There Was Legitimate Culture in Postwar Europe?

After the fall of fascism, Europe was left open to a new way of life. The tragedy of the Holocaust left many individuals and governments in shock, and measures were taken that ensured the prevention of further extremist activity in government. The sudden lack of censorship in allowed both revolutionaries and artists to speak out in new (or perhaps forgotten) ways. In France, this renewed freedom of expression enabled the production of avant-garde film and philosophy. As the existentialists wrote in Montmatre, filmmakers set about depicting the modern world. The most famous French filmmakers of the era were Jean-Luc Godard and Francois Truffaut--the former, an absurdist; the latter, and existentialist romantic.



The Soft Skin (1964) was Truffaut's first dark film. His previous works operated on a certain joie de vivre which French audiences found refreshing. However, in the story of a writer who leaves his wife for an airline stewardess, Truffaut captured the unsettling reality of "modern romance." The reality of two women and a man in a postwar world struck viewers too close to home, and despite the film's acceptance to Cannes Film Festival, it flopped at the box office. Critics today assert that Truffaut's darkest film is one of his best efforts, accurately depicting the personal conflicts of postwar Europe.

Camus and Literary Existentialism. (Love at First Sight?)

In his essay "The Myth of Sisyphus," Albert Camus tackles the existentialist conundrum of choice. Sisyphus, according to Camus, accepts his punishment because he chose it in the most vague sense--through his actions. Thus, the action of choosing itself is rendered meaningless, and since one cannot consciously choose the course of one's own life, then life is also meaningless. However, Camus was not one of the purists of existentialism; rather, he was more concerned with the literary intrigue of existentialist ideas than with the philosophy itself. Camus' tendency towards existentialism as a literary device is not clearly seen in his essays, but in The Stranger, this unique use of existentialist principle is clearly seen in the protagonist Meursault.

For most of the novel, Meursault can be described as an "existentialist nightmare." He feels, but in abstract, detached, almost inhuman ways. He does things simply because they are vaguely interesting to him. He reiterates that life means nothing, achievement means nothing, emotions mean nothing. He is neither bad nor good, and then, just because he was confused by the sun or wanted to take a walk or felt uncomfortable around crying women, he ends up killing a man. He is convicted, and his conviction is reasonable to both the audience and Meursault himself. Even though he "didn't mean" to kill a man, his actions clearly led him to do it, and thus he chose to commit murder, whether he realized it or not. However, Camus breaks from existentialism after the verdict in a very subtle manner. In a scene where Meursault is lying on his prison bed, contemplating his oncoming death, he is suddenly subsumed by true feeling; he appreciates the former beauty and happiness of his life, finds (at least superficial) value in it, and feels fear at his imminent end. a hardcore existentialist would maintain that everyday life is meaningless, even in the last moments of one's life, but rather than turning Meursault into a didactic example of existentialism, Camus portrays the essential humanity of his character in these moments. Camus saw that in such a fatal situation, ideology would become irrelevant. Whether or not Meursault chose his fate through his actions, the fear of dying would still be present. Thus, Camus reveals a glaring fault of existentialism: even if life and choice are trifling matters, we as humans will always find greater meaning in living because living is what makes us human.

The Synthetic Sound: Portishead

Arguably the most well-known trip hop group in the world aside from Massive Attack, Portishead revolutionized the international perception of the electronic sound. In a review of their second, self-titled album, Rolling Stone Magazine described Portishead's unique style as "...an instantly identifiable essence: bleeps transmitted from outer space, familiar syncopation and turntable scratches." Atop these signature "beats," if one can identify them as such, Beth Gibbons' "detached" vocals further distinguish Portishead from its contemporaries. (Early hits include Glory Box and Numb.) Recently, with the long-awaited release of their third album, aptly titled Third, Portishead has become more avant-garde than before, abandoning their usual brooding melodies to explore disjointed, sharp sounds.

Despite Rolling Stone Magazine's claims that their music originated in "outer space," Portishead was born from its immediate surroundings. Founded in Bristol, United Kingdom in 1991, Portishead drew inspiration from the geography of the region. The band's namesake, the town of Portishead, is so small that it is not usually referenced without connection to Bristol or North Somerset. Mostly known for its railways and docks, Portishead was never known as a cultural center before the band came along. However, despite its bland history and negligible art scene, there is a compelling atmosphere in Portishead; amidst the generic industrial buildings are sculptures that border on the bizarre. How such a small town came upon the funds to commission public art is a mystery, and the works seem out of place--they neither relate to Portishead's extensive seafaring history nor establish a sophisticated artistic tradition. It is apt that an innovative band such as Portishead would draw inspiration from a typical UK town with a quirky public spirit. Although not a direct mission of the band, Portishead attempts to capture this spirit in its truest form.


Portishead - Machine Gun from vruz on Vimeo.

