Not a knitting post, but certainly an aesthetics post. I was paying bills, updating the check book (debit cards can mess you up if you don't keep track of what you spend!) during the McLaughlin Group (PBS) this morning, after which comes Now, after which comes reruns of the Lawrence Welk show. I started watching the McLaughlin Group years ago mainly to watch someone else yell at Tony Blankly besides me (he's not even a smart Republican hack - barely smarter than Limbaugh - and don't get me started on the Moonie-owned Washington Times), and so I generally turn it on Sundays. Well, McLaughlin finished up, Now finished up, and I'm almost done when I realize there's the Lawrence Welk holiday special. Not my thing musically, mind you - not bizarre enough to be interesting, not bad enough to be funny. But the show looked to be from the 1970's, early 1970's. All the main players were introducing their families. And I was totally blown away by how normal all these people looked. There were big noses, prominent teeth, close-set eyes, and the wives and children weren't the least bit interchangeable - they all looked like individuals. Not in any radical way (mohawks, etc.), but if they stood next to each others you could tell them apart by something besides hair color. It was very trippy and depressing to realize how we seem to be losing more and more visual diversity in the population. Even if there are regional differences in how people dress, or class differences, populations within those groups are very conformist. Even the rebels have uniforms (e.g.tattoos, piercings) which eventually get coopted by other groups. Prominent noses are corrected by surgery; everyone gets braces at some point. Yes, straight teeth are nicer that seriously crooked teeth, but there was a time when only folks with seriously messed up teeth endured orthodontia. I don't mind people making the effort to improve their looks, but it seems that our culture has adopted some pretty narrow standards of what actually looks good, so it's not enough to simply take what you've got and find a way to make it attractive or interesting; now you've got to make it conform to the standard.
In spite of the ugly '70's clothes and hairstyles, these were some of the most individual-looking and interesting-looking folks I've seen in ages. They looked like real humans. What a Stepford country we've become.
In spite of the ugly '70's clothes and hairstyles, these were some of the most individual-looking and interesting-looking folks I've seen in ages. They looked like real humans. What a Stepford country we've become.
