Bournemouth and cultural homogeny

I am a country lad, really. I think I've probably mentioned before that on the rare occasions I go out in Bournemouth, I find it a bit odd.

Odd, because whilst you can't turn on a TV these days without seeing scantily clad young ladies, in sub-zero conditions, staggering around on the arms of their mates, delivering pavement pizzas - apparently showing how endemic binge-drinking is in our youth - the centre of Bournemouth - as a rule - just ain't like that.

Bournemouth used to be quite exciting. There used to be lots of different pubs and clubs that would spring up and down quite often, playing a variety of different music and catering for various groups and styles of people. Now it's just chock full of lounge-type bars with very minimalist decor or the odd 'bold' splash of something. There's no heart in it. And there are hardly any 'real' pubs at all.

It's seems like a place most people go to be a bit posy. All the women dress up without showing copious amounts of flesh, apply a lot of slap, but very tastefully done, of course, and then add some finishing touch, probably made of chiffon. It's a place for the 'beautiful people' and if you don't conform to the set rules you can almost hear people tutting, tastefully of course.

I suppose, if you take out the competitive, exclusive, posy stuff that gets right up my nose, it's kind of commendable really - it looks fairly well behaved and all that. However that's part of the problem too. I dislike drunken thuggery as much as the next person, however I think there's a difference between that and making evrything so horribly homogenised that there's no 'life' in it at all. I think it says a scary amount about what people seem to want from life - the sociology worries me. It's always a breath of fresh air when you see somebody compromise their 'emotion containment field' by getting thoroughly pissed off with their partner or bursting into tears - or even looking at someone else in a particularly withering way. It's all a bit like Abigail's Party on Prozac.

Once you start working your way out of town a bit there are a few more options, but it rather quickly descends into Wetherspoons/Yates's territory. Back in the early 90s, when big freehouse pub chains were feeling their way there seemed to be a bit of variety and everyone loved the cheap prices, however now it's just the same decor and bits of fake old tat wherever you go.

Again, the sociology says we like this. We know what to expect when we see the logo, we know what the food and drinks are going to be like - it caresses our comfort zone. We know this because, as with most cultural shifts in our society, the USA has 'been there done that' many years before and has developed the business models which are now ripping our town and city streets to shreds, purging them of all that inherent 'Britishness', that real-life charm and eccentricity that apparently made us 'Great'. It's a quandary isn't it?

Of course there was rebellion in the USA too, but without concerted efforts - and there have been many, of course - it isn't long before financial concerns and 'the path of least resistance' overtake the desire to carry on using that nice diner, or to use that nice family-run store now they've built a Wal-Mart opposite - especially if you don't actually know the area and don't know how nice they actually are.

In our hearts, though, is this really what we want from life? Having everything all safe and cosy at the cost of community and individuality? It's easy to say we'd rather see cultural homogeny rather than the 'evil' side of people being 'different' for whatever reasons they always have been. With some things, like race for example, it sounds like a worthy idea in theory. You know, the idea that if we try to get a bit more racially mixed up than we are it might be less easy to inspire hatred and make it easier to inspire knowledge and tolerance. Part of me kind of likes that idea. Culturally though, I believe we need to nurture what we have rather than rush headlong into losing everything into a mess. I can't believe, deep-down, people really want it any other way. I really hope not. It scares me silly. What do you think?