1. The Not-so-good Earth (1966)<br />Like 'Televistas' this poem is centred on the common place activity of watching television. It is a concept totally within the audience's experience. Television in our consumer society is our prime source of information and entertainment. Often the two become confused: lives and human tragedy are considered a product, something that will engender interest and thereby generate revenue. The greater the suffering, the more successful the program and the greater market share. <br />Dawe is concerned that we have become desensitised to human suffering because it is presented to us as entertainment: a product rather than an issue. The irony is that we have become emotionally distanced from reality even though the world enters our homes via television. The title and the film description are references to 'The Good Earth'' based on a novel by Pearl Buck. Set during the Japanese advance on China during the late 1930s, it contains ideas that the land sustains life and that suffering is rewarded. This poem describes a family viewing the film, complete with the advertisements, and their reaction (or rather, lack of) to it. They never actually see the end as the father trips over the cord in the darkened room. <br />It is a very satirical poem that creates black humour. Through the characters' complete insensitivity and absence of either empathy or sympathy, Dawe expresses amazement at the complacency of people in our society. There is continual tension between the humour and the seriousness of what is described. For instance, Uncle Billy's sight problems are comical but Dawe's biting satire is evident by its juxtaposition to the riot scene's seriousness he is straining to see. The uncle's triviality is as obvious as the insensitivity of the watchers. Modern man is more concerned with superficial appearances, 'using the contrast knob to bring them up dark', the ‘mess of old clay' that is dinner, than in meanings attached to them. There seems an inability to comprehend the events as having happened to real people. The narrator is used to suggest modern man is apathetic and completely self absorbed. He is revealed as such by his inability to comprehend the implication of his comments. He speaks about the Chinese 'famishing in comfort on the 25-inch screen'. The paradox is clear to the audience. The reference to the 'terrific job' on the 'screaming faces and bodies going under the horses' hooves' reveals a similar insensitivity. The lack of punctuation helps create the idea that society does not pause to consider the reality of other people's suffering. Instead, like the narrator, we just move quickly onto the next item of information. Here Dawe mocks the movie's idea that suffering reaps reward: how can it if nobody even notices? The fact the narrator does not seem at all concerned about what happened in the unseen ending further demonstrates his lack of engagement. The 'blue flash' eliminating the picture represents how quickly the situation has been forgotten. The blank screen and the 'dead' set may symbolise modern peoples’ inability to empathise with others. Our concerns are trite and centred on ourselves. We’re indifferent to the suffering of others and view it only as a source of entertainment. <br />Dawe also suggests that the media nurtures this insensitivity. It is ironic that in an age (thanks to the media)where people know far more about what happens all over the world that people seem to care little beyond their own insular world. There is a sense of confusion between reality and fiction. It is ironic that advertisements for luxury indulgences like 'Craven A' cigarettes have been interjected into what should be deeply moving moments of the film. The advertisement is described as having a 'full symphony orchestra' which is a farcical contrast to the grandmother's death. The media does not treat tragedy as real and this blunts society's reactions and emotional involvement. Linked to both these ideas is the way people distance themselves from unpleasantness and shirk responsibility. Dawe's use of the aside'( if I remember rightly..)' implies that the narrator deliberately avoids discussion of the seriousness of the movie's events. <br />'Not-so-good-Earth' is a clever poem that maintains the audience's interest. It is colloquial, using everyday expressions like 'For a while there', 'a terrific job' and 'probably damn glad'. This makes it very accessible. It is also personal with the use of the first person. It is, at least at first glance, humorous, but the humour darkens as the poem progresses. The title is a pun, referring both to the movie and our modern society. Overall, whilst the events are clearly exaggerated, they stimulate the audience to evaluate their own attitudes. <br />