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Decadence (SBS TV)
Encyclopedia
Decadence: The Meaninglessness of Modern Life is a six part television
documentary
series commissioned by SBS Independent
and produced by Fork Films. The series is hosted by Pria Viswalingam
, who is best known for his work on the travel show A fork in the road
. Decadence was originally broadcast on the Special Broadcasting Service
(SBS) of Australia
in 2006 in the form of six, thirty minute long episodes (including advertisements). It was rescreened again in 2007 as part of the SBS
season on globalisation.
The series examines the decadence and meaninglessness of modern, western life. It is also poses the question: If we live in such a great and prosperous world, and we are living longer, better, and healthier than before, why are we so unhappy?. There are interviews with many prominent experts and leaders in their fields throughout the series.
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
series commissioned by SBS Independent
SBS independent
SBS independent is the primary production unit of SBS "home-baked" primetime programming.All productions are commissioned in association with the independent sector of the Australian film and television industry....
and produced by Fork Films. The series is hosted by Pria Viswalingam
Pria Viswalingam
Pria Viswalingam is a prominent Australian documentary and filmmaker. He is of Tamil Sri Lankan ancestry and was born in 1962 in Malaysia. He was schooled there, as well as in Britain, Singapore and Australia...
, who is best known for his work on the travel show A fork in the road
A Fork in the Road
A Fork in the Road is an Australian travel television series airing on SBS and hosted by Pria Viswalingam.Described by SBS as "the thinking-person’s travel show" the program takes the viewer off the beaten track and takes a look at the lives of the people living in each destination rather than...
. Decadence was originally broadcast on the Special Broadcasting Service
Special Broadcasting Service
The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
(SBS) of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in 2006 in the form of six, thirty minute long episodes (including advertisements). It was rescreened again in 2007 as part of the SBS
Special Broadcasting Service
The Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
season on globalisation.
The series examines the decadence and meaninglessness of modern, western life. It is also poses the question: If we live in such a great and prosperous world, and we are living longer, better, and healthier than before, why are we so unhappy?. There are interviews with many prominent experts and leaders in their fields throughout the series.
Episode One—Money
Part one examines the growing greed of society and the 80's ideal that greed is good. It also looks at the growing disparity between rich and poor.Featured Interviews
- Petrea King (Quest for Life Centre)
- Richard Eckersley (Social Analyst, Australian National UniversityAustralian National UniversityThe Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...
) - Jeff KennettJeff KennettJeffrey Gibb Kennett AC , a former Australian politician, was the Premier of Victoria between 1992 and 1999. He is currently the President of Hawthorn Football Club. He is the founding Chairman of beyondblue, a national depression initiative.- Early life :Kennett was born in Melbourne on 2 March...
(Beyond Blue) - Dr Clive HamiltonClive HamiltonClive Charles Hamilton AM FRSA is an Australian public intellectual and Professor of Public Ethics at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics and the Vice-Chancellor's Chair in Public Ethics at Charles Sturt University. He is the Founder and former Executive Director of the The...
(Australia Institute) - Ian KiernanIan KiernanIan Bruce Carrick Kiernan AO is an environmentalist who organised the Clean Up Australia campaign, and in 1993 a similar Clean Up the World operation which attracted participation from 30 million volunteers in 80 countries....
(Clean up AustraliaClean Up AustraliaClean Up Australia is a not-for-profit Australian environmental conservation organisation founded by Australian Ian Kiernan, and co-founder Kim McKay, in 1989. It works to foster relationships between the community, business and government to address the environmental issues of waste, water and...
