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This feature documentary
takes luck seriously, involving the true believers who
know they are lucky (and have the lottery winnings to
prove it) and those who are not and wished they were.
In every culture people have sought ways
to placate Lady Luck. Charms, four leaf clovers, rabbit's
feet, ladders, black cats and crickets were used by
our ancestors to stimulate luck, while tea leaves and
crystal balls told them how they stood with the cosmic
powers that be. But what of modern men and women?
Well, as serious religions recede in influence
luck takes their place in popular culture. Those sports
fans committed to the success of their favourite teams
are not as engrossed in sports as they pretend. What
they are really looking for, as they check the scores,
are clues as to whether the fates are in their favour.
People buying lottery tickets are also testing providence
for reassurance as to where they stand. And players
of the stock market aren't that different. Gambling
is a modern horoscope tracking God's benevolence.
Small wonder luck is so popular, so omnipresent,
and that the devices that measure, or test it and celebrate
it, are experiencing unprecedented growth.
WHAT'S LUCK GOT TO DO WITH IT? is
a serious look at the transforming power of positive
irrational hope.
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