FANTASY AMERICA: THE UNITED STATES AS

FANTASY AMERICA: THE UNITED STATES
AS SEEN THROUGH FRENCH AND ITALIAN EYES
by
MARK HARRIS
M.A., The University of British Columbia, 1992
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- i iAbstract
For the past two decades, scholars have been reassessing the
ways in which Western writers and intellectuals have traditionally
misrepresented the non-white world for their own ideological
purposes. Orientalism,
Edward Said's ground-breaking study of the
ways in which Europeans projected their own social problems onto
the nations of the Near East in an attempt to take their minds off
the same phenomena as they occurred closer to home, was largely
responsible for this shift in emphasis. Fantasy America: The United
States as Seen Through French and Italian Eyes is an exploration of a
parallel occurrence that could easily be dubbed "Occidentalism."
More specifically, it is a study of the ways in which French and
Italian writers and filmmakers have sought to situate the New World
within an Old World context.
"Among the (More Advanced) Barbarians" (a.k.a. Chapter One)
examines the continuities and discontinuities of French travel
writing in America from the days of the Jesuits to the heyday of the
existentialists. Certain motifs and idees fixes—the uniqueness of
American racism; the "magic" of New York—are first identified and
then examined. "A Meeting of the Mafias" (Chapter Two) is more
cosmopolitan in scope, tracing the ways in which French, American,
and Italian crime fiction have historically influenced each other, as
well as the relationship of the policier to differing notions of the
nation-state. "The Ruins of Rome" (Chapter Three) demonstrates
how Italian intellectuals have looked to the United States for new
World Solutions to Old World problems. This chapter encompasses
two major sub-themes: the positive possibilities for Italy of
"Fordismo" (the American industrial model) and American literature
(which was believed to promote political, as well as cultural,
liberty). "Lurching Towards the Millennium" picks up the threads of
the first three chapters and places them in the contemporary
context of globalization, a process which threatens to replace the
hegemony of the nation state with the omnipresence of corporate
power. The cultural model of Quebec is introduced at this point as a
New World/Old World paradigm that embodies the chimerical
contradictions of a globe on the brink of a new millennium.
-ii i-
Table of
Contents
Abstract
ii
Acknowledgements
iv
Introduction
1
CHAPTER I
CHAPTER II
Among the (More Advanced)
Barbarians
11
Mid-Atlantic Melodrama; or, A
Meeting of the Mafias
91
CHAPTER III
The Ruins of Rome
194
CHAPTER IV
Slouching Towards the
Millennium
243
Conclusion
344
Bibliography
362
Appendix I Who's Afraid of Jerry Lewis?
384
Appendix II
Pity for John Wayne
389
Appendix III
Hypocrisy American Style
392
- iv-
Acknowledgements
As John Donne almost said, no graduate student is an island—which
is to say, this Ph.D. dissertation could not have been completed
without the aid of a great many people. First of all, I would like to
thank the Killam Foundation, the federal government, and the UBC
funding agencies for the generous financial help they provided during
the writing of this thesis. Secondly, I would like to thank my
doctoral committee for the unique and varied insights with which
they broadened and enriched my work. Dr. Marguerite Chiarenza, the
committee's chair, served as a cool and calming voice of reason
when things seemed most hopeless, as well as an eagle-eyed
proofreader. Dr. Steven Taubeneck proved equally knowledgeable
about university procedure, and made sure that I didn't wander too
far afield from my central point. Dr. Patricia Merivale's vast
erudition, meanwhile, provided me with an endless supply of
pertinent literary leads. I would also like to thank Professor George
McWhirter and the students in his translation class for their helpful
suggestions in regard to the English-language renderings of the
dissertation's appendices. Dr. Eva-Marie Kroeller's contribution
should likewise not be under-valued, since she initiated me into the
mysteries of Comparative Literature and introduced me to two
committee members. Dr. Thomas Salumets, her worthy successor as
program head, proved to be no less helpful. I would also like to thank
the library staffs of the Pacific Cinematheque and the Italian
Cultural Institute for granting me access to out-of-print texts
which would otherwise have been extremely difficult to obtain.
Similarly, my appreciation extends to the helpful folks at Manhattan
Books who kept me regularly supplied with the latest French and
Italian tomes. Finally, I would like to thank my wife, Carola Ackery,
who stood by me during the months following my nearly fatal
automotive accident in April, 1997. If not for her selfless care, it
would have taken much longer than it did for this dissertation to get
back on track. Consequently, it is to her that this project is
gratefully dedicated.
1
TNTRODUCTION
In
the 73 volumes of The Jesuit
that stands out from all the others.
Relations,
Amid
there is one passage
endless accounts
of pagan
souls lost and won, of the hardships and torments endured by Christian
missionaries
in
the
land
of
the
heathen,
of
the
endless
committed by French drunks and English Protestants,
description that owes more to the fantastic
itinerant monks, merchants,
soldiers
there is a single
tradition of Herodotus and
John Mandeville than it does to the dispassionate,
of
perfidies
and sea
hardheaded journals
captains.
"[Les]
deux
monstres," spotted by Father Pierre Marquette, SJ, during the course of
a seventeenth-century
river journey in the
American
Southwest,
"ont
des Cornes en teste Comme des cheveils; un regard affreux, des
yeux
rouges, une Barbe comme d'un tygre, le corps couuert d'ecailles,
et le
queue si Longue qu'elle fait tout le tour du corps passant par dessus la
teste
et
retournant
entre
les
jambes
elle
se
termine
en
queue
de
Poisson" (The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents. V o l . 59 140).
As we shall see in Chapter One, many of the Jesuits' letters to their
religious superiors were written in a style that seems to anticipate
the
anthropological tone of Claude Levi-Strauss's Tristes tropiques. Even so,
while reading these texts it is important to bear in mind that even the
clearest-eyed
observations
leave
room for
monsters.
Proto-ethnology,
zoology, and botany are never far removed from the realm of magic and
wonder.
Fantasy America:
The United States as Seen Through French and
Italian Eyes is predicated on this peculiar split in human consciousness.
2
It takes as its starting point the idea that there is an element of magical
thinking
Italian
in the national perception of other societies.
artists
colossus
of
and intellectuals
the
New
misrepresentations
Orientalism
onto
its
World
which—as
did not
the
impose
same
Edward
upon
humiliating
Said so
nonetheless
colonies,
characterized by
the
object
otherness
the
of
their
economic
prejudices
eloquently
and Culture and Imperialism—expansionist
non-white
If French and
and
complains in
Europe projected
observation
rather than by
any
was
"genetic"
points of cultural similarity. In other words, America was always seen
as something larger than Europe or as something smaller; it could be
"inferior" or "superior". What it could not be was the same.
National
impinge
on
history,
collective
local
distortions
Probably the only peoples
whose extreme
other
nations
customs,
and frustrated
rooted
wishes
always
in psychological projection.
immune to this cultural debility are those
geographical isolation blinds them to the existence of
and
other
mores.The three
countries
covered
by
this
study obviously do not fall into this exceedingly rare category, although
they do enjoy differing degrees of otherness
and affinity. French and
Italian, for instance, are both Latin-based languages, while the structure
of English owes most to the ancient Germanic tongues.
On the other
hand, both French and English are, in Gilles Deleuze's sense of the term,
"imperialist" languages, while Italian is not. Even so, it should not be
forgotten
that
Latin,
the
language
of
ancient
Italy,
was
once
the
universal tongue of the Pax Romana, and must therefore be ranked as
the Western World's
basis
that it was
Hellenic Greek).
first imperialist system
of discourse
spoken mainly in Asia Minor—one
(if—on
the
does not count
3
As it is with language,
American
their
sociocultural
Italo-American
so is it with most things. While Franco-
affiliations
can more
counterparts,
these
contradictory and ambiguous. For every
often
be
perceived
comparisons
than
are
often
conclusion reached, one could
have arrived at a counter-conclusion which was almost as sound. What's
more, the ties of influence
and observation do not always
flow
in a
bilateral direction. In societies that every day grow more global and less
tribal—a description which currently encompasses all but a few
communities
in Africa
and Asia—increasingly complex
needed to properly explain the flow
cases,
definitive
boundaries
of
pontification
academic
ideograms
of progression/regression.
exceeds
speculation.
even
To speak
the
isolated
In many
most
on such
are
generous
matters
is
to
commit the intellectual sin of hubris.
In order to avoid the worst of these excesses, I have decided to
limit my study of French and Italian perceptions of America to models
which at least two of the concerned parties —one of which must always
be the USA—have shared to a significant degree.
For this reason, the
reader will find little or no comment on such subjects as opera, science
fiction, Renaissance painting, Impressionism, rock 'n' roll, collections
aphorisms,
peplumi,
thousand
Instead,
Broadway
musicals,
rhythm and blues,
other
I have
locally
decided
production. Respectively,
and—for
want
of
relation,
American
epic
book
length
poetry,
commedia
popular manifestations
to
focus
philosophical
on three
of
primary
these are the travel book, the
a better
term—the
commentators
are
areas
or
less
or a
creativity.
of
artistic
polar/policier,
cultural survival essay.
more
essays,
dell'arte,
national
of
silent
In
this
partners.
4
Though constantly spoken of, they almost never speak of those who so
confidently
define them.
"Among the (More Advanced) Barbarians," the first of
America's
four
chapters,
deals
with
French
Fantasy
intellectual
attitudes
towards the United States, from the Counter-Reformation era (when the
Jesuit Fathers first set an enduringly Gallic cultural stamp on the New
World) to the late 1960s (when aging existentialists
poststructuralists
took
this
and more youthful
newly-imperial republic
to
task
for
its
foreign and domestic policies). This was the period when virtually all
Gallic
observers
political
saw
convictions
travellers.
Some
the United States as
or
of
personal
these
"other," regardless
predilections
accounts
appear
in
of
individual
the
form
of
of
the
literary
travel
journalism, others in the guise of fiction. A l l are, to a greater or lesser
extent, realistic. Readers in search of a "fantastic" New World akin to the
one depicted in J . G . Ballard's science-fiction novel, Hello
America,
will
surely be disappointed. For my purposes, the words "Fantasy America"
refer to certain carefully defined outsiders' "takes" on their country of
study—nothing more. By adhering to this policy, I hope to underscore
the
fantastic
elements
which underlie the
surface
naturalism of
the
texts and films under discussion. For reasons of topicality and source
availability, the lion's share of critical attention will be focused on postwar works of film and literature.
For historical reasons, early Italian impressions of the New World
are not included here. La Nouvelle
parcel of the ancien
until
1870,
France, after all, was once part and
regime. Because the Risorgimento
was not complete
the Italian government was never in a position to acquire
North American colonies
(even if the newly "discovered"—to its long-
5
term inhabitants, it was never truly "lost"—continent
the
Italian
mariner,
Amerigo
Vespucci).
was named
Whatever
after
expansionist
impulses the brainchild of Cavour and Garibaldi might have felt during
the last decades of the nineteenth
towards
the
last few
acres
century were,
of Africa
of necessity, directed
which were not
already under
European control. In other words, French voyagers to the United States
were
imbued with
denied
a vestigial
proprietory interest
to their Italian counterparts.
which
No matter how
was
to
"other" the
be
New
World might appear to Parisian travellers, the ubiquity of French place
names
could
not
help
but
remind them
of
a very
distant
familial
relation. Conversely, the very size and success of America had to appear
on some level
as a symbol of cultural defeat, an emblem of "Anglo-
Saxon" hegemony,
the economic consummation of anglophone self-
aggrandizement that began with the Hundred Years' War (if the words
"Englishman" and "American"
House
and Whitehall, they
seem mutually
exclusive
sound far more convergent
in the White
in the
Elysee
Palace).
The French intellectual elite's deep-seated suspicion of perfidious
Albion reborn as the crude but vital U S A did not, however,
entirely
preclude feelings of love, admiration, and curiosity. Quite the contrary.
America's
limitless
and
vast
spaces,
mechanical
ingenuity,
democratic
wealth, industrial capacity, motion pictures, music,
literature
were
at least
as
much
adored as
they
practices,
automobiles
were derided.
Above all, the new nation was a paradox. "Barbaric" though it was, this
upstart colony in some ways seemed superior to the Old World at a time
when the natural superiority of Europeans over all other peoples
was
almost
not,
universally
held—at
least
by
Europeans.
America
was
6
therefore, the kind of exotic Middle Eastern backwater that Victor Hugo
and Gerard de Nerval explored in their more flamboyant
century fictions.
ersatz
Asian
parables
It was,
lands
designed
rather, more like the
which
to
admirable but
Voltaire conjured up
underscore
the
social,
nineteenth-
a century
religious
entirely
earlier in
and
political
shortcomings of continental Europe. In some ways, French writing about
America can be seen as a sort of convergence
of these two
styles of
"Occidentalism".
Italy's interest in the U S A was far more selective and pragmatic.
As we shall see in "The Ruins of Rome", my argument's third chapter,
for Italian intellectuals
possible
most
solutions
open
specificity
of
America was primarily seen as a storehouse of
for endemic
all
Italian problems. While statistically
European nations
to
outside
influences,
was implicitly assumed to be too strong to suffer
the
Italian
significant
alteration. Regardless of whether one read Georges Simenon or Renato
Oliveri, John Steinbeck or Carlo Levi, Calabria would still be Calabria,
Tuscany Tuscany, and so on. In the foreward to his bestselling popular
history,
The Italians, Luigi
Barzini wrote that, for Italians
"the
most
fascinating subject of all [is] why are we the way we are" (Barzini xv).
To write about Italy was notoriously hard, he claimed, because of "the
absurd
discrepancy
inhabitants'
quality
of
between
achievements
quantity
through
many
and dazzling
centuries
their national history...." (Barzini
searching, the presence
shadow
the
x).
and
In this
array
the
of
the
mediocre
endless
of America can only appear as a distant
selfecho,
or beacon, despite the fact that, post-1945, the United States
has meddled more directly in Italian internal affairs than it has in the
political ambitions of the French. Ironically, the nature of this paradox
7
can more profitably be explained in Chapter Two than it can in Chapter
Three.
As its title suggests, "A Meeting of the Mafias: or, Mid-Atlantic
Melodrama"
is
primarily
concerned
specifically,
it deals with the
with
"cops
and
fictional representation
robbers";
of
more
same in
the
novels and feature films of French, Italian and American cineastes and
authors. It is no accident that it is also the chapter most marked by
sociological bias, since its author will attempt to prove that many, if not
all,
of
a given
society's underlying social
structures
are reflected
or
revealed by its attitudes towards social deviance. According to this logic,
Inspector
Javert,
Philip Marlowe, and Vittorio de
Sica's
anonymous
bicycle thief say more about deep French, American and Italian societal
assumptions
than would a similar array of Rolands, Leatherstockings,
and Infernal poets. The fine points of a nation's imagination are at least
as
revelatory
of
hidden assumptions,
fears
and yearnings
as
are
its
economic infrastructure and political mythology. This belief is, of course,
very widely shared by genre critics. For the duration of Chapter Two, I
must count myself among them.
"A Meeting of the Mafias" is the one section of this study where
French, American and Italian influences
effect,
I have
enjoy
almost equal status. To
achieve
this
eliminated from consideration
Deleuze
would call "le roman a enigme," that is the genteel detective
story whose guiding geniuses were,
what
are, and probably always
Gilles
will be,
Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Since the roman a enigme is
a quintessentially English style, it has been dispensed with here. On the
other hand, because what I do describe is so beholden to the stylistics of
film
noir, I am obliged to mention some of the Germanic influences
on
8
the American and French crime story (Expressionist influence on / gialli
being
weak
to
non-existent).
Essentially,
deals with three sorts of policier:
and
the
sociological
crime
"Mid-Atlantic
Melodrama"
the underworld saga, the film
drama
(the
latter
an
almost
Italian—and in some ways anti-generic—phenomenon).
noir,
exclusively
These styles are
among the most widely scattered in the domain of international cinema,
so
Chapter Two's conclusions
made on behalf of Fantasy
are correspondingly broader than those
America's
less cosmopolitan quarters.
"Slouching Towards the Millennium", the dissertation's concluding
chapter,
is
also
the
most
contemporary.
It
deals
with
historical moment wherein American cultural influence
the
present
has assumed a
position so commanding it threatens to occlude all rival visions. In the
once culturally secure, closed circuit of France, U.S. sounds and images
are no longer just arrogantly seductive exotica, but an integral part of a
no longer national mass media. Italian cinema, for many years the most
vital
and
desperate
commercially
successful
for international exposure
in
Western
it must
Europe,
package
is
new
now
so
films
like
venerable classics and peddle them to film societies around the globe in
the probably vain hope
local
that such tactics
distributors. Under
the
will
attract the attention
implacably expansionist
aegis
of
of
Jack
Valenti, the big studios represented by the Motion Picture Producers of
America conglomerate have effectively
banished all but a token number
of subtitled features from U.S. and Anglo-Canadian screens. Meanwhile,
in post-GATT Europe, Francois Mitterand's former minister of cultural
affairs, Jack Lang, still struggles to put meaningful films together by the
desperate
different
expedient
countries.
of
As
yoking
the
together
possibility
of
backers
from
presenting
an
five
or
six
authentically
9
French or Italian cinematic face to the world diminishes in the presence
of the Hollywood juggernaut, it is becoming increasingly difficult to add
even a vaguely European visage to the cultural mix. If Jean Baudrillard
is to be believed, the barbarians are no longer simply at the gates, but
actually
in the
living room, mixing drinks and flicking the
converter. What's more, they're
inter-marrying with
channel
the locals
to
the
point where the genealogy of certain works is difficult to determine. Luc
Besson's
most
Le
Cinquieme
element (1997), for example,
expensive European feature
known almost exclusively
ever released,
yet
by its U.S. release title,
is reputedly
everywhere
The Fifth
Like a Freudian parent, American influence is now so deeply
in the European subconscious
the
it
is
Element.
embedded
it might well prove impossible
to ferret
out.
While
Chapter Four
will
include
a number
of
recent
literary
sources, including Julia Kristeva and Philippe Labro, it will focus more
particularly
European
attached
on
the
changed
perspectives
mass media in general,
appendices
for
related
and
and film
documents).
survival
problems
in particular (please
The
now
dated
of
see
Gallic
enthusiasm for be-bop, Alfred Hitchcock, Jerry Lewis, and le roman noir
will
be reconsidered in the
similar vein, the
seemingly
subtle
light
of post-modern
affectlessness.
downgrading and redefining of Italy's
In a
unique,
insuperable problems will be reassessed.
Following what might, at first glance,
appear to be a
somewhat
dubious distribution of analytical emphasis, fully half of Chapter Four is
taken
up
with
the
ways
in
which
Quebecois
poets,
novelists,
and
cineastes have tried to make sense of their uncomfortable closeness to
the United States and their painful separation from the ancien
regime.
10
By maintaining their Zeitgeist
the
Old and New
France,
Worlds,
mid-way between the dominant myths of
the postmodern
inheritors of
la
nouvelle
I would argue, shed invaluable light on the problems we have
discussed
thus
relentlessly
far.
At
the
present
time,
political
power
is
being
bled away from nation states and ruthlessly transfused
into
the "veins" of large corporations. The governments of France, Italy, and
other industrialized countries are all signatories
to a new generation of
free trade agreements which read like documents
treaties in which the rights of nations
programs,
cultural industries,
interference
are
corporations
to
sentiment
is
declared
make
moving
to protect
and social welfare
secondary
unrestricted
away
of absolute surrender,
from
to
the
profits.
the
their own
benefits
rights
from
of
political
outside
deracinated
Increasingly,
larger
medicare
nationalist
structures
and
settling into the smaller but more welcoming territory of "regions". For
all
these
reasons,
I
have
granted
Quebecois
perceptions
of
the
USA/France conundrum a great deal of space in my summary chapter.
True "Italianness",
cose all'italiana.
Luigi Barzini believed,
lay in what he called
These were the relatively few national characteristics
that distinguished his countrymen from their European neighbours. But
"What exactly are these cose all' italianal" he asked rhetorically (Barzini
xv). To answer this question he wrote
attitudes
and trends, the strengths
and weaknesses, the strokes
and bad historical luck which resulted
situation. While the queries posed
an entire book devoted
in this
by Fantasy
to the
of good
unique psychopolitical
America
are
nowhere
near so straightforward, in some respects they are quite similar. Before
discovering
how
the
three
subject
cultures
shape
and
define
another, one must first understand what makes France French,
one
America
11
American,
and Italy
something
about
notoriously
elusive
Italian. In the process,
both
trail
the
nature
of
hopefully,
cultural
one
will learn
production
of international cultural influence.
speaking, this study will probably raise more questions
and
the
Practically
than it answers.
On the other hand, I have tried to make these queries as stimulating as
possible
so
investigation
that
they
in the future.
might
serve
as
springboards
to
further
12
CHAPTER ONE: A M O N G T H E (MORE ADVANCED)
BARBARIANS
Politically, France never poured much will into the preservation of
its North American colonies. In La Naissance
d'une race, Abbe Lionel
Groulx, the influential Quebecois nationalist, ruefully noted this fact: "Dix
mille immigrants! Voila tout ce que la France a jete sur les rives de
Saint-Laurent pour y fonder une race et creer un pays" (Groulx 22). The
figure of
10,000 colonists,
after more than two
it should be noted, was
centuries
of nominal colonization. At times,
total juddered around zero. During
beginning
of
the
the total achieved
one
particularly low
the
point at the
seventeenth century, a Jesuit observer describes
the
plucky Heberts as "...l'unique familie de Francois habituee en Canada"
(The
Jesuit
intellectuals
Relations
of
the
and Allied
time
did
not
Documents,
Volume 5 42).
discourage
the
crown's
French
lack
of
imperialist resolve in this corner of the globe. As the Abbe Groulx sadly
noted in his nationalist lamentations, Voltaire—the man who coined the
famously dismissive phrase "quelques arpents de neige" in relation to la
Nouvelle
France— "...appellera un jour le Canada 'le plus detestable pays
du nord....'" (Groulx 81)
To some extent this disdain was shared by Europe's other colonial
powers.
South American silver and Caribbean sugar were the overseas
commodities
and
the
which were
eighteenth
in particular demand between
centuries.
Even
England,
the
sixteenth
in temporary control of
most American possessions north of the Rio Grande following its victory
in the Seven Years War, was somewhat dubious about the value of its
conquests.
In Le Temps du monde, Fernand Braudel points out that, at
13
the time of the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1763,
"L'Angleterre
aurait prefere au Canada (enleve a la France) et la Floride (qui lui cede
l'Espagne) la possession de Saint-Domingue" (Braudel 354). On the other
side of the treaty table, such a trade, however, was totally unacceptable
to a "France desireux
sucrieres,
firent
que
de conserver Saint-Domingue, la reine des ties
les
'arpents
de
neige'
du
Canada
revinrent a
l'Angleterre" (Braudel 354).
Ironically, as J . M . Gautier notes in his introduction to Rene de
Chateaubriand's
immensely
popular
century "American" novel Atala,
late
eighteenth/early
nineteenth
the French public's interest in actually
reading about America dramatically waxed even as the country's ability
to
influence
events
on
that
continent
travellers' books, such as Moeurs
et Description
voyage
fait
generale de
dans
des
waned.
Sauvages Americains and
la Nouvelle France,
VAmerique
Enlightenment bestsellers.
precipitately
septentrionale,
Early
Histoire
avec le journal
were
notable
d'un
Age
of
Much of this success can be attributed to the
"sensational" elements contained in these accounts penned by explorers
and—especially—missionaries. Jesuit militants never tired of telling their
superiors about the "nakedness" and "savagery" of the "lost souls" whom
they were attempting to save. Even clothed Indians
seemed
shamefully
bare to these Catholic zealots. As one Jesuit disapprovingly sniffed, even
the natives' winter furs "...n'empfeche pas qu'on ne voye la plufpart de
leurs corps" (The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents. Volume 5 24).
