"Sluterism". That's how it appears to me too. On the music video TV channel, there's barely a video without a half-dressed woman in it. Perhaps the worst video I saw (which isn't many, I admit) that I would call slutty was one of Janet and Michael Jackson. They were in some weird black and white space, and watching Janet covering her bare breasts with her hands was the weirdest thing. I couldn't understand why that move had ever been included. It seemed to be nothing more than soft porn - which everyone knows sells.
Whatever Altiyan has in mind by the term 'sluterism', he certainly has guts to challenge the extreme uses of sex in popular culture. Being a performer himself, he is in a good position to take it on. People like me can be easily labelled as old school. But when Altiyan questions it, people will look at the images they have taken for granted in a new light. Altiyan clearly uses sexuality as part of his performance, so he can't be written off as anti-sex.
In another interview, Altiyan was asked whether the music industry was "favouring imagery over artistry". Again, he showed a willingness to challenge assumptions and behaviours in popular culture that are so pervasive people cannot see them. "Yes, oh my gosh, I mean let's be quite honest what we are glorifying? We are glorifying [s]ex, alcohol, drugs, parties, clubs, the club has become the new church…" (Thomas Bleach: Altiyan Childs: Bringing the Good Guy Back, in The Messenger, 12 Feb 2011, p10)
Altiyan makes a good point about religion. Religion gets a bad rap, and justifiably, for sucking people in and anesthetizing their questioning faculty. But is popular culture any different? The same power trips are at work in both spheres. There's money and power in sex, alcohol and drugs for those who control them, just as there is money and power in controlling access to salvation.
The idea of imagery versus artistry points to the heart of the matter, in my view, which is appearance versus meaning. If meaning, or real creativity, informs the appearance, you get artists who will challenge cultural assumptions. A healthy discourse develops and society changes as a result. But when appearances prevail, when appearance is an end in itself, people are locked in. Any expression outside the norm is ridiculed.
And that explains, I think, why Altiyan feels embarrassed to say, but nevertheless finds the courage to say: "I am bringing the good guy back… It's all about the old school stuff with me and I still think it's popular. I look out to the fans and see that people love recognising the good people and believe that everyone should be treated right." (Thomas Bleach: Altiyan Childs: Bringing the Good Guy Back, in The Messenger, 12 Feb 2011, p10) You see, here, he refers to being a good person as "old school". It is the put-down term for 'old fashioned values'. True, they are old fashioned; the concept of being good was a point of discussion among the ancient Greeks. But that's because being good is about being human. For example, being good has suddenly become high fashion in the wake of the Christchurch earthquake. The TV coverage is full of it - people helping others out all over the place, and in doing so, discovering their own 'good guy'. Altiyan will in time find himself on the right side of fashion with his 'good guy' talk. But it takes insight to speak about being good when everyone else thinks it sucks.
A sign of how much people are willing to find a dark side to Altiyan came with the two unfortunate events that occurred in Tasmania, when Altiyan was there to give a concert. It's impossible to work out exactly what happened due to the different accounts from various sources reported in the media. What is clear is that Altiyan was injured in a fight outside a pub, and that the management of the hotel in which he and his entourage stayed accuses them of trashing their rooms. But it isn't clear that Altiyan acted wrongly in either of these situations. We don't know for sure who started the fight or who trashed the hotel room. Altiyan denies doing both these things, but others accuse him of them.
As regards the fight outside the pub, Altiyan says that "a group of guys inside were calling me a 'dirty faggot' and a 'wanker'". (Joel Christie: X Factor winner Altiyan Childs attacked by 'haters' in brutal bashing) He and his friends decided to leave but were followed by four men, who proceeded to attack Altiyan outside. Altiyan's bodyguard intervened and broke the fight up. The four men fled. Altiyan sustained multiple bruising. The Sunday Telegraph reports that David Kaine, the hotel's night supervisor, accused Altiyan of starting the fight by hitting on another man's girlfriend. (Jonathon Moran: X-Factor star Altiyan Childs hits rock bottom after wild night in Hobart) The Mercury reports Mr Kaine as saying that Altiyan said to the woman "Why have them when you could have me, a superstar". (Wild Childs' hotel shame) Heaven knows. Given what Altiyan has to say about being famous, it doesn't sound like something he'd say. Altiyan's explanation is that his "love for people will always get me into trouble. It's got me into trouble this weekend, when I reach out and touch someone. It is me breaking down the boundaries." (Jonathon Moran: X-Factor star Altiyan Childs hits rock bottom after wild night in Hobart) It seems to me that Altiyan was doing what we see him doing with his fans all the time - touching people and saying loving things to them - and this was interpreted wrongly.
As to the trashed hotel room, Altiyan says: "All I can say is, it (the room) still looked pretty good to me when I went downstairs. It wasn't particularly dirty, it wasn't infested with anything remotely awful. Anyway, it is what it is. I have passed on my apologies. If you tell me there is a $12,000 to a $15,000 bill, then obviously there is a $12,000 to $15,000 bill." (Jonathon Moran: X-Factor star Altiyan Childs hits rock bottom after wild night in Hobart) Altiyan seems not to know what happened to the room, but has taken responsibility for the damage anyway.
The reports about these incidents in the media have been shockingly biased. I guess the various media outlets need to make money and the best way to do that is to sensationalise events. But this from the Sunday Telegraph has the following wild statement: "The Sunday Telegraph can reveal Childs tried to cover up the incident [of the trashed room] this week, claiming he was the victim of 'haters' who attacked him at a Hobart pub, while on tour." (Jonathon Moran: X-Factor star Altiyan Childs hits rock bottom after wild night in Hobart) But the report contains no evidence on which it relies for this accusation of a cover-up. Perhaps it would be more truthful to say that Altiyan had not mentioned the issue of the hotel room when interviewed about the fight. I don't know, maybe that's the 'cover-up'.
The Sunday Herald Sun also reported the claim about a cover-up, but again provided no evidence. It also said "…X-Factor winner Altiyan Childs says he has hit rock bottom, racking up a $15,000 bill for a trashed hotel room from an all-night party." (X-Factor winner Altiyan Childs in hotel bust-up) The clear implication is that Altiyan trashed the room. The report does not contain Altiyan's explanation that he didn't know about the damage. Similarly, The Mercury (Wild Childs' hotel shame) and The Sunday Telegraph (Jonathon Moran: X-Factor star Altiyan Childs hits rock bottom after wild night in Hobart) both started their reports with: "POP star Altiyan Childs faces a clean-up bill of up to $15,000 after trashing a hotel room in Hobart last week". They do report Altiyan's explanation but, despite it, glibly state as fact that Altiyan trashed the room.
Other, worse, statements include this from the appropriately named "The Dirt": "X-Factor winner Altiyan Childs has been fined $15,000 for trashing a hotel room after an all night binge." (Madam H: Altiyan Childs In Hotel Bust Up) Fined! As if he's already been to court, tried and found guilty. Comments on Twitter that I've seen centre on the theme: "I always knew he was a loser; this proves it." Just one media commentator had the balls to say: "Do you think this is true? Altiyan has done some pretty wild stuff, like hiding in a cave during The X Factor, but we don't know if he'd trash a hotel room and start fights!" (Altiyan Childs Trashes Hotel Room?)
(Read my earlier article, Altiyan Childs: Irrepressible Spirituality.)
0 comments:
Post a Comment