Northbridge Western Australia 6003
Programme
The giant LED screen came to live at the end of year 2011 and has completely transformed the life and atmosphere of the Cultural Centre since.
It must be the magnetic field of this humoungous electronic device mixed with the subtle whisper of the free wi-fi in the square, but there is something about this screen that attracts a heterogeneous mix of people like flies to a bulb.
In spite of being part of the reality of our cities, big flat screens are very futuristic, part of an imagined future that is already here. Science-fiction movies and literature have helped to attach an aura of negativity to big public screens, and they are often portrayed as tools used by dubious corporations and governments to send subliminal messages of individual submission, political control, personal brainwashing, and commercial utilisation. Those images, and the fear they have infused in the collective subconscious are the root of the rejection that they generate among some people, who ask themselves: Can't we live without screens? Isn't the screen too big? Is TV the new God? Are our minds being controlled?
I can tell you just one thing - The LED screen is not going to control you brain, or affect it negatively unless it is already damaged. You will surrender yourself willingly if you want to have a 24/7 free cultural programme without having to pay a subscription to a dubious corporation called Teleestrash or Foxytell, which connect you through your phone and charge you a lot of money for it. That is perfectly acceptable, right?
The LED screen shows short films, both animated or non animated (some of them Internationally awarded), short travel and nature docos, Music and Dance pieces, motivational speeches, segments showcasing some of the photographic treasures of the SLWA, experimental images and material that you do not find in your normal TV program; they will certainly expand your mind, not dominate it. There are scheduled and seasonal feature films coinciding with public and school holidays, and local and international events.
Having a giant TV screen in a square does not mean that you have to watch it if you do not want. Simple, no? You can use the screen as a focal point to munch your thoughts and muse on life and eternity. You can fake that you are watching something, while you eyes fully focus on that cute sexy human approaching the steps. You can practice and synchronise your lunch mastication with your eyes and ears movement and have an out-of-body experience. You can look at beautiful intriguing images if you are deaf. You can listen to stories and sounds if you are blind. You can get an excuse to seat and have company if you feel lonely and need of human proximity to make your days more bearable. You can use the screen as an excuse to have a seat and rest. You can even, watch the programme and enjoy it, for one minute, five minutes or one hour.
The world is imperfect and also this LED screen. The sound is often muted, making the watching of pieces that are not silent an annoyance. On the other hand, the segments are showed repeatedly, day after day, during weekdays, so, if you seat in front of the screen regularly, you might find yourself watching a piece for the seventh time. A bit of more rotation of the pieces, and regularly adding new ones, should be the target of the Cultural Centre. We are humans and get bored easily.
One can criticise the obsession of our modern world with images and flat screens, which I share in some degree, but this is an educational and culturally-oriented tool. And it is free. No news or manipulating channels.
Let us rejoice while our brains decide on their own whether they want to to be absorbed by the big flatty or not. Besides, Perth is one of those cities in which everything costs too much, Culture specially. Can't we be happy at having entertainment and culture gratis?
