Big Brother Isn't Watching You

Dispute is inescapable anywhere there are human beings. But what triggers these disputes and how should these be resolved? These questions are resolved in a commentary by Russell Brand called "Huge Bro isn't viewing you". He discusses the riots of London in 2011 and tries to describe why they took place in addition to how to fix this conflict between the federal government and the more youthful generations. Russell Brand moved to Los Angeles but still considers himself an Englishman which contributes extremely to his decision to compose this commentary.

He begins by informing an example, of sorts. He describes his days on the show Huge Brother where a rather significant occurrence happened. Throughout the program, 3 of the individuals residing in the house, prompted by the teasing conditions, got in a battle, and the authorities were called upon at the same time.

The producer asked Brand not to recount the extent of the violence, on air, to which he answered: "You can not awaken the animal in man then anticipate it to be put aside at a moment's notification.

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" (P.2,L.19-20). This is likewise the main issue in the next thing he attends to, which is the main focus in the text, the London riots in 2011. Brand discovers the riots bothering and frightening but questions: why are they taking place? He doesn't agree with the rioters, however instead of dwelling on the riots themselves he wishes to find the reason behind the riots. This is shown in the following quote: "However "unacceptable" and "unjustifiable" it may be, It has happened so we much better accept it and, whilst we can't justify it, we ought to subjugate a couple of nerve cells and work out why numerous people feel utterly detached from the cities they reside in.

"( P.3,L.55-57).

Here he provides a new issue: the feeling of being disconnected from society. Brand tells a story from his youth where he, as many others taking part in the London riots, felt a void inside him. He felt an absence of direction and felt that the federal government only represented the big service rather of the general population. In his case he had a loving mother and dad who assisted him, and he says that "I shiver to believe how disenfranchised I would have felt if I had actually been denied of that long list of benefits." (P.3,L.80-81).. Many of the rioters came from poor families, had no education, no money and no chance to get their hands on any. They are in other words young people on the margins of society. In 2006 Cameron held a speech where he argued for a better understanding of these young people on the margins of society. But what does he gain from that. Many of these don’t even vote because they feel disenfranchised and because they know that whoever sits on the power will treat them the same. This can be seen from the following quote: “Hoodies don’t vote, they’ve realized it’s pointless, that whoever gets elected will just be a different shade of the “we don’t give a toss about you” party”(P.3,L.92-93). He states that the young people have no sense of community because they were never given one. Neither Cameron nor Thatcher has managed to embrace the margins of society.

He says: “If we don’t want our young people to tear apart our communities then don’t let people in power tear apart the values that hold our community together.”(P.4,L.105-106) This is a very critical statement that openly attacks the UK government and demands a change that will have an effect on the young people who acted in the 2011 riots. Russell Brand, true to his profession, writes in a very sarcastic and, at times, humorous language. One of the first examples of sarcasm or humorous writing in the text is the following quote: “… dopey ol’ Boris came cycling back into the London clutter with his spun gold hair and his spun shit logic as it became apparent that the holidays were over.”(P.2,L.27-29) This quote contains heavy sarcasm in the way he describes the mayor of London, Boris Johnson, and the way he handled the crisis. Another example of sarcasm and maybe the best one in the text is in the following quote: “Wow! Thanks guys! What a wonderful use of the planet’s fast-depleting oxygen resources.” (P.2,L.51-52)

This sentence is directed at the so-called experts who called the 2011 riots “unacceptable” as well as “unjustifiable”. In this case Brand uses sarcasm to show his opinion the matter. The quote can easily be interpreted as his attitude towards the experts who, according to him, are using unnecessary oxygen to state the obvious instead of figuring out, what caused the riots. This is not the only place he clearly expresses his attitude towards the riots or the way they’ve been handled by the government. He mentions numerous times that he cannot agree to call the rioters mindless, but on the other hand he clearly states that he does not consent with what the rioters did. The solution to the problem is, in accordance to Brand, not political but spiritual. He quotes Gandhi: “Be the change you want to see in the world.” (P.4,L.12-13)

He includes this quote to show that the rioters only acted to be heard and in the hope that they’d be included in society. It is now the job of the communities to include the young people on the margins in society in the community and to show them compassion and love. Russell Brand believes the riots are caused by the lack of community felling. This is caused by the indifference shown by the government toward the young people who acted in the riots and who are often on the margins of society. He criticizes the futile terms used by the experts to describe the rioters, and urges the communities to take action and include the troubled young people in the communities, which would possibly avoid future confrontation.