found, has helped me appreciate them for their many depths. I too, have many depths, and have grown up a lot in this decade.

Yet, looking back, the decade in which I was raised doesn’t represent me much.  To be fair, perhaps I don’t do such a great job of representing it. I got to thinking recently after looking through the top Yahoo! and Google searches this year and in years gone by. Apparently Britney Spears took the top spot for Yahoo from 2005-8, though this year was pushed down to a mere fifth place overall.  In Google searches, The Independent tells us that the top searches are in fact “’Facebook’, ‘BBC’ and ‘Youtube’”. The things that occupy our time are really quite scary.

Among the rising ‘stars’ (and I mean that literally) have included the now infamous Lady Gaga (number 6, Entertainment), and of course at number one in this same category, and the third-fastest rising term overall, is Justin Bieber – the Canadian pop-sensation who’s won the hearts of a whole generation of Tweens. No not Michael Bublé. The other one.

It would be naïve of me to think that the popularity of certain Google search-terms represents the consciousness of the human species, but it has me thinking about what the computer-literate users of the world have come to prioritise in their quest for information. For example, the term ‘iPad’ has become the fastest-rising term in the Consumer Electronics category (followed only by the ‘iPhone 4’).

I look at the things people search for today, and I reflect upon a very turbulent decade; yet in this last year relatively trivial things seem to be sought out on the internet. But that’s hypocritical of me; what would I search for, or what would I remember from these past years?

I try to recall what sticks out to me in the news. Okay, in terms of international news, the tragedies of September 11, and the July  7 bombings; then come the two invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. Obama becomes President, Castro steps down. Britain gets a Coalition Government for the first time in ages. Then I move on to disasters; I think of the Great Tsunami of ’04, hurricane Katrina in ’05, Haiti and the floods in Pakistan this year. I’m hard-pressed for much else. I only latterly remember the BP oil-spill. Then I try to think of the Pop Culture icons of the world; George Galloway behaves like a cat (he’s still my hero); Jade Goody died – that seemed to shake this nation for a while, and the death of Anna Nicole Smith and the subsequent custody battle that ensued; and James Brown was laid to rest. Perhaps the greatest shock to the world was the death of Michael Jackson (though interestingly this did wonders for his estate and those left behind). Other ‘human-interest’ pieces include the tragic disappearance of Madeline McCann; a woman is shot-dead on her honeymoon in South Africa; the rise of a very odd bunch of Tween-stars as produced by Disney (that High School Musical craze filtered even into my University) and by Stephanie Meyer (author of the Twilight ‘saga’); Piers Morgan takes over from Larry King (!) Oh, and something about Sarah Palin.

Here comes the social criticism…It’s quite interesting, at least for me, that I was able to recall so much pop-culture related news; I don’t even follow it so much. Unlike the rest of the newsworthy bunch, this seems more positive and hopeful than even Obama’s inauguration.

But I am becoming increasingly cognisant of the fact that for those of us who had the privilege of being born into previous decades, we remember still what it is like to not own our own computers, to visit libraries regularly, use a landline telephone for communication. This goes beyond nostalgia. This decade has been one of human consumption; to use a quote Zig Ziglar (America’s Master Motivator) once said, we have become ‘spectators to life’. I mean, think about it, this is the generation for whom voting is something you do over the phone for a contestant on a reality show or talent contest; sending a message requires limited thought and is no-longer a private affair; planning for a journey requires two minutes in front of a computer (or increasingly, the use of a Smart Phone) and requires almost no life-skills or time-management or organisation of self; television can be recorded around your increasingly ‘hectic’ lifestyle (for which you spend much of your time sitting before your Lord Computer Screen – and to be honest can download whatever television you deign to watch if you’re savvy enough – or so I hear…), an iPod becomes the tool of choice to fill in the void whilst commuting, working, even in social situations. I re-iterate; we spend most of our times these days as consumers and spectators, not movers and shakers. Yet I do all these things all the time.

What will we be remembered for in years to come? Can you imagine an era where Simon Cowell will be studied for his impact on society?  Will Lady Gaga stand out as this decade’s leading humanitarian for wearing a costume made of meat? Will the cast of High School Musical, or even the Harry Potter films, assume positions of political power one day? Will Angelina Jolie single-handedly solve the various crises of Africa? – Madonna may help of course…

I dare say that in fifteen odd years from now, our generation – the future parents of this world – will be complaining about how lazy our kids have become; we may be complaining of the fact that they all seem to have some sort of attention-related disorder, and a vast range of then-classifiable behavioural problems. Not to fear of course – I heard in one seminar that an American drug company is developing a pill to overcome shyness in teenagers, so it’s not all doom and gloom.

Moving away from the ridiculous; let us briefly ponder over the other reality that exists. The one of celebrity, popularity and glamour is one filled with music and hope. Not necessarily my sort of music, and perhaps a slightly short-sighted hopefulness. But the other world; the one of politics, war and poverty, amongst other things, is merely peppered with hope. Two years on, are we really as optimistic about President Obama? Will he have to participate in Strictly Come Dancing to regain any credibility, twenty years from now? Will British students be ConDemned to an educational apartheid? Will nuclear war have broken out between the USA and North Korea?

The point I’m trying to make is this: What other world are we creating? I write this partly in response to Yasmin Alibhai-Brown’s piece in The Independent on “Ann Widdecombe and the rise of Strictly Come Democracy”; where in her concluding line she writes, rather aptly, “meanwhile, as I said, Britannia turns to ash.” I understand her point. It is definitely valid. But as makers of this Brave New World I’m beginning to see the benefit of the distractions of celebrity, computer screens and consumer culture. It is unfair that our children be forced to view the world through the increasingly cynical and pessimistic lens of the press. It is not their fault that our world crumbles around them; they have no stake in this world. As Shami Chakrabarty said recently (I paraphrase), the youth didn’t put the hole in the ozone layer, nor did they create this world of debt. It is for the adult generation to manage first. Leave to the children for now the glamorous world (with its many imperfections and vices) of X-Factor and Strictly Come Dancing!

Artificial realities are so much better than this one. As the decade winds to a close, mankind at large – particularly in the industrial world – must take a long, hard look in the mirror and see in which direction it is headed. I’m not a cynical person by nature; yet looking at decision-makers of the world leaves little room for hope as far as I’m concerned. In the meantime, I take comfort in the fact that as the world gets more depressing – to the level where sheer apathy will be the default political setting for every man, woman and child – we in the world will produce more hopeful, passionate and positive distractions to plug into as reality passes us on by.

Thus I say, raise your glasses to, and God bless, Justin Bieber. My ever-increasing source of hope.

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