Last night, after supper, I settled in to watch TV. First an interesting documentary on Bob Dylon listening to lyrics of his songs and his opinions on life, where I was impressed with the words, and heard the voice of a prophet more than a folk singer - but them folk singers are modern prophets by accident or design.
Then I watched a crime drama called Grace. It started out well and I was taken in by the beauty of the actors and their apparent "integrity". It was a very professional production but what chilled my heart was the absolute cynicism of all the major characters, other than the cops who were trying to find the missing man.
SPOILER ALERT! A woman (who is stunningly beautiful) reports her fiancé is missing and their wedding is scheduled in the next week. She is frantically worried and upset. The main character, DS Roy Grace, sets out to find the man along with another cop.
The backdrop: a newspaper has written a scathing report on Grace because he has visited psychics. He is portrayed as a flake. His chief threatens to fire him because in her view, this shames the whole department, however he has one chance to keep his job - find the missing man.
Scene open to a group of men on a stag mission for the would-be groom. They are drunk and loud. They drive to a park using a stolen car. The groom is blindfolded, carried to an open casket in a grave. They throw the man inside, put the lid on and nail it down. Is this supposed to be a prank? The groom inside panics and struggles to breath until a small hole is drilled to let air in.
The party friends get back in the car and drive off.
Grace goes back to division to try and find out more informations so the groom can be found. There are a couple more visits from the bride-to-be, desperate, frantically demanding the cops find him. There is a small team now. And the chief, notably a woman among men, criticizes the team and demands that they find the missing man, or they lose their jobs. The chief shows no compassion, concern or support for anyone, just get the job done and close the case.
In all scenes we are confronted with anger, fear and greed. There is no sign of empathy or compassion. It's all about winning. Everyone is aggressive and nasty while the program reveals other brutal characters: another man is shown cutting off the finger of the groom.
Also every one in the script is interested only in themselves. A world of fast cars, money, anger, brutality in short scenes.
The program was about an hour and a half and with each revelation my stomach gets harder. I know it's a TV show that will keep viewers watching. There is no human soul, only apartments, homes, sculptured gardens, offices, fast moving vehicles and good looking actors.
I am so filled with rage in my gut but I decide to watch it to the end. I wondered why since I knew of this kind of plot.
There are wars happening where ordinary people are being systematically killed in a bid for more power whose people are imprisoned for expressing their opinion. The daily news is a list of victims and killers. Our news-world has been silenced when efforts are made to humanize structures of government.
"Geopolitical tensions and international conflicts may be tragic for those caught up in conflagrations such as in Ukraine — but advantageous for those seeking to legitimize expanding military and security budgets and open up new opportunities for capitalist profit-making in the face of chronic stagnation and social discontent." Truthout/Global Capitalism Has Become Dependent On War Making to Sustain Itself?
Oh and the big reveal is the whole plot was designed by the bride-to-be. Is this programming another attempt to appease hegemonic capitalism?
Must love and life be trashed so thoroughly for capitalism to survive? Must we all see living creatures as evil? Or if not all life, must the feminine be seen as manipulative?
Where does entertainment end and propaganda begin?
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