Satchi

[Michael Badzik]

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