By most standards of assessment, the last decade was more disappointing than the fact that Bill Paxton, essential comic relief to any James Cameron film, did not make an appearance in Avatar. Obviously, war is never a good thing, even if necessary, and a shit economy doesn't help matters either. However, a depressed society usually produces some very interesting culture (think of all the punk bands that started when Jimmy Carter was in office). But unfortunately, even the music in this wretched decade was downright terrible as Wek has already pointed out.
I thought this Seattle Times editorial summarized it all up pretty well. And I recall a quote from Fight Club (a 1999 movie) that was sort of a precursor to this decade:
God damn it, an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables — slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need. We're the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our great war is a spiritual war. Our great depression is our lives. We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars, but we won't. We're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off.Well, we got our war and sort-of depression alright, but I'm not sure how it's all going to end up in the end. Maybe we'll turn out alright, and even if we don't, it's more enjoyable to live in the decline of an empire than the rise of one. Just like Caligula.
See what the others have said:
9 comments:
Just popped in because I've been an on and off reader of yours(got a lot less infrequent when murphy, who I used to read regularly stoped posting so regularly), and I know you're over in the land of smiles right now.
I'm heading over there myself, for a three month stay(arriving jan 15 in bangkok) and wondered if you'd like to shoot the breeze over some beer before I scoot over to koh tao for two months worth of diving courses /w internship?
/casual reader and second time thailand visitor.
Over the last week I listened to a lot of the crap on Rolling Stone's list to see what I missed out on. Most was just terrible, not much with any guts. A lot of hipster, emo shit. I thought they'd throw us at least one bone and put a real metal album on there. Not even something they gave a good review to like Slipknot's album, Iowa.
Also, so true about Fight Club after looking back. That once great quote you put up is so irrelevant now.
That quote is a great summation, but what about the pissed-offedness?
Are people really pissed that so much has been taken from them? People who said they'd leave if Bush was "elected" a second time, didn't. Tea parties are just a fun ole time.
"Very p.o'd", yeah, but how will that manifest?
Not that I'm an optimist, but most of the 0's were pretty damn good, the war and music not withstanding. That quote sums up the generation though. It's not our fault we buy all this useless crap, it's the advertiser's fault! Plus, I'm not sure any post decade assesment has ever been good. "It's like the every other decade theory. The 50's were boring, the 60's rocked, the 70's, oh my gosh they obviously suck."
Mikael,
Sure, shoot me an email. I'm in the Sukhumvit area and occasionally On Nut (end of the line on the BTS).
Great decade, right from the get-go. Didn't exactly have a Disney ending though.
Re: Fight Club - I've still got a lot of time for Chuck Pahlahniuk (Sp?), but I'm at least hoping that I've gone beyond the whole late 20th century angst thing.
Shit, after graduating back in '01 I was sure that I wasn't going to end up in the same office rat-race that my father got caught up in. I travelled to strange countries (Taiwan, China, Japan), learned a language (Chinese), a trade (patenting) - and guess what? The result of all that was that I became an office monkey just the same as I might have had I stayed at home. I still think of this as a success, although sometimes I wonder why.
That quote sums up the generation though. It's not our fault we buy all this useless crap, it's the advertiser's fault! Plus, I'm not sure any post decade assesment has ever been good. "It's like the every other decade theory.
A lot of hipster, emo shit. I thought they'd throw us at least one bone and put a real metal album on there.
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