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Posted by Cat under blog's category : Antivivisection & extremism
We aren't sure if it's because it was Friday the 13th but unlucky Flaming Lips fans were faced with an unpleasant display at a gig in Portsmouth last week.
The majority of the public stand in support of animal research and oppose animal rights extremism. Despite that fact, it seems that in some artistic circles the view that it's OK to be violent towards researchers who use animals is still fashionable.
Indeed, here at Understanding Animal Research we were disappointed to hear that left-field American rock band The Flaming Lips chose to use their UK tour to send fans an unpleasant message. They implied that abuse towards animal researchers is acceptable, in a preamble to their song ‘Evil' at the concert last Friday.
One upset fan at the gig said he was ‘shocked' at the behaviour of the band during the performance. The song from their new album, doesn't actually mention animal research, or indeed animals, in the lyrics but the reference was made in the video backdrop to the stage.
The rendition of the song was accompanied by a video montage which alternated between a clip of a distressed-looking monkey in a cage and one of a hand pressing a red button; the clear implication being that the person pressing the button was causing the monkey pain.
We took a look at the clip on YouTube and aren't sure where they got their footage from, or when it was shot, but it did remind us a bit of the crude propagandist editing techniques used by Russian filmmakers in the early 1920s. In other words, crudely cutting together two images to simplistically imply that one causes the other might well send a strong and emotive message, but is it factually accurate? Usually not.
Band front man Wayne Coyne also used the occasion to lambast those who ‘need to do evil things to animals'. We aren't sure who he was referring to, but we hope it wasn't those medical researchers who use animals responsibly in their work to push forwards the boundaries of modern medicine.
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This discussion closed on Thursday 19 November. We apologise to those who have tried to leave comments since then.
I was at the Portsmouth gig, where the rant ended in 'kick the ** out of them' in reference to animal researchers.
Perhaps he was a bit stressed out by the show (there were lots of technical problems at the Portsmouth gig) and in his stressed state he went too far, and showed his true feelings on the subject. Admittedly this was not said on the youtube video at the London gig.
You feel the toned down version will have more to do with PR though, than someone reasoning with him about the subject. Either way, I'd imagine the propaganda video was still being used.
I actually saw the show in Manchester last night and didn't take any message of aggression from it; that's the last thing I'm sure the band would want. The phrase 'all we can do is sing' was used more than once.
In terms of influencing teens and young people, UGBimedicalScientist must be thinking of a different band - the audience last night was almost exclusively people in their 30s and 40s. All, I'm sure, mature enough to make up their own minds.
Medawar, I don't think that's right. To say that Morrisey and the Flaming Lips take this stance to increase their standing (aspiring to that of Paul McCartney) is unlikely. Much more likely is that they are simply ignorant of the facts.
They, like the beer-bottle martyr, Morrisey, are probably hoping that the animal rights issue will turn them into Sir Paul McCartney overnight.
I personally think it is disgusting that a band who are extremely influential for many teens and young people send out a message like this at a gig. Obviously the video uses editing techniques to sway the audience to their way of thinking which is no better than some previous extreme governments' use of propaganda.
It's also slightly ironic that they're advocating being violent towards people when they don't want to see animals get 'hurt'.
Wayne Coyne's been a PeTA supporter for some time, so this isn't all that surprising. I doubt many fans knew or cared about his attitude to animal research before now and I dare say most will greet this latest outburst with a resigned shrug.
From what you say about the footage at the concert is seems that his attitude to animal research is not the only thing Coyne has learned from PeTA.
This isn't the first time a band has drunk too deeply from the kool-aid bottle, for example the Foo-Fighters have been pushing HIV/AIDS denialism for some years now.
And as for some Hollywood stars...