Koyaanisqatsi

I reallize this may end up in media and popular bullshit, whatever, but I do have a point, so we'll see...

Did any of you see the D.C. fourth "celebration" on PBS (hosted by Barry Bostwick; I caught it in rerun tonight--Sunday--in brief, so relax)? What I saw as I flipped, was Dolly Parton dressed--and I mean dressed--in the flag and she closed, apparently, with a decidedly dirge-tempoed rendition of (and I kid you not), "When Johnny Comes Marching Home."

The tempo and "feel" of the music was almost identical to Cat's in the Cradle or The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald (which is why it caught my attention; though Ms. Parton was freakishly outfitted in a 1940's style outfit made of a vinyl flag...yes, a vinyl flag, so that had something to do with it) and she was clearly put off by the tempo and knew while she was singing it that it was too somber for the audience and the occasion (but tredged along as patriotically as she could muster her fifty year old encasing) only to skip a beat near the crescendo and end on a low note, when she clearly envisioned it to be a high note.

So, immediately the question in my mind was: Horrible mistake from the arranger that sounded like a good idea in rehearsal, or some sort of sabotage from within (yes, that's the way I think)?

But the point of this post is more along the lines of, "When irony inadvertantly gets through in the popular arena, why doesn't it stick in the minds of the voters?"

Bush has made so many stupid statements (such as the "bring 'em on" stupidity) that I wonder whether or not Americans are just too ignorant to effectively comprehend it, or whether or not Americans (by and large) are just too programmed to register it, or something else; like cognitive dissonance?

Is the biased, neocon-affirming propaganda we see in overabundance these days too effective, or are our citizens (in general) too ignorant of how things work in our culture to see through it, or something in between?

A general, current, open call for everyone (in the wake of July 4th "oohs" and "ahhhs;" though, for our international friends, whatever equivalent you all have) to weigh in on the manner of recent neocon manipulation of populuar culture and how impactful that propaganda is.

What are the stats? What is the research? What is the nexus point, when propaganda becomes apparent to all? How powerful is repetition in the media these days and how powerful is one screwed up "instance" (vis, Bush's comments or Dolly's poorly arranged, yet inadvertantly poignant dirge) in contrast to that imperative?

When does effective propaganda become contra-effective farce in the general population's psyche?

Discuss...

(edited for sydlexia)

Corwin

Just one.... tiny little nitpick....

A agree that this must have been surreal... but..... aside from the obvious.... I'd been under the impression that 'Johnny Comes Marching Home' WAS a dirge?

Zar

The "stats" on the effectiveness of the current propaganda are simply in the fact that it accomplishes what it sets out to accomplish. Those are the only "stats" that matter. Opinion polls are not necessarily even of much use in measuring this. Nothing speaks louder than results.

The reasons for this? Fear from 9/11, decadence of a consumerist culture, detachment from reality through new-wave fundamentalism and media overdose, media convergence (monopolization), and the almost infantile understanding people have of what America's history is (i.e., people seriously refer to the "Sleeping Giant" myth when in fact America has been doing anything but militarily sleeping the last 50 years.) If people understand anything, its usually in fairy-tale form.

This floating, detached social environment is a good foundation for the agitprop we see now. Bush didn't create it, his cohorts are just able to use it.

Apocolips

Hola!

An interesting fact about Dolly Parton is she is unable to have children. Amazing when one looks at her body.

SENOR

Godless Dave

Most of you probably already know this, but for those who don't, the tune "Johnny Comes Marching Home" is sung to originally belonged to an anti-war song called "Johnny I Hardly Knew You". Here's one version:

another version with guitar chords

There's yet another version in the excellent book Rise Up Singing.

The song comes from a time when the British military recruited and drafted poor, uneducated men to risk life and limb in foreign wars fought solely for the interests of the ruling classes. Nothing at all like the situation today.

Blixy Sticks

Blixy Sticks

Change dirge to tits and the interest in this thread will increase dramatically.

PopeInTheWoods

No, I didn't know that. Thanks. I only knew of the patriotic US version. It certainly better explains why Dalton Trumbo chose Johnny Got His Gun for his book title....

Andy