LIBERAL ARTISTS SICK OF LIBERAL ART
One of the things that I believe - scratch that - know, is that too many conservatives do not care about the ideology of the art or entertainment that they consume and purchase. They figure "as long as I am entertained, who cares?"That's why they proudly put millions into The DaVinci Code, The Bourne Ultimatum and the latest Bruce Springsteen CD.
Now obviously, there is nothing inherently wrong with that and you should choose to like a piece of art/product based on reasons far more complex than just ideology. But you should also be aware of how that ideology affects the world around you.
Here are two articles from the British newspaper The Guardian, both by people who are, to some degree, fed up with left wing dominance in the arts. What is fascinating is that the writers themselves are left-wing.
First up, Mark Ravenhill, a gay playwright who is tired of writing gay.
"Now, I'm surprised to say, I'm happy never to write another gay character again. It feels as though every aspect of the gay experience has been narrated, performed and picked over in the past 30 years. It has left us with some brilliant work. Alongside all the bad generic gay work, artists such as Derek Jarman, Alan Hollinghurst, Tony Kushner and others have left a body of work that is both gay and great. But that work seems over now."
Next up is an article asking where the right-wing voices are in the British theatre?
Where are the right-wing voices who will take the establishment on? For decades, British theatre has been dominated by playwrights sympathetic to a liberal consensus. The culture of the left has been represented by strident plays and angry playwrights - but where are the voices of the right, and why can't the stage accommodate both?
What is of note, is that these articles are being written by people on the left for a left-wing newspaper. Britain is far more leftist than Canada at this point in its history. Yet, it seems that even some left-wing artists in Britian are fed up. Ewan McGregor recently decried Britian's nanny state and Tom Stoppard, a conservative, is fed up with the left.
In America, left-wing films like Lions for Lambs, Rendition and In the Valley of Elah, all flopped and more newspapers are commenting on that. I do sense a small change coming. That is natural. Sadly, English Canada will be the last to reflect this.
posted by Nicol DuMoulin @ 6:36 AM
3 Comments:
Does this signify a trend among gay artists to come out of the closet and confess to their conservative yearnings? Will we soon see tory-pride parades challenging the public's mores?
One can't help but note how artists love to think of themselves as dissidents and apostates, but are often comically homogeneous and predictable in their political views. It's good to see two artists fighting the political hegemony, even if it's just to sample the wares.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0480239/
That is just one that will be coming out in 2008. Then again, even though Bourne is self serving, I liked the action. Nor did I mind that Davinci Code ended up saying that Jesus existed. I will admit that I was a bit peeved at their attacking his divinity, but, other than that, it was a fun code breaking mystery kind of like national treasure. Then again, I also liked Narnia. If only I had more time to go to the movies.
Commies get tired of eating chicken all the time - each other. (real conservative)
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