'During the past 20 years America has been unhinged by ideological hubris – a disorder that Chomsky cannot analyse or even properly comprehend, since he embodies it himself. As an unsparing critic of American policies, he has at times been useful – there has, after all, been plenty to criticise. But like the neocons, he belongs in an Americo-centric world that has already passed away. In any larger view, Chomsky's view of the US as the fountainhead of human conflict is as absurd as the Bush aide's belief that America can create its own reality.'
---John Gray, The Guardian.
A few years back one of the beards here started his tirade against 'the west' in the following way: "Ayatollah Chomsky says...". Other notable beards implored the audience to consider what they've done to us in Bosnia (which is, no doubt, more comforting that thinking about what we've done to us in Sudan, East Pakistan, Iraq,...)
Well, of course, that's unfair. You can hardly blame Chomsky for the dull-headed readers he gets. Maybe. Is there something about the tone in which someone writes that appeals to a particular mindset?
You can't but help think that this is connected, somehow, to when you read Chomsky. If you're 19 he can seem utterly convincing. I did read his Pirates book when I was 19, as it happens, and thought he was the cheez. But, either through good old Kashmiri laziness or through the inheritance of common sense passed down lovingly by my parents, I only skimmed through some of his other work. 501. Like porn: you've seen one, you've seen them all.
For muslim ideologues and zionists Israel is the centre of the world. For islamophobes, muslims are at the centre of the world's problems. It's getting a bit cramped in the centre!
Ammons: renouncing centre!
~~~
The other article I read today was about the decline of romantic comedies in Hollywood. What's strange is just how appealing a lot of American culture is when there's supposed to be all this anti-americanism around. Is it that real people can see through the rantings of politicians and intellectuals alike?
Of the latter, the usual appeal to (European) snobbery. How can you like ze hollywood..it is for, 'ow you say, the philistines, mon ami. Well, a lot of European cinema is pretentious crap.Please don't talk about Pasolini. B-bloody b o r r r ing. Or the anal, convoluted writing. To be sophisticated is to be misunderstood by the plebs.
'The unbearable lightness of being a prawn cracker.'
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2 comments:
Is there something about the tone in which someone writes that appeals to a particular mindset? hmmm, indeed, that might very well be ....
on ze other hand, not all convoluted writing is boring... Take Proust, par exemple
best,
flâneur
true, f. a lot of simple stuff is mind-numbing, and just because something's difficult that doesn't necessarily make it boring.
just commenting that i think there's a lot of fakery out there; a bit like economists saying you need all this crazy math to solve real world problems. the solution may still require thinking, but maybe it's a different type of thinking and just coz you know some technical stuff which no-one understands that doesn't *make it* clever or useful or interesting. no?
on films, the same holds (imo). of course a lot of hollywood is trash and a lot of european films are interesting. but i think there's a lot of effort put in trying to *appear* intelligent or profound. or (more likely) I'm just missing the plot here! :-)
Thanks for dropping in. hope all is well.
K.
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