I think it was Robert Graves who wrote that life is too hard to be taken in the raw, or words to that effect. We cannot, as it were, consume life "neat". We need some sort of drug to see us through, be it alcohol, cigarettes, money, love, sex or whatever. I would add that we also find it virtually impossible to get along unless we are, to a greater or lesser degree, in denial (though some would deny this!).
Over here in France we are very much "in denial" at the moment. The lunatic fringe is denying that there is any problem at all and that we can go on as before without, for example, reforming the retirement system at all. Those of a slightly more coherent frame of mind adopt a "yes, but...." attitude. "Yes, things must change, but not like this". In other words, they are in favour of reform as long as it does not adversely affect them.
A bolshie populace, a corporatist public sector and weak governments have combined to ensure that nothing has been done in the past 20 years and that desperate (but no doubt woefully inadequate measures) have now to be taken at the worst possible moment - in the middle of a financial crisis.
Some have drawn a parallel with May 1968 but that is patently absurd. May '68 occurred at a time of prosperity and full employment; it was driven almost entirely by students and young people who were looking for greater freedom, not better economic conditions. To exaggerate only a little, May '68 had much much more in common with the fall of the Berlin Wall than with the present situation.
In short, in those far distant days the tide was coming in. Inequalities and injustice were accepted in good heart because of the rising tide of prosperity. Today, unfortunately, it is running out: a society riddled with injustice, an ageing population, unresolved problems of migration, a standard of living which in fact started to fall over 20 years ago but has been disguised by building up a monumental debt, a country unequal to the task of facing up to the challenge of the emerging economies, a country unable to face up to these realities - a country in denial.
December 31st 2015
Well, how prophetic can you get, and still remain unknown?!
Over here in France we are very much "in denial" at the moment. The lunatic fringe is denying that there is any problem at all and that we can go on as before without, for example, reforming the retirement system at all. Those of a slightly more coherent frame of mind adopt a "yes, but...." attitude. "Yes, things must change, but not like this". In other words, they are in favour of reform as long as it does not adversely affect them.
A bolshie populace, a corporatist public sector and weak governments have combined to ensure that nothing has been done in the past 20 years and that desperate (but no doubt woefully inadequate measures) have now to be taken at the worst possible moment - in the middle of a financial crisis.
Some have drawn a parallel with May 1968 but that is patently absurd. May '68 occurred at a time of prosperity and full employment; it was driven almost entirely by students and young people who were looking for greater freedom, not better economic conditions. To exaggerate only a little, May '68 had much much more in common with the fall of the Berlin Wall than with the present situation.
In short, in those far distant days the tide was coming in. Inequalities and injustice were accepted in good heart because of the rising tide of prosperity. Today, unfortunately, it is running out: a society riddled with injustice, an ageing population, unresolved problems of migration, a standard of living which in fact started to fall over 20 years ago but has been disguised by building up a monumental debt, a country unequal to the task of facing up to the challenge of the emerging economies, a country unable to face up to these realities - a country in denial.
December 31st 2015
Well, how prophetic can you get, and still remain unknown?!
Le bal (1983)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085213/
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J'ai été enchanté.
Ironically this film was nominated for the Oscar as the best foreign language film. It is not a foreign language film, it is a film without language, no spoken word. Everything that is worth to be told is told with music and dance. We see the history of the 20th century France as the history of a dancing. Times change and the dance changes with time. So the problems that people face change. Decay of the aristocracy, German occupation, youth revolution of 68, racial conflicts, everything can be seen on this dancing as well as the love, aspirations, despair, hatred.
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A movie without any word, no dialogue, but you don't feel that something is missing. The music, the dance and choreography, replace any missing dialogue. You get a history of France as seen and heard from a dance-hall stage at certain points in time : 1936,1940,1944,1946,1956, 1968, & 1983. Special remarks for Marc Berman & Jean-Francois Perrier and for the man behind writing and acting Jean-Claude Penchenat - La "croix de feu". Real nice movie - a 9 mark.
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lesle
Many thanks, lesle. I am ashamed to say that I have never seen Le Bal and was in fact only dimly aware of its existence. This was probably because I spent most of the 1980s engrossed in bringing up our children, losing touch with much that was happening in the cultural world!
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