As an unapologetic Bowiephile/fanboy, I thought I knew just about everything there was to know about the late, great, and prolific artist- that is, until this video circulated heavily on Twitter this past fall- wherein, from a 1999 BBC interview, Bowie warns in his disarmingly jocular (but no less gravely serious) manner, that the effects the internet would have on society were basically unknowable.
Unknowable, and not without danger- potentially great danger.
Snippets are making the rounds again today ↓ but the full 16 minutes I’ve linked further below
For those of you who’ve only seen the 1 or 2 minute clips (such as above), the full internet discussion really begins at 6:15 (cued up below) with notions about the rebellious nature of rock and roll/the desire as an artist to effect change; and how MTV, and then the internet, magnified the impact of what could be accomplished as a performance artist.
Seeing quite presciently, and not all that far into the future, just what lay ahead- Bowie is quite clear that these effects must necessarily include some unpleasantness:
“terrifying… an alien life form… (that’s) just landed here.”
Indeed...
Today, January 8, 2022, I take the trouble to post this because we’ve now all seen and lived through some truly terrifying examples of just what the internet can bring about:
- Trump’s election- enabled by Facebook, Cambridge Analytics, and Trump’s campaign knowing how to take full advantage of the internet’s propaganda potential.
- Covid and Vaccine disinformation- We no doubt all have our own personal anecdotes to go with the shit ton of documented nonsense being reported from seemingly every corner of the world, which unfortunately includes my very own brother who is convinced mRNA “reprograms” our DNA- fatally.
- January 6 attack on the Capitol- most frightening of all since this event directly resulted in loss of life, and more alarmingly, threatened the integrity of our democracy, our government, the very existence our nation.
All of this recent tragedy demonstrates just how insidious the internet’s reach is and WILL continue to be — unless we act to counter it. And that alone is an enormous challenge, since as Bowie further explains, we are dealing with a phenomenon of ‘duplicity and plurality’ of “truths” which are allowed to exist side by side (by side…) and breed fragmentation.
This fragmentation weakens, divides us, and serves to turn us against each other.
We’ve been warned, and must be ever vigilant in avoiding the worst- the “unimaginable” worst.
I end here with an apt Bowie video from 1997. Despite it’s darkness, I remain hopeful that good will ultimately prevail.
Happy Birthday David- we’ll try not to blow it.