Pop culture and politics

If you're a regular reader, you'll be familiar with my contention that Back to the Future is a left-liberal critique of Reagan's America, though it's let down by a very dubious racial politics (white kid goes back in time to teach black musicians rock and roll - really?).

I turn to another pop culture classic whenever I think about the media, bankers, capitalism and the economy - Gremlins II, The New Batch. The original Gremlins was of course a satire on adolescence, but the sequel is a whip smart take on Big Media, yuppies, venal politicians and New York in general. it could be modelled on Murdoch and Co.

Here's a rather delightful scene set in the New York Stock Exchange. As we learn today that the Tories have managed to shrink the economy yet again, it seems somehow appropriate.



Other than that, this is my favourite scene. How many kids' films manage to shoehorn in a reference to Susan Sontag?

How cute. What's he called? Mogwai…

I was always predisposed to like a band called Mogwai, because I think the Gremlins films are fine works of satire disguised as teen comedy-horror.

It was an excellent night. The gig was at the Institute in Digbeth - a wonderful Victorian building now sadly reduced to commercial ownership, but at least the owners (a well-known and near-bankrupt chain of music shops) have done a decent job. Lots of gilt-painted carving and pillars - a real miniature old theatre space.

The music was magnificent. Mogwai specialise in long periods of very quiet delicate bits, followed by a massive assault of complex noise. It reminds me of two things: the Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster

"The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy also mentions alcohol. It says that the best drink in existence is the Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster, the effect of which is like having your brains smashed out with a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick." 

and falling into a wormhole (sorry about the quality - I thought the internet would be full of Star Trek clips, but apparently not. How disappointed am I?).



So the music was at times beautiful and at others utterly pummelling. Just what I wanted. I must say though that the band are a right miserable bunch. Apart from Stuart, who has a happy (and quite high) voice and at least spoke occasionally, the band spent their time grimacing at their fretboards or angrily gesticulating at the sound guy: at no point did they look like they were enjoying it, which was a shame. Partially understandable - they did have some technical problems.

As for the crowd - well, it was a classic post-rock one, in that it was mostly balding mathematicians. I'm pretty sure there were enough maths PhD's in the room to have a pretty good stab at solving the Poincaré Conjecture between the support act and Mogwai. Still, there were also more young and female people than I'd have expected, so they've clearly got an audience.

So if you like music which goes melodic-quiet LOUD LOUDER LOUDEST they're the band for you (and me).

Favourite moments in popular culture

I've always admire Gremlins as social satire - the first film as a parody of adolescence, the second as an explicit attack on 1980s social values, particularly yuppie capitalism.

Here are the scenes I'm talking about: the first features my favourite popular culture reference to Susan Sontag of all time.