If we can think of society as a living organism, then its media acts like a nervous system, sending important information to the parts of the body that need it most. Information about climate change, nuclear proliferation, economic crises, species loss, automation and artificial intelligence should be distributed effectively around a functioning social nervous system. It is no secret to anyone that this model of the media is a far cry from reality. Instead the superfluous, trite, trivial and meaningless stories that do little more than distract find top billing, where other more important issues are ignored or overlooked. Even when important stories do get covered, it is often the case that the most banal questions are raised.
Take, for example, the recently reported alcohol problems of Ant McPartlin, the Saturday night entertainer. Ant was arrested recently for drink driving and has left the programme he hosted with his long time TV partner Declan Donnelly. He is currently in a residential rehab and is facing criminal charges over a collision with another vehicle while allegedly intoxicated. Public anger, indignation, shock and disgust have been levelled at him and newspapers that have made their owners wealthy reporting about him in the past now dance with glee at his downfall. It goes without saying that addicts need to face the consequences of their own behaviour, but the way in which countless high profile ‘fall from grace’ stories are presented allows us as a society to ignore our own behaviour and the wider context of addiction.
Here are some of the questions that no one so far has taken the time and care to ask. Why has a man with a £60 million fortune and a career that has been enormously successful reached a point of self destruction? Why have we as a society invested so much in cheering his downfall? What is the real pay off for us individually and collectively here? What role does the sale and marketing of alcohol have in this story?
Often when addicts point at the drinking behaviour of others, it is because they do not wish to confront hard truths about their own behaviour and problems. Britain is not just a society that contains addicts, it is an addicted society, addicted not just to drink, drugs, gambling and other substances and behaviours, but addicted to distraction and fantasy. Collectively we engage the mass addictions of consumerism and spectacle and a fallen star is perfect for our purposes. It is the best way to avoid looking at ourselves in our rush to condemn.
