Neo-Baroque Era

     It is clearly apparent that we are living in a neo-baroque era, possibly even a rococo era, and I see it every single night.  Go out on any night of the week on South Howard and you instantly see a plethora of girls dressed head to toe in tight dresses, extensive make-up, and designer hand bags.  The men are for the majority in collared shirts and wearing shiny new watches that mommy and daddy probably bought for them. 

     I am not saying this is the entire general public, but the majority of people are very materialistic and use their own bodies as a marketing tool to show the world what they possess.  Spending hours to get ready and trying on dozens of new outfits before a simple night out for a few drinks seems the same to me as back in the baroque era women wearing those huge ridiculous wigs.

     This materialism and shallowness is also very apparent in the rap / hip-hop genre.  The music has shifted from artists story telling and the use of quality poetry like rhymes, to ignorant lyrics boasting about the possessions that they own and all the girls that they can acquire.

     All of this can be related to the Latin term 'bread and circuses, which originated when the Roman Empire began and people were only worried about 'bread and circuses' while their attention was being diverted from what was really going on.  The government would give out free food and put on huge shows in order to keep the public happy and distracted in the meantime.*   

   So many people today are still distracted and oblivious to what is happening in the world.  They wake up, flick on the t.v, go to work, not really doing anything with passion but just being stuck on auto-pilot.  As long as they get there drinks at the end of the night and t.v when they wake up they are fine, they don't question anything, they don't strive for more in life.  That is why I feel it is time to wake up and not take anything for granted. Strive to educate yourself as much as possible constantly challenging your perspective on the world, in order to grow and develop as a person.


*(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/bread+and+circuses)