I've watched Lily Allen's video 'Hard Out Here' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0CazRHB0so so many times that she's tops of google search on my tablets and laptops (yes I own tablets and laptops - they are my guilty pleasure). I found the Londoner's latest single hilarious and fun to watch which is why I do not understand the PC furore about race in the papers. Yes she uses black women to illustrate her point about media and music industry exploitation of women, but the truth is that that is the truth. Watch any gangster rap video and you'll find the word bitch, ho and black women and the occasional white woman gyrating in skimpy bikinis in front of cars, not too faraway, in fact that is the stuff that sells their music. The pop music sector has followed suit with the likes of Robin Thicke in Blurred Lines.
And one wonders why those women happily oblige to being objectified on video or billboards??
Truth is that the media and advertising gurus have convinced everyone that sex sells, therefore use sex to sell everything from lingerie to cars to coffees and toothpaste - the music video as an advert for a single or album aims to achieve the same thing. Lily Allen's video is a parody of the industry she works in and no matter how cheap or basic her song sounds to some people, the fact is that it is a parody of what goes on and what goes on in that sphere of culture is cheap and basic and if one may call it downright crap! Therefore Allen's video and song and even the backing music track is accurate in its reflection and parodying of the cheap and nasty nature of the pop music industry and its wares.
With everyone from Lady Gaga and Rihanna to Beyonce and Miley Cyrus touting their bodies for money, both object and objectifier (if I may invent a new term) are equal partners in crime. It is not a question of racism it is a question of truth. Black female artists have long complained about being expected to strip down beyond decency to sell their music, in a way that the likes of Taylor Swift or Katy Perry aren't. Perhaps it's not such a bad thing that someone has spoken out about it in her own way regardless of how and regardless of her skin colour.
Friday, 29 November 2013
Saturday, 23 November 2013
Welcome to The London Beat
Welcome to The London Beat, which provides a light analysis of things happening in an around London and sometimes from around the UK and the rest of the world. We all know (and some may utterly refuse to admit) London is at the heartbeat of the world. We are the epicentre of the world and a world class city that is neither grossly oversized nor grossly undersized, which suits us and the rest of the world perfectly.
London despite its claim to fame is made up of many villages and districts that can be utterly different and utterly similar. Someone once remarked that London is a mercurial city, a Gemini, if it had a zodiac sign. This ancient city has so perfected the art of reinvention that you wouldn't even know it is an ancient city, because of its ability to constantly regenerate and reinvent itself time and time again albeit in the most discreet fashion.
As a native Londoner, I absolutely love my city but I also dislike certain things about it. Its sky-high property prices, it's economic stranglehold over the rest of the UK, it's ability to change within the twinkle of an eye. Not only does London change but it's many constituent parts are constantly changing and reinventing themselves. Take Brixton for example, this unique area has gone through what some would consider earth shattering changes in the last couple of years. The area hitherto known for drugs and gun crime, race riots and disaffected Afro-Caribbeans, has been reinvented over the last three years into a South London Hipster quarter and house prices there have commensurately sky rocketed in line with the areas new media-hyped association with everything cool. The new Brixton is a typical by-product of media-hype. Londoners like the rest of the UK and the western world are highly susceptible to this phenomenon, particularly in this digital age.
For the media constantly shapes our views of life - what to wear and what not to wear, what to eat and what not to eat, where to eat and where not to eat, where to go and where not to go, where to live and where not to live. Five years ago Brixton was one of those no-go areas where middle class Londoners (particularly incomers) generally avoided and would not be caught dead in (except when attending concerts at the Academy) let alone own a home there. The media was primarily responsible for shaping views about Brixton's edginess, about public perceptions of it's crime and drug scene etc to the point that even commercial services would stay away from the area. The same could be said of most of the Borough of Lambeth save for a few areas such as Clapham and the South Bank.
Today Brixton is the darling of them all. It can do no wrong, its cheaper terraced homes are now seen as an affordable alternative to nearby Dulwich, Herne Hill and Clapham, although in the same vein it is no longer affordable. Its traffic choked arteries are teeming with students, young professionals and self-styled foodies who throng its market arcades, at the same time as its long-term residents are being evicted forced out to make room for incomers who are willing to pay over the top to buy into the hype. The media stares on in false wonderment, asking what is happening? The old Brixton is gradually forgotten as a veneer of poshness is whitewashed over its face as if the place and its people never existed.
Yes there was crime, but crime in the old Brixton wasn't that different from crime elsewhere in inner London, although it tended to be blown out of proportion simply because it was Brixton. Nonetheless old Brixton was unique, it had a heart of its own, a character of its own - whether or not you liked it, and it marched to its own beat with its own home-grown institutions. All that has changed. What has taken place in Brixton isn't regeneration, but super-imposition of new on old - in short a whitewashing.
