 Welcome
to the circus
By Afdhel Aziz
You *^%*ing (*^&* !!!! ). On the television
screen a large black man is being forcibly suppressed by two even larger
security guards who are trying to prevent him from beating up his heavily
made up girlfriend. The reason for his distress ? She has just informed
him after two years of dating that she is actually a man. Apart from questioning
the man's sanity (and eyesight) , the television audience is on its feet
cheering and hollering while the riot erupts on stage. The bleep machine
nearly burns out , trying to censor the swearing on screen. Smiling benignly
as he watches the chaos is a slim man in horn rimmed glasses, microphone
in hand, dressed in a well-cut double-breasted suit. Welcome to the circus
that is America's biggest TV sensation. Welcome to the Jerry Springer Show.
Springer has had a chequered career - his past jobs have included laywer,
country musician, news anchor and Mayor of Cincinnati. Since starting his
show in 1991, he has been labelled the ringmaster of America's sleaziest,
most vulgar television obsession , hosting a talk show with no holds barred
and where frequently many other things are bared. It is the television
equivalent of a trashy tabloid, except things happen live, in full colour
and surround sound, always in front of an enthusiastic crowd that seems
to be hopped up on crack and amphetamines.
To give you an example of an average show, here's a direct excerpt from
the Jerry Springer Show web site, detailing what's in store for viewers
ahead: 4/10/98 "You Can't Have Him!": Phillip can't seem to stop
cheating on Tina. Maybe it's because she keeps taking him back. Today she'll
confront Phillip's gay ex-lover. Next Chelsea, a transsexual, is here to
confront her former friend, Lynn also a transsexual, for stealing her boyfriend
of six months, Smoke. Chelsea says Lynn has turned Smoke into her personal
servant and he won't make a move without her permission'. Fascinating ?
Well, actually this is one of the tamer shows that Springer has done.
He specialises in doing things like putting members of the white supremacist
group the Ku Klux Klan on the same show as ultra-militant black nationalists
The Black Panthers - and then stepping back while the action rumbles on
stage . Even the television stations who lap up Springer and his ratings-gaining
antics have drawn the line somewhere -the last was an episode featuring
not one but three disgusting segments was a bit much. The episode included
two sisters who have had sex with each other, a woman who drinks her own
breast milk and a bondage segment with a transvestite dominatrix (from
Tampa) and his love slave. Other hot topics have included shows with themes
like "I'm Pregnant by a Transsexual," "I Strip With My Family"
or "I'm a Breeder for the Klan.
"Springer defends his show as pure entertainment. He says that
American TV newscasts are more violent and sensational than his talk show.
"We don't have murders and other horrendous crimes. We only have people
yelling at each other," he said. "And we say up front that these
people are outrageous. Our audience understands that. "He calls his
show a "cultural cartoon," a "silly little show" that
some critics have taken way too seriously. He is definitely someone who
takes his Freedom of Speech rights and bends them to the max - but he does
provide an outlet for millions of working class Americans who sit back
with a beer and watch the fireworks on screen with a lot of hooting and
hollering. He has a major movie deal in the works, 6.7 million Americans
watch his show every day and Worldwide his show is seen in over 30 foreign
countries. What's the secret of his appeal? Well, on one of the many web
sites devoted to him on the Internet, to wryly sum up why Jerry is Talk
Show God 'Jerry is our guiding light in this ever changing world, keeping
us focused on the things that really matter in life: friendship, love,
and naked pedophiliac homosexual drug addicted white trash strippers.'
God bless America. Thus ends this transmission.
 Tell
them now
My darling daughter,
A few days ago I went for the funeral of a distant
relative. He was a good man and had helped many, but as he grew older and
became more feeble very few would visit him - they had after all so many
other things to do! Yet at the funeral there was a great deal of sadness
displayed. One of his favourite nephews came to me and wept, "I wish
I could have told him, how much he meant to me." Listening to him,
I thought daughter how often we don't tell others how much we appreciate
them. We tend to take everything for granted. In fact we appear to be reluctant
to even say a "Thank You" as if all those who help us are obliged
to do so. Sometimes I have heard people say, "It is his job to do
this or that" but surely to say thank you, to smile and be appreciative
is not that difficult. Then those in our own family how often the husband
or wife takes the other for granted and children how seldom do they show
their appreciation for the many sacrifices their parents make. I read a
verse daughter, which I would like to share with you, "If with pleasure
you are viewing any work I am doing,
If you like me or love me
Tell me now
Don't withhold your approbation
For no matter how you shout about it
I won't care much about it
I won't see the teardrops you have shed
If you think praise is due me
Now is the time to give it
For I cannot read my tombstone when I am dead."
Reading the verse I thought of the nephew weeping at the funeral,
if only he had expressed his appreciation he would not have felt so sad..
So daughter as you go through life remember to show those around you that
you appreciate the kindness, thoughtfulness and love.
Ammi
The Untouchables live in Colombo
"They get it on like Marvin Gaye and they
strut their stuff like James Brown". Colombo night life is being turned
on by the arrival of 'The Untouchables', five multitalented musicians from
the United States, who are now entertaining local audiences at the Cyclone
Night club with their unique brand of musical showmanship.
The Untouchables who consist of Chad on vocals, Tony on lead, Reggie
on bass, Mike on keyboards & Reds on drums, have between them, performed
with a dizzying array of legendary R&B, soul and funk acts such as
Stevie Wonder, Ice-T, Babyface, Pattie La belle, Latoya Jackson, and the
Kinks. They have toured extensively in South-East Asia and played at famous
venues such as the Hard Rock Cafes of Beijing, Jakarta & Singapore,
The Hyatt Hong Kong, The Grande Sheraton-Riva's Bangkok and many more.
The band are now looking forward to touring beyond Asia and hope to go
all over the world.
The Untouchables will be starting off their tour here with a live concert
on April 30 to be held at the Bishop's College Auditorium. The group have
a fantastic repertoire combined with an explosive stage act that is sure
to be very popular with local audiences.
Zone Productions Inc., the event management company that is handling
production of the concert, say that the show will have a very retro theme
which will be in keeping with the band's image and amazing repertoire of
over 200 songs which include cover versions of popular 70's & 80's
artistes such as James Brown, The Gap Band, Kool & The Gang, Marvin
Gaye, etc., and even a few top 40 hits. Tickets for the show will be reasonably
priced and are available in advance at the auditorium office.
The people responsible for bringing down this versatile group are Reign
Entertainment who currently own and manage one of Colombo's most popular
night clubs - The Cyclone. After the concert the group will stay on in
Sri Lanka for two months and will be performing five to six nights a week
at the club.
So if you're after an evening of world class entertainment, which will
include some of the best music of the 70's and 80's, catch the Untouchables
live in concert.
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