If their descriptions
calculated
these
not
of Indian "licentiousness"
to provoke too
missionary
wanderers
many explicitly
felt
no
such
were
cloaked in terms
concupiscent
compunction
in
thoughts,
regard
to
scenes of physical torture. With a cold-blooded detachment that would
14
have
done
credit to
Claude Levi-Strauss, one
observer
described
the
following sadistic procedure in almost surgical terms: "...ils leurs percent
les bras au poignet auec des baftons pointus, & leurs arrachent les nerfs
par ces trous" (The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Volume 5 30).
French fascination with the "horrific" novelty of America can be found
with equal facility in this revealing but anachronistic (the speaker,
all, is a Florentine nobleman speaking in 1535)
Alfred
de
tournent
Musset's
curiosite monstreuse
speech fragment from
historical play, Lorenzaccio
autour de moi avec
des
yeux
louches,
after
(1835):
comme
apportee d'Amerique...." (de Musset
"Ceux qui
autour
d'une
153).
"Monstrous curiosities": for a long time that phrase defined
the
nature of the French reading public's fascination with America. It was
precisely
the kind of semi-legendary
land that John Mandeville might
have visited a century or two earlier. In any event, it was
altogether
different—which is to say, both weaker and coarser—than Marco Polo's
China.
In
Tzvetan
appertained
comprends
to
the
Todorov's
class
ni langue
of
ni les
words,
the
"...inconnus,
coutumes,
early
des
American
etrangers
si etrangers
"Other"
dont
je
que j'hesite,
ne
a la
limite, a reconnaitre notre appartenance commune a une meme espece"
(La Conquete de l'Amerique 11).
Despite these initial impressions
towards
eighteenth
the
new
World
began
to
and motivations,
change
towards
century. In the wake of Napoleon's
French
the
attitudes
end
economically
of
the
motivated
dumping of France's last major American possessions, "les Francais," J . M .
Gautier reminds us, "pouvaient regretter
'd'avoir perdu ce nouvel Eden
auquel ils avaient laisse le doux nom de Louisiane....'" (Chateaubriand 4).
Around the same time, "...au XIXe siecle, l'exotisme americain laisse la
15
place aux mirages de 1'Orient" (Chateaubriand 4). [This change was not
absolute,
however.
According to biographer Henri Troyat, even Honore
de Balzac—arguably the major French writer of the early 1800s who was
least demonstrably impressed by the American mirage—was inspired by
the
sylvan romances
of James
Fenimore Cooper to
turn the
insurrectionaries in his historical novel Les Chouans into
peasant
"Peaux-Rouges"
in the "Bocage normand" (Troyat 126).]
On one level, Gautier's contention is absolutely true; on another, it
is somewhat misleading. If the romance of America was in the process
of
giving way
simultaneously
monstrous
to the Romance of Orientalism, the New
metamorphosing
shape
in
Gallic
into
a
new
imaginations.
and
America
only
the
World
was
slightly
less
horrible and
magical was about to be replaced by America the modern and implicitly
dangerous.
As
Fernand
Braudel
observed
"Accarian de Seronne voyait, des 1766,
in
Le
temps du
monde,
se lever un 'Empire americain':
'La Nouvelle-Angleterre, ecrivait-il, est plus a redouter que l'ancienne.-..'
Oui,
un Empire independant de l'Europe,
annees plus
prosperite
tard (1771) qui menace
sur-tout
de
'un Empire,
dit-il
quelques
dans un avenir tres prochain la
l'Angleterre, de
l'Espagne,
de
la
France,
Portugal et de la Hollande.' C'est-a-dire que s'appercevaient
deja
du
les
premiers signes de la candidature a venir des Etats-Unis a la domination
de l'economie-monde
europeen" (Braudel 354).
This change, however, occurred gradually, and in a decidedly nonlinear fashion. The immense popularity of Atala was in large measure
responsible for this. A relatively small part of Chateaubriand's magnum
opus
La
Genie
conservative
du
christianisme,
a polemic in favour of an ultra-
interpretation of Roman Catholicism, Atala relied
heavily
16
on the Jesuit Relations for descriptive passages and background colour.
While opinions differ as to whether Chateaubriand ever actually set
in
America—the late
nineteenth-century
French
literary critic
Bedier remained firmly convinced that he did not—the
to rely on missionary chronicles
religious
convictions.
dissertation,
Father
work was
nous
author's decision
conditioned
almost entirely free
Marquette's
contributions
appealing to Chateaubriand. In 1675,
laquelle
not entirely
Joseph
by
his
As already mentioned in the introduction to
that massive
descriptions.
was
foot
nous
embarquames
of
were
this
"fantastic"
particularly
this Jesuit wrote "La Riuiere sur
s'appelle
MesKousing, elle
est
fort
large, son fond est du sable...elle est pleine d'Isles Couuertes de Vignes;
sur les
bords
parroissent
de
bonnes
terres,
entremeslees
de
bois
de
prairies et de Costeaux, on y voit les chesnes de Noiers, des bois blancs,
et
une
autre
espece
d'arbres
dontz
les
branches
armees
de
longues
espines" (The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents. Volume 59
Such
reports
exactitude
mingle
the
same
seductive
mixture
of
106).
ethnological
and Eurocentric romance that one finds first in Atala,
then—a century and a half later—in Tristes
tropiques.
Regardless
and
of
Chateaubriand's own familiarity with the Mississippi river, Marquette's
description
would
be
repeated
almost
narrative power was far more evocative
imagination could conceive.
would
this
literary
Jesuitical
verbatim in Atala
because
than anything the author's own
Not until very late in the twentieth
ethnology
be
its
largely
expunged
from
century
French
consciousness.
Equally
appealing to Chateaubriand and his
successors were the
already cited Jesuit accounts of the Indian science of torture. These gory
tableaux
were
an
absolute
godsend
to
the
interlocking
genres
of
17
melodrama
and
grand
guignol.
This
interest
would
doubtless
have
turned the first Americans into one-dimensional villains if the Indians'
"innate" propensity for physical cruelty had not been counterbalanced
by the great tenderness
all
which, the Jesuit fathers disapprovingly noted,
"savages" displayed towards
their undeserving young: "Toutes
les
nations Sauuages de ces quartiers, & du Brafil, a ce qu'on nous temoigne
ne fauroient chaftier ny voir chaftier vn enfant: que cela nous donnera
de peine dans le deffein que nous avons d'inftruire le ieuneffe"
(The
Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents. Volume 5 220). Chateaubriand's
integration
of
these
sentimental
opposites
in
Native
protagonists
contributed greatly to the invention of the "noble savage," a type much
beloved
by
Rousseau
and other
eighteenth
century progressives.
The
Indian was not a demon, after all; he was a sort of capricious child or
innocently
murderous kitten.
Ultimately,
neither
the
Jesuits
nor Chateaubriand were
fated
to
mark out the boundaries of French discourse vis-a-vis the United States.
For
one
thing,
questionable
Missionary
sylvan
filtered
judges
emphasis
romance
out
intervention
American
their
of
Native
on
moral
were
such key
on
ultra-Catholic
religious
character
uplift
and
views
Protestant
historical events as
of
the
thirteen
them
intention.
and Classical fascination
culturally-determined blinders
behalf
made
the
decisive
revolted
successfully
French naval
colonies
Revolutionary War, and Britain's earlier
Acadians. Being the first European to see
that
with
during
expulsion
of
the
the
the New World in its true
colours was an honour historically reserved for Alexis de Tocqueville, a
literary
traveller who is
observations
as much esteemed for his
nineteenth-century
by contemporary American scholars as Stendhal's
writings
18
of the same period are by modern Italian academics.
when
Romanticism was
Tocqueville
gradually effacing
reinvigorated
the
still
studies with some much-needed
Classicism in Europe,
virgin
scientific
The author's most famous book, De
was predicated on four interlocking
Around the time
field
of
de
Franco-American
detachment.
la democratie en
Amerique,
ideas. The first of these concepts
related to democracy as a political institution; the second addressed the
nature of revolution; the third concerned the relationship of individuals
to institutions within the binding framework of social style and national
character; the fourth—and to modern readers, the least
convincing—was
the thesis that God worked on the doings of men within the confines of
a fatal circle of freedom and necessity.
Unlike
many
later
French
travellers,
de
Tocqueville
was
favourably impressed by the things that he saw in America. He wrote
admiringly
of
the
checks
and
American system of government,
the
average
citizen,
of
the
balances
that
were
of the intelligence
innovative
genius
of
essential
to
and worthiness
the
of
U.S. engineers and
manufacturers, of the relative freedom of American women, and of the
unparalleled
skill
of
Yankee clipper ship
captains,
the
astronauts
of
their day. With great foresight, he saw the future parcelled out between
American
and Russian spheres of
influence,
and accurately
predicted
America's coming war with Mexico. If he was not quite so prescient in
regard to the War Between the States, he nonetheless pointed out many
of the less obvious evils of Southern slavery, and the friction that these
ills
caused
within
the
body
politic.
De
Tocqueville
has
never
put
American backs up; indeed, he tends to make U.S. readers preen with
gratified pride.
19
As a starting point for French travellers in America, however,
Tocqueville's
occasional
criticisms of the new
struck a deeper chord among his fellow
numerous praises.
disdain
frequently
enthusiasms.
les
This was
democraties,
prodigeux"
first—and
at least partly because a faint current of
flowed
les
il est
lecteurs
moins
have
countrymen than did his more
beneath
the
onrush
Comparisons such as the following
aristocraties,
republic seem to
de
sont difficiles
malaise
of
his
diegetic
are ubiquitous: "Dans
et peu nombreux; dans
les
de leur plaire, et leur nombre
est
(De la democratic en Amerique. Tome II 264). Not for the
certainly
not
for
the
last—time,
de
Europe's quality with the New World's quantity.
Tocqueville
contrasts
Although generally in
favour of an expanded franchise in his native France, and a theoretical
advocate
of democracy, this
articled republican is
clearly troubled by
the cultural cost such a transition might entail; in this regard, his views
eerily
prefigure
the
twentieth-century
forebodings
of
Theodor
W.
Adorno and Max Horkheimer. Developing on their own on the fringes of
civilization, "Les Americains n'ont point d'ecole philosophique qui leur
soit propre, et ils s'inquietent fort peu toutes celles qui visisent l'Europe,
ils en savent a peine les noms" (De la democratie en Amerique. Tome II
13). De Tocqueville grimly noted the absence of elegant public buildings
and heroic
statuary in U.S. town
squares:
"Les seuls monuments
des
Etats-Unis sont les journaux" (De la democratie en Amerique. Tome I
159).
Although abundant everywhere,
American
newspapers
were
not,
it seems, of particularly high quality. For every admission of political
inferiority
in this
book,
there
is
a qualifying expression
of cultural
superiority. The statement below is a good example of the former: "Les
Americains forment un peuple
democratique
qui a toujours dirige par
20
lui-meme
les
affaires
publiques,
et
nous
sommes
un
peuple
democratique qui, pendant longtemps, n'a pu que songer a la meilleure
maniere de les conduire" (De la democratie en Amerique. Tome II 31). A
prime sample of the latter runs as follows: "L'aristocratie est infiniment
plus
habile
dans
la
science
du legislation
que
ne
saurait
l'etre
la
democratie" (De la democratie en Amerique. Tome I 181).
De Tocqueville's views on American racial problems were fated to
make the most lasting impression on French literary travellers.
of
his
non-dogmatic
Christian beliefs
Because
and aristocratic background, de
Tocqueville's appreciation of American religious toleration and economic
egalitarianism is greatly exaggerated.
It is, for instance, hard to imagine
period American Catholics, for the most part impressed into the worstpaying jobs and largely shut out of the liberal professions,
the
following
statement:
"Aux Etats-Unis, point
parce que la religion est
universellement
de
agreeing with
haine
religieuse,
respectee et qu'aucune
secte
n'est dominante...." (De la democratie en Amerique. Tome I 138). It is
equally
difficult
to
conceive
of
cellar-dwelling
industrial
workers
accepting the ensuing formula as fact: "En Amerique, cependant, ce sont
les
pauvres qui font
la loi, et ils reservent
habituellement
memes les plus grands avantages de la societe" (De
pour eux-
la democratie
en
Amerique. Tome I 30). So clear-sighted in so many ways, de Tocqueville
was strangely blind to the existence of an American class system. The
religiously
outcast
and the
working poor
could
only
react
to
those
cheerful over-assessments with mocking scorn. Contemporary Black and
Native
readers,
on the
other
hand (assuming
same then existed), could only reject
their
plight
as
part
of
a
the
psychological
literate
communities
of
Frenchman's summation
of
survival
mechanism.
To
21
acknowledge that things were truly as bad as this foreigner claimed was
to run the risk of slipping into suicidal despair.
There was
writings
likely
a strong "noble savage"
element
in de Tocqueville's
about America's original inhabitants. Indeed,
that they contributed to the nineteenth
eighteenth
n'avaient
century
jamais
orgueilleuses,
de
myth:
"Les
admire
de
plus
plus
century annealing of an
fameuses
courage
plus
intraitable amour de
it seems highly
republiques
ferme,
antiques
d'ames
l'independance,
plus
que
n'en
cachaient alors les bois sauvages du nouveau monde" (De la democratie
en Amerique.
Tome I 22).
Indians, de Tocqueville sadly noted,
were
steadily being pushed westward by America's small but genocidal army.
Steadily, they were losing their land: "Les Indiens l'occupaient, mais ne
le
possedaient"
possession
of
(De
vast
la
democratie
territories
en
and
Amerique.
lacking
Tome
major
immediate vicinity, America was a land of few
I 24.)
enemies
in
In
their
soldiers but an almost
infinite number of militiamen. No one would intervene on the Indians'
behalf; their ancient world was doomed.
If
American
slaves
were
in
no
danger
of
being
immediately
exterminated, in all other respects their social situation was
even less
enviable:
servitude;
lTndien
"Le negre
aux
Amerique.
place
vecus;
est
limites
Tome
place
extremes
I 248).
aux dernieres
de
la
liberte"
bornes
(De
de
la
democratie
For Black Americans, there was
to run: "Les Indiens
mais la destinee des
mourront dans l'isolement
la
en
literally no
comme
ils
ont
negres est en quelque sort en lacee dans
celle des Europeens" (De la democratie en Amerique. Tome I 262). The
fates
of
Blacks
and
Indians,
though
diametrically
opposed,
were
inextricably interlinked: "Ces deux races infortunes, n'ont de commun ni
22
la naissance,
seuls
se
ni la figure, ni le langage,
ressemblent"
(De
ni les moeurs; leurs malheurs
la democratie
en Amerique. Tome I 246 -
247). A cloud of dark irony surrounds their respective dooms: "Le negre
voudrait se confondre avec l'Europeen, et il ne le peut. L'Indian pourrait
jusqu'a un certain point y reussir, mais il dedaigne de le tenter" (De la
democratie
en
Amerique. Tome I 248).
the Emancipation Proclamation was
More than thirty years
enforced,
before
de Tocqueville wrote
of
the anti-Black racism found in the so-called abolitionist states—a racism
more intense and bitter than any to found in the slave-owning
states—and
already
Southern
of the nascent inner city ghettoes, which he believed to be
more
continental
dangerous
than
the
meanest
urban
environment
in
Europe.
Despite his unavoidable Eurocentric bias, de Tocqueville's gifts of
observation
his
were nothing
almost
short
of
extraordinary. In conjunction
untrammelled admiration for the governmental
with
apparatus of
American democracy, this republican aristocrat was
totally appalled by
the
universal
enforced
engendered:
et de veritable
la democratie
spirit of
longer
which
the
myth
of
freedom
"Je ne connais pas de pays ou il regne en general
d'independance
(De
conformity
1776
liberte
de discussion
moins
qu'en Amerique"
en Amerique. Tome I 199 - 200). In his eyes, the
had already ossified
revolutionary
citizens
into a rigid catechism
could,
like
well-trained
which no-
parrots,
only
repeat by rote. This perhaps explains why "...en Amerique le suicide est
rare, mais
ailleurs"
vein,
gladly
de
on assure
(De
la democratie
Tocqueville
suffer
que la demence
the
noted
slightest
commune
que partout
en Amerique. Tome II 125).
In the same
with
est
plus
amusement,
word of
Americans
criticism about
their
would
country
not
to
23
emerge from even a well-intentioned foreigner's lips. American cultural
insularity, he felt, was at least equal to the nation's geographical
isolation.
A number of the French traveller's ideas would assume their full
importance only after the passage of a century or more. As U.S. judicial
practice becomes increasingly savage and repressive at the end of the
second millenium, an era when penological practice is becoming more
enlightened in most of the other nations in the developed world, it
might well be because of this underlying belief: "En Europe, le criminel
est un infortune qui combat pour deroler sa tete aux agents du
pouvoir... En Amerique, c'est un ennemi du genre humain, et il a contre
lui l'humanite tout entiere" (De la democratie en Amerique. Tome I 78).
The history of the U.S. TV "cop show," both fictional and reality-based,
amply bears out this statement.
Still, despite his atypical willingness to see others as others saw
themselves (what other privileged Frenchman was
appreciative
of
the
American myth of
the
as unreservedly
self-made
man?), de
Tocqueville's Old World origins occasionally shone through. When he
wrote, for instance, "J'aimerais mieux qu'on herissat la langue de mots
chinois, tartares ou hurons, que de rendre incertain des mots francais,"
he was speaking from the pulpit of linguistic purity epitomized by the
Academie Francaise. At bottom open-minded, de Tocqueville's cultural
inheritance did not allow him to feel fully at ease in a semi-barbaric
land that he otherwise very much admired: "...ce qui me repugne le plus
en Amerique, ce n'est plus 1'extreme liberte qui y regne, c'est la peu de
garantie qu'on y trouve contre la tyrannie" (De la democratie en
Amerique. Tome I 198). If America was the hope of the future, it was
24
also a threat to the glories of the past; as a land of universal liberty, it
was paradoxically a threat to the higher form of individualism that
Europe's collapsing class system had once bestowed on its appointed
thinkers and artists. That the United States could fill this cultural void
with the same dexterity with which it expanded the gains of the
industrial revolution was something the author obviously doubted.
By the late 1840s, at least half of French pre-conceptions about
America had already been formed. For the armchair Parisian traveller
of 1848, America was a republic that France had helped to colonize and
liberate from the yoke of the British crown; if
Quebec—"quelques
arpents de neige"—was not much missed, Louisiana—"ce nouvel Eden"—
certainly
was,
thanks
to the
popular mythologizing
of
Rene de
Chateaubriand; literary images of the place were indelibly coloured by
the published journals of the early French explorers and missionaries,• a
situation which the borrowings of later writers actively encouraged;
except for the poems and stories of Edgar Allan Poe, the United States
was seen as a land of little literature and even less philosophy; material
wealth, both natural and manufactured, was ubiquitous, it seemed, and
engineering
skills both abundant and ingenious; the wilderness
was
filled with doomed noble savages, and the Southern plantations with
slaves who were made to seem far more oppressed than their fellow
indentured Africans dancing to the whip of French colonial masters. In
his private journals Victor Hugo wrote, "L'Americain republicain est
libre, vend, achete, revend et marchande et brocante des vieillards, des
femmes, des vierges, et des enfants. II punit de prison qui apprend. a
lire aux petits negres, il tire, au beau milieu d'une ville dite libre, des
coups de fusil au negre fugitif; il dresse des chiens a chasser aux
25
hommes;
citoyen.
il
trouve
II
est
cela
tout
democrate
et
simple.
II
negrier"
est
marchand d'esclaves
(Choses
vues
Tome
11
et
333).
Contemporary U.S. mores, if they were known at all, were invariably
seen through de Tocqueville's prism. American women
were in some
ways freer than their continental counterparts, but also colder and more
sexually
inhibited.
American
menace to be feared
democratic
theory
seemed
as
much
a
as it did a model to be followed by well-educated
French deputies. For the most part, this image would remain fixed until
shortly after the First World War. In Extreme
French
literary attitudes
towards
the
Occident,
United States,
a history of
Franco-American
scholar Jean Philippe Mathy wrote, "The main assumption of this study
is
that
many
Tocqueville
French
to
intellectuals'
Beauvoir, are rooted
ethos derived from the models
practice
born in the
perceptions
in a humanistic
of intellectual
Renaissance
of
America,
and aristocratic
excellence
and refined
in the
from
and critical
age
of
French
classicism" (Mathy 7). One finds this point of view expressed in its most
extreme form in the following decription of Chactas, the "good" Indian
hero of Atala,
converse
a classical Frenchman in all but name. "[Chactas] avait
avec les
grands hommes
de ce siecle et assiste aux fetes de
Versailles, aux tragedies de Racine, aux oraisons funebres de Bossuet, en
un mot, le Sauvage avait contemple la societe a son plus haut point de
splendeur"
(Chateaubriand 31).
A
national
as
well
as
a
religious
chauvinist, for Chateaubriand the qualities of culture and human worth
were clearly determined by each individual's proximity to the apogee of
human civilization, an apex which was unequivocally, univocally French.
His
position
could
not
be
further removed
prejudices of cultural relativism.
from
the
more
tolerant
26
Chateaubriand,
case.
Nevertheless,
watered-down
it must
it
is
version,
be
admitted,
probably fair
his
attitudes
was
to
a not
claim
remained
entirely
that,
in
at
typical
least
place
in a
until
the
beginning of the twentieth century.
During this literary interregnum, the two French writers who most
radically expanded Gallic perceptions
of the U.S. were Jules Verne and
Charles Baudelaire. According to one American critic, the author of
Fleurs
1855
du mal added the word "americaniser"
(Mathy 274).
Since Baudelaire was
Les
to the French lexicon in
such a pivotal figure
in the
evolution of the crime story, his role as a cultural cross-pollinator can
more fruitfully be discussed
in Chapter Two than it can here.
Jules
Verne's contributions, on the other hand, deserve to be considered posthaste.
What most strikes
fiction
stories
alternately
banal
instance,
describes
speed
that
a
the efforts
blockading
Verne
situated
and prophetic
work
steamship
contemporary readers
largely
about
the
proto-science
in
the
United
realism.
Les
Forceurs
the
English-speaking
unknown
in
States
de
is
their
blocus,
for
world,
of a hard-headed Scottish capitalist to steer a high
(17
knots-per-hour)
Charleston harbour. The
nothing but scorn for abolitionists,
past
ironically
dismissing
the
Union
named
gunboats
Playfairs
them as "...ces
have
hommes
qui, sous le vain pretexte d'abolir l'esclavage, ont couvert leur pays de
sang et de ruines" (Les Forceurs de blocus 38). With their eyes set on
the main prize of profits, the Playfairs are notably reluctant to admit
"...que la question de la servitude fut predominance dans la guerre civile
des Etas-Unis...." (Les Forceurs de blocus 38). Although Captain Playfair
does
eventually rescue a heroic abolitionist from a Confederate prison—
27
an
action
primarily
motivated
by the mariner's
daughter—he
returns to England
father's
firm
a handsome
fictional
writings that discuss
pragmatic
with
a cargo
365% profit.
Even
love
for the prisoner's
of cotton
today,
that
earns his
it is hard
to find
the U . S . C i v i l W a r in less romantic, more
terms.
The
W a r Between
the States is also one of the narrative engines
propelling one of Verne's more famous speculative
fictions, De la Terre a
la Lune. Even more than Vingt mille lieues sous les mers, this novel is
replete
a
with Verne's eerie powers
vessel
to the moon
artillerymen
what
complex,"
should
D.
comme
metaphysciens--de
more
formidable
excellence
descendant
ennemi
(De
to invent
de
of these
power
NASA
travel
of historical
of England's
century
forebears
of
emerged.
seemed
That
Americans
perfectly
logical to
musiciens
du
sont
Allemands
(De la Terre a la Lune 12).
