The Allure of the '60s

Yes, it is true. My second post in as many days. What, you may ask, is the occasion? Well, to be perfectly honest, after writing about the broadcasting market in China and the origins of the National Bank for hours straight, I needed a break. With such thrilling topics I know it is unbelievable that I could grow tired, but there it is. And somehow, sitting on here and typing more or less without purpose for a few minutes won't make me feel as guilty as just taking a break. So, for the sake of my psychological welfare, here I am again.

And since I have been tapping my feet the past few days to the soundtrack of the hippie-inspired film Across the Universe, I have decided to bless the world with my views on the 1960s. Perhaps it's just because I've seen so few films lately (and the most recent before this was the most unfortunate The Game Plan with some of the babysitees, which I can only assume The Rock, or whatever his name is, will come to regret). But this one really got me. The entire score is done to Beatles' songs, but they weave together a remarkably coherent story. It traces the life a young Liverpoolian, coincidentally named Jude, as he travels to America, gets involved with the anti-war movment, and falls in love with a And, with the exception of Bono, none of the actors are very well known, but they did a fantastic job. And it made me fall in love with the Beatles' music all over again. They certainly put a lot out into the world while they were together.

And as I happily listened to "Revolution" for what must be the 40th time earlier today, I got to thinking -- what would I have been like had I grown up in the 60s? They were such an explosive time, and proved definitely that the young and idealistic could in fact move the world. And I do so feel like I am at that painfully idealistic stage in my life, where nothing seems satisfactory, but there's still that glimmer somewhere on the horizon that tells me that we can in fact make things better. I want to believe it; I have to believe it. And while books I've read and what people older than I have said tell me that the feelings of idealism will fade a little bit under the pressure of pragmatism, right now I can empathize with the hippies' drive to create a new world order.
But I have to wonder if that's only because the legacy that the generation left us. Would I be so quick to understand the desire for a revolution if it were not for all the stories, and policies, and music left behind by the 60s? Somehow, I suspect that by giving importance to those teenage feelings of energy and revolution that had been quashed or hushed for generations before, the hippies really changed the world a little bit for all of us who came after. We were all forced to approach everything just a bit differently.
I'm not sure what kind of hippy I would have made, though. The clothes are right up my alley, the music still makes me grin, and the some of the ideas still strike me with their power. But drugs don't make any sense to me, particularly if you're trying to make the world a different place -- kind of hard to do so if you're high all the time. Plus, kaleidoscopes make me dizzy, and all the drug-induced art I've seen seems to involve far too much kaleidoscope imagery. So I suppose that means I would have made half a good hippy, and that's good enough for me.

And, with that, now back to the ever-scintilating growth of the Chinese TV market . . .