Society should not be able to impose their sense of morality upon us without providing reasons or solutions as to how we should live.
The concept of society has not really changed over time, depending on how one looks at it. Traditionally, citizens were governed by their religion and prohibited from participating in activities that their holy place of worship deemed sinful. Now, even though the days of censorship and slavery have long gone, people have been enslaved by the government and the media through ‘scary what – if’ tactics, thus making people take precautions which are most of the time, unnecessary, against the unwanted. Typical examples have been through influenzas such as swine flu which was actually not as contagious as perceived although the masks and hygiene requirements did serve to control society’s actions to the fullest.
Review
Today, we live in a world of organised paranoia where there is always something to worry about. But who is telling the truth and who can we believe and listen to? Newspapers such as the Guardian indicate that they always try and provide a balanced view on stories so that citizens can gain an honest perspective of both sides. But, after the News of the World debacle and the loss of faith in the integrity of the British newspapers, can we really trust every headline without questioning its authority? From the media to judges and from teachers to politicians, stand up comedian William Hamner – Lloyd shows the audience how accepting they are of any given ‘fact’ and how in his own comedic way, he would change current beliefs and perceptions.
Hamner – Lloyd cleverly combines his comedic performance with a tone of empowerment, thus providing the audience with a useful afterthought which will last more than this one hour of laughter. He also provided a little ‘look see’ into our gullible, uninformed society by recording the responses by individuals after the riots on Twitter as well as testing the audience with his very own ‘morality’ quiz to ascertain whether the audience was good enough themselves to spread the right knowledge amongst the rest of humanity. Thus he practiced what he preached and allowed the audience to come to their own conclusions on what is right or wrong.
Even more, he challenged the idea of but the ‘leaders’ in society on a pedestal. Often, many individuals romanticise politicians, media, judges and teachers because they are believed to be magical beacons of light in our dark world that will never lead you astray. So if something unfortunate happens, this leader is almost prepared for their crucifixion without the people realising that these leaders were once people just like them. William, through his performance, makes us realise that any person is capable of instructing others on morality and the power to do so comes from within you and not from some higher place in government.
Through his expressions and conversations with his audience, William overcame the harshness of his physical surroundings. He wore a T – Shirt bearing the words ‘What is it now?’ thus allowing the audience to gain a further insight into his critical personality. Hamner – Lloyd whizzes through his early personal experiences at school where he always tried to do right and contrasts this with his past advertising job where he tells people to buy products that they do not really need. So, even he can fall off the morality ladder and is likeable as he portrays that no one is perfect.
Altogether, this was a fantastic feat at demonstrating that we should never accept a supreme morality but rather we should always ask for solutions that can help us, day to day.
