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ANEWDANGER
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Terrorism
I
N THE
last five years the
American entertainment
industry - which h as
never been saintly- has
taken a particularly nasty
turn.
1
nstead of being merely sug–
gestive, films and pop songs–
with a few exceptions- now
openly wallow in themes such as
rape, drug abuse, satanism and
perverted sex.
No subject is off limits. Nothing
is too outrageous, revolting or dis–
gusting for a lyric or a screenplay,
and half of all movies now pro–
duced in the U.S.A. are for a "ma–
ture audience." The greatest
tragedy is that most of this ap–
palling material is aimed to appeal
to the young. The damage that has
been done-and is being done- to
the morals of a whole generation is
incalculable.
But it doesn't just affect the
United States. American media
provide the most persuasive cul–
tural innucnces the world has ever
seen. Th is flood of violen ce,
pornography and perversion is
seeping into nearly every country
on carth.
lt
is playing havoc with
the sometimes fragile cultures of
the developing countries. Educa–
tors and intellectuals have cr iti–
cized this invasion, calling it "cul–
tural colonialism." Well, maybe.
Somctimes it seems more like "cul–
tural
terrorism!
February 1986
by
John Haltord
A terrorist who hijacks an air–
plane or plants a bomb in a
crowded airport lounge apparently
doesn't care who gets hurt, as long
as he achieves his aim. That inno–
cent people are blown to pieces or
maimed for life is not his concern.
Is the cultural terrorist any differ–
ent? His aim is to make money.
His weapons are anything that
makes bim money- a movie, a
video tape or a ncw song. And he
is apparently little concerned how
violent, how perverted, how degen–
erate, how much his material ap–
peals to the very lowest of emo–
tions, or how much it twists and
pollutes fresb young minds and
further warps those already in
trouble.
If
it makes money it
achieves the cultural terrorist's aim
~and
he will use it.
Thankfully, not all producers,
songwriters and artists have be–
come cultural terrorists.
But developing nations are often
helpless in the face of cultural ter–
rorism. They need the contact,
even at the risk of exposing them–
selves to a contagious subculture
that threatens their societies as
surely as it is subverting the
younger generation of "advanced"
countries.
Death of Tradition
Any modernization can pose a
threat, but sometimes the trauma
is worth it, when it brings a gen–
uine improvement to human minds
and in the standard of living. But
when poorer nations must confront
the
worst
aspects of Western cul–
ture, they stand to lose more than
they gain.
Typical is this story from India.
A village elder was lamenting the
passing of a form of dance that had
long been performed in his district.
He complained that young people
were now able to afford tape play–
ers and radios, which opened to
them the world of canned culture.
Now they were no longer inter–
ested in learning the old dances.
The intricate movements and slow
rhythm could not compete with the
unchallenging beat of the latest
pop songs. The older people felt
thwarted and hurt because of the
youngsters' lack of interest in pre–
serving thc cultural heritage. The
traditional dances were about to die
out, which was indeed sad.
But they would lose more than
their dances. When this alíen cul–
ture and tcchnology tore into the
village it opened up a generation
gap that had not existed before.
The young had always looked to
the old to teach them, and they had
valued what the old people knew.
They eagerly anticipated the time
when they too could be trusted
with the traditions of the elders.
They may have been poor, but
there was a decency and stability in
their way of life.
They lost a link with centuries of
tradition with its emphasis on re–
spect for the elderly, charity, close
family ties and otber "old-
s