distressing news

[Alina Israeli]

Dear Eloise,

Many societies, particularly those who have an elaborate cultural elite,
have several cultural levels. When Montesqueu wrote his "Lettres Persanes"
challenging the autocratic rule, the majority of French was illiterate.
Were the French peasants enjoying Moliere or Racine? I doubt it. Should
those famous playwrites stop their endevors because the majority of the
country could not read or attend them? I doubt that as well. Could the
peasants even understand who Les Precieuses ridicules were? I doubt that as
well. When we look at another culture we do not think that we should impose
on their cultural elite because of the ignorance of the masses. For some
reason we think that we can do it in this culture.

In the Soviet Union it was done on a massive scale: Ja Brodskogo ne chital,
no ja skazhu... was a testimony at his trial.

On the other hand there is nothing unusual that there is cultural
stratification, that's why folk dances of Russian nobility looks so weird
in Holliwood movies. And as time goes on, the upper culture (so to speak)
absorbs more and more of the lower culture, yet the lower culture comes up
with new ways to differenciate itself from the higher culture
(Tchaikovsky's Russian tunes in the 4th symphony or Spanish tunes - I
insist - in his Italian capriccio, to take just one example). I tend to
look at this as a positive element of the culture as a whole. (A similar
case can be made about cuisines of various countires.)

If the right wants to attack the academia without any arguments, they sound
just like that worker at Brodsky trial. But it we want to do ourselves
favors in the eyes of the far right, we should quit our pursuits
altoghether; we cannot do any meaningful cultural analysis looking over the
shoulder to the right. Or to the left, for that matter.

Alina


>But I must say that this discussion of "Master and Margarita -  The Musical"
>dripped with such contempt  for and sarcasm towards "ordinary" people and
>their tastes that it's no wonder many on the American right attack the
>academic world as irrelevant - or worse - every chance they get.  You're not
>doing yourselves any favors, Ladies and Gentlemen.


__________________________
 Alina Israeli
 LFS, American University
 4400 Mass. Ave., NW
 Washington, DC 20016

 phone:    (202) 885-2387
 fax:      (202) 885-1076 

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