One of the
Army
gunners
le
si funestes
In those
fabulation.
et
monde,
les
is
"...l'homme par
Nordiste
colonisateur,
aux Stuarts,
le
et l'implacable
Cavaliers de la mere patri'e"
passages,
the
A t a time
industrial revolution
author
when
still
gave
the
makes
steam-
the U n i t e d
as the workship of the world, Jules Verne was
on the world-controlling
wet-behind-the-ears
of retired C i v i l W a r
mecaniciens
du Sud, les anciens
24).
to send
dub "the m i l i t a r y - i n d u s t r i a l
sont
ex-Union
Rondes
a la Lune
passing
to
Nouvelle-Angleterre,
K i n g d o m pride of place
already
nineteenth
premiers
naissance"
la
leaps
space
Italiens
de ces Tetes
la Terre
driven
les
des gentlemen
enormous
ces
by a group
was
out of which
"Les Yankees,
ingenieurs,
the
Eisenhower
the matrix
be the first
Verne:
is determined
and industrialists,
Dwight
of pre-cognition. T h e decision
United
States.
economic
What's
more,
torch
he
to the still-
attributed
that
28
triumph to America's inheritance of the most aggressive,
in
British
culture,
the
Round
Head ferocity
that led
puritan streak
to
the
rise
of
Cromwell and the fall of the Stuarts. Here, in embryo, we see the origins
of
the modern French usage of the phrase
"les
anglo-saxonnes"
a
description that implicitly fuses England and the United States into one
seamless socio-historical entity,
a body politic implicitly hostile
interests of France, and one which is seemingly
Canada,
Australia,
and
the
many
other
to the
entirely detached from
small
nations
comprising
anglophonia. In this phrase we see admiration and realism locked in an
eternal battle with paranoia, fear and hate.
Despite
reflects
this
theoretical
immense
projection,
familiarity
with
however,
the
Verne's
quotidian
account
realities
of
contemporary American life. The trip to the moon is facilitated by the
calculations
of
the
ville ou fut fondee
observatory
in
Cambridge, Massachussetts,
la premiere Universite des Etats-Unis, est
"Cette
justement
celebre par son bureau astronomique" (De la Terre a la Lune 38). Hans
Pfaal, Edgar Allan Poe's fictional visitor to the Moon, is wittily treated as
an historical personage
(much of this book was
conceived
as
satire).
Most presciently of all, Verne describes the struggle between the states
of Florida and Texas for the honour of being the lunar-directed launch
site. Less than a hundred years later, when Apollo IX did indeed speed
to
the
Moon,
the
rocket was
of
course
fired from Cape Canaveral,
Florida, while its pilots listened to commands from Mission Control in
Houston, Texas! What's more, the journey was completed in only slightly
less time than the 11 days stipulated by Verne.
The American passages in Le tour du monde en 80 jours
might have
been
less imbued with prophecy, but they
(1873)
were no
less
29
keen
on logistical
presentement
accuracy: "New
reunis
York
par un ruban
de
et
San Francisco sont
metal
non
done
interrompu qui
ne
mesure pas moins de trois mille sept cent quarante-vingt-six milles" (Le
Tour du monde en 80 jours
descriptions
194.)
lurk many lesser,
Within
Verne's broad, "trunklike"
"rootlike" details:
"Ce wagon
etait un
'sleeping car', qui, en quelques minutes, fut transforme en dortoir" ( L e
Tour du monde en 80 jours
passengers
196).
What Phileas Fogg and his
fellow
see from moving train windows is a country in the process
of creating itself. They "...passent par des villes aux noms antiques, dont
quelques-unes
encore"
avaient des rues et des tramways, mais pas de
(Le Tour du monde en 80 jours 244).
Only
maisons
when describing
encounters with Mormons and skirmishes with Sioux does Verne depart
from
the
fantastic
generally
plot
realistic
coupled
to
tone of
extremely
groundwork for the infant genre
his
text. This
plausible
unique mixture—
detail—would
of science fiction,
a genre
French would shortly abandon, a popular form that would
be perfected by les
anglo-saxonnes
in general and les
lay
the
that
the
subsequently
Americains
in
particular. It is one of the abiding ironies of Franco-American relations
that
certain Gallic
quintessentially
cultural
innovations
American—especially
are
subsequently
regarded as
by the French. Where would the
so-called Hollywood musical be, for instance, if not for the early sound
films of Rene Clair? For a variety of reasons, not all of them modest
(high culture est fait chez nous; popular culture est
importe
d'outre-
mer),
this situation appeals to Parisian intellectuals. In a strange sort of
way,
it
whenever
States.
draws
they
another
focus
on
seductive
the
veil
alternately
over
cultivated
French
eyes
brash and admirable United
30
Needless to
say,
the
event that would most
radically transform
existing Franco-American cultural relations was the First World War. On
a per capita basis,
the French Army
suffered
heavier
casualties than
any other major participant in that sanguinary conflict.
What's more,
most of the battles were fought on French soil, a circumstance which
resulted in as much damage
to the nation's
environment and physical
plant as it did to its reserves of able-bodied cannon fodder. The factor
that eventually tilted the balance in favour of the Allied Cause was the
commitment
trenches
of
ever
following
America's
Hungarian,
greater
numbers
Washington's
and Ottoman empires
was
decisive.
Great War with the prestige
American
declaration
actual military role in the
contribution proved to be
of
troops
of
war
in
defeat of
the
German,
relatively
Thus,
1917.
minor, its
America
the
While
Austro-
logistical
emerged
of a major military power,
to
from the
the
certainty
that it had replaced Great Britain as the workshop of the world, and a
foreign policy that had finally emerged from the carapace of isolation.
These
advantages
had been
were
won
at
relatively
very
American
casualties
completely
undamaged. With the possible
little
minor,
cost
and
exception
its
to
themselves.
landscape
was
of Canada and the
other dominions, the United States was the only nation to emerge from
the First World War in better shape than it went in.
Inevitably,
this
historical
turn-around
produced
conflicting
emotions in France. For the first time, Americans in Paris were counted
not by the hundred, but by the hundred thousand. Gone were the days
when
the few
brash New Worlders lucky enough
into the pages of French literature generally
to worm their way
fell into the category
of
rich potential marriage partners, such as the "richissime Americain" to
31
whom Albertine was briefly betrothed in a suppressed passage of A la
recherche
du temps perdu
(Albertine
disparue 292).
In the immediate
post-war period, following demobilization, American writers and artists
congregated
in the City
of Light because
the views were pretty, the
costs were low, sex was easy and Prohibition non-existent.
same
to
time, American movies
1914,
the
giant
French
Around the
started to inundate French screens.
film
combines
of
Gaumont
and
Prior
Pathe
controlled approximately 60% of the world motion picture market. Since
the
same
chemicals that went into the manufacture of celluloid were
also used in the production of high explosives,
French cinema lost its
commercial edge to Hollywood during the Great War, an advantage. it
would never regain. Less grudgingly, the French also began to listen to
American popular music, particularly jazz. Black U.S. musicians
often
treated
better
on
the
Champs
Elysees
than
Broadway. In a French context, the cult of negritude
they
were
were
on
served a double
purpose. France's acceptance of Black American artists and of Antillean
and African writers such as Aime Cesaire and Leopold Sedar Senghor
was a way of affirming moral superiority over the New World giant that
so aggressively challenged France's post-1789 claim to be acknowledged
as the homeland of secular freedom. How could America truly be the
land of liberty if that liberty only extended
to whites?
At the
same
time, it allowed French intellectuals to put the harsher realities of the
nation's "off-stage"
colonial practice on the back burner. Only in very
recent years have Gallic authors belatedly acknowledged the skin colour
of most Parisian street sweepers. To admit that racisme
ordinaire
was
as prevalent in Marseille as it was in Memphis was to subtly undermine
32
France's claim to being regarded as the only true, the only
legitimate,
the only universal republic.
Thanks
to
these
circumstances,
French
reaction
to
American
advances on all fronts could not help but be mixed. Gallic gratitude for
U.S.
military
blindness
assistance
was
to France's decisive
undercut
by
that
country's
seeming
but Pyrrhic contributions to Germany's
defeat. The thought that la Belle France might now owe more to General
Pershing and his "doughboys" than American patriots once
eighteenth-century
Lafayette's
propre.
assistance
volunteers
was
of
Admiral
de
Suffren's
totally unacceptable
did to the
warships
to the national
Love of American popular culture could not entirely
and
amour
disguise
the fact that its progress was often made at French culture's expense.
Even
worse,
Paris
were
contact
even
when they knew the local language well. British jounalist Tony
Allan
singularly
expatriate
indifferent
to
American
Parisians,
authors
in
eschewing
love
with
personal
made much of this fact in his nostalgic history, The
Paris,
of
Glamour
Years:
1919 - 1940, quoting art critic Clive Bell to the effect that "Some
[these expatriates]
had French mistresses—kept
mistresses;
but very
few of them had French friends" (Allan 9).
In this
context,
Franco-American
coming-of-age
one of the most
contact
memoir,
is
this
Joseph
brief
anomalous
Kessel's
Gallic
Dames
narrative
de
describes
books
about
Californie.
the
A
author's
journey across America as he left the battlefields of World War One to
participate
in
the
Allied
Powers'
ill-fated
attempt
to
overthrow
the
newly-founded Bolshevik regime in 1918. Kessel and his comrades were
cheered by American crowds as their train puffed its
way across
the
U.S. mainland. For once the reader is not faced with "doughboys" being
feted by adoring Frenchmen, but by "poilus"
groups of Yanks.
alors
etait
being hailed by grateful
With undisguised pride, Kessel wrote,
amoureuse
de
la France"
(Kessel
31).
"L'Amerique
Being
young
and
military, Kessel's communication skills were obviously not aided by the
presence of large numbers of bilingual academics, the balm bestowed on
most
later
French
writers
of
substance.
"II est
temps
de
dire,"
he
ruefully admits at one point, "que pour tout anglais je connaissais celui
que Ton apprend a lycee" (Kessel 37).
Although he had by this time
forgotten most of his high school English, his linguistic facility was still
considerably greater than that of his fellow
volunteers:
"II me
restait
bien peu de ces notions lorsque je debarquai en Amerique. Mais je crois
que j'en savais encore plus done de la majorite de mes camarades. Je
devais
done,
bon gre mal gre,
leur servir d'interprete"
(Kessel
37).
Although Kessel was much cheered by the reception he received from
the
women
of
America,
the
omnipresence
of
puritan
strictures
continuously rankled: "La prohibition, si elle n'etait pas encore en vigeur
en
Amerique,
regnait
impitoyablement
ces
batiments
de
guerre. On
nous offrait du cafe au lait comme boisson de table" (Kessel 21). Later,
in San Francisco, he would frustratedly discover that "On sait qu'il
interdit
par
la
loi...d'amener
une
femme
chez
soi
dans
un
est
hotel
americain" (Kessel 42). Like most period French tourists, the author was
impressed by everything from skyscrapers to New Year's Eve parties,
by the things that were quintessentially non-French. On the other hand,
he is delighted when one of his women friends from Saint Louis (a town
he seems to assume
is as francophone as New Orleans) "...parlait un
francais adorable de grace.
34
Je retrouvais la langue de la Bruyere et de Fenelon...." (Kessel 84). For
Kessel,
America
was
clearly
a
land
as
wonderful
as
it
was
incomprehensible, as pleasurable as it was irritating; it was a paradise
whose perfection was spoiled by the buzzing of bluenosed flies. Behind
this
mixture
assumption:
of
envy
and
Americans might
admiration
have
lurks
a
produced this
single
unspoken
opulence,
but
they
don't know how to enjoy it. Just as youth is proverbially wasted upon
the young, so, it would seem, is America upon the Americans.
In any event, Joseph Kessel did not see the United States as being
in any way inimical to the health and well-being
Ahead
of
his
time
nineteenth-century
first
prominent
in
this
novelist
literary
domination of the globe.
as
in
so
many
of his own country.
other
things,
and travel writer Stendhal was
Frenchman
to
worry
about
the
early
perhaps
U.S.
the
cultural
Shortly after the Napoleonic Wars, he wrote,
"En 1900, l'Europe n'aura qu'un moyen de resister a l'enorme population
et a la raison profonde de l'Amerique: ce sera de donner a l'Asie Minore,
a la Grece, et a la Dalmatie, la meme civilisation; c'est-a-dire
le meme
degre de liberte dont on jouit dans la Pennsylvanie" (Stendhal 277). To
survive America, in other words, Europe would have to become
more
like its
good
points
de facto
into
its
Kessel, helas,
enemy,
to incorporate more of the interloper's
own modus
vivendi. For French
authors
after
the political pre-emptive strike option had already passed.
European autocracy did not end until 1918,
and then as the
that-broke-the-Triple-Entente's-back
of
America was
Joseph
hands
the
U.S.
feathermilitary.
now the dominant socio-political force on the planet, an
unavoidable current that pulled all others in its wake. The only nations
to resist this pull successfully
were those that slipped into some form of
35
totalitarian
structure.
Of
these
new
political
styles,
Soviet-style
Leninism could uniquely afford to pose as a true polar opposite to U.S.style
capitalism.
metastatizing
nations--of
hybrid
Europe's
capitalist
fascist
growths,
states
while
appeared
the
more
like
democratic/colonialist
which France was one of the most important—were equally
products
of
"free
enterprise"
economics.
For all practical
purposes, Europe no longer controlled the world, as it had since
1800.
In true Hegelian fashion,
power
about
had travelled westwards
once
again.
If this changed reality could be felt on some level everywhere in
non-Soviet Europe, it was still possible to soften its impact in a number
of tactical ways.
Most schools of European thought between the
were singularly free of U.S. influence.
American
culture
international
avant
did
garde.
not
Outside of literature and jazz,
command
On the
wars
level
a
dominant
place
in
the
of high culture in particular,
European intellectuals continued to feel like top planetary dogs. Theodor
W. Adorno was famously dismissive of both Hollywood and syncopated
music; Andre Gide wrote
as if U.S. culture were as marginal to
European mainstream as Tagalog poetry.
perdu,
unquestionably
the
greatest
In A
triumph
la recherche
of
du
twentieth
the
temps
century
French fiction, the most significant mention of the U.S.A.—if one excludes
the repressed manuscript claim that Albertine, at the time of her death,
was
engaged
to
"un richissme
Americain" (Albertine
disparu
292)—
occurs in the following disquisition on the generally humble provenance
of
American family names:
Montgommery,
Berry,
'"...beaucoup
Chandos ou
Capel
d'Americains qui
n'ont
de
s'appellent
rapport avec
les
families de Pembroke, de Buckingham, d'Essex, ou avec le Due de Berry'"
36
(Sodome
et
Gomorrhe 471).
America might have been mighty, but in
most matters it seemed both far away and of much less important than
Germany, Russia, or England, the nation's
traditional rivals in political
brinkmanship. In retrospect, this attitude seems very much like wishful
thinking; at the time, however, it was entirely sincere.
These factors should be borne in mind when considering betweenwar French literary impressions of the United States. That this cultural
scene was
constraint
largely
largely
dominated by Catholic conservatives
is
lost on non-French literary scholars.
a defining
While French,
like English and German, is one of the world's privileged "international"
languages,
has
it is its left-wing,
been most
successfully
experimental and secular literature which
exported. The vast quantity of
non-fiction
produced by the likes of Paul Claudel, Paul Valery, Francois Mauriac,
Georges Bernanos, and a hundred lesser figures—many
of whom were
both
passed
viciously
anti-Semitic
unnoticed by the outside
and
rabidly
fascist—has
world. This unfortunate
imbalance
largely
inevitably
skews virtually all outside attempts to obtain an objective image of the
time,
a portrait in which foreground and background were judiciously
balanced.
when
It is
a limitation which must constantly
dealing with the literature's
be borne in mind
better-known but less
representative
texts.
In Extreme
Occident,
Jean-Philippe Mathy plausibly contends
that
French criticism of the U.S. in the 1920s was largely conservative and
humanist,
while
that
of
(negative)
or right-wing
the
(the
1950s
so-called
and
'60s
was
either
left-wing
liberal Atlanticists).
Following
the events of 1968, meanwhile, the Gallic tone generally changed to one
of postmodernist
praise. These generalities
are useful
tools so long as
37
one
bears
in mind
the
perennial tendency
of
French
intellectuals
to
change steeds in mid-stream. At various times in his career, Andre Gide,
for instance, was an anti-Semitic reactionary, a Protestant polemicist, a
Catholic semi-convert,
homosexual
a pagan philosopher, a thorough-going atheist,
apologist,
a
militant
Communist,
a
much-reviled
a
anti-
Communist, an anti-colonialist, a Vichy accommodator, and a vocal critic
of France's Second World War collaboration with the occupying Third
Reich. To define Gide by any one of those labels would be misleading; he
was all of them and then some.
Georges Duhamel was probably the most lucid and articulate of
between-war
French
commentators
on
the
American
scene.
A
now
largely forgotten member of the Academie Francaise, Duhamel was once
an important literary personage. Even today, Scenes de la vie future
can
stand as one of the least sympathetic studies of the United States ever
written. Duhamel crossed the Atlantic with a chip on his shoulder, and
he missed no opportunity to coax his hosts into knocking it off. Even his
port of arrival reflects this unfailingly antagonistic attitude. Unlike most
French
writers,
who
disembarked from
plane
or ship
in New
Duhamel decided to start his journey in New Orleans, la plus
des
villes
local
americaines
customs,
just
York,
francaise
In this way he could acclimatize himself to the
as Borgia princes once
accustomed
themselves
to
poison by consuming ever larger quantities of arsenic at dinner. Before
jumping
into
the
American melting pot,
Duhamel pointedly
held
his
nose.
The author's suspicions were deeply rooted in his circular mistrust
of
both technicians
therapeutique
pour
and machines:
V allegement
"Comme
de
nos
les
poisons
miseres,
la
employes
plupart
en
des
38
inventions
humaines
meme du plus
ou
noble,
malhabiles,
morf
propres
de
a nous
donner
du bonheur
sont encore susceptibles,
se
(Duhamel 12.)
transformer
ou du
entre les mains
en instruments
de
plaisir,
scelerates
souffrance
et
de
Following this line of reasoning, America, being
ineptly run, must be considered as some sort of giant torture chamber.
It is
also a supremely dangerous
deconcerte
trouve
moins que le futur:
moins
certaines
depayse
rues
chez
de Chicago'"
dystopia-in-embroyo: "Le passe
un occidental
les
adulte,
troglodytes
de
nous
normal
et cultive
Matmata
que
se
dans
(Duhamel 16). Without the slightest hint of
irony, Duhamel turns "the normal, cultivated Western adult" into
"the
normal, cultivated Frenchman." In this comparison of New World and
Old,
Duhamel doesn't even pretend to be impartial. Kipling
Indians
more
Americans.
bridles
benefit
of
the
Everything about
when
his
ship
is
doubt
the
than
Duhamel
country
fumigated
alcohol is removed from the ship's
in
seems
to
gave the
would
give
the
irritate him. He
Havana; he
smoulders
when
stores the moment its prow passes
Prohibition's nautical limit. Americans love
hypocritically ban alcohol. They seriously
Stream for their own uses even though
would surely freeze Europe. Even worse,
to guzzle,
he
sneers,
consider diverting the
such
a far-fetched
yet
Gulf
procedure
these technocratic barbarians
might actually pull off such a demented coup. What a country!
Ironically, many of Duhamel's period complaints now
sound like
the on-air whining of conservative U.S. talk show hosts. He is appalled,
for example,
coverage
chacun
by America's obsession with calories.
Universal medical
leaves him equally cold: "Le jour que nous possedons, contre
de
ces
rigoureusement
fleaux,
un
vaccin
efficace
dont
1'application
sera
obligatoire, nous ne souffrirons plus des maladies,
nous
39
souffrirons
des
contraintes
exigues par les
lois,
nous souffrirons
de la
sante" (Duhamel 34 - 35). America in the 1920s was already an overregulated society so far as this Frenchman was concerned.
Unlike
derive
most of
cultural
comfort
instance,
"...sort
dejeuner
sortaient
pictures,
de
miserables,
from
de
and
countrymen,
Hollywood
l'abattoir
d'ilotes,
ahuries
fellow
l'abattoir
newsreels
divertissement
his
a
des
par leur besogne et leurs
les
(Duhamel
collectively
passe-temps
Movie
comme
cochons"
vaudeville
un
movies.
musique
a
Duhamel did not
music,
for
saucisses
du
44).
Motion
comprised
illettres,
soucis"
even
de
"...un
creatures
(Duhamel
49). 1
As for America's indigenous music, it was beyond the pale. "O jazz!" he
groaned, "Strychnine supreme" (Duhamel
129).
Americans, Duhamel complained, were hard to find:
me cache les Americains" (Duhamel 56.)
most Americans were rendered formless
This was because, apparently,
by Americanism: "Plutot qu'un
peuple, je vois un systeme" (Duhamel 57).
something
that
has
impressed
"L'Amerique
virtually
The immensity of the land,
all
French
travellers
from
Jacques Cartier's first visit to the present, left this toughest of all critics
suspicious
as well as unmoved: "Un building s'eleve de deux ou trois
etages par semaine.
Tetralogie,
In
turn,
II a fallu vingt ans a Wagner pour construire la
une vie a Littre pour edifier son dictionnaire" (Duhamel 50).
he
attacked
the
rationales
buying, and luxurious washrooms.
the
fact
that
Americans
were
behind
organized
sports,
credit
For Duhamel, nothing could disguise
not
free
men
but
slaves—slaves
of
Ironically, one could easily imagine Karl Marx denouncing movies in much the
same terms—albeit with a little more compassion—if that strain of opium had
existed in his day. When condemning America, French jeremiads from the right
are often indistinguishable from left-wing jabs.
1
40
moralists, doctors, jurists, "et meme [des] electriciens" (Duhamel 59). He
was offended by the fact that the face of an Indian and a buffalo were
printed on coins in this unfree land that never wearied of touting its
illusory liberties: "O ironie! Deux races vivantes et libres que vous avez
aneanties, en moins de trois siecles" (Duhamel 62).
For his own purposes, he re-packaged many of de Tocqueville's
criticisms of America without paying even nominal lip service
to
the
more numerous points of admiration that his illustrious predecessor had
emphasized. Root beer, needless to say, was risible: "C'est de la biere des
racines, de la biere pour rire, bien entendu" (Duhamel 65). Women were
somewhat
better
font-elles,
les
jambes
appreciated—especially
dames
below
the
waist:
"Comment
americaines, pour ce procurer, toutes, ces
delicieuses qu'elles
memes
montrent si genereusement" (Duhamel 76 -
77). Like Celine, Georges Simenon, and so many francophones after him,
the
American
"gam" could
strike
a favourable
chord in
this
flinty
Frenchman's heart long after the appeal of the Empire State building
had started to fade.
much
indulged
compelled
female's
to
in
Unsurprisingly, this
by
literary
draw attention
to
form of fetishism
Frenchwomen,
this
was
but even they
particular part of
the
not
felt
American
anatomy.
In addition to the
cult of the
Yankee leg,
Duhamel added
the
demonization of Chicago to the canon of American commonplaces in the
French literary imagination. "Chicago!" he railed. "La ville tumeur! L a
ville
cancer!"
emphasized
the
The
author's
system's
description
cruelty
and
of
the
inhumanity
Chicago
stockyards
without
expressing
the slightest sympathy for the animals being sacrificed on the altars of
the food industry.
41
In the same vein, racism is mentioned in a way that manages
to
make the Americans look doubly bad, since it links modern refinements
of
the time-honoured technique
highway
mayhem.
Mrs. Lytton
that American highways
of lynching to the new
mechanics
tells
French
her bad- tempered
rack up "...deux
cent ciquante mille
of
guest
accidents
par an, dont cinquante mille mortels," coyly adding "J'en ai pris ma
petite part. Mais
rien que
des
negres...."
(Duhamel
79).
Duhamel mounts a left-leaning horse to more effectively
ideological
lance.
No
more
Jean-Paul Sartre's La
sur vos
inflammatory
Putain
respecteuse
Once
again
drive home his
statement can be
found in
or Boris Vian's J'irai
cracker
tombes.
Ultimately,
though,
what
America represented
for Duhamel
was
the final triumph of the ants: "...la civilisation des fourmis du depuis des
siecles de siecles. Pas de revolutions chez les insectes" (Duhamel
While
the
clearly
author still
has
some hope
for Europe's future,
they
216).
are
short-term: "L'Amerique peut tomber, la civilisation americaine
ne perira pas: elle est deja maitresse du monde" (Duhamel 217).
