Армения - это ты --- Hayastan@ du es --- Armenia is you (HD)

[vahanh]

Специально по случаю 20-летия независимости Армении была написана песня "Армения - это ты"

[bell-the-cat]

Re: Армения - это ты --- Hayastan@ du es --- Armenia is you (HD)

A 3 minute 59 second lie. And not a hint of irony in it anywhere. Musical Prozac for the people.

[ArmeniaR1]

Re: Армения - это ты --- Hayastan@ du es --- Armenia is you (HD)

Nice clip thanks

[Serjik]

Re: Армения - это ты --- Hayastan@ du es --- Armenia is you (HD)

Why are you being such a sour puss? Whats the lie, cat?

A 3 minute 59 second lie. And not a hint of irony in it anywhere. Musical Prozac for the people.

[bell-the-cat]

Re: Армения - это ты --- Hayastan@ du es --- Armenia is you (HD)

Why are you being such a sour puss? Whats the lie, cat?

It should really be called "Armenia is Us", the "us" being the offspring of the elites, and with no mention of "them" - the "them" being the 90% of Armenia's population who have lives and circumstances that do not even slightly resemble what is represented in this propaganda video. But the "them" have no place in the "us" Armenia, their only role is to remain silent and allow the elites to continue to rule and get richer.

So, I suppose it is, inadvertantly, an accurate representation of the way things are in Armenia today after 20 years of independence. However, it is nothing to be happy about.

[hrai]

Re: Армения - это ты --- Hayastan@ du es --- Armenia is you (HD)

It should really be called "Armenia is Us", the "us" being the offspring of the elites, and with no mention of "them" - the "them" being the 90% of Armenia's population who have lives and circumstances that do not even slightly resemble what is represented in this propaganda video. But the "them" have no place in the "us" Armenia, their only role is to remain silent and allow the elites to continue to rule and get richer.

So, I suppose it is, inadvertantly, an accurate representation of the way things are in Armenia today after 20 years of independence. However, it is nothing to be happy about.

So, breaking news from the Cat........10% of the population are "the elite", powerful and rich, in control of government and business, while the 90% majority live lives of misery providing labour when needed to support that small minority.
Shocking news indeed Bell, an elite of 10% of the population! By Western standards that's pretty big. What's the percentage of the elite in scotland?

An indication from the UK, comments from the ruling party that the higher rate of tax (50%) levied on people earning over £150,ooo per year should be abolished. I've no idea what the working-age population is in UK but this higher rate of tax apparently affects 320,000 people. UK population is @ 60,000,000. If say 20,000,000 working/eligible to work that gives an elite of 0.016%.
Go figure, Bell and maybe comment on UK churches/heritage/politics/history/blahblah.

[LadyLazarus]

Re: Армения - это ты --- Hayastan@ du es --- Armenia is you (HD)

Bell, an independent Armenia is everything to be happy about! Sure, songs such as this one (as well as another similar one by Inga/Anush) dedicated to Armenia's independence are propaganda. And we need propaganda. We need for our people to have faith in Armenia's core, in Armenia's fabric, in Armenia's future. Consider this: what is propaganda if not a tool for promoting (in this case) nationalism?! And what is a nation without nationalism?! We need this. We need this just like we needed Armenia's independence. Establishing an independent Armenia in 1991 was, for Armenians, akin to what picking up a fallen flag is for a wounded soldier in battle: a sudden and much-needed boost in morale, a resurgence of faith, a current of energy, the strength that propels us forward. Of course, some people got rich in the process and others got even richer on the backs of the activist, the soldier, the worker, and the farmer whose combined efforts have made an independent Armenia possible. And sure, with the advent of capitalism in Armenia, not all have benefitted equally. This happens in all developing nations and is very Machiavellian in nature. It happens, and yes, it's sad, but I say it's no reason to NOT celebrate an independent Armenia, going through growing pains as it may be. We need to keep an optimistic eye to the future, not wallow in a painful present.

I personally enjoy all of these propaganda songs celebrating Armenia. And heck, we're Armenian, we come pre-programmed to respond positively to anything with a half-decent beat that brings us all a little closer! Don't fight it, people! Give in to the propaganda! It's part of nation-building!

