Crazy Love (#BOTB)

     
If people in the media cannot decide whether they are in the business of reporting news or manufacturing propaganda, it is all the more important that the public understand that difference, and choose their news sources accordingly. ----Thomas Sowell

       

 

     My contribution to this month's Insecure Writer's Support Group can be found on my Monday post.   But please do vote on my Battle of the Bands found below.   It's related to the Monday post as well.  

Propaganda As Art

       In my previous post, I discussed how many in today's media have become outlets of propaganda for whatever agenda they are pushing whether it be a political party or whatever.  In my view, much of the blame for the divisiveness in the United States as well as the world is due to the ideological media outlets that masquerade as vehicles to disseminate news and information.  To me this seems like a dangerous trend that will make it more difficult to bring opposing sides to a point of unity where they can work together to get more positive things happening in our society.  The power of informational and ideological propaganda can work as mind control if we aren't careful.

      I am fascinated by much of the anachronistic propaganda of the past such as that of the Nazis, the Soviet Union, and Communist China.  The garishness of the poster art can be visually enticing.  Film propaganda is frequently highly stylistic and arty. The cinematic work of filmmakers such as Leni Riefenstahl who created classic documentaries for Nazi Germany are still admired for the artistry. Despite the arguably insidious nature of the art of propaganda, there can be an appreciation for that which the artists have created when examined aside from the context of the intent of the work.

       As I have written about on my blog Wrote By Rote, I became interested in the propaganda that I used to pick up on shortwave radio broadcasts coming from Radio Havana back when I was in high school in the sixties.  Since that time I have had an interest in Cuba and whatever little information I would hear from time to time coming from that country.  This is why a year or two ago, when I noted that the Cuban sixties propaganda film I Am Cuba was going to be broadcast on TCM, I was drawn to watch it.   I'm glad I did.

        Soy Cuba (I Am Cuba) was released in 1964 to a poor response.   The film was financed by the Soviet Union as a propaganda vehicle to promote the Castro revolution, however the audiences in the Soviet Union and Cuba largely rejected it and it was mostly forgotten until "rediscovered"  and show at the Telluride Film Festival in 1992.  The film was championed by U.S. directors, including Martin Sorcese and Francis Ford Coppola, who rallied for restoration and re-release.  The film has since been screened at a number of film festivals and events receiving wide accolades.

        What interested me most about the film was seeing the Havana and Cuba of the early sixties and how the revolution was seen through the eyes of the people who fought and lived through it.  Scenes in the film show how Havana retained some capitalistic vestiges of the past.  The one sequence that especially blew me away was a superbly shot musical number by a couple of musicians singing a song that made me search online until I found it.  I was shocked to discover that the song had been written and originally performed by Paul Anka when still in his teens.

          The film I Am Cuba looks like it could have been done by Fellini or David Lynch.  It was shot in black and white often using some innovative camera techniques.  The musical number that caught my attention used the 1958 Paul Anka hit "Crazy Love" song performed in Spanish by two musicians strolling through a nightclub setting with the camera following them.  The sequence is surreal and aloof like a dream.  When I found the clip on YouTube I knew I had the makings of a good Battle.

           The match I found for this Cuban version is one by a Serbian recording star with a name I won't even try to pronounce.  This version is a raunchy slow rock version complete with searing saxophones and a solid backup band driven by a steady piano tinkling away along with the beat. So let's have a Battle of the Bands!

Battle of the Bands

Battle of the Bands is the blogging event started by Far Away Series and now hosted by StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands.   This event happens twice each month on the 1st and 15th.   The premise is simple:  Listen to the songs presented below and then in the comments vote for your favorite and tell us why you liked it.  Then visit the links listed near the bottom of this post for more Battle action.



Paul Anka  "Crazy Love"  (1958)

          "Crazy Love" was Paul Anka's sixth single which charted at #15 in the United States.  Anka was a teen singing sensation at that time, but he is now perhaps most notably known as a songwriter with standards like "My Way".   He has appeared in numerous movies and television shows and continues to perform as a singer.   I'm offering his version for those who want to hear what the original sounded like.   But please don't cast your vote for this version.

For reference only!!!   Do not vote for this version!!!




Here are your voting choices:

Miki Jevremović   "Crazy love"  (1962)

       Serbian singer Miki Jevremović was born in Belgrade in former Yugoslavia in 1941, Miki achieved his greatest popularity during the sixties and seventies with numerous hits in his native country as well as recognition in other countries as well.  He died of a stroke in January of this year.






Dúo Los Diablos     "Loco Amor"  ("Crazy Love")  1964

         This group consists of Sammy and Richard, two artists that played through the years with a number of popular Cuban bands.  They changed their names in the early sixties to reflect the artists who had inspired them and most influenced their styles--Sammy Davis, Jr and Little Richard.  Sammy continued to perform until he died in 2014.  In his 70's, Richard stilled lived in Havana according to the article that I resourced which was published in 2014.  

         If you've got the time to watch the video, it's pretty cool cinematography.  But just listening to the music is a real treat especially if you're a fan of that musical era.

     






Time To Vote!

        These might sound strange to you--maybe even a bit crazy, but hopefully you have an opinion of some kind.  Which version do you like the best?   Surely one version drove you less crazy than the other.

        Please vote on your favorite by letting us know your choice in the comment section and tell us why you prefer the version you chose. Then after you've finished here, please visit the other blogs listed below who may or may not be participating this time around. And if you've put up your own BOTB contest let us know that as well so we can vote on yours.

