The West now exists at
a time of mainstream 'culture-jamming', wherein false news has become
the norm, specific tribes look more than ever to old and new media
that validates innate ideologies, and the media's pretence of
inter-cultural harmony actually masks a reality of separation.
Stand back from the
crowd and the 'social pawns' of the far left and alt-right, both
knowingly or unwittingly used, whether under the pretext of
'equality' and 'fight for rights', or alternatively, to invigorate a
'New Enlightenment' under which the extremes of Post-Modernism
perieshes.
[NB. here in North London, the social machinations of portions of the 'middle-left' through 'collusion cliques' are constant, transparent and repugnant; the consequence of overt socio and psycho intellectualism. So much so, it makes the teachings of the 'middle-right', as seen by over zealous junior managers, appear downright naive].
[NB. here in North London, the social machinations of portions of the 'middle-left' through 'collusion cliques' are constant, transparent and repugnant; the consequence of overt socio and psycho intellectualism. So much so, it makes the teachings of the 'middle-right', as seen by over zealous junior managers, appear downright naive].
The social anti-dote to
such destructive 'culture jamming'?...
...Jam with
culture....some clotted cream, scones, and pot of Earl-Grey.
As regards the culture,
what better than a 'slice' of socially observant Jamiroquai, a
soupçon of Japan's Jam Orchestra and just a little bit of Duke
Ellington's C Jam Blues.
British sensibilities
should to be rediscovered by the urbanite masses, beyond the
immediate, but now ageing, appeal of hipster beards, storyboard 'ink', craft beers and
ever more idiosyncratic curios; or the inner-city aggrevation of of 'grime and drill' or bling-laden tropes of modern R and B.
Thankfully, such
answers can be found once again in the provinces.
This weekend, Britain's
South Downs, one of the grandest houses and a the very sociable Lord
March plays host to the Goodwood Revival. An event that has become
not only a 'must-do' for many on their annual calendar, but a
veritable central pillar of the UK's own culture industry.
Whilst English Heritage
and the National Trust do fine work in maintaining and conserving an
archetypical Britain that dates back to the Middle Ages, with
buildings and landscapes of utter beauty, for good reason (even with
re-enactments etc) much appears as if preserved in aspic; and
inevitably typically pre-dates the 20th century.
In contrast, it has
been the very dynamism of Goodwood that has fuelled its popularism.
The modern event is
construed as having its origins as the initial get-together of the
automotive cognoscenti, as an amateur's haven to race yesteryear
BRM's, Coopers, Maseratis and other single-seaters soon followed by
second and third tier coupe and saloon racers with their E-Types,
Shelby Cobras, Listers and big Galaxies, Mk2s and the gaggle of little Austins, Morris's and badge-engineered Rileys, et al.
A world almost
mythologically derived, akin to the Aristocratic back-story of the
real Edwardian Chitty Chitty Bang Bangs, merged with the tireless
mechanical efforts of the fictional Caractucus Potts. Those origins
the antithesis of 1990s class obsessed Britain, about a meeting of
minds rather than social strata, where the owner of a V12 Ferrari 330
could talk about compression ratios, advanced ignition timing or four-wheel drifting with
the owner of a humble Austin-Healey Sprite.
Well, the beginnings
may not have been quite as mythological, perhaps a lot more
considered; but brilliant events management and a world of goodwill
mean that the myth soon became reality, and so much more.
From reality to
hyper-reality as prescient moments in Britain's social history became
condensed into 3 wonder-packed days.
With so much rich
social history to draw from, the 1948-1966 timespan accorded to the
cars (reflective of the track's own previous lifespan) became simply
tokenistic yesteryear, as regards all that happened 'track-side'
and far beyond. As with the inclusion of WW2 to both evoke the
national spirit and need for modern globalism; the raft
of Allied memorabilia joined at times by vehicles and planes from the
Axis powers.
After the fall of
Communism, the Goodwood Revival became an instrument of Britain's
internationalist soft-power; whilst simultaneously re-connecting new
generations of its own increasingly diverse peoples to the historical
heartland.
But what was/is the
events attraction? It appears to be the paradox of of 'realism in
escapism'.
For the drivers and
vehicle owners, the heart of the Revival Meeting itself consists of
the classic car's loud pops and bangs, the smell of new and burnt
Castrol oil, the visceral feeling of open-cockpit or closed-cockpit
speed – the open with bugs on goggles and in teeth, and the roles
reversed in closed cockpit, as the driver becomes the the 'bug in a
rattling tin'.
Its where the need to
be uber-rational meets the uber-emotional, such as when deciding on a
' late apex dive across' to take an inside line against another, or
the in-situ mechanical assessment required to ascertain whether a
whisp of white (not blue) smoke from the tailpipe means the
head-gasket will last another race before a rebuild. Is where 'mind
and matter' meet, and more realism is gained in the activity of
weekend escapism.
[NB Doing so
encapsulates the 'living in the moment' mentioned in the previous
weblog, and the mantra espoused by 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle
Maintenance'].