Just Another Cold (War) Day: Reflecting on the Simulation

Red and blue are more than just opposites on the color wheel; once these hues were adopted by the USSR and the West, they went from being a child's finger painting colors to highly politicized indicators of territory. In the simulation today, as a member of the US/Western Europe interest group, I was intensely interested by how much influence a single color could have. When we had no communication with the Soviet Union and only speculation about USSR actions, the huge block of red in the east seemed more and more ominous. As the (mild) paranoia mounted, the desire to contain the communist "threat" seemed increasingly more reasonable. (We never even considered protecting the United States by confining ourselves to the western hemisphere...hence the scuffle for Mexico in the last three or so rounds.) By placing bases near to the heart of the USSR--or as close as we could come--we felt more secure in our offensive capabilities. However, our policy of containment was ineffective, even though our strategic prowess seemed to be right on target. Why? I suspect it had something to do with our lack of information. We were making moves based on our Western conception of how the Soviet think-tank works, and yet we were not familiar enough with their strategy to possibly know their goals, actions, and philosophies. Therefore, our good moves were simply flukes. We left too many holes in our geographical strategy to be of any real threat to our opponents. It's no wonder that our ultimatum fell short of the desired effect--so what if we had nukes in Japan? They slipped through the many gaps we left open, take Mexico, threaten us with close-range missiles. We did not establish ourselves as a formidable force, so why should they treat us like one?

Ultimately, bombing on a whim--or perhaps a fear--seemed like a pointless solution to our color problem. It would not only be a waste of power but also a meaningless exercise. Nuclear warfare would do nothing to establish us as the better faction, and if our bat-like strategy wouldn't work, brute force wasn't going to be much of an improvement.

The Synthetic Sound: A Sociogeographical Examination of Electro in Europe

Finally, I have returned to the blogverse with a unique research offering in collaboration with P. Diddy Kong and Elizabeth. Introducing our work on Europe's relationship to the "synthetic sound," or electronic music. Our research questions are not just about techno, however; we are much more interested in why electronic music has gained so much social acceptance on the European scene. In order to understand the popularity of electro, we will each be studying a region in depth. I will be looking at the climate in the United Kingdom, with specific focus on Bristol, where the genre of Trip Hop was born. Mr. P. Diddy Kong will be studying France, and Elizabeth will be focused on northern Europe (Denmark, Sweden, possibly Germany). The anthropological landscape, cultural identity, and history of each place will be taken into consideration as well as the countries' relationship to technology, music, and poltics--the elements that influence the art itself. We hope to come to a cultural understanding about why electro became such a phenomenon in Europe (at the very least).

Nazism Today

Nazism is by no means dead. Although fascism is no longer popular and is usually considered taboo, there are still people who adhere to its doctrine. These (usually young) radicals are known to us colloquially as "skinheads," although their formal name is the Neo-Nazi Party. The Neo-Nazis are not quite organized enough to constitute a political group, and because of anti-totalitarian laws in Germany, radical representatives cannot get elected anyways. However, they still operate in fairly large numbers spread out all over the globe.

The following videos are excerpts from a Japanese anime series called "Black Lagoon" about a group of pirates running a shipping business in the Pacific Ocean. Although such a series seems unrelated to the topic at hand, the following three episodes deal directly with Neo-Nazism, classic fascism, and the racism that still exists in our modern world. It's also interesting to take into consideration the Japanese perspective, especially since Japan was well-respected by Hitler and supported him in WWII. WARNING: The following contains graphic violence, strong language, and fanservice. If the videos don't work, let me know and I will link you to others. (Yeah, I'm a geek.)



Black Lagoon Episode 5

Too Much Talk About Hitler Makes Lolotte a Dull Girl (919-926)

In 1928, the struggling Weimar Republic finally went sour. An election was held that year which shifted the political poles from right to left, making it impossible for the Republic to drum up any more support. In addition to this loss of support, alienated voters, mostly of the peasantry, started backing "specialized interests" such as those of the Nazi party. The Nazis identified this electoral splintering as profitable, and with the stunning propaganda of Goebbels, their party led the way towards the inevitable splintering of the Weimar. They painted themselves as a young, hip contingent concerned with Germany's well-being, and even during the Depression they were well-funded enough to organize the rallies that won them 18.3 percent of the vote early on. The presence of the Nazi party in the Reichstag prevented other groups, such as the National Socialists, from becoming an overpowering majority; the Nazis only followed Hitler, and refused to partake in other areas of government. Hitler, however, could not win the majority required to become president electorally. Thus, after a Dutch anarchist and pyromaniac did his worst on the Reichstag, Hitler seized the opportunity to create "The Third Reich" under Nazi jurisdiction.

In 1933, Germany officially became a one-party Nazi state. The left was crushed by Hitler's regime, and all non-Nazi organizations were forced to assimilate. If the Nazi state was efficient, perhaps the autocracy would be justified, but the bureaucracy was so complicated that very little was accomplished. In fact, Hitler's biggest challenges came from within the Nazi party at the end of his first term; these internal difficulties led to the creation of the infamous Nazi secret police, the SS. Headed by Himmler, the most feared Nazi next to Hitler, the SS invented the Nazi concentration camp. Still, the regime enjoyed a certain amount of popular support that cut across class lines. Hitler admired and emulated Mussolini in this regard by attempting to infuse a universal nationalism into the German people and reaching out to the country's youth. The main staple of the party's politics was racism, and for this issue I recommend reading the two posts preceding this one.