I recently read Salman Rushdie discussing his latest work 'Two Years, Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights' and what really caught my attention is what he said inspired it! Rushdie feels as though the world is turning upside down and society is drastically changing.
His exact words were:
"[The novel’s storyline about Jinns] connected in my mind to this idea I had about living in a world where the rules are breaking down, where the world is changing so fast in all directions that a lot of people have a sense of bewilderment. You don’t actually know what the rules are anymore, and you have a sense that maybe there are other people much younger than you who do know what the rules are, and are thereby make billions by inventing, what, Snapchat? What the hell is that? That, apparently, is worth billions. Novels are worth, if you’re lucky, a six-figure sum"
I feel exactly as he does, the development of these apps and odd companies make me wonder how odd the world has become. Things that shouldn't matter are getting thrown in our faces and people are blindly following them, investing their time and money in these false beliefs. It is truly worrying, I'd actually be pretty interested to see what his opinion is on the likes of the Kardashians, though if he's lucky he might not have had the misfortune to come across them.
Obviously we are further advancing into an age of technology but it feels as though we are leaving a lot behind that is worthwhile. I often think that if someone were to just pull the plug on the power then there would be millions of young people who would have no idea how to behave or what to do with their time.
I recently read an article about rating how reliant you are upon your smartphone and one of the questions asked about the level of worry or fear you felt if you were to leave your house without your phone! Of course it is a convenient tool to have but it shouldn't be a permanent feature glued to the side of your head!
It seems as though Rushdie was touching on the fact that value has been misplaced these days and something that has been given time and effort is nowhere near as rewarded or viewed as an 8 second video of a baby twerking. I've watched people be concerned about whether or not people like their Snapchat and what they should post that would be funny...it's actually a pretty scary and sad sight.
Rushdie must be wondering what the world has come to and I'm inclined to think the same. His concerns are reflected in his latest work and I can't wait to read them.