Louis-Ferdinand Celine was also a man of the right, but no one has
ever deigned to dub him either a Catholic, a humanist, or a conservative.
A
right-wing anarchist with strong fascist
Syndrome gift for abuse,
and
tumultuous
as
tendencies and a Tourette's
Celine's legendary
Duhamel's
were
distastes were as
patrician
and
volatile
restrained.
He
approached America the same way he approached everything else...with
a passionate
loathing that owed nothing to received wisdom or common
sense.
The
American
passages
in
novel, Voyage au bout de la nuit,
Celine's
semi-autobiographical
first
amount to scarcely more than a tenth
42
of that sprawling, peripatetic text's free-wheeling
bulk. The rest of the
book unfolds on the "opening round" battlefields of the First World War,
in
the
depressing jungles
of
colonial Africa,
and in the
even
more
squalid suburbs of industrialized France. Even so, Celine's acidic quick
sketches of New York City and the automobile factories of Detroit would
make
an
impression
on
the
minds
of
French
literary
travellers
in
America no less indelible than the ones already bequeathed to posterity
by de Tocqueville and Chateaubriand. You can despise Celine, but you
cannot forget him.
As contemptuous of the U.S. obsession
was
Georges
Duhamel, Bardamu,
the
with health and safety as
author's
alter
ego,
disdainfully
sneers, "II s'appelait le 'Surgeon general' ce qui serait un bon nom pour
un poisson" (Celine 190). Nevertheless,
legs
of
American
women—another
thanks to his obsession
passion
with the
shared with Duhamel—the
United States must always in some sense be seen as a land of desire in
the eyes of Celine/Bardamu: "En fait de jambes j'ai rarement vu mieux,
encore un peu masculines et cependant deja plus delicates,
de
chair en
eclosion"
(Celine
192).
Emblematic of
une
this
beaute
sometimes
concrete, sometimes formless erotic yearning is New York City itself, a
polis where every building is a symbolic erection: "New York c'est un
ville
debout"
situated
(Celine
and often
186).
Unlike
French cities,
which are
modestly
quietly beautiful, Gotham "ne se pamait pas, elles
attendent le voyageur, tandis que celle-la-la pas baisante du tout, raide
a faire peur" (Celine
between which they
186).
If,
in contrast to the phallic skyscrapers
walk, American women
albeit in a not entirely acceptable
exist
in
a
very
uncontinental
sort
are unusually beautiful—
"masculine" way—they
of
purdah.
Bardamu
nonetheless
is
frankly
43
appalled
by
this
curiously
puritanical
state
of
affairs.
From
the
perspective of his private bench, he observes that "Elles les femmes ne
regardaient guere que les devantures des magasins, tout accaparees par
l'attrait des sacs, des echarpes, des petites choses de soie, exposees, tres
peu a la fois dans chaque vi trine... On ne trouvait pas beaucoup de vieux
dans cette foule" (Celine 196). In a young land, it seems, there are only
young people.
Women are set
What's more, it is
appetites
of
continental
apart from
men, and youth from
strongly suggested that the
American
men
are
far
less
vital
age.
unsublimated physical
than
those
counterparts. At one point, Bardamu relies
of
their
largely on the
largesse of a prostitute who has taken a shine to him: "Elle
possedait
d'amples
les
ressources,
cette amie, puis-qu'elle
se
faisait
dans
cent
dollars par jour en maison, tandis que moi, chez Ford, j'en gagnais a
peine six. L'amour qu'elle executait pour vivre ne la fatiguait guere. Les
Americains font ?a comme des oiseaux" (Celine 230).
Despite
his impoverished status and total lack of patrician airs,
Bardamu/Celine
substitute,
the
is
only
slightly
more
Hollywood movie:
keen
on
"Le cinema
that
ne
supreme
me
sexual
suffisait
plus,
antidote benin, sans effet reelle contre l'atrocite materielle de l'usine"
(Celine
229).Unlike
Georges
Duhamel's
old-fashioned
dismissal
of
Hollywood from the hoary heights of Mount Parnassus, Celine's rejection
is as up-to-date as the street-level
disdain of a William S. Burroughs
literary junkie: movies are an inadequate drug that fail to provide the
consumer with sufficient
the poor is
release.
Like Duhamel the wealthy,
appalled by the ubiquity of U.S. beggars:
"C'etaient des
pauvres de partout" (Celine 193).
When poverty obliges
sojourner
a Ford
to
seek
employment
in
factory,
he
Bardamu
this
finds
French
himself
44
surrounded by fellow-foreigners:
"Dans cette foule presque personne ne
parlait l'anglais" (Celine 225).
Since the operative word in the novel's title is "voyage", it seems
only proper that Bardamu's U.S. journey should have an Odyssey-like
quality
to
it.
Celine's
alter
ego
tries
to
track
down
his
war-time
American mistress solely for the purpose of borrowing money: "Ce fut
bien uniquement pour des
raisons d'argent,
mais combien urgentes
et
imperieuses, que je me mis a la recherche de Lola" (Celine 212). A rich
society woman who tended to wounded Allied soldiers during the Great
War,
Lola
servants:
takes great pride in the
"'II faisait
radical
pedigree
partie alors d'un societe
of
secrete
one
tres
of her
redoutable
pour 1'emancipation des noirs... C'etait, a ce qu'on m'a raconte, des gens
affreux...
L a bande
fut
dissoute
par les
autorites...'"
(Celine
Although suppressed by the powers that be, Lola's domestic
to manufacture bombs in his
lethal by the
spare time,
without
ever
220).
continues
making them
addition of powder: '"II n'en finira jamais de faire la
revolution. Mais je le garde c'est un excellent
domestique! Et a tout
prendre, il est peut-etre plus honnete que les autres qui ne font pas la
revolution..." (Celine 220). Celine's symbolic representation of Lola as a
castrating racist is far more subtly modulated than Duhamel's poisoned
pen portrait of Mrs. Lytton, the homicidal society
woman whose only
worry about running down Blacks on the street is related to the damage
their
dismembered
chassis.
In the
benevolence,
bodies
might
first instance,
do
to
economic
her
automobile's
oppression is
beautiful
combined with
a combination which Herbert Marcuse would later
as the dominant mode of repressive tolerance.
define
In the 1940s, Boris Vian and Jean-Paul Sartre would also conflate
negative
white
American
female
sexual
and
protagonists,
cracker
Duhamel's
characteristics
generally
Celine's. Still, if the female
J'irai
racial
in
anti-heroes
a
form
in La
in
disagreeable
much
Putain
cruder
than
respecteuse
and
sur vos tombes seem, on a superficial level, to owe more to
criminally blase
unquestionably
Mrs. Lytton,
their
primary
influence
is
Lola.2
Bardamu's insensitive
attempts to cadge money from his reluctant
benefactor would also bear long-range fruit. At the time of his request,
Lola is preoccupied with saving her mother from galloping liver cancer.
Although it would clearly be in his
girlfriend's
pet
fantasy,
this
best interest
hardheaded
to humour his
doctor-in-embryo
play along. When asked if he doesn't believe
ex-
refuses
the disease is curable,
Bardamu replies "—Non, repondis-je tres nettement, tres categorique,
cancers du foie
Lola
now
continues
l'argent
sont absolument inguerissables"
to
les
(Celine 222).
Although
despises him and wants him to leave post-haste,
Bardamu
to press his outrageous
que
vous
m'entendez
vous
complications,
m'avez
promis
repeter
ses
suit: "Lola, pretez-moi je vous prie
tout
heredites,
ce
ou
bien je
que
je
coucherai
sais
sur
le
ici
et
vous
cancer,
ces
car il est hereditaire, Lola, le cancer. Ne
l'oublions pas" (Celine 223). As Henry Miller pointed out in The Books in
My
Life
and
development
wellsprings
elsewhere,
of
his
of his
Celine
own
own
was
literary
the
ethos,
greatest
the
sulphurous creativity.
reminded of the many occasions in Sexus,
Black
key
influence
that
One can't
Spring,
on
the
opened
the
help
but
and Tropic
be
of
Lola, it might be worth mentioning here, is the most popular literary derivation
of the name Lilith, according to Jewish folklore, Adam's disobedient first wife. For
a more detailed consideration of her fascinating persona, please see Chapter Two.
2
46
Capricorn
where
the cheerful narrator tries
obviously
grief-stricken without
feelings.
Celine's
misanthropic
to cadge
funds
from the
the slightest concern for the "mark's"
narcissism,
his
gift
for
torrential,
irrational literary utterance, would be adopted by Miller to suit his own
New World needs. Since Boris Vian would subsequently
his will in J'irai
"bestseller",
this
cracher
sur
Americanized
vos
tombes,
Vian's
bend Miller to
one
out-and-out
Celine would return to his place
of
cultural birth, just as Bardamu would return to France.3
Immediately
after
the Second World War, the
"problem" of
United States seemed more insoluble ever. In 1918,
the
the French nation
could console itself with the thought that its army had made the largest
single contribution to the defeat of the Triple Entente; in 1944,
on the
other
troops,
hand,
France had
to
be
forcibly
liberated
by
Allied
spearheaded by American tanks, following four years of defeat and Nazi
occupation. The upstart New World giant of 1918
super-power
of
1945,
the
world's
nuclear repository. Against complete
the battered
foundry, bank,
was now the cocky
armoury, and
U.S. hegemony,
there
stood
sole
only
but still unbowed hulk of the Soviet Union, the Stalinist
juggernaut which had destroyed the Wehrmacht on the
Eastern Front
3 In addition to the Miller connection, one should probably here make note of a
much more indirect, difficult to determine case of cultural cross-pollination.
After
Bardamu
himself,
the
most
important
character
is
unquestionably
Robinson, the improbably-named Frenchman whom the narrator first meets on a
murky battlefield. Like a bad penny, Robinson keeps turning up, in France,
Africa and the United States. A character of exactly the same name also appears in
Franz Kafka's Amerika,
a character who plays precisely the same role. Even his
name is suspect. A suspicious American in that book declares that '"I don't even
believe that his name is Robinson, for no Irishman has ever been called that
since Ireland was Ireland...'" (Kafka 173). In Frederic Vitoux's definitive La Vie de
Celine, Amerika is not cited as a source of inspiration forVoyage au bout de la nuit.
On the other hand, that could be because of the popular belief that Celine was a
self-taught
idiot savant, an ignorant loser who extracted poetry solely
from
personal experience and paranoia. In any event, the AmerikalVoydge
connection
is clearly worth further study.
47
at a cost to the Russian people of 10 - 15% of their pre-war population
and
50%
of
their
physical
plant.
Russia
the
Heroic, however,
was
counterbalanced by the gloomy spectre of Russia the Horrific, the prison
camp country that was
intoxicated
dictator.
Europe's
former
pressure
from
themselves
their
of
Already either
imperialist
both
their
shattered
presided over by a brutal, paranoid, and self-
former
participate in Washington's
Stalin's
T-34s,
powers
Eastern
economies,
exhausted
were
and
it
being
Western
colonial
was
or
in
put
power
possessions.
necessary
In
for
to
ally
under
ruins,
increased
blocs
to
order
to rebuild
these
Marshall Plan; to protect
they were obliged
physical
divest
countries
themselves from
themselves with
the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization, an umbrella group entirely
dependent
American
all
military
purposes—foreign
films,
books
countries
machinery,
manpower
and—for
and
records
in an unchecked
or
as
on
practical
policy. After five years of Nazi embargoes, American
poured
flood.
into
France
Never before
absolute.
Never
before
had
and
other
had the
absolute strength in relation to the old continent
daunting
to
European
New World's
of Europe, seemed as
the
threat
of
cultural
absorption seemed quite as great.
French intellectual
take
these
historical
reaction
factors
to
into
the
postwar
U.S. must
consideration.
The
obviously
long
French
intellectual romance with Stalinist politics can only be understood in the
context of
a once
great,
now
humbled nation
trapped between a rock and a hard place.
accomplished
writers felt,
as
easily
with
soft
that
felt
to
be
Cultural extinction could be
drinks and T V sets,
as it could with socialist
itself
many French
realism and mandatory Russian
lessons. Being schooled in the French tradition ofrealpolitik,
which is to
48
say, the guiltlessly
of
national
amoral consideration ofinternational events in terms
self-interest
routinelyemployed
by
without
recourse
Anglo-Saxon
to
the
obfuscatory
governments
whenever
rhetoric
they
feel
the need to disguise their international events in terms of national selfinterest
without
recourse
to
the
obfuscatory
employed by Anglo-Saxon governments
disguise
whenever
rhetoric
routinely
they feel the need to
their less admirable actions—Gallic writers, philosophers,
and
journalists soon realized that America, by virtue of its nuclear arsenal
and peerless arms industry, was likely to keep Russian troops off
Champs
Elysees
in
the
foreseeable
future.
Thus,
with
the
the
effective
blocking of one particuar foreign peril, they felt free to deal with the
nearer,
more
immediate
threat
represented
by
American
neo-
colonialism. These basic facts had as much to do with the conduct of the
French
intelligentsia
working
class,
as
did
a mainly
sympathy
Bolshevik
for
the
proletariat
country's
that
gave
industrial
the
French
Communist Party 30% of the vote during every national election. The
heroic
conduct
of
the
Soviet
Red Army
and of
French Communist
partisans during the Second World War likewise gave the P C F a longerlasting
allure
than
its
Anglo-American counterparts;
unlike
the
Americans and the British, the French felt no need to disguise the fact
that the Russians had destroyed 58 - 75% of the Third Reich's military
machine
believing
(the
that
figures
vary); they
France had in any
could
not
significant
delude
way
themselves
contributed to
into
the
recent Allied victory. In many ways, Russia's over-the-horizon existence
was immensely
reassuring. As long as Bolshevism existed as a viable
alternative, U.S. cultural control would never reach 100%.
this comforting illusion, intellectual acceptance
To maintain
of the growing
evidence
49
that
pointed
to
Stalin's
great
mistakes
and
crowded prison camps and organized famines,
murderous
paranoia,
to
to purge trials and mass
legal murder was accepted at a much slower pace in France than it was
in any other Western European country, with the probable exception
Italy.
For the
economic
French,
the
"workers'
paradise" represented
more
salvation; it was also an effective shield against the
of
than
prospect
of U.S. cultural absorption.
One sees all these forces
Temps
modernes,
at work in the early editorials of
the intellectual journal founded by Jean-Paul Sartre
and Simone de Beauvoir in the mid-1940s. The magazine's
the
motivations
behind
America's
pronounced as events in Italy
U.S.
economic
attached,
assistance
Marshall
Plan
became
and Greece increasingly
only
came
with
suspicions of
garrotting political
perquisites
left-wing
believed
in
Revolution
or
the
or
socialist
by
universal
the
sun
conviction,
culture
kings
Temps
no less sensitive to perceived French
than were their Gaullist and republican opponents.
monarchist
that
strings
groups. Though opposed to French colonialism on principle, Les
editorial board was
more
suggested
strings which invariably settled around the necks of
modernes'
Les
virtually
inaugurated
of
the
all
by
French
either
seventeenth
the
and
Whether
thinkers
French
eighteenth
centuries. Inevitably, this Universal Culture spoke with a French accent.
In January of
1945,
Sartre was
intellectuals
to visit the seemingly
time,
existentialist
the
one
of
the
very
first French
invincible United States. At that
philosopher
was
a
moderate
supporter
of
Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal policies, and an unaligned socialist.
Four years earlier, he had somewhat controversially published an essay
on Herman Melville in the first wartime issue of Comoedia,
an arts-
50
oriented
newspaper
which
occupying German forces
generation,
plenty,
not
he saw
had
been
financed
(Lottman 252).
and
backed
by
the
Like most Frenchmen of his
America first and foremost
as a land of material
a place where the economic privations of occupied France did
pertain.
entering
Sartre
into
enjoyed
sexual
the
liaisons
nation's
with
a
opulence
number
of
and
hospitality,
American
women,
including "Dolores," the lover who came closest to supplanting Simone
de Beauvoir as his principal "long-term companion". As de Beauvoir put
it in the third volume of her autobiography, "Sartre etait etourdi par
tout ce qu'il vu. Outre le regime economique, la segregation,
le racisme,
bien de choses dans la civilisation d'outre-Atlantique le heurtaient:
le
conformisme des Americains, leur echelle de valeurs, leur mythes, leur
faux optimisme, leur fuite devant la tragique; mais il avait eu beaucoup
de sympathie pour la plupart de ceux qu'il avait approches; il trouvait
emouvantes
les
foules
de
New
York,
et
il pensait
que
les
hommes
valaient mieux que le systeme" (La Force des choses 45.) Even this brief
"honeymoon period", though, was
shot through with visceral revulsion
at the pandemic conformism which first Sartre, and later de Beauvoir,
professed
echoed
to find
everywhere
in the U.S. In this regard, they
clearly
Alexis de Tocqueville, that earlier champion of liberty whose
mind was always above the fray. Perhaps because they were used to it
by now, this quintessentially
French reservation does not seem to have
unduly disturbed Sartre's American hosts. His criticism of the U.S. State
Department,
on the
other hand, came
Twenty years later, Sartre would refuse
close
to getting
him deported.
to lecture in the United States
on the grounds that this once insurrectionary republic had become
the
homeland
the
of
international
imperialism.
Strangely,
despite
51
completeness
of
his
ideological
disaffection,
the
philosopher
did not
devote any of his major writings to the problem of the U.S., with the
notable
exception
references
of
La
Putain
respecteuse
A
The
few
Sartrean
to America which do in fact exist must be sought
speeches, interviews
collected
in the
and minor journalism, not in the important essays
in Situations.
Many nations were of interest to this
tireless
literary traveller, including Germany (the land where he completed his
philosophical training before the war), Spain, Portugal, Italy, Brazil and
Israel. The United States was not one of them.
Even Sartre's attraction to American artistic techniques
have waned after the late 1940s.
claim in Simone
de Beauvoir
appears to
Although Kate and Edward Fullbrook
and Jean-Paul
Sartre:
The Remaking
Twentieth
Century
Legend,
their revisionist re-evaluation of the
important
literary
couple
of
the
breakthrough novel La Nausee was
A
Farewell
to Arms,
twentieth-century,
that
of a
most
Sartre's
strongly influenced by Hemingway's
the validity of their contention is more or less
irrelevant to our concerns, since it seems highly likely that this alleged
admiration would have been cast aside
at roughly the same
Sartre
a legitimate
abandoned
literary
technique—which
Fullbrook 84).
with
it
American
narrative fiction
a
is
to
as
say,
around
twentieth
1949
century
(Fullbrook
and
Indeed, his very praise of U.S.-flavoured writing carried
certain
literature
condescending
"lay
precisely
dismissal.
in
its
For him,
pragmatic,
the
A title which French bureaucratic prudery once
respecteuse.
insisted
value
of
action-oriented
nature, in its depthlessness and one-dimensionality" (Mathy
4
time that
130).
on printing as La
p
52
Albert Camus also visited the United States in the late 1940s. Like
Celine
and Duhamel, he
beauty
of American women, but also experienced
terrifying inaccessibility,
Frenchmen
had
confessed
to
him
the
"expressed
impotent
with
afterwards"
with
Simone
Bowery,
(Lottman
de
popular
"Camus
embodiment
Camus
he
halls,
for
-
386).
of
was
enthralled
American
fell
in
garish
almost
limitations
of
U.S.
"American
techniques
this
love
and
after which the
event,
(Lottman
soon to become
identical
writing.
The
were
useful
seeing
383).
with
gawdy
it
Although
York
audience
pockets:
as
the
Sartre's
his bitter intellectual
foe,
on
and
views
the
advantages
Algerian-born author
when
they
At one of his New
receipts,
by
crime"
political ally was
expressed
the
Almost
made up this loss to their guest out of their own
himself
sometime
women,
385
Beauvoir,
dance
a thief stole the cashier's
generously
at
what he called their
American
nightclubs with floor shows" (Lottman 388).
lectures,
astonishment
and [one of his friends] knew of cases where
become
contemporaneously
"Chinatown,
subsequently
one
was
believed
describing
that
a man
without apparent interior life, and Camus admitted to having used these
techniques. But to generalize such use would be an impoverishment, for
nine tenths of what makes the richness of art and of life would thereby
be lost" (Lottman 418).
Thus, '"The American literature we read, with
the exception of Faulkner and of one or two others who like Faulkner
have no success in the United States, is useful as documentation but has
little to do with art'" (Lottman 418).
Camus's preference
the home front was
for American artists
a sentiment
who
were disdained on
to be dutifully repeated by countless
French critics, writers, philosophers and filmmakers during the past half
53
century. To "discover" a despised American is in some way to make him
less American and more French. This transmutational process probably
began with Baudelaire's
appropriation of Edgar
Poe; it continues
even
now.
To return for a moment to La
that
strikes
the
'40s. drama is
Putain
respecteuse,
the first thing
contemporary North American reader about
its
strangely
deracinated
indeed visited the United States before
this mid-
quality.
Although Sartre had
composing
this play, he seems
every bit as indifferent to place as was the young Brecht before he fled
Germany.
the
Passages such as the following do not inspire confidence
author's
gagner
understanding
un
match
Americans
from
quintessentially
corporate
de
the
British
pays
des
of
U.S.
rugby"
cultural mores:
(Sartre
Deep
South
game
is
35).
getting
clearly
anglo-saxonnes
To
shameful
path
by
which
Lizzie,
venaient
have
worked
up
over
of
the
myth
a little too
far.
An
respectueuse
a prostitute
de
football-mad
pushing
melodrama on the subject of lynching, La Putain
the
"lis
in
from
a
the
agitprop
describes
New
York,
eventually manages to win the respect of her adopted Southern town by
falsely claiming that a local black man attempted to rape her. While she
is
initially
arguments
reluctant
to
participate
in
this
subterfuge,
are brought to bear that she is eventually
to a murderous, socially-sanctioned
so
many
forced to
submit
lie. She is reminded repeatedly
that
she is not in New York any more, and that Black folks aren't much liked
in
her
new
home.
As
one
well-heeled
redneck
domestiques de couleur. Quand on m'appelle
puts
it,
'"J'ai
cinq
au telephone et que l'un
d'eux decroche l'appareil, il l'essuie avant de me le tendre" (Sartre 33).
In a place where racism apparently burns as brightly as a Klan
cross,
54
the
second most
tongued
devil who
prolonged
entreaty
Satanic of the
plays
"good
brainwashing. I say
Southerners is
cop" during
"second
the
the
most",
Senator, a silvercourse
because
that breaks through the Northerner's resistance
of Lizzie's
the
letter
of
was reputedly
written by his wife. In part, it reads '"...il a tue un noir, c'est tres mal.
Mais j'ai besoin de lui. C'est un Americain cent pour cent, le descendant
d'une de nos plus vieilles families, il a fait ses etudes a Harvard, il est
officier—il me faut des officiers—il emploie deux mille ouvriers dans son
usine—deux mille chomeurs s'il venait a mourir—c'est un chef, un solide
rempart contre le communisme, le syndicalisme et les Juifs" (Sartre 55).
Again we see the ghost of Duhamel's Mrs. Lytton. She is, however, only
slightly
worse
than everyone
else
in this
particular
corner of
hell.
Sartre's critique of America is painted in the broadest, crudest strokes
imaginable.
It is
a polemic that allows
only the most reprehensible,
disagreeable aspects of American life, each one magnified to maximum
power, to appear upon the stage. Aside from its political signification, La
putain
respectueuse
is as geographically and sociologically vague as a
play by Beckett or Ionesco.
J'irai
of
the
cracker
more
sur vos tombes seems to have been inspired by one
controversial
moments
in
this
extremely
controversial
"melo". After playing Judas by signing her name to the document that
falsely condemns him,
her conscience
by
Lizzie attempts to assuage her guilt and appease
by offering the innocent fugitive her revolver, a means
which he might legitimately
half-decent
existentially
intentions,
defend himself.
Despite
though, the Black victim refuses
meaningful gift:
the
whore's
to accept
this
55
LENEGRE
Je ne peux pas, madame.
