Documentary film-maker Andrew Young chronicles the resurgence of the film and music industries in the 1990s and then their sharp decline - especially from the perspective of independent filmmakers and musicians, who are being squeezed out of...
Documentary film-maker Andrew Young chronicles the resurgence of the film and music industries in the 1990s and then their sharp decline - especially from the perspective of independent filmmakers and musicians, who are being squeezed out of the field.
He then strikes right at the heart of the matter, describing what is taking the place of music and cinema. First, these expressive and intellectually stimulating genres are being replaced with mere commercialized “content” and with veiled surveillance, but ultimately with a Huxleyan form of soma that fosters an infantile, passive, and complacent culture that keeps people in line while entertaining them at the same time.
The book concludes with a discussion that is broader in scope, analyzing the social consequences of removing transgressive art, especially in the form of music, from the mainstream in youth culture. The final chapter closes with an even wider inquiry in regards to the future of society and the need for an entirely new socio-economic model—one that would allow artists to pursue their art without regard to earning a living.
