Pop culture, not politics, “˜Reloads’, “˜X’-cites society

At a time when politics have become irrelevant, thank goodness
for Neo.

“The cultural impact was near phenomenal,” said Time
magazine of “The Matrix.” When is the last time you
heard something like that about domestic policy? Increasingly,
blockbuster pop culture events are becoming the uniting spurs of
American society.

For those of you who have been living under a cave for the last
six months, “The Matrix Reloaded” comes out Thursday.
If you’re a college student, either you or someone you know
has already bought tickets for the midnight show and is squealing
whenever he or she sees a commercial for it. Even the less
fanatical person will probably catch the movie before the weekend
is over.

The Undergraduate Students Association Council elections took
place last week. And it’s possible you don’t know
anyone who voted, or ran for that matter. Of course, that is with
the exception of “Neo” (aka Joshua Lawson), who
evidently wants to be our general representative.

These elections have become little more than an unpopular
popularity contests. Even with the novelty of online voting, the
elections only managed to draw in 5,950 people. Only 24.9 percent
of eligible voters cared enough to log on and click 12 times on
their computerized ballots. Absolutely stunning.

Not surprisingly, this trend is not localized to Westwood. On a
national level, people have shown time and time again that they
just do not care about politics. The last presidential elections
had a fairly low voter turnout rate, hovering just over 50 percent.
To put that in perspective, “X2: X-Men United” made
over $100 million in its opening week and “Spiderman”
has made more than $400 million in just over a year. That’s a
lot of movie stubs compared to hanging chads.

What other event comes even close to matching the popular
interest and downright hype of blockbusters like “The
Matrix?” The war’s over and SARS is China’s
problem for now. People have an innate need to socialize with each
other on a national or global level, and God knows politics
isn’t enough to fill that role. In their absence, the
entertainment industries have risen to hold more sway over public
thought than any mere president.

On Monday people all over the country started off the week
asking, “how was “˜Reloaded?'” Or on Tuesday
it’s, “what happened on “˜Joe
Millionaire?'” Or on Wednesday it’s,
“how’s the new Linkin Park CD?” On Thursday
it’s, “who got kicked off “˜American
Idol?'” And on Friday it’s, “what happened
on “˜Friends?'” Our thirst for water cooler
conversation is being quenched by an ever expanding calendar of pop
culture events.

How can this be a surprise when the entire realm of politics
seems to be set on estranging the average citizen? Even in the
microcosm of UCLA, we have smelled the stench of scandal with the
David Dahle memo. This only escalates into bigger fiascos as you
climb up the governmental ladder ““ from energy crises to sex
scandals.

Historically, politics have been an institution in place to
benefit those in control, thus maintaining the status quo. It was
never meant to be for everybody (is the electoral college for the
people?).

Entertainment, on the other hand, is an instrument which reaches
for the masses. Entire industries’ livelihoods are determined
by their abilities to attract people. I challenge you to try to go
through a day without seeing a commercial, billboard or digitally
flowing green letters sprawled across the side of a bus advertising
the new “Matrix” sequel.

Blockbusters became the outlet politics didn’t want to be.
Is it any surprise that more people choose superheroes over
politicians?

And this will all be reflected in this year’s biggest
movie release, “Reloaded.” For two hours the local AMC
will turn into a bastion for public socialization. When it’s
over, “Reloaded” becomes the lead topic of
Monday’s conversations.

Are you with us? Join the discussion, follow the white rabbit
and enter “The Matrix.”

Moon is a first-year economics student. E-mail him at
jmoon@media.ucla.edu.

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