The Wall's lowest common denominator appeal is an anthem of adolescent rebellion, and in its timelessness will continue to be so for generations to come. Having seen The Wall in my teenage years and with very little understanding of the deeper underlying themes, the film spoke more to the subconscious intellect and emotional brain first. In so doing it creates an impression that refuses to be shaken from the viewer's memory for just about anyone who sees and hears it, of any race, creed or culture.
The film is anti-fascist in every vein but it's depiction of Nazi-style imagery have left more superficial critics accusing it of the opposite. I won't go into that here, as there is plenty of literature on the matter due to a recent ADL jab taken at the tour's depiction of the Star of David in the Goodbye Blue Sky backdrop. Like all esoteric masterpieces that reach beyond the intellect to impart its message, it remains out of the grasp of face-value judgment. The Wall simply is not what it seems at first glance. Other aspects of the film grow only more apparent with time and age in the life of an individual. What touches me today is the themes of alienation, the relationship between the sexes, the crime of showing feelings as put on trial by the literal "asshole" judge near the end of the film, and the horrific mask of conformity that exists to hide those feelings from the authoritarian figures in our life; those who prey on our humanity, despite the fact that they share that humanity with us.
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Photo Credit: Pink Floyd's The Wall Motion Picture |
Recently Bob Wilson, one of our resident rock and rollers at BFG, described The Wall to me as "art rock" and it seems an appropriate enough categorization. The Wall, however, set a standard that has never been met, nor even remotely followed in music to this day in the category of art rock or otherwise. And why should it be followed? The format of The Wall is appropriate for what it is and what it has to say. Though it tackles many a common theme in rock music past and present, those themes have never been explored as uniquely, nor with the depth to which Waters has gone with his 1979 masterpiece. With many of the walls having come down in the Western world already (sadly to be replaced with less apparent ones raised by our own complacency and slothfulness), the catalyst for such anti-authoritarian passion is non-existent today. Perhaps that will change as conditions in the Western world sour. But anyone who has observed Roger Waters knows that his passion is far from reactionary; it is his cynical nature, and what he creates is from his own essence. It is why The Wall belongs to Mr. Waters, why this performance has been so remarkably genuine, and why it's been a time capsule full of the vigor of a generation of activism long put to bed. Each note in the live performance is more accurate to the film than any live rendition of The Wall in the past, due largely in part to the reverence of Water's extremely talented support band.
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A shot of the 36-Foot wall as taken from my iPhone. |
Regardless, there are several microcosms in my own daily life in which the sentiments of The Wall find their home, as there are for so many others in the world living in conditions where their feelings cannot be expressed, where "she won't let you fly, but she might let you sing." The tour comes at a time where a return to a father/mother figure is sought by many of us in a time of war and economic uncertainty; where control and freedom from control become central topics as a declining superpower takes stock in its military might, where traditional authoritarian conflicts remain in the Mid-East. More of Roger Water's reasons for touring now can be found on the official site here.
"Money get back / I'm all right, Jack / Keep your hands off my stack / New car / Caviar / Four star daydream / Think I'll buy me a football team." Absolute rubbish, laddie.
Get on with yer work.