LIZZIE
Quoi?
LENEGRE
Je ne peux tirer sur des blancs.
LIZZIE
Vraiment! lis vont se gener, eux.
LENEGRE
Ce sont des blancs, madame (Sartre 71).
Frantz
Fanon
and
other
radical
theorists
would
later
condemn
this
"Uncle Tom" passivity as objectively reactionary, even if it did reflect
the "Jim Crow" mentality of Southern Blacks prior to the birth of the U.S.
Civil Rights movement.
The playwright obviously agreed with them; in
her memoirs, Simone de Beauvoir explained why the drama was revised
for
the cinema in a way that allowed the oppressed Black man to take
up
arms for himself
"Sartre,
d'ailleurs,
niveau des
and—by extension—tous les damnes de la terre:
comprenait
masses, l'espoir
est
le
point
de
vue
des
communistes:
un element d'action; la lutte
est
au
trop
severe pour qu'elles s'y risquent si elles ne croient pas a la victoire" (L a
Force des choses 129 - 130).
A
fellow
Saint-Germain-des-Pres
habitue
with
strong
feelings
against U.S.-style racial prejudice was Boris Vian, a bohemian polymath
who belonged for a time to the existentialist
eventually
losing his first wife
philosopher's inner circle,
to that legendary womanizer,
following
56
Michelle's decision to "defect" to Jean-Paul's unofficial harem.
many talents,
France's
Vian was
premier jazz
trumpeter,
a
good
enthusiast
(please
A man of
simultaneously
critic,
a noted
Samaritan
see
to
attached
experimental
visiting
bebop
appendix),
a
writer, a
musicians,
cabaret
talented
a
artist,
film
and
a
punster and word game master who was almost as handy in English as
he
was
in
French.
Of all
unquestionably the one most
the
French
writers
sympathetic
of
his
day,
he
was
to American popular culture,
as well as the one with the best sense of humour. In his capacity as
France's number one jazz interpreter, it was
Vian's enviable
duty to
squire the major Black musical celebrities who visited Paris around the
City of Light. According to Noel Arnaud, "...tous les grands musiciens
noirs, de passage a Paris, seront, comme le Duke, les
hotes du Club
Saint-Germain-des-Pres et de Boris Vian: Charlie Parker, Miles Davis,
Max
Roach,
Kenny
personal
familiarity
certainly
greater
knowledge
novelist
willingly
etc"
with
Black
(Arnaud
almost
Wright.
acknowledged
Because
of
viewpoints
French
literary peers,
exclusively
Like
148).
American
than those of his
came
Richard
Clarke,
from
the
mouth
virtually all white
that the masters
of
jazz
this,
was
almost
since
of
his
their
expatriate
musicians,
he
his
art were darker-hued
than he. At that time, this was one of the few
angles by which non-
biased European observers could properly appreciate the depth of Black
talent
even
organs
as it was
and ideology
of
submerged
and blocked at every
institutional racism. Vian
clearly
turn by
took
the
these
lessons to heart.
J'irai
professed
cracker
sur vos tombes,
like Vian's later mock-potboilers,
to be a French translation of a novel penned by the light-
57
skinned mulatto, "Vernon Sullivan". Since Boris and Michelle Vian did in
fact
translate
Raymond Chandler's novel
French in 1948,
The Lady
in the Lake
the Sullivan mask was fairly easy to maintain, even if
Vian did write his instant bestseller in ten quick days. Because
position
into
in the jazz community, the
fantasy
of being
of his
a light-skinned
"Negro" who could "pass" was a fantasy that obviously appealed to him.
He
was
also apparently inspired by an article that he'd read in an
American monthly: "Tous les ans 20 000 Noirs transforment en Blancs.
C'est ce qui ressort d'un recent article d'Herbert Asbury du 'Colliers'"
(Arnaud
152).
In his bogus preface, Vian asserted
that Sullivan's preference
the Black half of his heritage filled him with "une espece de mepris
les 'bons Noirs'..." and his admiration for "des noirs aussis
Blancs"
(J'irai
cracher
sur
vos
admitted the book's indebtedness
tombes
9).
More
for
pour
'durs' que les
pertinently,
Vian
to the writings of James M . Cain, as
well as to the novels of Henry Miller, a then obscure American author
whose more erotic books were sold only in France during the 1940s and
'50s.
In addition to those cited sources,
penultimate
of the novel's
chapter are strongly reminiscent of the the denouement
Hemingway's
largely
the last lines
For Whom the Bell
borrowed from the
fiction, Native
Tolls,
pages
of
of
while the book's thematics were
Richard
Wright's most
famous
Son.
Except for its last nine pages, J'irai
cracher
sur
vos
tombes
is
written in the first person singular. Lee Anderson, the novel's narrator,
is, like "Vernon Sullivan", a light-skinned Black who can pass for white;
because of the novel's origins, he is also a mask behind a mask. Imbued
with
a virility equal
to
his
thirst
for
vengeance—Lee's
family
has
58
suffered
severely
extremely
from
the
ravages
hardboiled hero
buys
of
Southern
a bookstore
in
racism—the
the
small
book's
town
of
Buckton, then proceeds to check out the local scene. His musical, as well
as his sexual, gifts soon win him the favours of the local
"good-time
girls": "J'aurais toutes les filles les unes apres les autres, mais c'etait trop
simple...."
(J'irai
cracher sur vos
tombes 41.)
Instead he focuses his
attentions on the upper class Asquith sisters, Jean and Lou, the belles of
Prixville
slang,
(considering
this
the
might well
be
author's
familiarity
a pun in the
vein
with Anglo-American
of Dashiell
Hammett's
Poisonville). Every bit as promiscuous as Buckton's uncultured females,
they
are
even
more
obnoxiously
racist.
When
Lee—whom
Lou
erroneously assumes to be white—insists that Duke Ellington is a greater
composer
than George Gershwin, the Asquith sister typically responds,
"—Vous etes bizarre... Je deteste les Noirs" (J'irai cracher sur vos tombes
118.)
To
keep
Christianity
his
which
spirit
he
mean
believes
and
has
hard,
Lee
crippled the
rejects
will
of
the
pacific
his
"good"
brother, Tom: "...je crois qu'on ne peut pas rester lucide et croire en
Dieu, et il fallait que je sois lucide" (J'irai cracher sur vos tombes 43).
The
vengeance
noxious
which Lee
mixture
of
mutilation
and
Spillane's
standards,
subsequently
impregnation,
murder)
would
never
mind
wreaks
betrayal,
seem
James
does as much to keep the book's
American
bookshelves
the
1990s as
M.
to
shock is
torture,
even
Cain's.
(translated)
did its
Black rage and explicit sexuality in the 1940s.
power
rape,
excessive
misogyny
of
on Jean and Lou (a
sexual
by
Mickey
Such
graphic
pages off
graphic depictions
the
of
In some ways, the book's
greater than that of the more extreme
fictions
of
Georges Bataille and the Marquis de Sade. Seeing the book as a two-
59
pronged
attack
instance,
by
on
Jean-Paul Sartre and Michelle Vian—in
creating
respectueuse,
a text
far
more
incendiary
than
the
La
Putain
in the second by symbolically slaughtering an "unfaithful"
woman—in no way
softens
the reader's
double
reaction of
indignant
outrage and horrified admiration. If there is such a thing as a
maudit,
vast gulfs
heat of J'irai
instance,
Vernon Sullivan volumes
is to be struck by
that separates their muted impact from the
cracher
sur vos tombes. Elles
is almost as misogynistic
anti-female
comments
ne rendent
attitudes
compte,
are more ironically phrased, reflecting
in drag,
these braggarts
obliviously
"Je risque rien, je dis. Moi je
rendent
pas
compte 79).5
lightly
handled,
The book's
although
the
for
as badly
ambivalent—sexual
as on the "bad" behaviour of the women in their lives.
dressed
outlook:
pas
sulphurous
in tone, but in this case the text's
on the (male) heroes "all-American"—and comically
when
roman
this is definitely it.
To read subsequent
the
first
assert their
suis heterosexuel'"
Even
macho
(Elles
ne
hardboiled elements are equally
novel's
climactic
castration
scene
is
strongly reminiscent of Jim Thompson's more ghoulish endings. As for
Et
on tuera
tous les affreux,
the roman
noir
elements
are
now
shot
through with pulp science fiction and espionage elements: "Prendre un
coup sur la tete, ce n'est rien. Etre drogue deux fois de suite dans la
meme soiree, ce n'est pas trop penible... Mais sortir prendre l'air et .se
retrouver dans
un chambre inconnue,
avec
une femme,
tous les
deux
dans le costume d'Adam and Eve, 9a commence a etre un peu fort" (Et
on tuera tous les
white
5
American
affreux 7).
males
in
the
It is interesting to note that virtually all
Vernon
Sullivan books
are treated
A good colloquial English title for this bagatelle would be Chicks Don't Count.
as
60
sexual incompetents,
latent homosexuals,
confused
puritans, and absurd
virgins. Most French writers, at one time or another, have played this
ego-building card; even Simone de Beavoir, surprisingly, once played it
in L'Amerique
au jour le jour. In any event, the Vernon Sullivan series
declined rapidly after its explosive
debut.
Lynching seemed to be something of a magnet to French writers
of
the
late
doom-laden
1940s. Even Jacques
scenarist,
took
a few
Prevert, that
light-hearted
poet and
potshots at the phenomenon
second collection of poems, Histoires.
in his
"Le Lunch", for instance, describes
the extra-judicial execution of a black "maitre d'hotel" who was hanged
from a bridge for having the effrontery to gaze down "le decollete/ de la
maitresse
de
maison"
(Prevert
53).
Although the
widespread
French
mistrust of American females is less pronounced here, it is still implicit.
How
strange
that in the
land of
popularized
the
that
commodities
within
notion
the
Claude Levi-Strauss—the man
females
framework
of
were
male
essentially
who
exchange
civilization—American
women should be made to appear so often as active agents of racism-inpractice,
rather
than
as
just
a
tendentious
excuse
trumped
up
by
bloody-minded Klansmen with a marked taste for New World pogroms
and ratissages..
racist
than
their
Without arguing that white American women were less
male
counterparts
at
which there is absolutely no evidence—it
mid-century—an argument
still seems most unlikely that
they were more virulent in their expressions
case,
their
translation
still-binding
of
social
anti-Black
"demonization" of white
of racial autocracy. In any
limitations
sentiments
for
generally
into
violent
Southern women must therefore
prevented
the
action.
The
be
explained
in psychological, rather than sociological, terms. Just as the New Yorker
61
represented the "good" American, so did the Southerner stand in his for
his evil doppelganger. This division of American men into two
separate
types seems to have been doubly applicable in the case of American
women.
From the late '40s texts of Sartre, Vian, and Prevert, it would be
virtually impossible for the uninformed reader to determine how much
pleasure the authors had derived from their encounters in and with the
New World. If the land they visited was the land of Cockaigne, the land
they
described was
the land of Mordor.
To find
a more "binocular"
vision of mid-century America, one must turn to the writings of Simone
de Beau voir, the first important Frenchwoman to write about the United
States. Describing her New World adventures in three separate
books,
de Beauvoir was as generous with her praise as she was scathing in her
criticism. Collectively, L'Amerique au jour le jour, Les Mandarins, and La
Force des choses comprise the richest French chronicle of American life
since de Tocqueville's De la democratie en Amerique.
is recognized even in the United States—always
This achievement
a good sign. In a recent
New York Times Book Review article, "The Existential Tourist," Douglas
Brinkley was fulsome in his praise of the first and least celebrated of
these
volumes:
"For
women
and
men,
who
want
to
experience
vicariously Jack Kerouac's open road with less macho romanticism and
more existential savvy, 'America Day by Day', hidden from us for nearly
50 years, comes to the reader like a botle of vintage cognac, asking only
to be uncorked" (Brinkley 27).
polemics
regularly
weapons
fail to faze
mounts
her
to bad food,
Even de Beauvoir's periodic
left-wing
this unabashed American admirer: "Although she
soapbox
she
to
denounce
everything
exudes maternal kindness
from
atomic
to everyone
she
62
meets, regardless of his or her narrow politics or jingoistic world view"
(Brinkley 27). Indeed, it would probably not be pushing the comparison
too far to say that de Beauvoir's books about America are almost
warmly
embraced by
Americans as
Stendhal's
pen
portraits
of
as
Italy
were by Milanese, Romans, and Neapolitans. In postwar terms, she sets
the standard by which all other French interpreters of America must be
judged.
Ironically, L'Amerique
book at all. Les
Temps
au jour
modernes
le jour
was never intended to be a
printed de Beauvoir's travel diary of
her first trip to the United States, and that was supposed to be that.
As
she confessed in her autobiography, "Je ne me premeditais pas d'ecrire
un livre sur l'Amerique, mais je voulais la voir bien; je connaissais
litterature
et,
couramment"
malgre
Breton, for instance,
conduct
L'Amerique
accent
consternant,
(La Force des choses 137).
give her an advantage
to
mon
the
parlais
anglais
Her linguistic fluency
that most of her contemporaries
would
lacked; Andre
spent the war years in New York without learning
simplest
au jour
je
sa
le jour
English conversation.
Although
stylistically
is the roughest of de Beauvoir's three major
American travel narratives, it is also the most detailed, exhaustive,
and
interesting.
one
The author's American adventures,
thread in the broader tapestries of Les
choses.
after all, were only
Mandarins
and La
Force
des
What's more, de Beauvoir's journalistic impressions of the land
were often subservient to the "main story," her intense and emotionally
fulfilling
affair
L'Amerique
with
American
au jour
le jour
Thus,
nothing
importance.
contemplation
of
America,
author
effectively
gets
circa
in
and
radical,
disguises
the
1945-1947.
the
way
of
As
she
Nelson
Algren.
U.S.
writer's
de
Beauvoir's
recalled
in her
63
memoirs,
"J'etais
prete
a
aimer
l'Amerique;
c'etait
la
patrie
de
capitalisme, oui; mais elle avait contribue a sauver l'Europe du fascisme;
la bombe atomique lui assurait le leadership du monde et la dispensait
de rien craindre; les
persuadee
conscience
those
livres
de certains
liberaux americains
m'avaient
qu'une grande partie de la nation avait une sereine et claire
de ses
hopes
responsabilites"
would
be
Beauvoir would describe
(La Force des choses 138). Many of
dispelled
by
her
first
even her growing
U.S. journey,
disillusionment
but
with
de
great
gusto and skill.
Characteristically, de Beauvoir clearly felt more than a little guilty
about the pleasure she derived from her first U.S. safari. At the very
beginning of her first "American" book, she writes,
grand pays industriel sans visiter ses
techniques,
usines,
"...j'ai traverse
sans voir ses
ce
realisations
sans entrer en contact avec la classe ouvriere. Je n'ai pas
penetre non plus dans les hautes spheres ou s'elaborent
l'economie
des
appeasement
U.S.A"
does
not
la politique et
(l'Amerique au jour le jour 7). This tone of
last
long.
Soon
she
is
rhapsodizing
about
Broadway, the Great White Way where "...la lumiere en a lave toutes les
souillures;
c'est une
lumiere
surnaturelle qui transfigure
l'asphalte...."
(L'Amerique au jour le jour 13). After years of privation in occupied
Paris, de Beauvoir is struck dumb by the giddy opulence
drug
stores and soda fountains.
Though slightly
of American
more reserved
about
the value of the U.S. fashion industry (not without justice, she felt that
"independent" American women slavishly dressed
de
Beauvoir
gorges
herself
on
Hollywood
to please their men),
movies
and
milkshakes,
marvelling all the while at the fat luxuriance of the Sunday edition of
The New York Times. She visits New York's Spanish library; she smokes
64
marijuana
with
Greenwich Village
bohemians;
she
listens
to
Billy
Holliday. Above all, she is impressed by the warmth of the people: "Ce
qui rend
si agreable la vie
quotidienne en Amerique
c'est la bonne
humeur et cordialite des Americains" (L'Amerique au jour le jour 30.)
In these early pages, American "minuses" can seem almost like "pluses":
"L'arrogance
des
Americains n'est
pas
volonte
de
puissance,
c'est
volonte d'imposer le Bien...." (L'Amerique au jour le jour 71). Again and
again
she
contrasts
American
counterparts: "Peut-etre les
ways
of
behaviour with
their
French
amities sont-elles en France plus solides
et
plus profondes: je n'en sais rien; mais en tous cas chez nous le premier
accueil n'a jamais cette chaleur" (L'Amerique au jour le jour 53).
As
defensive
the
preceding
element
in
statement
de
makes
Beauvoir's
clear,
there
relativistic
is
a
certain
pronouncements.
America might be big and grand, but in some essential
way it is and
must be spiritually inferior to Europe. Though de Beauvoir dedicated
L'Amerique
au jour
many places
le jour
to "Ellen and Richard Wright," and visited
in their company, she felt
no qualms about writing the
following passage: "Hemingway ou Wright, si on les compare a un James
Joyce, par example,
n'apportent rien--ils racontent des
histoires,
c'est
tout. Si nous aimons ces livres, c'est par une sorte de condescendance...."
(L'Amerique au jour le jour 58). American literature, in other words, is
useful to European authors in the same way that Benin sculpture was to
Pablo
Picasso;
in
each
case,
a
"sophisticated"
European
derived
inspiration from talented but primitive "idiots savants". This feeling of
ownership
extends
even
to
that
most
American
of
arts,
syncopated
music: "Le public americain a plus ou moins assassine le jazz, mais il
l'aime encore" (L'Amerique au jour le jour 54.) U.S. intellectuals, de
65
Beauvoir
complained,
were
totally
uninterested
in
any
living
writer
(such as Sartre or herself): "lis detestent tous les ecrivains vivants parce
qu'eux-memes ne sont ni ecrivains ni vivants...." (L'Amerique au jour le
jour
59.)
This
apparently,
bias
in
favour
directed inward as
of
the
well
as
intellectually
deceased
outward. Much
later
was,
in
her
journey, de Beauvoir would meet "...un professeur de l'universite qui me
parle de Dewey,
le
seul
philosophe
(L'Amerique au jour le jour 280.)
connu et reconnu en
Amerique"
Culturally speaking, America is still
Europe's junior partner, but has the perversity to refuse to admit it. For
dramatic
effect,
the
American
mouths:
author
"II
sometimes
existe,
me
puts
disent-ils,
americaine, heritiere de la culture europeene
directement...."
cultural
such
une
sentiments
authentique
into
culture
a laquelle elle se rattache
(L'Amerique au jour le jour 58.) Like so many French
critics
before
and
since,
she
comments
on
America's
indifference to its greatest artists (which is to say, the American artists
who
are
regarded
as
such
by
French
observers).
According
to
de
Beauvoir, one cocktail party intellectual stammers, '"Edgar Poe...je crois
bien que c'est un auteur francais....'"^
Fortunately,
not
all
her
comparisons
are
either
invidious
or
judgmental; many are made in a spirit of genuine inquiry: "Ce n'est pas
la coutume ici de travailler dans les endroits ou Ton boit: c'est le pays de
specialisation" (L'Amerique au jour le jour 23). Much of the material she
transmits is both recondite and chilling. Her passages on drug abuse and
youth violence
fairly echo with sad prophecy. If anything, she
even more prescient
on the
origins of Black
seems
anti-Semitism. Even
in
6 A North American reader cannot help wondering how the academic "rube" in
question might have responded if de Beauvoir had mentioned 'Edgar Allan Poe."
This usually shrewd literary tourist seems totally oblivious to that possibility.
66
1945,
she
ridden
reminds us,
city.
strangling
In
his
Washington, D . C . was
Chicago,
a
fifteen-year-old
eleven-year-old
friend. De
America's most
boy
was
crime-
convicted
Beauvoir visits
the
chair waiting at the end of the Windy City's Death Row,
of
electric
emotionlessly
explaining, "Quand on execute un condamne, il y a quatre gardiens qui
sont designes pour presser quatre de ces boutons: un seul donne la mort
et personne ne sait lequel" (L'Amerique au jour le jour 368).
Petrified
by the Black Dahlia murder, the women of Los Angeles "ont peur de se
promener apres minuit" (L'Amerique au jour le jour 123). This now all
too
familiar apprehension
introduced
to
the
rich
was
and
apparently
famous,
de
then
unprecedented.
Beauvoir
is
overawed
by their celebrity. At a Hollywood party, she
with
femme
"la
de
Chaplin
qui
est,
comme
When
anything
but
shakes hands
d'habitude,
enceinte"
(L'Amerique au jour le jour 300). Such dry wit is quite common in this
book by a writer who is often accused of being totally humourless. By
the same token, de Beauvoir's impatience with bien pensant
thinking is
as sharp as it is merciless: "Chez les blancs 'eclaire' il y a a New York un
snobisme de la musique et de la litterature noire" L'Amerique au jour le
jour
320).
The author's artistic reactions
are generally
insightful: "Ce
que j'ai senti souvent en ecoutant leur jazz, en parlant avec eux, c'est
que le temps meme dans lequel ils vivent est abstrait" (L'Amerique
au
jour le jour 385). In the same way, her brief film reviews are generally
sound. After viewing Mr.
Verdoux,
director "...on a l'impression qu'il
for instance, de Beauvoir said of its
a ete
intimide malgre lui par son
audace" (L'Amerique au jour le jour 271)7
De Beauvoir's substitution of "Mr" for "M" in the title of Charlie Chaplin's film
is symptomatic of what has always been the most unintentionally funny aspect of
7
67
As
she
toured
America,
de
Beauvoir
brought
with
her
the
intellectual baggage of previous French tourists. Following in
Georges
Duhamel's
Chicago,
even
as
footsteps,
she
she
dismissed
visited
as
bogus
the
the
stinking
stockyards
haughty
of
academician's
claim that one couldn't see the landscapes of America on account of all
the billboards. De Beauvoir's fascination with drugstores, soda fountains,
and
other
prototypical "fast food" outlets had almost
certainly
been
primed by Celine's earlier celebration of New York's automat.8 In New
Orleans, like so many Parisian pilgrims before her, de Beauvoir listened
to a local who spoke "...la francais que la Louisiane a herite du XVIIIe
siecle" (L'Amerique au jour le jour 223). A trip to Niagara Falls invokes
the shade of Atala's
avant
que
paysage
fussent
creator: "Assurement, au temps de Chateaubriand,
baties
les
usines
et
les
pavilions
touristiques,
ce
devait etre saissant" (L'Amerique au jour le jour 93). Nearby,
she found a body of water that was "fantastic" in beauty: "Le lac est
French
writing
about
America.
English
language
spelling
mistakes,
misquotations, errors of agreement,
idiomatic usage and capitalization are so
ubiquitous in even the best French publications that anglophone readers must
sometimes wonder if these untranslated passages have been proofread at all.
These problems are exacerbated by an attribution of cultural habits that are
totally alien to Americans. Thus, in Elles ne rendent pas compte, we read of an
abstemious young man "...qui ne bois que du Perrier" (Elles ne rendent pas
compte
77). In 1953 America, the non-alcoholic beverage of choice would
obviously have been Club Soda. Even more comically, Jules Verne has U.S. C i v i l
War veterans bellowing "Hurrah! Hip! Hip! Hip!" in the place of the standard "Hip!
Hip! Hurrah!" (De la terre a la lune 32). While more recent writers, such as Pascale
Quignard and Philippe Djian, tend to reproduce a more idiomatically exact English
than did their francophone predecessors, this problem has been by no means
resolved.
8 At the time she was writing, Celine was in exile, facing a death sentence in his
native France for intellectual collaboration with the enemy. O f all living French
writers, Celine was unquestionably
the one she could least afford to cite
favourably.
