In love with lust

In Love With Lust

[source: tastytufts]

... and escape the corruption with which lust has infected the world

2 Peter 1:5

Jesus said: He who has known the world has found the body

Gospel of Thomas 80



Although I still don't own a TV and have therefore never watched a Big Brother show in its entirety, I do read voraciously and was horrified to read one time the suggestion that one of the Big Brother Africa contestants was very unpopular mainly because she refused to shower nude on the reality-TV programme. She was then expelled from 'the house'. I was saddened when I then went on to read that the woman apparently had no qualms at all about appearing naked but that Big Brother was simply "too cheap" for a brazen view of her buttocks: she would definitely expose all to a glamour magazine for the right price.

I still have the original reviews of the original Big Brother, and I was concerned about the approach even then. To my mind there is something inherently and fundamentally wrong with voyeurism, which is what Big Brother essentially panders to. Big Brother is only one step away -- and not such a big step either -- from watching child porn on the Internet and subscribing to 'snuff' movies, videos that record in chillingly graphic detail the mutilations, depravations and ultimate killing of many of the innocents who 'disappear' from our cities every day of every year. It seems to me that many, if not most, who watch Big Brother and other programmes like it are tuning in for a quick thrill, perhaps for private pleasure or maybe for something to talk about -- voyeurism makes no distinction between means and ends. Naturally, reality TV is only the logical extension of twenty years of soaps -- why pay writers to come up with lurid scripts when the real thing is possible?

There are many problems here. One is clearly the loosening of morals. Personally, I am glad that previously taboo topics like sex, violence and death -- especially when the three come together in situations such as domestic violence -- are more openly discussed today; but I am disconcerted that this more open discussion has brought along with it an atmosphere of acceptance. Hearing four-year-olds repeating the foul mouthings of the latest degenerate rapper is disconcerting; reading that incest and rape cases are increasing is disconcerting; knowing that so many children and teens have scant respect for their parents and elders is disconcerting. It seems that the more we talk about these problems, the more they are seen as part of the normal way of things, practices so everyday that to complain about them is seen as a waste of breath at best and preaching at worst. Illustrations of this so abound in our culture that they even turn up in popular songs: Tracy Chapman's Behind the Wall from a few years back and the more recent Eminem/Rihanna collaboration Love the Way You Lie are two examples that come quickly to mind.

Unfortunately, it also appears that we are not only unshockable these days, but are actively seeking some new outrage to talk about. Our appetites quickly become jaded. Things that shocked us a few years ago don't shock anymore and we desire to move onto something stronger. This is evidently an addiction; an addiction is something we can't do without.

If a desire controls us, it is properly called a lust and my contention here is that our mass-media displays all the symptoms of a lust that has infected the world. Reality TV may indeed be one of the most lucrative media innovations of the last few years, but that is simply because it provides a potent daily fix. Billions of people daily tune into a TV station or go online to get their needed rush, to try and satiate the restless lust that now consumes and controls them. Saying that people are addicted is an understatement; but unfortunately, even when some agree that they have an addiction, you find that talking about it doesn't really help -- especially when they realise that there are millions of others who share their same desire. If one of the soapie actors or Big Brother contestants confesses a weakness for kiddie porn, will viewers be outraged or sympathetic? My suspicion is that such a confession could actually improve the person's popularity. Other problems include the creation of instant celebrities (felebs, if they're on Facebook) and people being famous for the wrong reasons. Frankly, it's a wonder that David Simelane (Swaziland's very own serial killer) hasn't already sold his macabre story to an international tabloid, and the film rights to Hollywood.

[An earlier version of this article appeared in the Times of Swaziland Sunday on July 6th, 2003.]