Francis Berger
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Morrissey on Experiencing the Crushing Burdens of Late Twentieth-Century Society

7/23/2022

3 Comments

 
This post includes a short video featuring the English singer-songwriter Steven Patrick Morrissey -- known professionally simply as Morrissey -- recollecting his childhood and youth in Manchester. 

I don't know much about Morrissey, and I'm not particularly motivated to know much about Morrissey, but I found his poignant remembrances of childhood and his incisive discernment of the crushing burdens of the 1960s and 1970s quite intriguing. So the key here is to focus on what the man says rather than focus on the man himself. 

In the video, Morrissey explains why the place he grew up no longer exists and how this has left him feeling as if a part of his childhood had been torn away from him. He describes the the tightly community his family and extended relations had established in a place called Queens Park, and how all of this came to end in one fell swoop when the place was demolished to make room for garish socialist-like apartment buildings in the 1960s, heralding the end of community and the beginning of anonymous society. Morrissey also touches upon his education and recalls the barbarism he experienced  in high school.

I found the short video interesting for a number of reasons. For starters, it mirrors my own experience growing up in Canada in the 1980s. More importantly, it addresses many of the problems our modern societies created or exacerbated in the late twentieth century -- alienation, faceless bureaucracy, lack of community, government schools, soul-destroying jobs and careers, etc.

From a spiritual perspective (my own, not Morrissey's), the video reminded me that the world is inherently entropic and that some degree of alienation is practically inevitable even if we manage to avoid some of the experiences Morrissey recounts.

Morrissey's recollections also highlight how extremely effective and efficient late twentieth-century society -- with its emphasis on the bureaucratic implementation utility and altruism -- was at intensifying entropy and alienation for the purpose of soul destruction.  

Note added: It's also interesting to note how Morrissey escaped the crushing burdens of the modern world through creativity and the feeling that he what he had to say was "terribly important". As far as I know, Morrissey is a lapsed Catholic, not a practicing Christian, and I suspect that in many ways he is deeply anti-Christian, at least deeply anti-organized Christianity (re: his song, I Have Forgiven Jesus), but his embrace of creativity can be considered instructive if we are willing to compare apples and oranges, so to speak.  
3 Comments
Ted link
7/24/2022 16:54:09

Thanks for sharing this video! I've actually been a fan of Morrissey/The Smiths over the years. He's a complicated figure. More recently, he's been cancelled in some circles for making some anti-immigration/anti-woke comments. I did see him in concert a few years ago, and while I agree he seems to have left his religious past behind to some extent, I did notice he was wearing a cross around his neck that night. Also, one of his favorite idols is Oscar Wilde who converted to Christianity on his deathbed.

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Wade McKenzie
7/24/2022 23:32:31

Hi, Francis. Let me just say that I enjoy your blog and those of your blogging circle. I had always assumed that you were English, like your fellow bloggers Bruce Charlton and William Wildblood, but I was recently enlightened that you are in fact North American--as am I (Oklahoman, specifically...)

It's interesting that you, not a Morrissey fan per se, have stumbled across some old footage of his and cited it here. I'm a big Morrissey fan myself. In fact (without going into all the embarrassing details) I recently supplied Morrissey's name as an answer to Bruce Charlton's question "Who's the greatest living Englishman?"--though it wasn't intended to be anything other than a fanciful supposition. I might even be inclined to think the two phenomena together (my recent citation of Morrissey and yours) constitute a synchronicity of sorts...

https://charltonteaching.blogspot.com/2022/06/so-who-is-greatest-living-englishman-now.html

From a Christian perspective--and a romantic Christian perspective--Morrissey no doubt leaves something to be desired. Having said that, he's not without his considerable charms. He's an undeniably talented singer, performer and songwriter. His lyrics are famous for being emotionally charged. Contra rock music in general, a Morrissey song is almost invariably a "deep" experience. His thematic oeuvre centers on portraying the depressive side of things: life's defeats, failures, misgivings. It may not sound very positive or promising, but the paradox is that objectifying the disappointment and frustration of life by making compelling songs about it has a cathartic effect on the listener. Morrissey has always made his appeal to the disaffected, alienated losers among us (like me!). He's renowned for having a caring relationship with his fans, and they adore him.

A good example of Morrissey's emotionally charged songwriting is "November Spawned a Monster", about a woman who's disabled and possibly disfigured. Interestingly, despite Morrissey's apparent irreligiosity, the name of Jesus often finds its way into his songs. You cited one above; and it's true of "November" too, where the name is invoked, probably not positively, but not negatively either. Perhaps Morrissey's repeated recourse to the name of Jesus, and other religious ideas, in his music is the sign of a troubled conscience. Maybe we ought to pray for him to come to trust in Jesus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBdDjR0I-P4

As I say, Morrissey is problematic from a (romantic) Christian perspective. I won't go into the details. One area where he is interesting, however, is his oft-stated misgiving about mass immigration to Britain. He has repeatedly, over a period of many years, made controversial remarks and gestures in that regard that have gotten him into hot water. He's also written songs that touch on that sentiment. One of those is "We'll Let You Know", which contains the lines: "At heart, what's left, we sadly know.../ We are the last truly British people you will ever know..."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSnWztj0iME

The footage you've shared is old; I speculate that it dates from the eighties. It's intriguing that he chose to produce this then, and obviously it does resonate with at least one theme of our own set of beliefs--opposition to the modern deconstruction of European community. Interestingly, though Morrissey vows (admirably, I think) in the video that, despite the dispiriting changes that had come to pass in his native Manchester, he would remain there out of some trace of filial loyalty, he nevertheless did apparently move away eventually. The song that you hear closing the video is another Morrissey (Smiths) track that recapitulates the video's theme:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laXY5e5JaV0

Anyway, not trying to make a Morrissey fan out of you, Francis, but since I am one myself I just thought I'd amplify your remarks somewhat.

Reply
Francis Berger
7/25/2022 14:38:09

@ Ted, @ Wade - Morrissey is indeed an enigmatic figure. From what I have been able to gather, his anti-Christianity is more of an anti-organized/traditional Christianity stance, which, from a Romantic Christian perspective, leaves open the possibility of individual choice to follow Christ -- right up to the point of or perhaps immediately after death -- but this is something that is up to Morrissey and Morrissey alone. I hope he makes that choice.

Otherwise, I find him to be a charismatic and articulate man. He is unarguably a talented singer/songwriter. His discernment about many System issues is spot on, and he appears to be under considerable System pressure. I also respect his views on creativity.

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