)
Episode Two—Sex
Pria interviews New South Wales Police Commissioner Ken Moroney about the extent to which many cases of rape have become particularly violent and gruesome, and asks why sex crimes are growing in number in society. The link between violent pornography and sex crimes is also examined in this episode. A Medical ethicist Dr. Amin Abboud notes that sex has been trivialized and needs to be placed back into the context of emotional connections and intimacy and that sex should be rediscovered as part of love. In an interview, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach says that modern relationships collapse when people lose interest in the sex and that sex has become the sole measure and importance in a relationship.Episode Three—Democracy
The nature of modern democracy is examined in this episode and the question "Do we really live in a democratic world any more?" is asked. The erosion of democracy, media control and the use of public money for advertising is looked at.Featured Interviews
- Robert ManneRobert ManneRobert Manne is a professor of politics at La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.Born in Melbourne, Manne's earliest political consciousness was formed by the fact that his parents were Jewish refugees from Europe and his grandparents were victims of the Holocaust...
- Major-General Michael JeffreyMichael JeffreyMichael Jeffery may refer to:*Michael Jeffery , 24th Governor-General of Australia* Michael Jeffery , music business manager of guitarist Jimi Hendrix and The Animals-See also:...
(Governor General of Australia) - Professor Marian Sawer
Episode Four—Education
The continuing undervaluing of an education in the West is considered. The lack of funding for primary and secondary education is also looked at. There is discussion about the transformation of universities from great learning places into businesses competing for students' money, who only want a fast-tracked easy course into a high -paying job.Featured Interviews
- John MarsdenJohn Marsden (writer)John Marsden is an Australian writer, teacher and school principal. Marsden has had his books translated into nine languages including Swedish, Norwegian, French, German, Dutch, Danish, Italian and Spanish....
(Author and Educator) - Professor Paul DaviesPaul DaviesPaul Charles William Davies, AM is an English physicist, writer and broadcaster, currently a professor at Arizona State University as well as the Director of BEYOND: Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science...
Episode Five—Family
The modern western family is looked at , as is what really is a family in the west. The gradual decline in the importance placed on families and the disintegration of the idea of a family and people preferring isolation is looked at.Featured Interviews
- Alistair NicholsonAlistair NicholsonAlistair "Big Jack" Nicholson is a former Australian rules footballer, who played with the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League ....
(Former Chief Justice, Family CourtFamily Court of AustraliaThe Family Court of Australia is a superior Australian federal court of record which deals with family law matters. Together with the Federal Magistrates Court, it covers family law matters in all states and territories of Australia except Western Australia...
) - Richard Eckersley (Social Analyst, Australian National University)
- Dan Phillips (Banking executive of Macquarie Bank)
- Rabbi Shmuley Boteach (Orthodox Jewish Rabbi)
Episode Six—God
The nature of religion and religion in the West is looked at. The growing number of irreligious people in Western countries is considered and it is asked whether this has any effect on our happiness or morals.Featured Interviews
- The Most Reverend Peter Jensen (AnglicanAnglican Church of AustraliaThe Anglican Church of Australia is a member church of the Anglican Communion. It was previously officially known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania...
ArchbishopArchbishopAn archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
of SydneySydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
) - George Cardinal PellGeorge PellGeorge Pell AC is an Australian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He is the eighth and current Archbishop of Sydney, serving since 2001. He previously served as auxiliary bishop and archbishop of the Archdiocese of Melbourne...
(CardinalCardinal (Catholicism)A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
Arch-Bishop of Sydney, Australia) - Dr Simon Longstaff (St James ethic center)
- Pastor Brian HoustonBrian Houston (pastor)Brian Houston is a pastor in the Australian Christian Churches. He is currently the Senior Pastor at Hillsong Church which has locations in Sydney and Brisbane, Australia, London, Cape Town, Kiev, Germany, Paris, Moscow, Stockholm and New York City. He was also the National President of Australian...
(Leader of Hillsong Church) - Dr Muriel PorterMuriel PorterMuriel Lylie Porter OAM is an Australian journalist based in Melbourne, Victoria. She is a frequent contributor to The Age newspaper and mostly writes about issues concerning the Anglican Church of Australia in which she is a prominent layperson...
- Author