My hubby Ramón urged me to check out the work of this young man, Aleix Saló. And phwaaaar, it´s hard!
The video deals with the Spanish economy – explaining what´s happened in the country in the last decade in which Spaniards have gone from being Princes to Paupers.
The concepts Saló deals with are hard – unless you´re an economist or Mr. Grumpy at Tumbit Spain – and the Spanish is too – though there are pretty good English subtitles in this version.
The animation is a lot of fun though, very irreverent and colloquial, so watch it – it´s six minutes in which the narrator talks really, really, really fast…..
…… and check back for my language guide on the video on Thursday! It´s about time you amazed your Spanish friends with your scathing, knowledgeable comments on la economía!
About Mo
Always liked this video. Great way to demonstrate why Spain has troubles now. Thanks for sharing this.
Glad to have reminded you of it. It´s also great to see how much talent Spain has – the comic and animation are examples of forward-thinking and enterprise.
That is a great video – thanks, Mo. I was lucky enough to watch it with English subtitles – not sure how much I’d have got without them! It’s now dead simple to follow – a logical sequence of events, if thoroughly depressing; at least it explains very clearly got we into this mess, if not how we’re going to get ourselves out of it!!
Yes Fiona, this guy´s obviously very talented. Must see if he´s got a video explaining how to get out of the mess! I think I´ve picked out all the Spanish though I had to listen to it a lot. I don´t know who did the subtitles but they´re good. I wonder if people think that some relatively simple changes in education, organization, some coordination, could really turn Spain into a fabulous country – or if the problems are too complex. I think this country has everything it needs to function well and develop and that it´s just the political will that´s lacking. What do you think? Thanks for commenting.
This video is great! I got it from Pierre Alban and immediately showed it to the husband– who loved it too. Very creative and very true in my opinion!
It is great – especially for those of us who are limited in the Economics department (well, at least I am, I don´t know about you Lauren).
About “la tía de la lejía”: it makes a allusion to this famous old ad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=691Fhoder3g. Actually it only means “somebody coming from the future” because in that old ad a woman coming from the future solved all the problems about washing clothes with a new brand of bleach. It´s a easy as that!
Aha! Now it all makes sense! Thanks! But I wonder how I´d translate it…..
I wonder how many native born Spanish didn’t get that, let alone us Guiris ?
I asked Ramón who the “tía de la lejía” was and he hadn´t a clue, though he wasn´t watching the video at the time. I think Spaniards would get it, probably, seeing it in context.
Hi, people! Needless to say you can count on me for any question about the video. It will be a pleasure for me.
It´s a bigger pleasure for us! We are wondering about the “tía de la lejía.” Who´s she and what´s she doing in a video about the economy???
Mo, this is a very interesting and hard hitting video. It moved really quickly and I only managed to get a tiny amount of what he was saying so, was grateful for your translation. I really need to watch it a few more times to fully take it all in. I feel guilty as, like so many others we bought into all that and, we have the scars to prove it! It was good to meet you last Sunday and thanks for your very helpful advice.
Hi Donna, it was a pleasure to meet you too and I hope you´ll soon be blogging on your very own site soon. I know what you mean about us all buying into the easy credit situation. We´re very grateful that we still have an income and can pay the mortgage. Hopefully (when I get time) I´ll put up a guide to the vocabulary of the video … if anybody still wants it! Un abrazo, Mo.
Very fast as you say – so what is la tia de la lejia then? I can’t find your comments on the language.
I always thought that development in Spain – and other European countries – happened too quickly for their own good (obviously a few are still doing ok as they always have/do), but didn’t imagine quite how bad the consequences would be. In fact millions of people (not just in Spain) have been and are being duped by the free market system and the greedy capitalists, bankers, accountants, lawyers and others who have put people’s brains to sleep with consumerism and abysmal mass culture. Every cloud has a silver lining so maybe they’ll stop watching TV and wanting things and start waking up That’s just my view though.
Thanks for your comment Treez. I confess, unsurprisingly, to not having answers to the present predicament (and if I had, they´d be simplistic and ideological and not applicable). I´m not a political cynic – though I no longer expect politics, or politicians to act in the “common” interest, but in their own class interest, and they do, to my mind, form a class. To be honest, now I seek explanations in “human nature” and I´m not sure what the major economists have to say or think or invent on that, though it seems Marx and Christ thought us “perfectible.”
Much to my chagrin, I pretty much think that we have the economic system that our animal nature allows us to have. Our brains are big, well-developed, but the animal need for survival and domination through annihilation of anything but the food or mating sources prevails. All of this can only be a pitiful, partial analysis. As for consumerism and mass culture putting people´s brains to sleep, I think people´s have always slept intellectually unless theatened by disaster.
I think we´re fallen or fucked…. answeres on a postcard, please.
Will ask Ramón about the tía de la lejía!
Hi! I´m following your blog mainly in order to improve my English, although topics you deal with and your way of watching these, are pretty interesting too. To my mind, it´s been a good ideal treat about this video. I´m a Philosophy teacher in Secondary School and I´m going to use it in my classes (even it could be bias to be used in this context).
Congratulations for your blog! (and, please, people, excuse for my mistakes using English).
Antonio, I´m very flattered that you´d find my writing interesting. Thank you. I try to write in good English, so I hope that helps your use of the language. It´s a great idea to use this video by Saló in class – and forget bias, truth is elusive, so the search for it must employ everything we can find. Comment when you want to. Your English is good! Mo x.
I got about 40% of what was said, but I’m not sure if that was part guesstimation. I promise to try again tomorrow when sober.
A couple of phrases still escape me – there´s something I hear as “la tía de la lejía” (the bleach lady) which doesn´t make sense to me. And I haven´t got the next post ready yet …. sorrrry! I´d try again still inebriated Mr. Grumpy as this lowers the “affective filter” of worry which reduces the ability to think (more than the booze does).
He does talk fast, but I hate when he talks OVER things (like sound effects of the “crowd”). For me, that’s the most difficult! It’s a fun video. I’ll have to ask my economist what he thinks
Your friendly local economist? Eh, would that be Mario? I´d love to hear his views. Tomorrow I´ll write something on the video – clarify a couple of things for people who want to pick up a few words, phrases and jokes on the economy (or maybe nobody has the slightest interest in that!).