CAMBRIDGE LETTER
Does it matter what they wear?
BILL KIRKMAN
|
We should be more concerned about the policies that politicians offer, but politics is being dumbed down under the influence of celebrity culture.
|
Photo: Rajeev Bhatt
Comes with the role: Gordon Brown.
What was Prime Minister Gordon Brown wearing on the beach during his holiday on the Suffolk coast? Pictures in the newspapers showed him in quite formal clothes. David Cameron, the Leader of the Opposition, by contrast chose far more casual wear during his holiday.
One is tempted to ask: Does it matter? Certainly, as a citizen, I am concerned about the policies which the politicians offer, and about their plans to deal with the major economic problems facing Britain and other countries. I do not care at all what they are wearing.
Clearly, many people do, if the newspapers have got their marketing right. The fact that they do is a reflection of a wider interest in the appearance of famous people, including those who are famous simply for being famous — a reflection, in short, of the “celebrity culture”.
Disturbing trend
This may be irritating, but it is probably generally harmless — although there is some cause to be worried by the results of a survey conducted earlier in the year for the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, which showed that more than a third of teachers said pupils wanted to be famous for the sake of being famous — surely a somewhat limited ambition.
The publication of holiday photographs of politicians is not a new phenomenon. When Lord Home (an earl, albeit one who had given up his peerage to enable him to be prime minister) held that office in the 1960s, for example, he was pictured shooting grouse — a very aristocratic leisure activity.
Interestingly, one of Britain’s most successful post Second World War prime ministers, Clement Attlee, had no interest in being a celebrity. Leader of the Labour Party, he had been Winston Churchill’s deputy during the wartime coalition government, and in effect had run the country while Churchill ran the war. During the campaigning for the post-war election, in which Labour defeated Churchill and the Conservatives, Attlee was hardly known as a recognisable public figure. (There was, of course, virtually no television at this time.) There was doubt about what he looked like, but no doubt about his achievements (including the independence of India and Pakistan).
It would be unrealistic to believe that any leading politician in today’s world could cultivate the cult of anonymity. Professor James McCann, professor of political science at Purdue University, Indiana, makes the interesting point that both Democratic and Republican national conventions (which begin on August 25 and September 1 respectively) have more to do with the image of the parties than with the delegates’ preferences for president. He comments that “the conventions are like greeting cards to Americans from their political parties”, emphasising, however, that this does not mean that the conventions are politically inconsequential.
To return to the U.K. political scene, as we observe the emphasis on what our leading politicians are wearing, it is sometimes tempting to bewail the dumbing down of politics under the influence of “celebrity culture”. It is no doubt true that those of my fellow citizens whose ambition is to be famous for the sake of being famous do not spend much of their time pondering the major issues facing society.
Different priorities
To put things in perspective, however, it is worth looking at society through a totally different telescope. Moving far from the international, or indeed the national, scene to the local, I am involved in the preparation for the village where I live of a Parish Plan. Parish plans bring together the views, needs and opinions of the whole community, and include an action plan setting out how needs may be met and issues tackled.
Preparing the parish plan is a major task, which began with the issue of a detailed questionnaire to all residents. The response rate was high. Teams of volunteers have worked for months analysing the results, and translating them into informed commentary and a wide range of specific proposals.
The process has been a largely behind the scenes activity, offering no opportunities whatsoever for anyone seeking celebrity status. It could not have happened without a widespread interest in the community in the political and social context in which it exists.
No doubt the celebrity culture is with us to stay, but I guess we can be quite sanguine about its effects. Political dumbing down is certainly not universal.
Footnote: In my last “Letter” I wrote about the fiasco over the marking of Sats school examinations. The contract with the American company ETS which was responsible for the conduct of the examinations has been terminated.
Bill Kirkman is an Emeritus Fellow of Wolfson College Cambridge, U.K. Email him at: bill.kirkman@gmail.com
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Magazine
