Ealing Comedy and Idea 167 is Alienation

Last night we went to Walpole Park in Ealing to see what the Comedy Festival was offering (actually partly knew as we'd bought tickets on the strength of the headliner).

Piff with dog

First thing to note is how the dry and hot weather has bleached the grass and made the ground as hard as concrete.
Lee Mack is my favourite comedian, to me he's intrinsically amusing combining structure and warmth with a genuinely amusing nature, on the bill with him where a couple of other acts
as well as an MC who was at times amusing - look out for
the Piff The Magic Dragon the 33 year old former IT guy who was one of the support acts, his act included some half baked magic, audience participation and a small dog - at least he was different.

Big Idea number 167 from Ian Crofton is the somewhat scary  'Alienation'

Crofton cites Charlie Chaplin in Modern Times as a representation of how the industrial process depersonalises and alienates modern man (and woman) - Karl Marx (him again) was interested in how commodification and process caused the disconnect.
Anomie is a condition that Sociologists have identified as being a result of the alienation the purposelessness that sufferers  experience is a result of a lack of standards, values, or ideals and can some believe even be a contributory cause of suicide -  Anomic suicide it is said occurs in response to an individual no longer being subject to regulatory forces that integrate them into society.
The video below is quite impressive - not perfect but powerfully presented reminds me of  an article I read about a T Shirt - here's a linked item