ALL THAT GLISTERS

I’m in stunned mullet mode. The non-stop radio and tv discussion of the State of the Nation is turning my brain into polystyrene!   Let’s talk about glitter.My motto is “All that glisters may not be gold but who cares?   Just as long as it glisters.”   For this reason I’ve been a great fan of “Strictly Come Dancing”.   Any programme with that many sequins has to be good.   For Christmas, my own personal Santa gave me tickets to see the live show in the O2.   I would never have considered buying them myself.    As far as I am concerned what happens on the box stays in the box but, hey, I wasn’t going to throw them back in his face.

Now I know that there are people out there, curling their lip with disdain as they read this.   People who think that programmes like “Strictly” are too far beneath them to even mention.   People who despise “popular ” entertainment because it is “mere” entertainment, bread and circuses for the ignorant masses .   People who believe that, if you have more than two brain cells to rub together, you should only engage with Literature, Theatre, Opera, Ballet, Classical Music, and the artistic pursuits best suited to people of refinement and education.

What a lot of old cobblers!

Why not enjoy both?

What exactly is wrong with enjoying both Strictly and Coppelia?   Don Giovanni and Tinie Tempah?   Stephen King and Dostoyevsky?   For me the criteria are simple.   Does it do what it set out to do?   How well does it do it?    And if the answer is:   “Yes, it does what it set out to do.” and  “It does it superbly well”. then I’m in.   Quality is quality whether it is mere entertainment or Art.

Yes, yes. I know – there’s some hideously bad mass entertainment out there but, let’s face it, there’s some hideously bad stuff masquerading as Art as well.

Now that that ‘s off my chest, back to the “Strictly” live show.    Was it great Art?   No.  Was it great entertainment?   Yes, yes and yes  again.    There were enough sequins to satisfy my innermost Diva.   There was cheering and booing and laughter and voting, just like on the tele, and some fabulous dancing as well.   Even my personal Santa, who has no time for “Strictly” on tele, enjoyed it.   He went  in to the O2 out of duty, prepared to suffer for my sake and came out with a huge, happy grin on his face.   

That’s the thing about good entertainment.   It may not reflect on the meaning of life, the state of the world, nor the morality of venture capitalism but, it does lift the spirit.   It gives your mind a break from the everyday world, a mini mental holiday.   A mini holiday that makes you better able to deal with the world and, if the big questions are your thing, better able to address them.