Satchi

[Lanceart]

MESSAGE REFUSED ASSHOLE
----- Original Message -----
From: Michael Badzik <mike at vena.com>
To: KineJapan <KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, July 27, 1999 11:58 PM
Subject: Re: Satchi


> I have been considering all through this discussion how similar the
> Satchi affair has been to a number of recent news events (with the
> emphasis on "event", not "news") here in the US, most recently with
> the Clinton/Lewinsky affair. Our televisions screens were continually
> filled with every bit of rumor, innuendo and gossip that could be found,
> and then repeated a hundred times over. The media seemed to be caught
> in a positive feedback loop as the stories fed from one medium to the
> next until arriving back at the first, only to repeat the circuit again,
> gaining "importance" and "credibility" from each pass. Coverage grew
> far more rapidly than public demand for it appeared to. And of course
> we heard very little about the real issues that needed addressing in
> Washington. There were calls for a return to the (reputed) high morals
> of the past. But after all was said and done (or not done), the general
> public ended up fully understanding the (in)significance of the whole
> affair, showing a much better sense of perspective than the media
> pundits. The press, already suffering from a large decline in respect
> from the public at large, ended up with even less. It will be interesting
> to see if the Satchi affair ends up playing out this way, as I expect it
> will ("Never underestimate the Japanese television viewer.(IS(J)
>
> So now, considering the above in light of Peter High's intriguing
> comments on possible origins of these stories, I would certainly think
> that there is then a dominant universal aspect, that these circuses can
> and will occur in any sufficiently developed land. There is probably
> also a local aspect though, as I am not sure American's attention could
> be held with the not very outrageous surface issues of the Satchi affair.
> But I wonder how much of the striking similarity between the Japanese
> and US media coverage (ignoring the question of origin, which seems
> even more difficult) is rooted in the structure and delivery of modern
> media, and how much is in the "ur-stories" which do seem to travel
> across cultures quite well, as mythologist Joseph Campbell was always
> pointing out. A difficult and complex problem it would seem.
>
> Michael Badzik
> mike at vena.com
>
>
>
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