Change had been creeping in slowly but surely. Four years ago, I visited Brixton Village Arcade, most of the units save for a few African and Asian run grocers, were empty, a few were being refurbished by small experimental restaurateurs. I wanted Initially to rent a space for a gallery and was told the units were going for around £600 a month which was utterly cheap considering the location in central Brixton. But then, in order to attract businesses the market owners were giving spaces away at little or no cost for a year. It worked. Soon the success of the experimental restaurants was picked up and trumpeted by the media and soon many Brixton natives felt like they were being observed as zoo animals by the many visitors traipsing down to coo over the market and the uniqueness of the area. Soon those visitors were not only coming to coo but wanted to move in too because the media had said it was OK to do so. The cheap rental prices have long since been revised upwards as the chains have started to move in. Brixton now resembles Clapham Junction with its many chains.
There's nothing wrong with moving to an area of ones choice but when that becomes dependent on popular media driven perception then you know you are buying into hype. And not only has that hype destroyed the soul of the community overnight with its unbridled commercialism, it has led to an overnight sense of displacement for many Brixtonians who may not share the same outlook and deep pockets as many of the incomers who do not have ties to the area. Prices in local shops have since sky rocketed, rents have gone up, and old businesses, residents and their families are being forced to move out. Old institutions have been rebranded to cater to the needs of monied incomers.
It took places like Notting Hill, Battersea, Balham, Fulham, Clapham or Dulwich decades to regenerate organically, it's taken Brixton three years not to regenerate but to superficially reinvent itself. Some people argue that middle class people moving to Brixton has improved the area, but that is an insult to the area as there have always been middle class people living in Brixton, they may not be the superficial latte drinking types you get in places like Balham, Clapham or Battersea but they are middle class all the same and they lived comfortably side-by-side with many working Brixtonians, and used the same shops and community facilities. That has changed, Brixton Village the popular market is now out of bounds to many locals i.e. unless you have the cash to spare. Rents are unaffordable and estate agents like Foxtons and Wooster and Stock have moved in to bump rents and house prices up, so that only certain types can now buy or move into the area. Areas on the Brixton-Clapham border have been badly affected by the property infation that has gripped the area as rents there have become unaffordable, two bed flats that once sold for £300K are now going for over half a million. The agents have identified the Brixton-Clapham North border a prime location because the area lies between the two high streets.
Lambeth Council selling off its homes and moving people out hasn't helped the cause. Forget the vaunted multiculturalism of the area - many of the Asian and Afro Caribbean shops have been taken over by cup cake shops and salons geared to pampering the newly arrived. Many plastic Brixtonians are claiming that Brixton is a better place because people like them have moved in but that is an insult to many who have lived their lives here and have devoted their time and lives over decades to improving the area.
The once dreaded but interesting Coldharbour Lane with its Afro-Caribbean shops and characters is now home to a range of pubs and wine bars, and a host of bijou mansion block-style developments including the dreadfully commercial Brixton Square which developers are touting to incomers at a higher than average price. Apparently Brixton Square is close to the open green spaces of Clapham Common and Herne Hill's Brockwell Park. Their taregt audience are either buy-to-let opportunists cashing in on the popularity of the area or unsuspecting first time buyers who are buying into the hype and ready to pay their top dollar to live close to the infamous Somerleyton Estate.
While there can be a lot of good to regeneration and gentrification if it is done properly and organically, however much damage can be done if's all driven by Mammon and long standing communities become fragmented in the process . This of course is the curse of London where Mammon rules the roost.
London despite its claim to fame is made up of many villages and districts that can be utterly different and utterly similar. Someone once remarked that London is a mercurial city, a Gemini, if it had a zodiac sign. This ancient city has so perfected the art of reinvention that you wouldn't even know it is an ancient city, because of its ability to constantly regenerate and reinvent itself time and time again albeit in the most discreet fashion.
As a native Londoner, I absolutely love my city but I also dislike certain things about it. Its sky-high property prices, it's economic stranglehold over the rest of the UK, it's ability to change within the twinkle of an eye. Not only does London change but it's many constituent parts are constantly changing and reinventing themselves. Take Brixton for example, this unique area has gone through what some would consider earth shattering changes in the last couple of years. The area hitherto known for drugs and gun crime, race riots and disaffected Afro-Caribbeans, has been reinvented over the last three years into a South London Hipster quarter and house prices there have commensurately sky rocketed in line with the areas new media-hyped association with everything cool. The new Brixton is a typical by-product of media-hype. Londoners like the rest of the UK and the western world are highly susceptible to this phenomenon, particularly in this digital age.
