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I wasn't sure if I wanted to post this here or in the Favourite Videos thread. But upon further reflection I think that this video's home is truly found here.
This music video entitled "Dégénération" sung by the group 'Mes Aieux' (My Ancestors) in my native Canadian French excellently portrays the evolution, or rather in this context, the degeneration of a culture and of a People. The title of the song speaks to us on two levels. Firstly, it speaks of the 'degeneration', seen more so as 'retrogressiveness', with respect to the plight of a fallen and deteriorating People who with time have succumbed to the same ills as the rest of the modern Western world: a devaluing of one's roots, one's culture, one's family, and finally one's personal integrity and honour. On another level the song speaks ever so subtlely, through its clever double entendre (dégénération = des générations (some generations), to the continuity of self through one's ancestors: as much as our ancestors are a part of us, we forever remain the living part of them and as such have failed them miserably with respect to maintaining an honourable way of life. Or at least this is the message that this musical group would have us ponder.
I love this piece, not only for its message which can make one think deeply about one's present place in the world and how one has the power to choose to honour one's ancestors, and hence self and culture, but also for its simplicity of music. The melody itself, which is highly reminiscent of typical French Canadian folkloric music, results in somewhat of a McLuhanesque entity, where the medium indeed becomes the message: French Canadian folk music has a rich heritage of conveying the sentiment of a People, be it the music of our own generation or that of generations past. And with each and every drum beat of this song, any proud French Canadian can, not only hear but, feel the Ancestral Cry.
Here's the vid. I hope you enjoy it:
[youtube="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKCRHhmHvjg"]Mes Aïeux - Dégénération (English Subtitles)[/youtube]
Salut!...Aemma
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