[Serjik]

Re: Армения - это ты --- Hayastan@ du es --- Armenia is you (HD)

Hey cat, you gotta be kidding me. Why are you such negative Armo? My family is from there you know. The real figures are. 1/3 of the population is pretty well off (this includes the very rich and the typical well-off). 1/3 is average they live wage to wage, nothing fancy. 1/3 is doing very bad just enough to live a very simple basic life. But the funny part is no one is starving or homeless. So you see cat even with all the problems Armenia is not doing all that badly. Give it another ten-twenty years, you gonna want to repatriate. Trust me man. And that cool video represents me and most of my buddies over there.

It should really be called "Armenia is Us", the "us" being the offspring of the elites, and with no mention of "them" - the "them" being the 90% of Armenia's population who have lives and circumstances that do not even slightly resemble what is represented in this propaganda video. But the "them" have no place in the "us" Armenia, their only role is to remain silent and allow the elites to continue to rule and get richer.

So, I suppose it is, inadvertantly, an accurate representation of the way things are in Armenia today after 20 years of independence. However, it is nothing to be happy about.

[bell-the-cat]

Re: Армения - это ты --- Hayastan@ du es --- Armenia is you (HD)

And that cool video represents me and most of my buddies over there.

You think that slickly-shallow corporate video is "cool", and you actually identify with the superficial, self-centered individuals depicted in it?

Watching it again, its content seems even worse.
They dare show a backdrop of film reels and clapperboards. What film industry has Armenia got - it died from lack of support after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the once-vibrant publishing industry is also almost dead.
They dare show picture frames and paints. The only artists who flourish in Armenia now are con-artists, most of the true artists have left or have abandoned their calling, intellectual life is at a standstill, the former authority of academics has been replaced by self-apointed rabble-rousers, doomsayers, religious fundamentalists, and ranting pseudo-historians.
They dare show butterflies - rare creatures in Yerevan these days since the remaining parks are full of mafia-owned cafes rather than trees, flowers, and grass - and in a country devastated by environmental polution where the few remaining pristine areas are at risk from mafia-controlled mining, quarrying, and logging.
In this video all you see are a bunch of bland and brainless clones with plucked eyebrows, clad in new, safe, Gap-style clothing, prancing down that flimsy stage-set of alleged modernity that is North-South avenue.

[bell-the-cat]

Re: Армения - это ты --- Hayastan@ du es --- Armenia is you (HD)

Bell, an independent Armenia is everything to be happy about! Sure, songs such as this one (as well as another similar one by Inga/Anush) dedicated to Armenia's independence are propaganda. And we need propaganda. We need for our people to have faith in Armenia's core, in Armenia's fabric, in Armenia's future. Consider this: what is propaganda if not a tool for promoting (in this case) nationalism?! And what is a nation without nationalism?! We need this. We need this just like we needed Armenia's independence. Establishing an independent Armenia in 1991 was, for Armenians, akin to what picking up a fallen flag is for a wounded soldier in battle: a sudden and much-needed boost in morale, a resurgence of faith, a current of energy, the strength that propels us forward. Of course, some people got rich in the process and others got even richer on the backs of the activist, the soldier, the worker, and the farmer whose combined efforts have made an independent Armenia possible. And sure, with the advent of capitalism in Armenia, not all have benefitted equally. This happens in all developing nations and is very Machiavellian in nature. It happens, and yes, it's sad, but I say it's no reason to NOT celebrate an independent Armenia, going through growing pains as it may be. We need to keep an optimistic eye to the future, not wallow in a painful present.

I personally enjoy all of these propaganda songs celebrating Armenia. And heck, we're Armenian, we come pre-programmed to respond positively to anything with a half-decent beat that brings us all a little closer! Don't fight it, people! Give in to the propaganda! It's part of nation-building!

But what of the 90% whose lives are not reflected in the propaganda? How do you think they will feel watching it - the old, the children, the poor, everyone not living in Yerevan, everyone who does not want to behave like the lobotomised clones depicted in it? What right have they to be so disenfranchised? Have they no place in this 20th anniversary celebration because their lives go against the official propaganda?

This video does not "celebrate" Armenia - it is actually a spit in the face for most of Armenia's population.