''Decadence: The Meaninglessness of Modern Life'' is a six-part

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

documentary series commissioned by SBS Independent and produced by Fork Films. The series is hosted by

Pria Viswalingam Anandan Pria Viswalingam is an Australian documentary and film maker. He is a Sydney-based producer, writer and director, known earlier for his work with the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) network. Viswalingam was born in Kota Bahru, Federa ...

, who is best known for his work on the travel show '' A Fork in the Road''. Decadence was originally broadcast on the

Special Broadcasting Service The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is an Australian hybrid-funded public service broadcaster. About 80 percent of funding for the company is derived from the Australian Government. SBS operates six TV channels ( SBS, SBS Viceland, SBS World ...

(SBS) of Australia in 2006 in the form of six, thirty-minute-long episodes (including advertisements). It was re-screened again in 2007 as part of the SBS season on

globalisation Globalization, or globalisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is the process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide. The term ''globalization'' first appeared in the early 20t ...

. The series examined the decadence and meaninglessness of modern, western life. It is also posed the question: 'If we live in such a great and prosperous world, and we are living longer, better, and healthier than before, why are we so unhappy?' There were interviews with prominent experts and leaders in their fields throughout the series including

John Tirman John Tirman (December 13, 1949 – August 19, 2022) was an American political theorist. From 2004, Tirman was executive director and principal research scientist at the MIT Center for International Studies. There he led the Persian Gulf Initia ...

, Cardinal

George Pell George Pell (born 8 June 1941) is an Australian cardinal of the Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . I ...

, Avner Offer,

Susan Greenfield Susan Adele Greenfield, Baroness Greenfield, (born 1 October 1950) is an English scientist, writer, broadcaster and member of the House of Lords (since 2001). Her research has focused on the treatment of Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's dise ...

Phillip Knightley Phillip George Knightley (23 January 1929 – 7 December 2016) was an Australian journalist, critic, and non-fiction author. He became a visiting Professor of Journalism at the University of Lincoln, England, and was a media commentator on the ...

, Kishore Mahbubani,

Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American public intellectual: a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky is ...

, and John Spong.

Episode guide

Episode One: Money

Part one examined the growing greed of society and the 1980s ideal that

greed is good Greed (or avarice) is an uncontrolled longing for increase in the acquisition or use of material gain (be it food, money, land, or animate/inanimate possessions); or social value, such as status, or power. Greed has been identified as undes ...

. It also looked at the growing disparity between rich and poor.

Featured interviews

*Petrea King, the founder of the Quest for Life Centre *Richard Eckersley, a social analyst at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

*The Honourable

Jeff Kennett Jeffrey Gibb Kennett (born 2 March 1948) is a former Australian politician who was the 43rd Premier of Victoria between 1992 and 1999, and currently a media commentator. He was previously the president of the Hawthorn Football Club, serving ...

, the founding Chairman of beyondblue *Dr

Clive Hamilton Clive Charles Hamilton AM FRSA (born 12 March 1953) is an Australian public intellectual and Professor of Public Ethics at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics (CAPPE) and the Vice-Chancellor's Chair in Public Ethics at Charles ...

, a public intellectual and founder and former executive director of the

Australia Institute The Australia Institute is a left-wing public policy think tank based in Canberra, Australia. Since its launch in 1994, it has carried out research on a broad range of economic, social, and environmental issues. The institute has offices in ...

* Ian Kiernan , the founder of the

Clean Up the World Clean Up Australia Limited is a not-for-profit Australian environmental conservation organisation registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission. The organisation has sponsored a yearly Clean Up Australia Day since 199 ...

movement

Episode Two: Sex

Viswalingam interviewed New South Wales Police Commissioner Ken Moroney about the extent to which many cases of rape have become particularly violent and gruesome, and asked why sex crimes are growing in number. The link between violent pornography and sex crimes was also examined in this episode. A medical ethicist Dr. Amin Abboud noted that sex had been trivialized and needed to be placed back into the context of emotional connections and intimacy, and that sex should be rediscovered as part of love. In an interview,

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

Rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

Shmuley Boteach, author of ''Kosher Sex'', stated that modern relationships collapse when people lose interest in the sex, and that sex has become the sole measure and importance in a relationship.

