Immanuel Mifsud on Malta's 'lack of thinking'

Award-winning novelist Immanuel Mifsud blames the Malta’s intellectual poverty on lacking alternatives in the media.

Immanuel Mifsud says, “People can watch as much crap as they want but should also be offered other things, which are not crap”
Immanuel Mifsud says, “People can watch as much crap as they want but should also be offered other things, which are not crap”

In an interview with MaltaToday, award-winning novelist Immanuel Mifsud, who recently declared that “the Maltese are not people who think a lot”, blames the lack of alternatives in the media for this intellectual poverty

Malta is one of the few places where the Eurovision festival is taken very seriously. It is this precisely this seriousness which troubles Mifsud.

“Consider how much hype is being pumped in to this blessed Eurovision. No wonder that the people react to it in this manner.”

In fact, the Eurovision hype epitomises all that is wrong in the media according to Mifsud.

TV programmes obsessed with audiences take a free ride on the popularity of the festival while in turn creating even more hype. 

Mifsud contrasts the cultural wasteland of the Eurovision with what he considers a fine example of popular culture: the folk rock band Brikkuni.

Asked what Mifsud would like to see on Maltese TV, he says that “I would simply like to have alternatives to what we have. People can watch as much crap as they want but should also be offered other things, which are not crap.  It’s should be your business to choose…”

Read the full interview on today’s Maltatoday.

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I agree with this man on a few things, especially the Eurovision contest. The Eurovision contest should not be taken too seriously. It's just a contest. Many maltese have made it in and outside Malta based on their abilities and we don't need a Eurovision contest. One thing I disagree with Mr. Mifsud. For an island nation the size with less than half a million people, we are well positioned as being thinkers. Look at the founder of lateral thinking - Edward Debono.............That is proof enough that we have thinkers among us.
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Regards the Eurovision Mr Mifsud is 1000% right and the worst thing about it is that money that could be made better use of is wasted. Not everybody can have cable but a large portion of the people depend on free-to-air transmissions and don't have the luxury not choice and like the gentleman said a lot of crap is dished out on local TV. These people would love to have programms from National Geographic or History channel etc.
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I totally agree with these wise words from Immanuel Mifsud. But there are people with hidden agendas who benefit alot from many crap programmes on Maltese media! Maybe they want to keep the Maltese people inclined towards only a one direction, like happened in the past! But they don't realise that times have changed! Just a clear example the divorce referendum a year ago, and the outcome surely send cold shivers down the spine to many people, not only to the Roman Catholic Church, but mostly towards those b**t**ds, who always try to use the religious issue for their own agenda! Unfortunately, we've got quite alot ot them around!