dude, where's the bucket?

déjà vu? you’re damn right.

the sri lankan parliament, tuesday, passed legislation imposing a hefty tax on foreign films and tv programs. no doubt our leaders want us to digest the fare local cinema and soap has on offer. the reasoning behind this bright move is varied.

firstly, there is the fact that fewer people are going to the cinema. secondly, lesser numbers seem to watch local programs on the idiot box. and this includes what passes for news and information in our part of the world ( orwell, would have nodded sagely). but this is not all. there is the insidious impact of foreign influences via film and the telly on what is called the culture of sri lanka. for good measure, there is also the negative impact such malevolence would have on the tender minds of the youth of the country.

good.

so now we can watch song and dance routines until the cows come home. we can learn to enjoy those ultra slow movement in the local soaps, the crass crudity that passes for comedy and the fact that any passing resemblance to entertainment will consist of 78% advertisements. news and information will of course consist only of what the government says it should be. as for culture, yeah, sri lanka will become the final bastion for inbred culture in the world, whilst it’s youth will become shinning examples of fortitude and “goodness”.

we’ve been through all of this stuff before, of course. whilst for most of the globe the 70’s were a fun time of extra large trousers and bright flowers, here in sri lanka we were in the throes of experiencing life in a well. no doubt people are nostalgic for those times.

far out, sri lanka. far out.