I never got around to watching "Life On Mars" because I'm too old to be attracted by the conceit that the 70s were some kind of Dark Age before the dawning of liberal enlightenment.Anyway, that's by the by. Reading Faking It you're struck by this thought - whatever happened to all the blind musicians? I mean geniuses like Blind Willie McTell, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Ray Charles and Doc Watson, who became musicians because it was an acceptable career option for somebody whose disability prevented them doing "proper" work.
In those days it was considered acceptable to pity people in that situation. That's no longer the case, which may be why you'd be hard pressed to think of half a dozen prominent contemporary musicians who are blind. That and the fact that everyone's a TV entertainer these days and maybe disability offends our visual sensibilities.
On a parrallel point I saw this interesting doc on "see hear" the bbc deaf programme about a deaf flautist which was fascinating. One thing I learnt was that deaf people don't clap to show appreciation but wave their hands in the air.
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Here in China there is a thriving culture of blind masseuses. It seems a little archaic to me and at the same time is a nice balance to the enforced "everyone is equal" mantra people in the West are brought up on.
ReplyDeletePeters & Lee?
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