Today I did an interesting observation. I was late by 24hrs in renewing my DSTV monthtly dues, so at lunchtime I rushed to Multichoice in Westlands. Opposite Sarit. For a moment I hesitated because the queue was really long. But Multichoice have their own way of keeping you inside. Three plasma screens against the wall behind the counters. I did not take me long to realize that out of the 3 screens I was just focusing on the one in the middle. It had a reality TV show. With just images of CCTV camera's in tunnels in some obscure state in the US of A. What those CCTV camera's showed us as reality were clippings of car crashes in the tunnels. Cars and trucks crashing into the walls, into each other, overturning etc..some of those accidents were quite violent. Suddenly I woke up and....looked around me. EVERYONE was watching that same screen in the middle. Some people in the queue were even commenting about it to each other. NO ONE (not even me...) had eyes for the screen on the left with english (premier league!) soccer or the screen on the right with Nat Geo....mating lions. We were all hooked up on those terrible accidents. Shame on us people. Shame on me. Then again, I guess its what sells. Its what the media thrives on. Drama and disaster. We all browse quickly to the pages in the newspaper with the images of a car wreck on Wayaki Way or a collapsed building in Kiambu. Don't we. We are cruel. And we lust for blood.....
OK...have to go now....I hear shouting outside. The neighbours might be fighting again. Let me go and see whats happening !
No comments:
Post a Comment