The Rage Monologues was devised as a spoken-word project built around an in-progress and expanding collection of pieces that would evolve over time, developed and adapted to suit different audiences and settings and, where necessary or appropriate, tweaked to be up-to-the-minute current. It was never about producing a fixed body of published work. However, sometimes events overtake plans, and this piece I began performing a few months ago is probably more relevant now than it ever will be again, so I’ve decided to share it with the world as it’s currently written.
News
It still seems to be a fact little acknowledged outside certain domains – media studies, sociology and the world of Charlie Brooker, for example – that the news media is biased. It seems to be even less understood how the mainstream media – the big providers, like the BBC and Sky – is highly selective as to what it covers. The post-election ‘Fuck The Tories’ protests, like Occupy’s pro-democracy protests over in Parliament Square before them, were largely ignored in favour of, well, everything. The revolution clearly won’t be televised. It will be suppressed, ignored out of history until it ceases to exist. How do you fight back against the international media?
If the mainstream news media were to be believed, things are once again quiet in Gaza, and the Ukraine situation is altogether more settled. There is peace. There is calm, but we can’t get too comfortable because the terror threat is as high as it’s been since 9/11. It’s all a strategy. Keep the people on edge. Keep them compliant.
All of the new legislation is for our safety, about preventing terrorism. It’s not about control. Oh no. Only a conspiracy theorist would suggest that. Keep the public’s focus on the things that keep them scared. Keep them indignant. And keep them distracted with entertainment. Give them the news they want. But wait.
Sports news is not news. It’s news about sport.
Celebrity gossip is not news. It’s gossip about celebrities.
So you’re wondering what’s happening in Syria while shitting yourself silly over ebola. The next time you’re reading OK! Magazine, Heat Magazine, People magazine, Grazia, The Mail, The Sun, The Mirror, Metro or any other wretched tabloid arsewipe, take a moment to think and consider this:
X-Factor is not news.
Strictly is not news.
The Voice is not news.
The Beckhams are not news.
Harry Potter is not news.
Big Brother is not news.
Celebrity Big Brother is not news. Most of the contestants aren’t even celebrities.
Dr Who is not news.
The weather is not news.
I’m a former D-List Celebrity, Get me Out of Here! is not news.
Britain’s Got Talent is not news. And if anything, this programme proves the precise opposite of what the title states.
Simon Cowell is not news.
Rhianna’s pierced nipples are not news.
Katie Price is not news.
Made in Chelsea is not news.
The Only Way is Essex is not news.
Joey Essex is not news. He’s just an idiot who can’t tell the time.
The love life of some slapper off The Only Way is Essex or some cretin off Made in Chelsea is not news.
Footballers’ wives – the TV show or actual footballers’ wives – do not constitute news.
Suzannah Reid’s short skirt is not news.
Diet fads are not news.
A nip-slip or so-called wardrobe malfunction is not news.
Frankie Boyle saying something offensively un-PC is not news.
Bruce Jenner’s sex change is not news: give the guy some peace.
Justin Bieber is not news.
Miley Cyrus is not news.
Myleene Klass is not news.
Robert Pattinson is not news.
Daniel Radcliffe is not news.
Kristen Stewart is not news, affair or no affair.
Emma Watson’s hair is not news.
Somebody parking badly is not news.
How some comedian deals with a heckler or someone whose phone goes off during their performance is not news.
Eastenders / Emmerdale / Hollyoaks actors and actresses scrapping outside restaurants is not news.
Naomi Campbell being a bitch is not news.
Kate Moss sunbathing topless / on coke / being a bitch is not news.
Katy Perry and Russell Brand are not news. Never were.
Bickering celebrities regardless of their status is not news.
Pete Doherty on / off / on / off / on drugs is not news.
That little tosser with the bouffant hair from One Direction: whoever he’s dating / shagged is not news. Nothing he does is news.
Kim Kardashian’s oiled buttocks are not news.
Kate Middleton’s disappointing breasts are not news.
The opinions of the masses are not news.
Facebook comments are not news.
Katie Hopkins is not news.
Madonna posing topless again in her 50s or falling off a step is not news. Madonna is yesterday’s news. Let’s be honest. More like yesterday’s news 20 years ago.
My Big Fat cunting Gypsy Wedding is not news.
Whatever bigoted bollocks spills from the mouth of Jeremy Clarkson is not fucking news.
‘Celebrities’ bickering on Twitter is not news.
What people have said on Twitter in response something somebody people follow on Twitter said is not news.
Miley fucking Cyrus, I repeat, is not news.
Sleazy, corrupt MPs are not news. Apart from when they’re murderous paedophiles, in which case you won’t hear about it, so it’s still not news.
This is not news. Nothing to see here, people. Move along, now, and fast, or you’ll feel the strong arm of the law hefting a baton at you. Pic: Mail Online.
Now this, this is news. Look at his lovely white teeth and tended eyebrows. What a wholesome, sincere lad. No, it’ doesn’t matter that he’s a fuckwit, he’s the salt of the earth. He’s got a new haircut, too. Don’t you feel much calmer and happier knowing about that rather than worrying about those ultra-left brutes who are trying to bring anarchy to the city’s street with their offensive placards and dungarees?
And if you’re loving my work, there’s more of the same (only different) at Christophernosnibor.co.uk
Christopher's Headspace 