Back a couple of decades ago, I was stationed in England with the USAF. One of the things I did there was buy a lot of the comics weeklies, including the girls' comics. (And boy did I get some weird looks.)
One had a serial set in a near-future dystopian Britain that had banned all music as frivolous and distracting from work. (Yes, I am aware of the difficulty of ever actually getting such a law passed, let alone enforced.)
The main character was a girl on the brink of adolescence who had grown up never knowing music, who's sent as a scholarship student to a prestigious boarding school. In an early chapter, she is invited to a party by the "rebellious" kids, who have managed to find an old LP and a record player. It is truly awful early 80s punk rock, and our heroine decides that if that is "music" then the government was right to ban it.
Later on, of course, the protagonist hears "good" music, and discovers a secret ballet class, which she then joins. Eventually, one of the ballet students, who is the daughter of The Minister of Banning Music, falls ill. All attempts to revive the patient fail until finally the other dancers brave the death penalty and perform for her. The daughter revives, the Minister realizes the government was wrong, and music is restored.
Interestingly, no one in the series thinks of making simple instruments of their own, or trying a capella singing; all music is recorded.
I think we all have a good idea how Sangnoir would react to landing in such a Britain.
"Where's my helmet?"
"I'm sorry sir, but our law prohibiting the ownership of devices for the playing of music applies even to American visitors such as yourself. It's been taken down to the station to be locked in the evidence vault, pending your trial on possession of prohibited substances, to wit, recorded music."
"You've got to be joking."
"No, sir. All forms of humor are also illegal."
One had a serial set in a near-future dystopian Britain that had banned all music as frivolous and distracting from work. (Yes, I am aware of the difficulty of ever actually getting such a law passed, let alone enforced.)
The main character was a girl on the brink of adolescence who had grown up never knowing music, who's sent as a scholarship student to a prestigious boarding school. In an early chapter, she is invited to a party by the "rebellious" kids, who have managed to find an old LP and a record player. It is truly awful early 80s punk rock, and our heroine decides that if that is "music" then the government was right to ban it.
Later on, of course, the protagonist hears "good" music, and discovers a secret ballet class, which she then joins. Eventually, one of the ballet students, who is the daughter of The Minister of Banning Music, falls ill. All attempts to revive the patient fail until finally the other dancers brave the death penalty and perform for her. The daughter revives, the Minister realizes the government was wrong, and music is restored.
Interestingly, no one in the series thinks of making simple instruments of their own, or trying a capella singing; all music is recorded.
I think we all have a good idea how Sangnoir would react to landing in such a Britain.
"Where's my helmet?"
"I'm sorry sir, but our law prohibiting the ownership of devices for the playing of music applies even to American visitors such as yourself. It's been taken down to the station to be locked in the evidence vault, pending your trial on possession of prohibited substances, to wit, recorded music."
"You've got to be joking."
"No, sir. All forms of humor are also illegal."