Please keep posting such excerpts because it's one joy to read such observations but it's another form of happiness to read a book without ever buying it.
While I agree with the larger observations on cringe content, I am in complete disagreement with your take on Kolaveri di. I read your book a few weeks ago and had then thought that your labelling the song as emblematic of cringe content was incorrect.
I think Kolaveri di is the result of an imagination capturing the expression of a certain kind of class angst.
The singer is a dark skinned boy (as opposed to white skin girl) not much to look at, not English educated (or did not learn well), unsophisticated , pining away at the unattainable, trying to find solace at the bottom of a bottle. His broken, drunken expression in English is not cringe but haunting.
The video is shot in all seriousness, the aesthetic carefully designed. It achieved its aim magnificently, that while being accused of being nonsense, it was able to speak to the underclass ( of mostly aspiring suitors who secretly fear facing rejection) who desire the unachievable moon. The lyrics make perfect sense. Though assembled nonsensically in the eyes of non-native English speakers, it is the song of those howling at the distant moon. Dismissing it or discounting it as cringe is simply incorrect. The non-Tamil speaking crowd may have caught on later for the wrong reasons, but the song garnered initial attention due to its perceived authenticity. (And savvy campaign too).
For all the celebrated diversity of this country, the lack of curiosity to understand the aspects that contribute to it in their original raw forms, although not shocking, is disappointing.
Your comment would have made sense if I used cringe in negative sense and if I criticised the song. I have already gave context of what is meaning of cringe --which is about displaying a certain sense of freedom. It was perceived as ‘nonsense’ by many and that was the whole point. I give example of Javed to talk about the mood around at the time.
Loved the book, AMV.
Please keep posting such excerpts because it's one joy to read such observations but it's another form of happiness to read a book without ever buying it.
Thankyou 💙
While I agree with the larger observations on cringe content, I am in complete disagreement with your take on Kolaveri di. I read your book a few weeks ago and had then thought that your labelling the song as emblematic of cringe content was incorrect.
I think Kolaveri di is the result of an imagination capturing the expression of a certain kind of class angst.
The singer is a dark skinned boy (as opposed to white skin girl) not much to look at, not English educated (or did not learn well), unsophisticated , pining away at the unattainable, trying to find solace at the bottom of a bottle. His broken, drunken expression in English is not cringe but haunting.
The video is shot in all seriousness, the aesthetic carefully designed. It achieved its aim magnificently, that while being accused of being nonsense, it was able to speak to the underclass ( of mostly aspiring suitors who secretly fear facing rejection) who desire the unachievable moon. The lyrics make perfect sense. Though assembled nonsensically in the eyes of non-native English speakers, it is the song of those howling at the distant moon. Dismissing it or discounting it as cringe is simply incorrect. The non-Tamil speaking crowd may have caught on later for the wrong reasons, but the song garnered initial attention due to its perceived authenticity. (And savvy campaign too).
For all the celebrated diversity of this country, the lack of curiosity to understand the aspects that contribute to it in their original raw forms, although not shocking, is disappointing.
Your comment would have made sense if I used cringe in negative sense and if I criticised the song. I have already gave context of what is meaning of cringe --which is about displaying a certain sense of freedom. It was perceived as ‘nonsense’ by many and that was the whole point. I give example of Javed to talk about the mood around at the time.
Funnily enough, the "having-fun-in-a-studio-while-recording-a-song" music video became the template for at least a decade. Enjoyed this