Episode Three: Democracy

The nature of modern democracy was examined in this episode and the question was asked, 'Do we really live in a democratic world any more?' The erosion of democracy, media control and the use of public money for advertising was reviewed.

Featured interviews

Robert Manne Robert Michael Manne (born 31 October 1947) is an Emeritus Professor of politics and Vice-Chancellor's Fellow at La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia. He is a leading Australian public intellectual. Background Robert Manne was born in Melbo ...

, a leading Australian public intellectual and former editor of '' Quadrant'' *Major-General Michael Jeffery , a former Governor General of Australia *Professor

Marian Sawer Philippa Marian Sawer (born 20 August 1946) is an Australian political scientist. She is a professor emeritus at the Australian National University (ANU). Early life Sawer was born in Auckland, New Zealand, the daughter of Ralph and Marjorie Go ...

Episode Four: Education

The continuing undervaluing of an education in western society was considered. The lack of government funding for primary and secondary education was reviewed. There was discussion about the transformation of universities from great learning places into businesses competing for students' money, who only want a fast-tracked easy course into a high-paying career.

Featured interviews

* John Marsden, an author and educator *Professor Paul Davies , an English physicist, writer and broadcaster

Episode Five: Family

The modern western family was discussed, as is what really is a family in the west. The gradual decline in the importance placed on families and the disintegration of the idea of a family and people preferring isolation was reviewed.

Featured interviews

Alastair Nicholson Alastair Bothwick Nicholson, (born 19 August 1938) is a retired Australian jurist who served as the Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia from 1988 until 2004. Early life and education Nicholson was born in 1938 in Melbourne returning ...

, a former Chief Justice of the

Family Court Family courts were originally created to be a Court of Equity convened to decide matters and make orders in relation to family law, including custody of children, and could disregard certain legal requirements as long as the petitioner/plaintif ...

*Richard Eckersley *Dan Phillips, an executive of the

Macquarie Group Macquarie Group Limited () is an Australian global financial services group. Headquartered and listed in Australia (), Macquarie employs more than 17,000 staff in 33 markets, is the world's largest infrastructure asset manager and Australia' ...

*Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, author of ''Kosher Sex''

Episode Six: God

The nature of religion and religion in western society was reviewed. The growing number of irreligious people in Western countries was considered and it was asked whether this had any effect on our happiness or morals.

Featured interviews

*The Most Reverend Peter Jensen, a former Anglican Archbishop of Sydney *His Eminence George Cardinal Pell , a former

Catholic Archbishop of Sydney This is a list of the bishops and archbishops of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney since 1842. The title also is the Catholic Primate of Australia. List of bishops List of archbishops Auxiliary bishops See also *Roman Catholicism ...

*Dr Simon Longstaff, the founder of the St James Ethics Centre *Pastor Brian Houston, a leader of the

Hillsong Church Hillsong Church, commonly known as Hillsong, is a global Evangelical charismatic movement, charismatic Christian megachurch based in Australia. The original church was established in 1983 as Hills Christian Life Centre, in Baulkham Hills, New ...

*Dr

Muriel Porter Muriel Lylie Porter (née Carter, born 15 May 1948) is an Australian journalist based in Melbourne, Victoria. She is a frequent contributor to ''The Age'' newspaper and ''The Melbourne Anglican'' diocesan newspaper, for which she mostly writes ...

, an author and journalist

References

External links

Official WebsiteFork Films
{{DEFAULTSORT:Decadence (Sbs Tv) 2000s Australian documentary television series Special Broadcasting Service original programming 2006 Australian television series debuts 2007 Australian television series endings Documentary films about consumerism Documentary films about globalization Criticism of capitalism