Thursday, May 11, 2006

Idea: Confused BBC Climate Chaos Trailer

While I am fond of the BBC's programmes in general, they have made an annoying TV trailer, that takes out of context the R.E.M. song The End of The World As We Know It (and I feel fine). It seems a shame to take one of the few positive R.E.M. songs to illustrate a negative story. It's not even a political song, which would be much more appropriate.

The R.E.M. song is about starting again. With the metaphor "The End of The World as we know it" meaning stopping doing things the way you have been doing them. And is a positive song, where R.E.M. say "[they] feel fine" with accepting the change to their world.

In contrast, the BBC's season of programmes is about the ignorance of most people in realising the damage we are causing to the environment, and in being content through lack of knowledge about what is actually happening  So it is inaccurate to talk about the End of The World, and as I understand Climate change it is inaccurate for at least another few hundred years. This then makes a nonsense of talking about people today feeling fine, as the world is not ending today.

My annoyance really comes from them taking the words literally, when that is nonsense. It really should be the case that the opposite happens, with sound-track re-interpreting songs to mean something different, whilst crucially still making sense.

Blog tags: , , , ,