For the media constantly shapes our views of life - what to wear and what not to wear, what to eat and what not to eat, where to eat and where not to eat, where to go and where not to go, where to live and where not to live. Five years ago Brixton was one of those no-go areas where middle class Londoners (particularly incomers) generally avoided and would not be caught dead in (except when attending concerts at the Academy) let alone own a home there. The media was primarily responsible for shaping views about Brixton's edginess, about public perceptions of it's crime and drug scene etc to the point that even commercial services would stay away from the area. The same could be said of most of the Borough of Lambeth save for a few areas such as Clapham and the South Bank.
Today Brixton is the darling of them all. It can do no wrong, its cheaper terraced homes are now seen as an affordable alternative to nearby Dulwich, Herne Hill and Clapham, although in the same vein it is no longer affordable. Its traffic choked arteries are teeming with students, young professionals and self-styled foodies who throng its market arcades, at the same time as its long-term residents are being evicted forced out to make room for incomers who are willing to pay over the top to buy into the hype. The media stares on in false wonderment, asking what is happening? The old Brixton is gradually forgotten as a veneer of poshness is whitewashed over its face as if the place and its people never existed.
Yes there was crime, but crime in the old Brixton wasn't that different from crime elsewhere in inner London, although it tended to be blown out of proportion simply because it was Brixton. Nonetheless old Brixton was unique, it had a heart of its own, a character of its own - whether or not you liked it, and it marched to its own beat with its own home-grown institutions. All that has changed. What has taken place in Brixton isn't regeneration, but super-imposition of new on old - in short a whitewashing.
Change had been creeping in slowly but surely. Four years ago, I visited Brixton Village Arcade, most of the units save for a few African and Asian run grocers, were empty, a few were being refurbished by small experimental restaurateurs. I wanted Initially to rent a space for a gallery and was told the units were going for around £600 a month which was utterly cheap considering the location in central Brixton. But then, in order to attract businesses the market owners were giving spaces away at little or no cost for a year. It worked. Soon the success of the experimental restaurants was picked up and trumpeted by the media and soon many Brixton natives felt like they were being observed as zoo animals by the many visitors traipsing down to coo over the market and the uniqueness of the area. Soon those visitors were not only coming to coo but wanted to move in too because the media had said it was OK to do so. The cheap rental prices have long since been revised upwards as the chains have started to move in. Brixton now resembles Clapham Junction with its many chains.
There's nothing wrong with moving to an area of ones choice but when that becomes dependent on popular media driven perception then you know you are buying into hype. And not only has that hype destroyed the soul of the community overnight with its unbridled commercialism, it has led to an overnight sense of displacement for many Brixtonians who may not share the same outlook and deep pockets as many of the incomers who do not have ties to the area. Prices in local shops have since sky rocketed, rents have gone up, and old businesses, residents and their families are being forced to move out. Old institutions have been rebranded to cater to the needs of monied incomers.
It took places like Notting Hill, Battersea, Balham, Fulham, Clapham or Dulwich decades to regenerate organically, it's taken Brixton three years not to regenerate but to superficially reinvent itself. Some people argue that middle class people moving to Brixton has improved the area, but that is an insult to the area as there have always been middle class people living in Brixton, they may not be the superficial latte drinking types you get in places like Balham, Clapham or Battersea but they are middle class all the same and they lived comfortably side-by-side with many working Brixtonians, and used the same shops and community facilities. That has changed, Brixton Village the popular market is now out of bounds to many locals i.e. unless you have the cash to spare. Rents are unaffordable and estate agents like Foxtons and Wooster and Stock have moved in to bump rents and house prices up, so that only certain types can now buy or move into the area. Areas on the Brixton-Clapham border have been badly affected by the property infation that has gripped the area as rents there have become unaffordable, two bed flats that once sold for £300K are now going for over half a million. The agents have identified the Brixton-Clapham North border a prime location because the area lies between the two high streets.
Lambeth Council selling off its homes and moving people out hasn't helped the cause. Forget the vaunted multiculturalism of the area - many of the Asian and Afro Caribbean shops have been taken over by cup cake shops and salons geared to pampering the newly arrived. Many plastic Brixtonians are claiming that Brixton is a better place because people like them have moved in but that is an insult to many who have lived their lives here and have devoted their time and lives over decades to improving the area.
The once dreaded but interesting Coldharbour Lane with its Afro-Caribbean shops and characters is now home to a range of pubs and wine bars, and a host of bijou mansion block-style developments including the dreadfully commercial Brixton Square which developers are touting to incomers at a higher than average price. Apparently Brixton Square is close to the open green spaces of Clapham Common and Herne Hill's Brockwell Park. Their taregt audience are either buy-to-let opportunists cashing in on the popularity of the area or unsuspecting first time buyers who are buying into the hype and ready to pay their top dollar to live close to the infamous Somerleyton Estate.
While there can be a lot of good to regeneration and gentrification if it is done properly and organically, however much damage can be done if's all driven by Mammon and long standing communities become fragmented in the process . This of course is the curse of London where Mammon rules the roost.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)