68
beau comme un paysage de Jules Verne...." (L'Amerique au jour le jour
93).9
When
predecessors,
not
following
in
the
footsteps
de Beauvoir preferred to go
where
of
her
illustrious
Americans feared
to
tread. In this way, she visited Harlem, entirely on her own, despite her
friends' entreaties not to. Here, she clearly felt, was the New World's
New World. Of white America's ghetto fears, she wrote: "Qu'un bourgeois
trop riche ait peur s'il aventure dans les faubourgs ou Ton a faim, c'est
naturel [d'avoir peur]. II se promene dans un univers qui refuse le sien
et qui un jour en triomphera. Mais Harlem est
avec
ses
bourgeois
et ses
proletaires, ses
une societe
riches et ses
complete,
pauvres qui ne
sont pas ligues dans un action revolutionnaire, qui souhaitent
s'integrer
a l'Amerique et non le detruire" (L'Amerique au jour le jour 40). De
Beauvoir's Harlem is remarkably similarly to the urban playground of
"Gravedigger" Jones
and "Coffin
E d " Johnson, the fictional
policemen
created by Black expatriate (he lived in France for many years,
permanently settling
in Spain) author Chester Himes. The Harlem that
both of them described now
swatch
before
exists no more than does the
of prosperity-altered America: "Le Nevada est
following
le pays
le plus
desert, le moins peuple et le plus pauvre des U.S.A." (L'Amerique
au
jour le jour 153).
L'Amerique
observations.
contemporary
subsequently
De
au
jour
Beauvoir
plight
of
le
jour
provides
U.S.
is
a
exceedingly
penetrating
screenwriters—a
rich
account
plight
in
of
which
replaced by even worse perils. She makes veiled
such
the
was
allusions
By the last decades of the 20th century, America will seem increasingly "science
fictional" to French intellectuals such as Jean Baudrillard. More about this anon.
9
69
to cultural figures who might well be Gore Vidal, Dwight Macdonald and
George Stevens. She explains why Jewish neighbourhoods can flourish in
New York but not in Chicago, the Illinois city where competing Irish and
Polish
proletarian clans
attack
each
other
with
an imperishable
hate.
She mentions the quotidian horrors of Jim Crow laws, without dwelling
unduly
on
expression.
lynching,
She
this
charts
detestable
the
first
social
steps
taken
system's
by
most
American
extreme
politicians
during the early stages of the Cold War, and feels the cold breath of
McCarthyism breathing down her neck. She speaks of Philip Wylie and
the cult of "Momism," of an up-and-coming Black preachers named "le
rev. A . Clayton Powell" (L'Amerique le jour le jour 62), and of a notably
non-monolithic
culture:
"II
y
a
un
regionalisme
intellectuel,
en
Amerique; Henri [sic] Miller n'a pas beaucoup d'importance a New York,
mais
sur cette
cote
ouest ou il habite
on le
tient
pour un genie"
(L'Amerique le jour le jour 147). When de Beauvoir loves a place, she's
not afraid to let you know it: "Nulle part la poesie du passe americain
que dans les rues du vieux Boston...." Even her occasional "bloopers" are
more amusing than annoying. It seems most unlikely, for instance,
she
saw
"une
eglise
de
XlVe
siecle" in Texas
since
that
the European
colonization of the United States did not begin until le seizieme
siecle.
(L'Amerique au jour le jour 212).
Still, despite her guiding sympathy for America, and regardless of
the new intellectual territory which she staked out, Simone de Beauvoir
fits
seamlessly into
the
tradition of
French literary tourism. Like
de
Tocqueville, de Beauvoir lamented the lack of true individuality in the
United States: "En Amerique, l'individu n'est rien. II fait l'objet
d'un
culte abstrait...." (L'Amerique au jour le jour 100.) Her feminist views in
70
no
way
incline
her
towards
a
sympathetic
view
of
American
womanhood.
She scorned what she saw as the coed's cult of frivolity,
and
disapproved
clearly
of
the
fact
that
50%
students were still virgins: "Les college-girls
ont evidemment
jour
334.)
of
female
university
exterieurement
si
faciles
de fortes defenses interieures" (L'Amerique au jour le
Putting her own unique spin on the standard French male
critique of Yankee puritanism, de Beauvoir attributed this
unfortunate
state of affairs to non-stop war between the sexes: "Un des faits qui m'a
ete tout de suite sensible en Amerique, c'est qu'hommes
et femmes ne
s'aiment
attributed
the
.ubiquity of alcohol in America—a criticism exactly opposite to the
one
pas"
(L'Amerique au jour le jour 333).
She
made by Georges Duhamel 20 years earlier—to America's need to break
through the
body.
was
puritan straightjacket
of
anti-sexuality
and hatred of
the
Like Claude Levi-Strauss, de Beauvoir's European sensibility
overwhelmed
by the very size of New
World towns: "Les
d'Amerique sont trop grandes; a la nuit leur dimensions
se
villes
multiplent,
elles deviennent les jungle ou il est facile de s'egarer" (L'Amerique au
jour le jour 144). It would be all too easy to imagine Duhamel or Celine
sneering
at
violemment
330).
"les
toilettes
feminin,
[qui]
presque
m'ont
sexuel"
etonne
par
leur
(L'Amerique au jour
caractere
le
jour
1 0
Like both her predecessors and her successors, the author initially
"hung out" mainly with fellow
way
clannish,
Americanism
though.
of
the
French people in America. She was
In
particular,
she
despised
local
Petainists,
disgraced
the
political
no
vulgar
anti-
exiles
who
Perhaps the strangest plank in the French cultural superiority package is the
rather peculiar notion that primitive sanitation in some way bestows seriousness
of purpose on a non-flushing nation.
1
0
71
insisted
that
"cette
attitude
est
la
installe dans ce pays" (L'Amerique
expressing
disdainful
this
sentiment,
statement
that
seule
pour un
au jour le jour 24).
however,
must
possible
de
have
Shortly after
Beauvoir comes
made
her Petainist
Francais
up
with
a
"opponents"
turn green with envy: "Si meme les intellectuels dits de gauche sont si
fiers des boites de lait condense que leur gouvernement nous
dispense,
comment s'etonner de l'arrogance de la presse capitaliste...a l'egard de la
France..."
(L'Amerique le jour le jour 48). She is as appalled by Uncle
Sam's lack of interest in France's universal culture as was that staunch
conservative humanist, Georges Duhamel: "Le pire est que beaucoup de
Francais sont complices de cette attitude; nos capitalistes font une active
propagande
anti-francaise
en Amerique;
peut-etre
est-ce
leur
servilite
qui autorise certains Americains a parler de la France a une Francaise
avec ce ton accusateur: le ton des officiers allemands quand ils disaient
en occupant un village: 'Voila ou nous ont conduits vos politiciens et vos
Juifs" (L'Amerique au jour le jour 281.)
Here as elsewhere,
so
many
French
she expresses the underlying belief common to
intellectuals
that
the
idea
of
France
is
somehow
separate from its political misdemeanors, while the idea of America is
not. Though de Beauvoir would later play a major role in the French
intellectual resistance
obligation
to
justify
to the War in Algeria, in America she feels no
France's
postwar
crimes
in
Indochina
and
Madagascar, never mind the still-festering wound of Vichy. In the City
of
Light,
ghettos:
she
can think of no analogous
"Fiche au coeur
de
New
York,
emblematic
Harlem
simile
pese
for U.S.
sur la
bonne
conscience des blancs comme le peche original sur celle d'un Chretien"
(L'Amerique au jour le jour 40). When de Beauvoir learns that the U.S.
72
State Department has forbidden the overseas distribution of The Oxbow
Incident
because said western
Beauvoir,
like
any
one
dealt with the subject
of her noose-haunted
of lynching, de
contemporaries,
reports this fact as if contained some almost cabbalistic
eagerly
secret. If de
Beauvoir understands why so many American leftists abandoned Stalin
in 1936,
she clearly still regards this defection
best, and possibly of mauvais foi.
is
quite
happy
to
compare
as a form of naivete at
Like an American tourist in Asia, she
an unfamiliar place
to
a familiar
one:
"[Rockport est] St. Tropez moins colore...." (L'Amerique au jour le jour
304.)
Rapidly
wearying
Beauvoir goes to see
aperta
primarily
americain"
of
her
trans-Atlantic
Roberto Rossellini's
"[pour]
(L'Amerique
le
plaisir de
neorealist
film, Roma:
voir un film
au jour le jour 335).
total, but it will prove to be permanent:
playground,
qui ne
de
citta
fut
Her disaffection
pas
is not
"Aimer l'Amerique, ne
pas
l'aimer: ces mots n'ont pas de sens. Elle est un champ de bataille...."
(L'Amerique au jour le jour 389). De Beauvoir decides to return to her
patrie:
"II va falloir reapprendre la France et rentrer dans ma peau"
(L'Amerique au jour le jour 389.) If America is France's "Other", it is an
Other that can make Insiders seem Other to themselves, it would seem.
According
to de Beauvoir, only in France can a French citizen
fully
occupy his or her mental skin.
With
the
exception
of her affair with
everything
de
Beauvoir
had
L'Amerique
au jour le jour. Some of her subsequent
the
aforesaid
balance
to
Mandarins,
the
incidents
more
did
to
say
about
sometimes,
lopsided
aspects
Nelson
America
however,
of
her
Algren, virtually
was
said
in
re-imaginings
of
provide
original text.
a
certain
In
Les
for instance, de Beauvoir's grasp of American politics—or,
73
rather,
of
the perception
Americans—had
grown
disappointed
the
by
of
by
American
leaps
capitalist
and
politics
bounds.
super-power's
shared
While
world
by
she
view,
most
is
she
still
is
no
longer surprised by it, as one can tell from the following speech by one
of the novel's few major American characters: "—Je ne comprends pas ce
prejuge contre l'Amerique, dit Bennet.... II faut etre communiste pour ne
voir en elle que le bastion du capitalisme: c'est aussi un grand pays
ouvrier; et c'est le pays du progres, de la prosperite, de l'avenir'" (Les
Mandarins 383). Bennet's defensiveness, of course, is almost identical to
de Beauvoir's own in L'Amerique
au jour
le jour,
albeit with the political
polarities reversed. It seems highly unlikely that the author could have
written this
speech without coming to terms with her immediate
war insecurities.
confused
with
complaint
pas
softening
a weakening
makes
l'impuissance,
n'aurez
This
clear:
dis-je;
le
of
of
attitude
should
not,
ideological
rigour,
as
"—Tous les
intellectuels
droit
de
vous
indigner
le
jour
however,
the
ou
be
following
americains
c'est ga qui parait un curieux
post-
plaident
complexe.
Vous
l'Amerique
sera
completement fascisee et ou elle declenchera la guerre'" (Les Mandarins
534). As the author pointed out in her memoirs, the Korean war had in
fact increased her hostility to U.S. foreign policy, and possibly
to the
United States tout court: "Depuis la guerre de Coree, mon aversion pour
l'Amerique n'avait pas diminuee" (La Force des choses 395).
Towards the
belatedly
conceded,
end of her first travel book, the
"Nous
avons
d'autres
d'etre malheureux, d'etre inauthentiques,
fagons
que
author
les
Americains
voila tout: les jugements
j'ai portes sur eux au cours de ce voyage ne s'accompagnaient
sentiment
somewhat
que
d'aucun
de superiorite" (L'Amerique au jour le jour 389). As we have
just seen, this claim is more than a little questionable. Its good faith,
though, is not. After the Second World War, French intellectuals would
try
to
extend
their
imaginations
to
the
point
where
they
could
apprehend America the way it really was, instead of just re-confirming
inherited hopes and fears.
Claude
Much
Levi-Strauss and the
new
of
the
impetus
science
of
for this
came
from
structuralism. For this
reason, it probably behooves us to say a few
words about the
great
anthropologist's first impressions of America.
Before "discovering" America in the early 1940s, Levi-Strauss had
"discovered" Brazil
six years before. Thanks to the exigencies of the
Second World War, his first U.S. port of call was not New York but
Puerto Rico. Thus, his second American encounter, like his first, took
place in a "Latin" corner of the New World. This chance circumstance
was
to
permanently
colour
his
perception
of
cultural
difference,
distance and similarity: "Le hasard des voyages offre souvent de telles
ambiguites. D'avoir passe a Porto-Rico mes premieres semaines sur le
sol
des
Etats-Unis
me
fera,
dorenavant,
retrouver
l'Amerique
Espagne. Comme aussi pas mal d'annees plus tard, d'avoir visite
premiere universite anglaise sur le campus aux edifices
neogothiques
en
ma
de
Dacca, dans le Bengale oriental, m'incite maintenant a considerer Oxford
comme une Inde qui a reussi a controler la boue, la moissure et
debordements
de
la
perceptive tourist was
vegetation"
(Levi-Strauss
36).
This
les
extremely
singularly impressed by the artificial "antiquity"
of America: "En visitant New York ou Chicago en 1941, en arrivant a Sao
Paulo en 1935, ce n'est done pas la nouveaute qui m'a d'abord etonne,
mais la precocite des ravages des temps" 1
1
most
was
(Levi-Strauss 107).
overwhelmed the anthropologist about the New World,
What
however,
the very un-European vastness of the place. As he wrote in his
most famous book,Tristes
tropiques,
"...je l'ai ressentie devant la cote et
sur les plateaux du Bresil central dans les Andes boliviennes et dans les
Rocheuses du Colorado, dans les faubourgs de Rio, la banlieue de Chicago
et les rues de New York" (Levi-Strauss 86). To feel at home in this new
environment,
the
exiled
Frenchmen felt
the
need
to
re-calibrate his
sense of scale and space: "...sans doute, objectivement, New York est une
ville,
mais le spectacle
qu'elle propose a la sensibilite
europeene
est
d'un autre ordre de grandeur: celui de nos propres pay sages; alors que
les
paysages
systeme
americaines
encore
plus
vaste
d'equivalent" (Levi-Strauss
By
trying
geographical,
to
rather
nous
pour
quoi
eux-memes
nous
ne
dans
possedons
un
pas
86.)
explain
than
et
entraineraient
French
discomfort
sociological,
terms,
in
the
Americas in
Levi-Strauss hopes
to
demystify the problem. His matter-of-fact attitude is far removed from
Jean-Philippe Mathy's more sociological
approach to the phenomenon.
For him, the dilemma is indisolubly linked to the fall of the
regime:
"The advent
of
a market society
was
the
ancien
undoing of
the
traditional intelligentsia" (Mathy 7). Since America is the market society
par
excellence,
by extension it became the devil incarnate, Old Europe's
new Carthage, its demonized "Other". In this new vacuum, the French
felt
threatened
universal
"in
their
role
republic of letters...,"
as
the
self-proclaimed
a position to which the
Obviously, Levi-Strauss is
speaking exclusively
here
construction; the ruins of pre-Colombian America are amongst
planet.
1
1
leaders
Gauls
of
a
first
of post-European
the oldest on the
76
appointed themselves, Mathy believes, in 1558
(Mathy 35).
Even now,
this is a role which has not been entirely abandoned. In La defaite
pensee—"new
philosopher" Alain Finkielkraut's 1987
behalf of this long-vanished
of
the
piece
inheritors
might
ignorant
be
cri de coeur
"universal" culture—the ideological
Herder and
de
cultural relativists
Maistre,
and
their
and undemocratic
regimes, but "born again" barbarism's principal economic
with
an American accent.
relativism,
Finkielkraut
A propos
complains,
"Le
of
on
villains
political
Third
World
beneficiaries—
working almost entirely offstage, it must be admitted—would
speak
de la
appear to
Levi-Strauss's cultural
roi
est
nu:
nous
autres,
Europeens de la seconde moitie du X X e siecle, nous ne somme pas la
civilisation
mais
fugitive
perissable"
et
une
culture
(Finkielkraut 87).
preceding
statement
at
following:
"Dans le proces
desormais
au
reservaient
tout naturellement
banc
particuliere,
des
face
value
variete
et
de
Any temptation
immediately
non
Leon Blum
plus
l'humain
to
dispelled
intente a la barbarie, les
accuses,
procureur" (Finkielkraut 81).
is
une
take
the
by
the
Lumieres siegent
a la
place
que
leur
ou Clement Atlee: celle du
To invert Yeats's
famous
words, the best
lack all conviction, while the worst are filled with passionate
intensity.
Finkielkraut's fear of New World/Third World barbarism will, by now,
sound
remarkably
familiar
to
readers
of
this
chapter:
culturelle a deux betes noires: l'individualisme et le
(Finkielkraut
105).
"L'identite
cosmopolitanisme"
The indignant philosopher never condemns America
by name; by the same token, he never invites it to share the dock with
the
"individualistic, cosmopolitan"
confederacy
supremacy,
over
which
it would
France
nations
still
of
Europe, the
apparently
presides.
seem, resides in that nation's
intellectual
This moral
unique refusal
to
77
indulge in cultural chauvinism of any kind: "Au siecle des
nationalismes,
la France—ce fut son merite et son originalite—refusa 1'enracinement
de
1'esprit" (Finkielkraut 138). The thought that French "universalism" is in
fact
a particularly strident
and arrogant form of
does not seem to have occurred to him.
cultural nationalism
Only in America, and possibly,
at times, in England, does one find equivalent intellectual hubris.
A
much
number of French writers, of course,
quieter,
more
matter-of-fact
"absorbed" America in a
manner.
Marguerite
Yourcenar
spent much of her life in the state of Maine, but the experience
adoptive homeland was not reflected in her writing.
While
of her
one
finds
much material about Japan and ancient Greece in the Pleiade edition of
her
complete
works,
restricted to two
and the
Yourcenar's U.S.
appreciations
announcement
references
are
more
or
less
of Anne Lindbergh's undervalued talent
that "un petit groupe
d'amateurs
eclaires"
had
mounted the first-ever Poussin exhibition in New York (Yourcenar 468).
Maine
was
expatriates:
things
to
her
a place
what
the
Greek islands
are
to
so
many
literary
to digest the events of the past and write
that have little to do with the immediate present.
about
Of important
French writers, only Andre Breton—who occupied war-time New York as
if it were a quarter of Paris filled with an unusually large number of
anglophone
tourists—and
Paul
Claudel—the
conservative
Catholic
playwright who was France's ambassador to Washington in the 1920s—
were less preoccupied with the meaning of the New World than she. 12
While it is true that she was somewhat more garrulous on the subject of
America in her letters to her friends, even there Yourcenar's attitudes towards
the New World were more than a little ambivalent, both before and after she
accepted U.S. citizenship in 1947. Her first description of the U.S. in her published
correspondence
is
typically
Eurocentric:
"J'aurais
aime
vous
parler
de
l'Amerique...il faut pourtant vous dire que I'ete indien est admirable, et que le
paysage, en automne, arbore la livree de Peau-Rouge, l'epiderme cuivre d'Atala"
1
2
78
Yourcenar's
overwhelming
interest
in
times
past
and
places
distant most likely accounts for the veil of silence she drew across her
U.S.
sojourn. She was, in any case, something of a recluse.
charge
could be
levelled
against
Saint-John Perse,
however.
No such
A
high
ranking French diplomat and Free French hero who was stripped of his
citizenship by the Vichy government in 1940, Marie-Rene Alexis SaintLeger Leger (the
with
poet/ambassador's
Winston Churchill
real name)
and Franklin
Delano
corresponded regularly
Roosevelt,
worked
for
Archibald MacLeish at the U.S. Library of Congress, was best friends
(Lettres a ses amis et quelques autres 56).
Elsewhere, while describing the
topography of the Maine Island where she spent the better part of her life,
Yourcenar insisted that this New World earth "ressemble un peu, je crois, aux
Ardennes, si seulement les Ardennes et leurs forets etaient au bord de la mer"
(Lettres a ses amis et quelques autres 193). O f the American Northeast in general,
the author explained that "Cette region s'appelle la Nouvelle-Angleterre, mais
ressemble plutot aux pays scandinaves" (Lettres a ses amis et quelques autres
432).Though generally considered to belong to the political right, Yourcenar, like
so many other French intellectuals of all political persuasions, expressed great
sympathy for the plight of U . S . Blacks—she translated James Baldwin's early
writings, as well as many "Negro" spirituals—and insisted that she was singularly
free from anti-Communist prejudice. In 1960, without much enthusiasm, she voted
for John F . Kennedy, primarily because of "la basse propagande anticatholique"
(Lettres a ses amis et quelques autres 189) employed by the Republican camp.
References
to American
writers
are still painfully few
and continentallyoriented. What follows is the closest thing there is to a specific recommendation:
"Je vous ai parle d'un court roman americain qui me parait interessant a traduire
a cause de ses vertus d'actualite: A N T H E M d'Ayn Rand" (Lettres a ses amis et
quelques
autres
72).
Like Yourcenar herself,
A y n Rand was a European
intellectual adrift in America. More than 700 pages will pass before she praises
another U . S . writer, Edith Wharton, and then only obliquely. On the other hand,
this very Gallic Yankee was seemingly struck by certain random elements in
popular U.S. culture. She would repeatedly praise Bob Dylan's song "Blowin' in
the Wind," for instance, describing it as ' T u n des plus beaux poemes de notre
temps" (Lettres a ses amis et quelques autres 622). Carlos Casteneda's "Don Juan"
books, Adele Davis's nutritional tomes,
and Ralph Nader's anti-consumerism
broadsides were likewise singled out for occasional praise. At times, Yourcenar's
critiques of the New World sound "typically French": "les
grandes
nations
technocratiques ne sont pas de grandes nations intellectuelles" (Lettres a ses amis
et quelques autres 505). More commonly, though, they reflect her own state of
"stoic" isolation: "...je me fais, je 1'avoue, une idee...peu favorable de la litterature
americaine, en particulier, et de la litterature contemporaine en general...."
(Lettres a ses amis et quelques autres 505).
79
with the attorney-general of the United States,
lived in various parts of
the country between 1940 and 1950, was inspired to write much of his
best poetry during this long period of exile, and was inducted into the
National Institute of Arts and Letters at the very end of his protracted
and
highly
rhyhmic,
productive
repetitive
amorphous
prose
deities
and
precluded the presence
Neiges,
and Vents.
stay.
The
poetry
even
deliberate
loaded
vaguer
obscurity
with
oblique
natural
of
his
work--
invocations
to
forces—more-or-less
of specific place names and characters in
There is nothing unusual in that. What is
Exil,
textually
far more surprising is the lack of concrete detail that one finds in his
correspondence,
speeches and short articles. In communication with an
American critic, he wrote, "...J'aime et j'admire la litterature americaine
dans
son
evolution
provide a single
(Oeuvres
proprement
example
completes 555.)
americaine...."—and
then
neglects
of a work or writer of whom he
to
approves
In homage to T.S. Eliot—the Anglo-American
poet who had assured Leger's warm U.S. reception with the aid of an
exquisitely
rendered translation of
his
best-known
work, Anabase —
Saint-John Perse translated the first few lines of The Hollow
Men into
French, but readers will look in vain for a concrete appreciation of this
or any other Eliot poem. To be fair, in one letter the author/diplomat
did come close
to praising a 1944
Allen Tate collection of verse for
specific reasons, but his letter to e.e.
cummings is mainly polite hot air.
Its
opening
(Oeuvres
phrase is typical: "De vous,
completes
1041). Leger was
poete ne et tres princier...."
always
willing to encrust
his
prose with bombastic "antiquity". His "Hommage a Jacqueline Kennedy"
began as follows: "Quand les Furies du drame antique font irruption sur
la
scene moderne,
cherchant encore
la mesure
de l'etre
humain a la
80
limite de l'humain, il semble qu'elles veuillent epargner, pour la mieux
supplicier, une victime d'elite entres toutes choisie, et comme prise en
temoignage,
pour repondre
l'epreuve"
(Oeuvres
diplomat
liked
de
la
force
completes
everything
535
about
humaine
- 536).
the
du plus
Seemingly,
United
States
atroce
this
de
poet-
except
its
unfortunate adhesion to the real world.
Belgian-born
novelist
Georges
Simenon lived in the
U.S. for a
decade, and did indeed situate a number of his books in his new place
of residence.
Inspector
were somewhat
Maigret's first impressions
depressing,
as
befits
of the "Big Apple"
a noirish text: "II pleuvait. On
roulait dans un quartier sale ou les maisons etaient laides a en donner
la nausee. Etait-ce cela, New York" (Tout
Simenon 545).