Here are some other places where you might find BOTB posts:

 StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands

 ‘YOUR DAILY DOSE’ 

  'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS'

'Curious as a Cathy'

Sound of One Hand Typing

The Doglady's Den 

Angel's Bark  

Cherdo on the Flipside  

Jingle, Jangle, Jungle 
  

Winner Announced on Wednesday March 8th

       I'll tally up votes on Tuesday the 7th and be back here on the next day with the winner of this Battle.   On Monday the 6th I'll show up with some kind of post.   I haven't decided what yet and, who knows, I might forget to post on that day.  Whatever happens, happens.

        Do you like propaganda art?   What are some favorite propaganda films that you might have seen?   Have you ever written a story that you might feel is propagandist in some way?

Media Is Making Us Crazy

People hear what they want to hear, or say they heard what they want to believe was said.
---I guess I said this in this way.

 museum of communism in Prague Deutsch: "museum of communism" in Prag (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

        Mainstream media continually attempts to brainwash their audience into accepting that everything they (the mainstream media) say is undeniable truth and is ultimately not only what that audience should believe, but ultimately what that audience in their heart of hearts wants to believe.   And those who consume a limited amount of sources that are skewed mostly toward one bias or another will become hardliners regarding whatever bias they primarily hear.

       Watching the "evening news" is not what it once was with networks now being tentacles of the leftist liberal agenda.  In earlier days of television, the audience was limited to a short window of information dissemination with little time for analysis and commentary.  In our time it often seems that we are delivered far less hard information and a seemingly never-ending stream of opinions and editorializing.  We don't even have to think for ourselves because the media spokespersons tell us what we should think.  No wonder so many people seem to be a bit bonkers as they parrot the words they constantly hear from the media.

       Recently, the hosts of MSNBC's 'Morning Joe' were discussing President Trump's efforts to "undermine the media."  Co-host Mika Brzezinski indicated her concern that President Trump was  trying to shape the thinking of the public through his tweeting and public comments.

        "He is trying to undermine the media and trying to make up his own facts," she said about Trump. "And it could be that while unemployment and the economy worsens, he could have undermined the messaging so much that he can actually control exactly what people think. And that, that is our job," she noted, referring to the media.

 Real Clear Politics

          Univision's Jorge Ramos anchors nightly news heard by millions of Spanish speaking viewers.  He is a  journalist as well as a self-proclaimed activist and advocate who stands up for his cause thus dividing Spanish-speaking Americans from their counterparts.  He has become a self appointed spokesman of Latino interests which is another dangerous foray into media mind-control of a specific segment of those living within the U.S. borders.  A great deal of the dissent within the Latino community against President Trump can most likely pinpointed on Ramos and his cohorts.  Not good for unifying America.

         What we are dealing with is essentially propaganda attempting to sway minds in one direction or the other.  Though this has always been a tool of the free press, now more than ever, with 24/7 television news/information broadcasting, we are bombarded with opinion and unfortunately that opinion is skewed by facts reported as the networks want us to hear them.

         Here lies the problem:  If we aren't taking in more than one of these "news" sources and processing what we hear through the filter of rational thinking, then we are merely proselytes of the cult of the single-minded media outlet.

          For example, I'll point to my favorite nemesis of leftist promulgation--CNN.  This was my favorite cable news channel in the eighties, but it was also perhaps the only one at the time, or at least the first one of which I became aware.  Back then it was news reporting all day every day and it was fascinating.  I don't recall ever seeing the analysis with opinions and editorializing like they have now.  I'm not sure when it became what it is now, but it seems that every time I tune in to CNN--which is with relative frequency though never for very long--all I hear is an extreme anti-conservative message.  I was rather surprised, and pleased, to see Ben Stein recently on CNN ripping into the network for their excessive negative anti-Trump messaging.  Now if only CNN would heed Stein's advice.

         If someone only watches CNN or other similar outlets, they are going to eventually develop a highly skewed and mentally unhealthy view of the world.  When I read some of the anti-Trump blog or Facebook posts, what I'm receiving is a mimicry of those biased network litanies of lies, misinformation, and distortions.  Too much of anything can make you sick.  Too much untruth and bias can warp your mind.  It can make you crazy.  And this is pretty much what we've been seeing happening all around us.   The world is going nuts and to a great extent I blame the media.  Where else do we get the information about what's going on in the world?

Insecure Writer's Support Group

       Since Insecure Writer's Support Group day coincides with Battle of the Bands this month I'm posting a couple days early.  My posts tend to get overly long as it is without my combining posts together.  As has been the case with my posts, I'm going to tie in this #IWSG post with my current blog theme.

         Join us on the first Wednesday of each month in Alex J. Cavanaugh's Insecure Writer's Support Group--a forum of writers who gather to talk about writing and the writer's life. For a complete list of participants visit Alex's Blog. 

Have you ever pulled out a really old story and reworked it? Did it work out?

          Not my original story, but I have used old stories to inspire my own stories.  There was no publication involved, but I feel that some of those stories have been fairly worthy ones.  My sources have sometimes come from stories in the Bible reworked in modern settings.  Other writers have done this as well with varying degrees of success.  Seems like using a time-honored story such as one from the Bible or Shakespeare would be a sure winner, but this can result in massive failure.  Heavy-handed messaging or being overly obvious in presentation can make for a story that is more silly and distracting than not.

          Bad propaganda often comes from bad story-telling.   Sloganeering and repetive ideas can become burdensome to the point causing a reader to reject what is attempted to be conveyed rather than embracing the story.  Those who embrace those kinds of stories are probably a bit off their rockers anyway.   Maybe they watch too much CNN. 

           Do you think messaging from mainstream media is mostly or at least partly responsible for much of the discontent we are currently seeing in the United States and elsewhere?  Do you think there are many new stories left or are all stories reworkings of previously told stories?   Are there any propagandistic works of literature that you have particularly enjoyed?  

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