Trivia Incorporated
Is it just me or is there far too much trivia vomited out by mass media now?
There are serious articles about world events affecting the lives of countless people, then in close proximity, on the page, there is trivia about the growing inanities of the so-called ‘celebrities’ or the importance of ‘selfie’ tweets, trivial ‘test your knowledge’ quizzes and usually about trivial television programs. Everywhere that there are printed words now – either paper or electronic – there is the ubiquitous litter of trivia.
If we see a report of more people killed by drones in a foreign country next to something trivial then this associated triviality undermines the shocking power of the article about the death and destruction of human beings – people like us.
Trivia is a diversion from the truth of what is happening to us – the wars, the killings, the atrocities, the eroding of our civil liberties, the grabbing of our world’s resources by the few and the creeping control of the people.
The mass media fills our minds with trivia so that we can’t see the important things happening. We are overloaded with junk masquerading as ‘news’ until, eventually, all of the news turns into trivia and we become disconnected from the horror of the truth all around us.
Class: Politics.
Tags: diversions, news trivialized, trivia, trivia as news.
Date: 2014-03-07.
Posted by Keith Gascoigne at www.yoruk.co.uk
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It would be good if you could let me know where it goes. Many thanks.
Of course, you can disagree with what I write and email me about this.