Maigret is
annoyed by America's irritating lack of apartment house concierges
telephones with double ear-pieces.
capacity
of
American
bars
Conversely, he is
and the
miracle of
intriguingly, at this time (circa 1947)
delighted
room
service.
by
and
the
Rather
the inspector's U.S. hosts believe
that his French nationality means the visiting flic must hate whiskey, an
assumption which leads one to suspect that this particular beverage had
not
yet
caught
observant.
He enters New
themselves,
Dijon...."
on in Paris. As always,
"...avec
(Tout
[des]
Simenon
York
neighbourhoods
maisons
597).
alter ego
that
are
is
very
cities
unto
pas plus haut qu'a Bordeaux ou a
Like
Celine, Maigret's creator would
discover "...la Cinquieme Avenue et ses
desquels il s'arreta" (Tout
Simenon's
magasins
Simenon 570.)
Like
de luxe aux vitrines
Simone
de Beauvoir,
Francois Combe, the displaced French actor hero of another
novel, Trois
chambres
a Manhattan,
Simenon
would be struck by "...les lumieres
de Broadway, avec de la foule noire qui coulait sur les trottoirs" (Tout
81
Simenon
203).
American
Simenon was as susceptible to the exotic charm of the
Southwest
as
anyone:
"Tucson
est
la
plus
charmante
caricature de 1'image que tous les Europeens se font de la 'conquete de
l'Ouest': le desert, les villages fantome, l'influence mexique si proche, le
spectre des missions espagnoles et celui de Geronimo... Tout y est. Dans
la vieille ville reconstitute on ne serait pas etonne d'assister
d'une diligence" (Assouline 549 - 550).
a l'attaque
Although a man of the right
who had fled France to escape the taint of being considered one of the
Nazis'
intellectual
collaborators, even
Simenon was
eventually
driven
from the shores of his once adored America by the rise of McCarthyism.
As
his principal biographer put it, "Ce torrent de boue,
de haine
et
d'injustice acheve de dissiper ses dernieres illusions sur une democratie
qu'il avait quelque peu idealisee" (Assouline 579).
In the early
simpler:
it
distractedly
was
1940s, of course,
quite
approve of
possible
the
for
the moral question seemed much
anti-Nazi
United States without
French
refugees
in any
way
to
being
interested in the country itself. This state of mind certainly applied to
Andre Breton's Surrealist circle, which tended to treat New York like a
Gallic outpost on Mars. It was also true of Antoine de Saint-Exupery, the
aviator/novelist who was, at that time, one of the most admired authors
in the world. Virtually all of Saint-Exupery's polemical writings during
the years 1941 - 1944 were devoted to the evils of Nazism, the need for
occupied Frenchmen to overcome their political differences,
the
moral
necessity of fighting for Free France without psychologically succumbing
to General de Gaulle's self-aggrandizing caudillismo,
and—a very distant
fourth priority—America's moral responsibility to rescue the world from
an evil political system that was inherently inimical to its own. While
82
living
in
disagreeable
safety
his
regardless
of their political loyalties,
1940,
opposed
to
with
America,
expressed
as
solidarity
in
those
particular bete noire was
whinged
from
those
of
the
his
author
fellow
countrymen
had actually fought
who—biens
pensants
repeatedly
who,
for France in
all, of
whom
his
the dictatorial "pope" of Surrealism—merely
comfortable
armchairs.
Even
while
travelling
on
a
troopship to North Africa with the Allied invasion fleet, Saint-Exupery
tended
to see
America as a means,
not an end: "Les cinquante
soldats de mon convoi partaient en guerre pour sauver, non le
des
Etats-Unis, mais
1'Homme
lui-meme,
le
respect de
mille
citoyen
l'Homme,
la
liberte de l'Homme, la grandeur de l'Homme" (Saint-Exupery 398).
These "universal" virtues were not, of course, universal at all; they
were, rather, the humanistic patrimony of
Within
relations,
situate.
the
overall
Jacques
An
framework
Maritain is one
orthodox
Catholic
of
1789.
Franco-American intellectual
of the more difficult individuals to
philsopher,
Maritain
backward-looking reactionary like Paul Claudel,
modernist
Simone
like
Weill,
Georges
Bernanos,
nor a left-leaning
a
was
neither
a
a machine-hating
anti-
Christian/Marxist hybrid
like
believer
like
Francois
Mauriac.
A
regular visitor to the United States, in the mid-1950s Maritain wrote a
book on his impressions of the country in his hosts' language, English.
Prior to this, however,
between
interviews
his
two
he had often participated in cultural exchanges
favourite
countries,
using
as his preferred forum. During the
radio
broadcasts
and
Second World War, he
was a propagandist for the Free French cause, a propagandist who never
tired of reminding his fellow Frenchmen of the ties of amity that bound
them to America: "Dans ce message je vous dire que le peuple de France
83
tient
toujours
americain...."
une
place
(Oeuvres
privilegiee
completes.
dans
coeur
du
387).
O f all French
perhaps the one
most
loath to over-
of America, he was
generalize.
In a pre-war interview,
he explained,
"Je ne
suis pas
l'ecole de M . Claude Farriere, auquel les Etudes reprochaient
d'avoir juge
seulement
Reflexions
readers
dans
sur
choses
le
pays"
flatteuse
completes.
recemment
avoir passe quelques
completes.
Vol.
de
VII
jours
1083). In
Maritain began the book by assuring his
study
"...on
ecrire
Internationale,
ne
trouvera...aucune
allusion
sur ce sujet, et plus
j'aurais
meme pour
V o l . X 768).
apres
(Oeuvres
je devais jamais
la politique
toujours
de Chine,
l'Amerique,
that in this
politique...si
sur
des
peuple
VIII
interpreters
Vol.
le
que j'aime
la
particulierement
bien des choses
les pays
a
a dire,
le plus"
et
pas
(Quevres
As you have no doubt already guessed, those
two countries were America and France. Most of what Maritain has to
say about the U.S. is extremely flattering to the national amour
propre;
Southern
though
it's
not
American
entirely
racism being
somewhat
ignored. In general,
Maritain
materialism and the country's preference
His
few
sound
American
for the future over the
good
statement is
"Au premier coup d'oeil
gently
chiding
past.
blistering jeremiads; basically, he accuses Americans of being too
thought:
like
of
than
true. The following
more
approves
even
Jansenism
to be
criticisms
soft-pedaled,
fairly typical of
il semblerait meme
this
line
of
que l'Amerique
croit a la maniere de Jean-Jacques Rousseau en la bonte de la Nature, en
la bonte naturelle de 1'Homme" (Oeuvres completes. Vol. X 867). Clearly,
such a put-down carries about as much sting as one of Sophie Portnoy's
autocritiques. While generally avoiding trans-cultural specifics,
professed
to believe
in "...une
mysterieuse
affinite,
une
Maritain
singuliere
et
84
profonde
sympathie,
qui
rendent
leur
destines
historiques
convergentes" (Oeuvres completes. Vol. X 768).
In this respect,
less anomalous.
centre
Party
at least, Maritain's socio-cultural allegiances seem
Politically, he is an Atlanticist, one of those right-of-
French intellectuals
and
the
American
existentialists
side
occasionally
who
of
even
the
in
Cold
socialist,
opposed
their
both
French Communist
undisguised
War. Both
the
the
preference
Gaullist
and
were
a not
Atlanticists
for
the
non-Gaullist,
insignificant
factor in the intellectual life of post-war France.
The most prominent member of this faction
Raymond Aron.
common
to
champion
negative
In U.S. journals of the
see
of
Aron
portrayed
democracy
(pro-Communist)
Manichean
duality
whose
as
theoretically
the
of
unquestionably
1970s and '80s,
"positive"
presence
policies
was
it was
(pro-American)
effectively
blocked
the
While
this
Jean-Paul
Sartre.
the
French left
imbued
hard
quite
with
a
political power it never in fact enjoyed, on the mythological level it did
fill a certain void. Sartre could be dismissed as all theory and no sense;
Aron, on the other hand, was as unimaginatively pragmatic as Benjamin
Franklin himself.
No State Department official could read the
following
passage and not preen: "La Revolution americaine fonda la Republique
et les
guerres
libertes,
et
donnerent
decadente
la Revolution francaise dechaina un quart de siecle de
laissa
des
en
lecons
354.)
heritage
aux
une
nation
Bolcheviks"
The rationale
for
dechiree.
(Plaidoyer
Plaidoyer
Les
pour
can
Jacobins
l'Europe
found
in
the
introduction to Aron's study of post-war U.S. foreign policy: "Je deteste
la tyrannie stalinienne impose a cent millions d'Europeens au lendemain
de la guerre menee au nom de la liberation des peuples"
(Republique
85
Imperiale
13).
When one reads both statements together,
the
gist of
Aron's pro-Americanism becomes clear. The author wants to live in a
prosperous, non-Communist Europe; in order to do so, the United States
must appear strong and its moral authority more valid than that of its
opponent.
In
the
post-war
world, no
Frenchmen, with
the
possible
exception of hardcore Gaullists, seriously believed that France was still a
great
power
that
could
independently
determine
its
own
political
destiny. To survive, one had to choose between champions. Sartre chose
Russia, Aron the United States. In both cases these alliances were made
primarily
out
of
interest
in
the
future
of
Europe and
the
cultural
survival of France. Within this mindset, the Soviet Union was no more
real than the U.S.A.; both were powerful abstractions that provided the
background for the more serious business of foreground life. Each
one
was neither entirely real nor entirely fictitious.
One of the last traditional French travellers to the New World was
Michel Butor. Like Saint-John Perse, Butor wrote about the U.S. mainly
in verse,
although his verse was
amorphous.
that
Mobile,
describes
publications
as concrete
as the older poet's
was
for instance, is a sprawling 500-page prose poem
a day
printed
in the
in
life
small
of
rural
50
states.
towns
lie
Catalogues
of
ethnic
cheek-by-jowl
beside
historical vignettes of doomed Indian messiahs and runaway slaves. As
in Leger's work, repetition is important, but in this case it is used to
represent
uneasily
the
homogenization
co-exists
with
the
of
America,
nation's
a
homogenization
heterogeneity.
memory of Jackson Pollock, abstract impressionism's
painter, Mobile
kaleidoscopic
Dedicated
best-known
that
to
the
action
can be read as a kind of splintered prism, a drunken,
image of a nation in perpetual motion. In structure, the
86
work bears some resemblance to Ezra Pound's Cantos,
even though its
high-speed,
are
removed
sometimes
from
deliberately
Pound's
superficial
reference-rich
verse.
lines
light-years
Announcements
of
the
author's own presence in America are few and often funny, as when, in
a
catalogue
section
devoted
to
local
birds,
he
refers
to
"Butors
americains...." (Mobile 373). Only rarely does the verse turn lyrical:
merjles
flammes
des grands
des
hotels,/les
raffineries
signaux
dans les derricks,/oublie
commonly,
it
historical
passages
are
des avions
ta blancheur
involves
unsurprisingly,
derriere
details
relating
replete
with
dans
damiers
le cieljle
lumineux
bruit
du vent
dans la nuit" (Mobile 468).
chasing
to
nous,/les
details
Native
de
chasing
and
"La
More
details.
The
African-Americans,
Tocqueville's
doomed,
fatalistic
romanticism.
In the
d'eau
par
same "traditional" vein,
seconde
Butor opened
6 810
Niagara Falls.
litres
with quotes from Chateaubriand to explain the eight
tones of voice which would be employed in this "etude
of
000
Various pairs of newlyweds say
stereophonique"
their piece
as
the
honeymoon town passes through the four seasons of the year. "Quentin,"
a visiting professor of French at the University of Buffalo and almost
certainly the author's alter ego,
laments
his sexual
solitude
in such a
place: "Et moi qui suis loin de ma femme vivante, separe d'elle par toute
l'epaisseur
de
l'Atlantique" (6 810 000 litres d'eau par seconde
273).
Various pairs of Black gardeners function as a kind of Greek chorus
throughout the work. Butor gives Chateaubriand the book's
reproducing
the
title
and
sub-title
of
the
early
last word,
nineteenth-
century
author's best-known work: "Atala, ou les amours de deux sauvages dans
le desert" (6 810 000 litres d'eau par seconde 281).
87
l'epaisseur
de
l'Atlantique" (6 810 000 litres d'eau par seconde
273).
Various pairs of Black gardeners function as a kind of Greek chorus
throughout the work. Butor gives Chateaubriand the book's
reproducing
the
title
and
sub-title
of
the
early
last word,
nineteenth-
century
author's best-known work: "Atala, ou les amours de deux sauvages dans
le desert" (6 810 000 litres d'eau par seconde 281).
Butor is a transitional figure in the history of French travellers in
America. While Philippe Djian, Philippe Labro, Philippe Sollers,
Kristeva,
writers
either
Pascal
Quignard,
will continue
in
to regale
America
somewhat
Jean Baudrillard,
or
and many
French readers
among
Americans,
with
their
other
their
Julia
French
adventures,
grounding
will
be
different. For the "children of Marx and Coca Cola," France
and America will no longer be the mutually exclusive entities they once
seemed
to
be.
McDonalds
business
With
Euro
fast-food
virtually
by
Disney
outlets
the
encroaching
putting
minute,
on
the
centuries-old
and
airwaves
Eiffel
bistrots
and
movie
Tower,
out
of
screens
completely dominated by U.S. (sub) cultural product, France is no longer
the
reassuring
Beauvoir
so
fortress
gratefully
to
which
retreated.
Georges
By
the
Duhamel
same
and
token,
Simone
America,
de
now
fighting for economic supremacy against Japan, Southeast Asia's "young
tigers," and an economically bullish European Economic Community, is
no longer the island of isolation it once was.
In Chapter Four we will continue this discussion within a radically
changed historical context, a time when the largest corporations are in
many ways more powerful than long-established
painfully
obvious
powerful
companies
that
William
"in cahoots"
Gibson's
nation states. It is now
dystopian
near-future
of
with organized crime while ordinary
88
citizens
struggle to survive in continental power blocs with no obvious
political authority no longer belongs to the realm of science fiction. Like
cyberspace
and cybercrime, these
are
quotidian realities
which
will
have an incalculable impact on the first half of the twenty-first century.
For
foreign
our descendants,
places
in
the
search
of
notion
exotic
of
national
experience
travellers
might
well
visiting
seem
as
impossibly quaint as a visit to the beach without recourse to powerful
sunblocks.
To find
anything
unique
might
appear
as
improbable
as
discovering Dr. Livingstone in the jungle. By, say, the year 2050, no
twist of the Amazon river might be more than fifty miles away from the
nearest
home
austere
entertainment
temples,
centre,
churches,
while
pagodAS,
the doors of even
and
minarets
might
the
most
well
be
presumably,
the
overshadowed by the ubiquitous golden arch.
At
some point within the
foreseeable
hundred years,
future which I have described will be radically changed by
any number of unforeseen
social
next
revolutions.
natural catastrophes,
How this
metamorphosis
economic
will
upsets,
and
occur, however,
and
whether it will be for the better or the worse, is still, at the time of this
writing, anyone's
Thus
guess.
far, we
have
restricted our investigation
primarily
to
the
upper end of Franco-American travel literature; in Chapter Two, we will
both broaden and lower our sights,
fiction
in France,
America,
zeroing in on the history of crime
and—for the first time—Italy.
Within
the
context of this study, France and the U.S. should be thought of as past
and present
phases of
global cultural
power.
Italy,
for
a variety
of
reasons, provides an interesting contrast to these poles. As "creative" as
America and France, Italy has failed to exercise cultural hegemony over
89
the
world since
the
Fall
of
the
Roman Empire,
even though
it
has
probably contributed more to the arts than any other nation. Open to,
according to some critics, an alarming degree of outside influence, it is
also intensely
Because
Italy
its
insular, cosmopolitan
and provincial at the
"greatness" and "weakness" are so hopelessly
makes
the ideal
sounding board for two
same
time.
intertwined,
more resilient
powers
who, nonetheless, fear that they, too, might "break".
The relationship ship of social history to the creation of distinct
crime
genres
stories
of
will
an
considered
economically
founded on the
are sure
also be
strength
conservative,
some
detail.
socially
of a loosely-commanded,
to differ from those of
established
in
an equally
The detective
egalitarian
society
arms-bearing militia
revolutionary, but more
polity founded on the bones of an ancient monarchy, while
the police fictions of both are sure to seem alien to the lives of a people
whose immersion in local culture is immense, but whose experience of a
viable, universally-recognized political authority is extremely
If
the
comparisons
between
these
contrasting
limited.
cultures
are
not
always simple, obvious or linear, this is all to the good. Cultural crosspollination has become the defining mode of late twentieth century life,
after all, and, like every "biological" process, it is somewhat messy. For
this
reason,
expanding
with
its
the
while
shapes of
parameters
analysis
province's
empires
the
in
of
chapters
of
this
Quebecois
unhappy role as
wilt
and four (the
sociocultural
dialogue
self-perceptions
an outpost
a troubled present
macro-nationalisms
two
where
in
latter
section
still
further,
regard
to
of both Old and New
micro-nationalisms
and wane) must
be
wax
"romantic",
the
World
wildly
while
chapters one and three can afford to be "classical". Only in this way can
90
we hope to achieve a three-dimensional view of what goes, is going,
has already gone.
91
Chapter Two: Mid-Atlantic Melodrama: or. A Meeting of the
Mafias
Determining dates of cinematic origin is almost as difficult as
pinpointing precise moments of evolutionary change in the history of
the world. As Tag Gallagher wrote of the cowboy movie in his truculent
essay, "Shoot-Out at the Genre Corral: Problems in the 'Evolution' of
the Western", the linear progression of form championed by Thomas
Schatz and other genre critics is largely illusory. Between 1909 and
1915, Gallagher sneered, "there were probably more westerns released
each
month than during the entire decade of the 1930s" (Grant 205).
Most of these movies are now lost, and film historians are generally
unfamiliar with the few that remain. Thus, they are ignorant of the
period fact that, by the time of the First World War, "cliches [were]
already an issue" (Grant 206).
As it was with the western, so it is with the detective story.
While D.W. Griffith's The Musketeers
of Pig Alley (1912) is sometimes
described as the world's first true gangster movie, it almost certainly
benefitted from the innovations previously pioneered by numerous nowforgotten genre pieces. Motion picture "firsts" generally refer to the
successful launch dates of subsequently imitated conventions and
ideas, concepts which would typically have been worked out long before
their formal induction by the film industry as a whole. While one can,
with some assurance,
enumerate the inventors of technological cinema, it is far more dificult
to identify the medium's ideological and aesthetic milestones. What
92
this means, essentially, is that cinematic history, like all history, is
written not just by but for the "victors" (a word which, in
early
filmmaking idiom, is often synonymous with "survivors").
This is something readers should keep in mind while processing
these reflections on the relationship between the American crime story
and its French and Italian equivalents. Attempts to nail down precise
turning points in the history of film noir and poetic realism, of the
polar and the mid-Atlantic gangster movie, are foredoomed to failure
by the incomplete archives and commercially-driven memory of the
motion picture industry itself. Boxoffice successes are almost always
remembered; boxoffice failures are often forgotten.
This disclaimer means that the widescreen policier
not begin with The Musketeers
probably did
of Pig Alley, or, more obscurely, with
The Italian, a 1915 vintage potboiler which Michel Ciment described as
"une premiere version miniature du Parrain II de Coppola...." (Ciment
21). Indeed, that honour might not even belong to a French short
released in 1901. According to Jean-Pierre Jeancolas,
On considere generalement L'Histoire du crime, attribue a
Ferdinand Zecca, comme le premier 'polar' de I'histoire du
cinema francais, 'drame en six vues" du la catalogue Pathe de
1901, long de 115 metres, qui evoque successivement
I'assassinat d'un banquier, I'arrestation du meutrier dans un
cafe (mauvais lieu), la confrontation du meurtrier et de sa
victime a la morgue, le meurtrier dans sa cellule (cette scene
est fameuse aussi par les incrustations dans le haut de I'ecran
qui illustrent les reves, ou les souvenirs, du prisonnier),
I'arrivee du bourreau et la toilette du condamne, enfin
I'execution sur la bascule a Chariot—ce dernier tableau aurait
choque par son realisme, au point que les exploitants
I'auraient souvent supprime pour eviter des ennuis avec avec
les polices municipales en un temps ou il n'existait pas encore
de censure ministerielle (Jeancolas 90).
93
Five years later, Georges Melies, the father of fantasy filmmaking,
lensed Les
Incendiaires,
an atypically realistic look at an arsonist
whose mania leads him to the scaffold. Two years after that, Victorin
Jasset shot Nick Carter, a 9-part serial that was inspired by American
detective stories then being published in French translation—a tradition
which would assume major importance after the Second World War. One
of Carter's principal foes was Zigomar, a criminal mastermind who
preceded Fritz Lang's Dr. Mabuse by almost two decades. Advanced
intellectual circles were particularly keen on Fantomas
(1913), "The
Surrealists [being] struck by Feuillade's vision of a 'defamiliarized
reality'" (Abel 75). For early twentieth-century poet Michel Bouzat, the
masked master criminal was "Mon frere en Sade/mon assassin/superbe
et
malfaisant/mon
bouquet
tragique/ma
grande
ombre/ma
tache
pourpre/indelible" (Fantomas 1201). That Fantomas, Zigomar and their
affiliated friends and enemies were the natural by-products of France's
commercially-driven entertainment
industry, owing nothing at all to
the dictates of "high" art, made them seem all the more appealing to
members of an artistic avant-garde with deep cultural reservations
about both the classic and romantic canons. They rejoiced in the fact
that Feuillade's name "commence comme feuilleton" (Dufreigne 15).
Such
Gallic
precocity
is anything
but
surprising. Until
the
outbreak of the Great War, French studios controlled more than 60% of
the world motion picture market. In their heyday, studio heads Louis
Gaumont and Charles Pathe were far more powerful than the American
moguls who would succeed them as captains of (celluloid) industry in
94
the 1920s and '30s. For twenty years Paris established leads which
Hollywood and New York could only hope to follow.
At the turn of the century, the City of Light was, like Berlin and
Vienna, one of the principal germinators of new cultural ideas. As T.J.
Clark emphasized in The Painting of Modern Life, Paris was the place
where the creation of les grands magasins
and the classes needed to
service these innovations opened the floodgates to a rash of new
diversions.
"It
began,"
he
suggested,
"with
the
feuilleton,
the
chromolithograph, and the democratization of sport, and soon proceeded
to
a tropical
tobacconists,
diversity
football,
of
forms:
museums,
drugstores,
news
movies, cheap
agents
romantic
and
fiction,
lantern-slide lectures on popular science, records, bicycles, the funny
pages,
condensed
Frangaise"
books,
sweepstakes, swimming
pools,
Action
(Clark 235).
While searching for material to adapt to the screen, early French
filmmakers proved particularly susceptible to the charms of
the serialized newspaper novel. Les Mysteres de New York (1915) was
quite shamelessly inspired by Eugene Sue's feuilleton, Les Mysteres
de
Paris (1842). In Le Cinema frangais, film historian Georges Sadoul said
of Louis Feuillade, the unchallenged king of the cinematic chapter play,
that his thrillers
had adopted "avec une verve facile, les methodes
utilisees par Emile Zola dans ses Rougon
modestly, contemporary
Macqart..."
(Sadoul 16). More
French film critic Thierry Jousse expressed
his enthusiasm for Feuillade's 1915 serial Les Vampires
(in which the
anagrammatical Irma Vep made her onscreen debut) in the following
terms: "La force, encore presente, de cette serie est de nous plonger
directement dans I'atmosphere
de la Belle Epoque, d'un temps ou le
95
roman populaire croisait le serial et les journaux pour composer un
recit de violence, d'aggressions nocturnes, d'assassins en cagoule
noire, de femmes mysterieuses, d'orgies de cabarets" ("Les Vampires"
120).
