Would You Like To Watch?

The story is well known by now. International DJ Gigolo Chris Korda no longer has to come to Lowlands. This after an attentive editor of the Dagblad Van Het Noorden informed the festival's programmers about the man's activities at The Church Of Euthanasia and in particular the video 'I Like To Watch'. In this video, images of the WTC disaster are linked to hard porn and sports under the motto 'it's just entertainment' and it is said that it is also shown during Korda's performances. In the article on 3voor12, press officer Hans van Rompaaij says: "It is a difficult discussion, because where is the line? But this was clearly way over it as far as I'm concerned. With Marilyn Manson you could still say 'she's not completely okay either', but at the very least it is clear that it is a show."

Manson's brand of 'provocation' and 'subversiveness' is ultimately rather innocent compared to Korda's. In his response to this he states (cliché alert!): "As long as anti-social ideas are just fashionable poses marketed to youth culture, there is no threat to the sponsors. But when fake rebellion is replaced by extreme art with a serious message, the industry moves quickly to protect itself."

On the other hand, the festival organisation would be happy to have it half a degree hotter than Manson; bands like Cradle Of Filth and Dimmu Borgir are welcome guests on the Dommelsch stage. To what extent this will be due to their broad following is speculative, although as a festival you have to be very strong in your shoes not to program these bands based on what they convey, let alone remove them from the line-up. I can already see the spooky kids army foaming at the mouth on their way to the Lowlands forum, if that were to happen. A similar scenario with protesting Euthanasians (I can already see Els Borst walking in front!) seems a lot less likely to me. If you look at the C of E site like this, you get the impression that it is all nothing more than a project - albeit one that has gotten quite out of hand - by a small group of artists.

Lowlands is of course fully within its rights to cancel acts that the programmers feel uncomfortable with. It certainly won't be the first time. Biddinghuizen is no longer the place to program provocative acts of the caliber of Korda, the vast majority of the Lowlands audience will not be exactly chomping at the bit for a banal reminder of 9-11. On the other hand, tolerance and the right to freedom of expression (within the limits of the law, something that 'I Like To Watch' does not infringe on as far as I know) have always been important elements of this country's cultural heritage. And even though Lowlands is the boss in its own house, when the country's largest festival cancels a booked act in such a conspicuous manner, violence is done to it (deliberately or not).

But what about the places here in the Netherlands where artists normally get the opportunity to explore the boundaries of good taste for a willing audience? We have a brand new State Secretary for Culture in a conservative cabinet and even though Cees van Leeuwen will have been playing at Kayak for 30 years, it remains to be seen how the art climate will fare under the ideology he ultimately represents. In recent years, the push towards accountability and profitability has already caused quite a stir in the club circuit. Halls need to be filled more often and that is not so easy to achieve with smaller acts (from Julie Doiron to, yes, that creep Chris Korda).

Little by little, our choices for what we want to experience on a night out are becoming more and more limited.

- Ariën Rasmijn. July 18, 2002 at 10:30 pm

The preceding is a translation. The original language is here.