Somewhat Defeatist Philosophy
Now seems a good time to kick the blogging ball back into motion. My hardware was recently returned and – touch wood – seems to be working fine so far. The latest issue of Sight & Sound (available from today) features a few words by yours truly on the letters page. And – hit me over the head with a pair of 3D glasses – Avatar didn’t win Best Picture! Things could be a lot worse.
Perhaps this is a somewhat defeatist philosophy, but maybe sometimes the main thing for which we need to be grateful is that situations aren’t as awful as they could be. I managed a quick return visit to Poland not long ago and whilst I was travelling on a bus with a relative, we were presented with a sight which, we both knew, would have been an utter impossibility twenty years ago:
The main entrance of a gleaming shopping mall, festooned with banners bearing the new Pepsi logo. Hordes of bored-looking, newly-moneyed people streaming in and out: teenagers with scowls and iPod headphones, glamorous women with expensive pouts. Shiny logos lining the way to the multi-storey car park: BMW, Lexus, Mercedes. Fast food. Blackberries. Lattes. H&M. River Island. Sephora.
“Just look at it all,” she said, her lips twisted in a grimace. “See how it’s all changed. Still,” she shrugged her shoulders, “it’s better than it was.”
Sometimes, we just don't give 'better' the credit it's due.
Perhaps this is a somewhat defeatist philosophy, but maybe sometimes the main thing for which we need to be grateful is that situations aren’t as awful as they could be. I managed a quick return visit to Poland not long ago and whilst I was travelling on a bus with a relative, we were presented with a sight which, we both knew, would have been an utter impossibility twenty years ago:
The main entrance of a gleaming shopping mall, festooned with banners bearing the new Pepsi logo. Hordes of bored-looking, newly-moneyed people streaming in and out: teenagers with scowls and iPod headphones, glamorous women with expensive pouts. Shiny logos lining the way to the multi-storey car park: BMW, Lexus, Mercedes. Fast food. Blackberries. Lattes. H&M. River Island. Sephora.
“Just look at it all,” she said, her lips twisted in a grimace. “See how it’s all changed. Still,” she shrugged her shoulders, “it’s better than it was.”
Sometimes, we just don't give 'better' the credit it's due.
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