For the attendant
crowd, the heart of the Revival Meeting is to a degree the excitement
of what happens on the track, but more so, personal travel through an
apparent time-warp into a very well staged former period.
One that merges in the
hyper-real manner, aspects of the real, such as vintage clothing and
else, with the fictional, such as the nuanced and deliberate
recreation of Best of British film plots.
Per nuance, by chance
there may be a svelte, caddish figure stood by a Bentley Speed 6, that just might conjure-up the scene from
'The Fast Lady', as the charming but slippery salesman (Leslie
Phillips) convinces the overly rational Scottish anti-hero
(Stanley Baxter) to swap his bicycle for the car, in his bid for a fair maiden.
[NB In the spirit of the Revival, a little something for the Gentleman, and some ladies,...take a look on youtube at 'The Fast Lady - UK Trailer' (CarryOn Trailers)....wait until 2mins 12 secs, and enjoy a demure momentary thrill that sums up a romantic sexiness that beats modern porn by a country mile].
Or perhaps at Goodwood one might stumble upon the likeness
of a young Stanley Baker (not Baxter) stood by an old Foden, ERF or Leyland truck, in an oil-stained shirt, sleeves high-folded with a packet of unfiltered Capstan, looking tough;
a moment then from 'Hell Drivers'.
But far more likely for
most will the momentary transcendence into the cinema screen or onto
a long-lost Pinewood film-set, as with the brilliant previous efforts
of 'Carry On Cabby'.
More subtle but
arguably even more immersive are the efforts to recreate the
environments of the byegone everyday, a form of very specific
'deconstruction for reconstruction', as with a 1960s Tesco shop,
or branded car dealership; the verisimilitude enjoyed given the
play on the senses.
Vitally, it is the rich
tangibility of the vintage items that populate the foreground,
amongst the backdrop of plywood constructed scenes, that provides emotional meaning.
Those surviving (and
even well reproduced) items, whether vehicles, clothing, accessories,
auto-jumble, etcetera, actually feel materially different to our
senses than that of our modern everyday, and not just because they
may be musty.
It's the quality of
materials and manufacture, the weight and longevity, that feel so
different to how supposed quality is represented and experienced today.
Whilst undeniably
modern vehicles are better 'all rounders' when in use, regards
driveability, fuel efficiency, crash absorption etc, the senses
received them as less substantive and so 'less'.
Engineering techniques
to improve the perception of quality abound, from 3mm shut-lines to
steering-wheel stitching patterns and spacing to acoustic tuning; but
the necessary high-rationalisation of vehicle engineering for cost,
weight, manufacturing and performance purposes – the centre-grounds
of modern QFD – have altered the innate character of the car.
This philosophy started at Ford of Britain in the late 1950s with 'Project Cardinal' (which morphed into the 1962-66 Ford Cortina Mk1) and thereafter further rationalised by its Ford of Germany counterpart on Mk2 and Mk3/Taunus. So providing for mutual technical learning for each camp, and so circularity of savings; leading to the integration of Ford of Europe.
Hence the original Cortina (and US/Australian Falcon/Futura) provided for a step-change in Design Methods; soon
copied by GM and Chrysler and taken to extremes by the Japanese with
Sigma 6 and Kanzai. And these products introduced a new Modernist age, one which itself - as with the film 'Made in Dagenham - has inevitably yet ironically become an historical snapshot in its own right.
But with such sleekness
also came the loss of high tactility and confidence inspiring
'build-quality' and the long-lasting emotional connection of the
buyer/owner/user to his/her vehicle.
As product cycles
sped-up, marketing campaigns ran and components failed near their
4-year designed lifespan, so the commercial strategy of 'Inbuilt
Obsolescence' expanded further, from its 1950s origins to become the fundamental basis of 20th
century consumerism.
This is why in this
period the Rover P6 was such a hard car to get right on so many
levels for the Wilks Brothers. Since they had to try to combine and
balance: America's cost-down engineering methods, France's
demonstrated technical sophistication whilst still retaining the Best
of British Rover's build-quality, for both the diverse demands of
domestic sales and export orders.
Hence, the
Goodwood Revival isn't just a grand day out, nor simply 'living
history', portrayed through brilliant characterisation.
It illustrates the
paradigm shift in a rarely available 'compare and contrast' manner,
the watershed period between 1948 - 1966 when Britain itself was
innately remoulded by the challenges and opportunities of new
internationalism and its direct effects upon the commercial
imperative.
To end, a toast...
“To the death of
'culture-jamming' and all negatively associated with it”
and instead,
“To culture with jam,
clotted cream, scones, a pot of early grey and a 'slice' of
jamiroquai...
...to meaningful
national reflection, a new age of creativity and sound macro and
micro financial stewardship ...and substantive commercial-industrial
transformation”
And how about a 'laugh-a-minute' government funded remake of 'The Fast Lady'?..just to inspire!
