Friday, 19 July 2013

A Little Paradox.

So here’s the rub.

You click on a YouTube video which tells the story of a still and serene little Buddhist boy making the transition to a higher state of consciousness (characterised as an angel.) On the way he is helped by a beautiful Indian girl (maybe his sister,) a wise man who is always in the background and never makes eye contact with anyone, some swift-flying birds which represent the concept of ascent, and some majestic elephants which represent the impermanence of physical life. And it’s all accompanied by uplifting music sung by a woman who has possibly the most primal voice you’ve ever heard.

So how does YouTube prepare you for this mind-enriching experience?

They play you an advert in which cool dude and chick, sans shirts, get to grips in moody monochrome so you’ll be fooled into spending a ridiculous amount of money on a bottle of man-made chemicals while a bunch of soulless executives laugh all the way to the Bentley showrooms and throw affluent dinner parties in their high-rise apartments.

There’s something paradoxical about that. Or, to put it another way, it’s sad.

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