March 5th – We all go through it, it’s nothing surprising or
alarming unless you don’t do it as you’re supposed to or, worse still, don’t do
it at all. That takes courage and self-belief, and when you realise what’s at
stake, the possible repercussions, ridicule, ribbing and general hostility,
well, let’s just say that, instead of being one of the crowd you’ll be the one
outside of it and the loss of face could be catastrophic for the rest of your career
as a teenager or as a twenty-something-trying-to-be-cool cat. What you have to
decide is whether the refusal to succumb to the demands of the masses is worth
the isolation of being off-message and knowing that all is based on the crowd’s
judgement of your decision, of your stand? Well, could you, would you really
have the bravery to refuse, after seeing all your peers, those you thought were
your equals and betters, seeing them all succumb and still have the gumption to
say, “Up with this I will not put”, well; could you? Let me tell you, it takes
a level of fortitude outside of everyday understanding to make the statement.
To say aloud;
“NO! YOU CAN SHOOT ME YOU BASTARDS, I
WILL NOT DO THE MOVEMENTS TO THE BIRDIE SONG!”
In 1968, on this day, the 1910
Fruitgum Company (the name says it all and should have served as a warning)
took a gold disc for their rendition of ‘Simon Says’ and along with that
branded a whole generation with the realisation that you, they, we, had
supported the recording in its quest for industry riches.
Now, before we get ahead of
ourselves, I’m as much a transgressor as the rest of you…yes, you. Don’t deny
it, you too did ‘The Birdie Song’ or ‘Simon Says’ or ‘The Macarena’ or, god
forbid, ‘Gangnam Style’. Yes, you did. You practised it in your front room or
bedroom prior to going out of a Sat’day night just so’s you wouldn't look a
complete arse when you got on the dance floor along with all the other clones
and repeated the moves in militaristic style, grinning like a chimp and trying
to kid everyone that you were having a great time when, all the time, you were
thinking;
‘Jesus, this is stupid. I must look a
complete arse’
Well relax; you were right; you did
look a complete arse. So did I when I thought that doing as Chubby Checker
suggested and ‘Twisting the Night Away’, I’d cut a fine figure and have the
ladies flocking round me…I and my dance-partner even won twist competitions f'r
chrissakes! And because of that win was I up to my neck in Charlie? Nope. For
all the female sexual advances I achieved through my merciless jiggling about I
may as well have been gay.
But the thing was, back then, I
fitted in, I was one of the gang, and that’s probably one of the driving
forces, particularly in our teenage years; the desire to fit in, to blend, to
belong. Like any pack animal; chimpanzees, hunting dogs, meerkats, we only poke
our head above the parapet of group security and demand to be noticed if we’re
either, a) stupid and don’t care what slings and arrows come our way or are, b)
very, very strong and can withstand them. Worth reading George B. Schaller’s
‘The Mountain Gorilla –Ecology and Behaviour’ or Hugo van Lawick’s book about
African hunting dogs, ‘Innocent Killers’ or Mech and Boitani’s book, ‘Wolves –
Behaviour, Ecology and Conservation' for an over-view of the group dynamic.
Marvellous thing, crowd obedience and
behaviour. Like the hammer marches in Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall’ these little
pieces of regimentation seek to take control of the individual and turn him or
her into an obedient marionette. Making too much of it? A very good friend lent
me a copy of a French film, ‘Le Jeu de la Morte’ (The Game of Death) a while
ago. It’s a documentary and I remember hearing about the original experiment
back in the 60’s. Watch it, all of it, then, when the next dance craze comes
along, go stand at the side of the dance floor and watch that too.
FM! That was a cheerful little
number...I'll try and lighten up by tomorrow.
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