During the early years of the 20th century, onscreen crime in
American movies typically occurred in comedies (where kidnappings
were popular) or westerns (where shoot-outs and punch-ups were
preferred). Although organized crime was already well-established in
American cities, it was seldom at the centre of movie plots, being used
primarily as a temptation with which to lure poor-but-honest country
boys off the straight-and-narrow-path. In 1910, memories of the "wild
West" were not only still vibrant, but virtually current. No one could be
sure the last Indian war had been fought; train robberies were still
occasionally committed, while nothing, technically, stopped Western
outlaws
from holding
up banks on horseback. The chronological
proximity of the cowboy's heyday contributed greatly to his cinematic
allure. Despite occasional sorties in the direction of the mob—Josef von
Sternberg's
1927
silent
feature,
Underworld,
being the
most
distinguished of these—the Hollywood studios would not constitute the
gangster movie as a separate genre until the early 1930s, at a time
when the novelty of sound recording equipment allowed directors to
reproduce the chatter of machinegun fire and the squeal of getaway
tires. In the words of Italian film historian Giuseppe De Santis, during
the early days of the Great Depression "L'America...era preoccupata...di
creare una nuova formula destinata, insieme all'altra che portava alia
rabata la vita dei gangsters, a sostiture con successo il glorioso
'Western'..." (De Santis). Michel Ciment, on the other hand, taking a
96
longer (1992) view of U.S. cinema, sees the genres as complementary,
rather than successive: "Le cowboy et le gangster sont les deux grands
figures legendaires de l'Amerique. Ils incarnent une nation, jeune et
puritaine, qui na?t dans la violence et reduit volontiers les problemes a
des contrastes simples: blanc et noir, bien et mal" (Le crime a I'ecran
15). Such a view is, of course, entirely compatible with D.H. Lawrence's
definition of "the essential American soul [as] hard, isolate, stoic and a
killer" (Lawrence 68). It is also, as we saw in the last chapter, entirely
in keeping with the standard French view of the United States, a
sometimes paranoid, sometimes prescient, sometimes deadly accurate
perspective
in which
the
fatally
effete
refinement
of
aristocratic
European culture is at the mercy of the harsh but vital barbarism of the
New World.
In France, meanwhile, criminal demographics differed
greatly
from the American norm. In the early 1900s, delits flagrants were as
urban as they were rural—which is to say, "Sicilian"—in Italy. At the
turn of the century, Joseph Bonnot's gang of anarchists pioneered the
motorized
bank robbery
in the streets of Paris.
It was his near
contemporary exploits that fascinated the French public, not the fading
memories of Jesse James and Billy the Kid.
While crime-hinged plots might have played a limited role in
early
Italian
melodramas
(particularly
in
the
so-called
"arcade
movies," which flourished in Naples during the late 1890s and early
1900s), the industry as a whole generally preferred to define itself in
terms of such epic celebrations of Roman antiquity as Cabiria
(1913)
and Quo Vadis (1912). While these early features might have acted as a
catalyst on the cinematic sensibilities of D. W. Griffith, the American
97
man of the theatre who almost singlehandedly defined the parameters
of commercial narrative moviemaking, they did not—indeed, they could
not—endow Italy with a healthy, multifaceted film industry. As in other
areas of popular culture, the nation found itself obliged to import
"escapist trash".
In his Quaderni
dal carcere, one of the topics imprisoned Marxist
theorist Antonio Gramsci returned to again and again was the absence
of an indigenous, home-grown popular literature. "Perche la letteratura
italiana non e populare?" he asked rhetorically (Gramsci 2108). The
absence of indigenous crime novels was a subject which seemed to
particularly vex him, despite his elaborate and frequently
ingenious
attempts to explain the situation in terms of the specifics of Italy's
recent
past. "Una certa fortuna
ha avuto
in
Italia la
letteratura
popolare sulla vita dei briganti," he complained, "ma la produzione e di
valore bassisimo" (Gramsci 2121). Crime novels, Gramsci continued,
were usually written by conservative foreigners. Even Hungarian and
Australian novelists, he complained, fared better in his country than
did local authors.
By relying so heavily on French popular literature, he
worried, Italians might pick up certain ideas which were alien to their
cultural tradition-such as the time-hardened Gallic prejudice against
all things English. Of crime novel aesthetics, he wrote, "In questa
letteratura
poliziesca ci sono queste due corrente: una mecanica-
d'intrigo-l'altra
artistica...." (Gramsci 2129). On the one hand, he
endowed the policier with impressive antecedents, seeking its origins
in the works of Balzac, Hugo and Poe. On the other hand, he was clearly
attracted
to
its
lack
of
high
art
"respectability":
"II
romanzo
98
poliziesco e nato ai margini delle letteratura
sulle 'cause celebri'"
(Gramsci 2128).
Of course, having access to books and periodicals, within the
claustrophobic universe of Mussolini's prison system, but not to films,
Gramsci had very little to say about the state of Italian cinema.
Nevertheless, many of the notebook charges he makes against Italian
popular literature could just as easily have been advanced against
Italian popular film.
Thinly-veiled envy is often present when Gramsci writes about
French popular culture. Why this should be so is more or less selfevident. Of all continental powers, France was unquestionably the most
successful when it came to entertaining its citizens with home-made
divertissements.
While the Third Republic was certainly not immune to
the seductive blandishments of Hollywood and Tin Pan Alley, it was
anything but a cap-in-hand cultural dependent. What's more, France was
an exporter of popular culture as well as an /mporter. Jean Gabin could
hold his own on the home—and, to a much lesser extent, global—front
against Clark Gable, just as Edith Piaf could sing Billy Holliday to a
European draw, while France's achievements in the "higher" arts were
literally non-pareil (even if, as in Hollywood, many of the nation's most
distinguished cultural workers were actually foreign-born). Despite the
undeniable artistic accomplishments of Weimar Germany and Soviet
Russia, on the multi-laned highway of cultural imperialism, France was
the one continental nation with the generic versatility to give at least
as good as it got. In a pinch, it could satisfy most, if not all, of its
cultural
needs—a form of national self-sufficiency which American
entertainment conglomerates have been attempting to erode with ever
99
greater missionary zeal for the past half century. (This is a subject we
shall return to, at greater length, in Chapter Four).
The Third Republic was able to maintain this enviable position
because of its versatility. Its publishing houses produced pulp as well
as belles
lettres, just as its recording studios were equally receptive
to the airs of Edith Piaf and Claude Debussy. Like the Americans, their
principal rivals and de facto antagonists, the
French successfully
bridged the gap between "high" art and "low". For every Marcel Proust
and Jean Cocteau there was a Georges Simenon or Francis Carco. By
mid-century, there would also be Louis-Ferdinand Celine and Boris
Vian,
authors who deliberately
popular literature
obscured the
boundaries
between
and "art", even if their works were read almost
exclusively by aficionados of the latter.
Why this should be so is a subject we shall return to later.
According to Gerald Mast, "The French film in the first decade of
sound may have been the most imaginative, the most stimulating of its
generation:
a subtle
blend
of
effective,
often
poetic,
dialogue;
evocative visual imagery; perceptive social analysis; complex fictional
structures; rich philosophical implication; wit and charm" (Mast 199).
This favourable assessment, it seems, was visible to more than just
posterity. In Mists of Regret, his book-length study of French poetic
realism, Dudley Andrew writes, "A survey of the New
York
Times
reviews for the whole decade [of the 1930s] shows not only the large
number of films that played in the city (170 are reviewed) but also how
highly they were valued: a great
majority
are praised, often
for
outscoring Hollywood in artistry, taste, and maturity of content and
execution"
(Andrew
13).
These
reviews
"repeatedly
[gave]
the
100
impression that something about French mores, tradition, education, or
language [destined] its better films to be serious, candid, atmospheric,
and strangely dark" (Andrews 13).
This strange darkness, born at the anxious intersection where the
brave new hopes of Leon Blum's National Front government encountered
fatalistic premonitions
of the coming war with Nazi Germany, was
what poetic realism was all about. Making its precocious debut in the
early 1930s in the form of Jean Gremillon's early masterpiece,
Petite
Lise,
the movement coalesced out of a number of
La
unlikely
antecedents. Perhaps the most Gallic of these is the belief, shared by
Alain Resnais and many others, that "Emile Zola is the father of French
cinema...." (Andrew 27). "Curiously," Dudley Andrew notes, "Zola's
impact in this era stems not from his status as novelist (storyteller in
prose)
but
from the
presence
in
his
novels
of
two
extremes:
'photographic naturalism' on the one side, and the visionary, heavily
metaphoric imagery that, on the other side, he uses to paint his
melodramas" (Andrew 162).
While Andrew's emphasis on the great naturalist's importance to
French cinema cannot
be disputed, this
influence
was far
complicated than the previous statements suggest. In The
Through
more
French
Their Films, Robin Buss points out that the ubiquity of Zola
adapatations
resulted
in a chronological
anomaly
known
as
contemporain
vague," a Never Never Land Paris where Fords could
"le
co-exist with hansom cabs, and gas jets with electric lights (Buss 31).
For a similar—albeit aesthetically inferior—parallel to this trend, one
must look to the "B" westerns of the 1930s and '40s, low budget genre
pictures where Roy Rogers and Gene Autry would alternate between
101
horses and station wagons when it came time to pursue decidely
anachronistic villains.
Besides conflating historical epochs when cinematically adapting
the great naturalist's novels, French filmmakers shared an equally
uncertain attitude in regard to Zola's political positions. If the author
of "J'accuse" was the fearless champion of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, the
dauntless opponent of obscurantist oppression who might well have
been murdered for his public stance, his "entomological" literary eye
did not win him many friends on the left. Marxist critics, such as Georg
Lukacs, repeatedly compared the author of Germinal
unfavourably to
Honore de Balzac, the great exposer of early capitalism. No matter how
far he stuck out his neck on behalf of the downtrodden, the fact that he
had written "...il y a une determination
absolue pour
tous
les
phenomenes humains" could be neither forgotten nor forgiven (Zola 23).
In La Roman
experimental,
Zola stated his position as follows: "Sans
me risquer a formuler des lois, j'estime que la question d'heredite a
une
grande
influence
dans
les
manifestations
intellectuelles
et
passionelles de I'homme" (Zola 24). What he wanted to do was
"substitue a I'etude de I'homme abstrait, de I'homme metaphysique,
I'etude de I'homme naturel, soumis aux lois physico-chimiques et
determine par les influences du milieu...." (Zola 24). By reducing
mankind to little more than a natural outgrowth of interlocking social
and biological forces, Zola offered little hope to those who saw in
humanity
a less deterministic
circumstances,
was
quite
blank slate which, under the
capable
of
"re-writing"
itself
for
right
the
common good. On a certain level, social pessimism must always be seen
as a form of conservatism.
1 02
In any event, it is hard to imagine a more perfect way to
simultaneously alienate both wings of the French intelligentsia. By
denying
the
metaphysical
individuality
of
men and women, Zola
distanced himself from the Catholic right. At the same time, his belief
in social laws more rigid and absolute than those promulgated by
Charles Darwin and Emile Durkheim made a mockery of collective
struggle.
Biology, it seemed, would always get the better
proletarian
will-to-power.
of the
Even the delayed announcement that "Je
suis un republicain de la veille" could not undo the damage he had
already done to his progressive image (Zola 299).
Fortunately,
psychologie
as Jean Mitry
reminds
us
in
Esthetique
et
du cinema, the seventh art "est forme structurante autant
que forme structuree" (Mitry 27). Taking Mitry at his word, for almost
eighty years French filmmakers have re-cast Emile Zola in their own,
usually less forbidding,
image. We have already seen how Louis
Feuillade managed to superimpose the aesthetics of the
Macquart
novels on a subject as unlikely as Fantomas.
Rougon
On the other
hand, in his version of la Bete humaine (1938), Jean Renoir cut
out the book's middle class characters entirely, focusing exclusively on
its diegetic
proletarians.
Nevertheless, having said all this, one is still hard pressed to
explain away the fatalism endemic to films pitched in the key of poetic
realism without
recourse to Zola. With very few exceptions, poetic
realist cinema was made by left-wingers: anarchists, socialists and
members of the French Communist Party. How could they accept a
metaphysics which seemed to assume the permanent nature of the
current
hierarchical order? Even after
consciously rejecting
Zola's
103
social determinism, poetic realist cineastes
seem to have absorbed it
subliminally. How else can one explain the snug sanctuary of friendship,
marriage, and community aboard the Seine river barge in Jean Vigo's
L'Atalante
(1933), or the fleeting independence of the worker-owned
publishing house in Jean Renoir's Le Crime de M. Lange
(1936)?
Cinematic attempts to establish a new and more equitable social order
were
tentative,
progressive
and usually doomed to failure.
filmmakers
rejected
with
their
The Zola which
heads
held
almost
unlimited sway over their hearts.
With the coming of sound, screenplays assumed new importance
in the making of movies. Before the invention of the boom mike and the
camera blimp, snappy dialogue was expected to galvanize all scenes
where the viewers could actually see the actors' mouths move. No
longer could scenarios be roughed out on the back of place settings
during lunch hour. Synchronous sound required professional writers, not
amateurs. Consequently, Hollywood's major studios recruited
literary
talent from the major New York publishing houses, as well as from the
Broadway stage. William Faulkner, Lillian Hellman, F. Scott Fitzgerald,
Dorothy Parker, and John Steinbeck were all employed from time to
time as contract
screenwriters. As a rule, these literary
imports
looked down upon this sort of work, travelling to Hollywood only when
impending bankruptcy made $500 weekly paycheques seem irresistable.
It was the time of the Great Depression, and movies were where the
money was. This disdain was fully returned by the studios. Only rarely
were literary writers permitted to produce screenplays of their own
choosing. More commonly, they would be used to embellish the dialogue
of dull contract
writers,
to add sparkle to lacklustre scenes. To
104
producers, screenwriters were universally known as "schmucks with
Underwoods."
For French writers, things were very different. In the snidely
superior Scenes de la vie future, French Academician Georges Duhamel
might have scornfully asserted that "Je donne toute la bibliotheque
cinematographique du monde, y compris ce que les gens de metier
appellent pompeusement leurs 'classiques', pour une piece de Moliere,
pour un tableau de Rembrandt, pour une fugue de Bach," but he was in
the minority (Duhamel 51). More typically, Nobel Prize winner Andre
Gide resented the fact that Roger Martin du Gard, another Gallic winner
of the world's most celebrated literary prize, got to write the first
draft script of La Bete humaine in place of his own august self. While
French
writers
would
regularly
whine
about
the
ways in
which
literature was deformed by the seventh art, it seldom inveighed against
the idea itself. From their vantage point, the cinema seemed to be so
far behind the book and the play in terms of cultural importance, it
usually failed to arouse their fears, even if it occasionally incurred
their
displeasure.
(For
somewhat
different
reasons,
Hollywood
producers felt much the same way about TV until the late 1940s, when
the new medium began to dangerously encroach upon their economic
turf).
Unsurprisingly,
a
distinguished
caste
of
professional
screenwriters grew up under this regime. The most accomplished of
these were Jacques Prevert, Marcel Pagnol, and Charles Spaak. Of the
three, Prevert—with the possible exception of Cesare Zavattini, the
only
scenarist in film history
whose contributions
to
films
generally more highly praised by critics than were those of
were
the
105
directors for whom he worked—unquestionably exercised the greatest
influence on the development of poetic realism. This is a subject to
which we shall return at the proper time.
This said, one should not allow these differences in cultural
attitude to obscure the fact that the relative aesthetic success of
French and American cinema in the 1930s was in large
part due to the
high quality of their scenarios. Thanks to the awkwardness of early
sound equipment, Depression-era movies were seldom distinguished by
their visuals. Consequently, actors had to shoulder the burden dropped
by the cinematographers, and this was only possible when the words
they were given were up to cinematic snuff. Whether admired or
despised by themselves or their employers, screenwriters now made
the difference between success and failure. In the particular case of
the crime film, this verity was even truer than usual.
As Paul Schrader pointed out in his famous essay "Notes on Film
Noir", one of the principal pre-requisites behind this enduring '40s
style was the "influence...of the 'hard-boiled' school of writers. In the
thirties,
authors
such as
Ernest
Hemingway,
Dashiell
Hammett,
Raymond Chandler, James M. Cain, Horace McCoy and John O'Hara created
the 'tough,' a cynical way of acting and talking that separated one from
the world of everyday emotions—romanticism with a protective shell"
(Grant 174). According to Dudley Andrew, a similar school of French
tough guy writing fecundated the French film industry around the same
time: "Between the wars a publishing boom at Gallimard, Grasset, Plon,
Flammarion, and smaller houses sanctioned serious popular fiction
coming from the pens of a new brand of professional writer... None of
these could be called intellectual, nor did any of them aspire to be
106
intellectual
in their
lives and work, writing of workers, peasants,
sailors, and criminals on the run" (Andrew 155).
So far as the history of the French crime film was concerned, by
far
the
most
important of these were
critic/screenwriter
Andre
Lang once
Pierre Mac Orlan—whom
famously
described
as
"un
bourgeois sauvage" (Lang 233)—the slang-friendly Francis Carco, and
the prolific Belgian author, Georges Simenon. Mac Orlan's penchant for
underworld
heroes with
poetic
souls eventually
resulted
in
the
publication of a screenplay and several articles devoted to and inspired
by the life and works of Francois Villon, the 16th century dean of Gallic
artist/thugs
(a taste he shared with the aforesaid Carco, a fellow
Montmartre flaneur). Le Quai des brumes (1927) and La Bandera
(1931),
his two most influential novels, would serve as blueprints for two of
the best widescreen examples of French poetic realism. In place of
"realisme poetique", Mac Orlan preferred the term "le
social"
to
describe
his
tales
which
engendered
fantastique
'"disquiet
and
mistrust'...in the manner of nocturnal street photography rather than
eldritch lore" (Andrew 15). His plots also linked desperate acts to
desperate financial straits in a way that was at least as Balzacian as
it was Zolaesque.
Francis Carco was Mac Orlan's almost exact contemporary, and
dealt in very similar material set in the same milieu. Stylistically,
however, his books were much more experimental. The author's "deft
handling of slang immediately created for Carco an authority as well as
fixed
his
popular
Jesus-la-Caille
regarded
as
image-expedient,
yet
restrictive"
(Weiner
82).
(1919), Carco's most important book, is generally
French literature's
first
successful experiment
with
107
underworld argot. Idiomatically translated, the title could be read as A
Certain
Sort
meaning
of Fag, since jesus
invert,
and
caille
was
was
a
a
19th
turn-of-the-century
century
term
mercantile
word
referring to style or flavour. While nowhere near as slangily dense
as Albert Simonin's 1953 masterpiece, Touchez pas au grisbi!,
la-Caille
Jesus-
is nonetheless written in decidedly non-standard French. A
typical passage runs as follows: "L'coup des bourriques. Menard et le
gros Dupied empoignaient le mome. Je ne les ai pas vus entrer, et v'la
bien la preuve que c'etait une combine: ils devaient etre planques dans
le placard" (Carco 15). Certain recurring
motifs
in French crime
fiction—the importance of female loyalty, and its presumed scarcity;
the
emotional
emphasis
on
male
bonding,
whether
explicitly
homosexual or not; the debased sociology and exchange economy of fille
and mec within the apache sub-culture—were codified in Jesus,
even if
Carco could not take credit for inventing them.
More or less contemporaneously, in 1930 Georges Simenon gave
birth to
his
most
enduring
creation,
Inspector
Jules
Maigret,
a
decidedly un-American detective who was "plebeien, stable, instinctif,
apolitique,
buveur,
mefiant,
fumeur
routinier,
chaste, neutre,
de pipe, bourru,
securisant,
mangeur,
discret, sedentaire, peu
liant..."
(Assouline 208). Maigret would glide through la France profonde of the
'tween-war years in the same way that Mac Orlan and Carco would
nostalgically
recreate the a p a c h e - h a u n t e d
Montmartre
of la
belle
epoque. Between them, they would create an indigenous French universe
of crime, a universe which could accommodate any number of imported
American
underworld
constellations.
Foreign
traditions
welcomed precisely because local traditions were so strong.
would
be
108
For political reasons, French filmmakers of the 1930s could not
be too specific about the relationship between poverty and crime. In
1937, for instance, Jean Renoir was obliged to hide his enthusiasm for
the
Popular Front behind a historical tableau set in the French
Revolution at a time when the Popular Front government it implicitly
praised was still
in power.
Nevertheless, French filmmakers
did
manage to side, in most cases, with economically oppressed whites
(oppressed
North
Africans,
villainous/comic extra status
of course, were still
in the
relegated
many adventure films
to
set in
France's Saharan and Magrebhi colonies). To a certain extent, this was
as true of right-wingers
as it was of militants
on the left. This
attitude actually preceded the early books of Pierre Mac Orlan, and the
other mecs durs authors of the 1920s and '30s. As Georges Sadoul
reminds us, it truly begins in 1901 with "les premiers grands succes de
Ferdinand Zecca. lis introdusaient a I'ecran la vie des 'basses classes':
proletariat et criminels" (Sadoul 11).
Like the American film industry during the 1920s, '30s and '40s,
French cinema was profoundly
affected
by the
legacy of Middle
European Expressionism imported by emigre German cineastes.
Lotte H. Eisner, in L'Ecran
inescapably
"German" this
demoniaque,
movement
Though
sought to demonstrate how
really
was,
the
post-war
proliferation of "film noir" techniques and thematics—most of which
were derived from Ufa-style Expressionism—tends to dilute this claim.
No matter how imbued with Sturm und Drang ideology,
certain "Teutonic" ideas proved to be eminently exportable. "Dans les
films allemands," she wrote, "I'ombre devient I'image du destin"—an
alchemical process which would later be reproduced on the sound
109
stages of Paris and southern California. (Eisner 95). They would be
equally influenced by G.W. Pabst's Joyless
Street, "la quintessence des
visions germaniques de la rue, des escaliers et des corridors, plonge
dans une demi-obscurite; c'est aussi la consecration definitive
I'architecture 'Ersatz'
de
de studio, derivant de I'expressionisme" (Eisner
174).
While Expressionist echoes would ring with equal effect through
the cinemas of France and the United States, the two
countries'
methods of appropriating this technique were very different.
In the
1920s, Hollywood was already systematically attempting
co-opt
successfully
industry
competing
was
its
national
first target
film
of
cultures.
opportunity,
The
to
Swedish film
Scandinavia's once-
thriving movie business being effectively gutted by the loss of Victor
Sjostrom, Mauritz Stiller, Greta Garbo, and other luminaries. Basically,
the American studios did not care—as, indeed, most of them still do
not—how these cultural immigrants fared in their new surroundings. If
they learned to accommodate themselves to the American factory
system, well and good; if they did not, Hollywood producers had the
satisfaction
of
knowing
they
had
at
least
removed
potentially
dangerous economic competitors from the world market. For Hollywood,
it was a win-win situation. Thanks to the rise of Hitler, the steady
trickle of German emigres soon became a flood. Many of the masters of
film noir, the most Expressionist of all American film styles, got their
start in Ufa's giant enclosure. Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity
and Sunset
Boulevard;
Fritz Lang's Scarlet
(1944)
Street (1945) and The
Big
Heat (1954); Otto Preminger's Laura (1944): without these seminal
features, the movement would never have gotten off the ground.
110
In
France, things
were
Hollywood, it was traditional
a
little
different.
On
the
trail
to
for anti-fascist and/or Jewish-German
filmmakers to make pit-stops in Paris, interrupting their journey long
enough to shoot a film or two, their salaries being used to finance the
fateful
move to
filmmakers
the
United
absorbed the
States. By doing this,
legacy of poetic
these
exiled
realism, even as they
deepened the already pronounced strain of Expressionism running
through French cinema, a strain left by the many Franco-German coproductions undertaken in the 1920s and early 1930s. As Georges
Sadoul reminds us, "La [premiere] guerre
[mondiale]
entraine
un
renversement totale de la situation [economique], au profit des EtatsUnis, et en second lieu, de I'Allemagne" (Sadoul 144). To survive this
new world order, "French producers were forced to take a slightly
partisan position, aligning themselves with the Germans in a 'European'
effort to stave off Hollywood domination" (Andrew 172). If German and
Central European directors did not make the same "splash" in France
that they made in America, Middle European film technicians did. Marcel
Carne's moody masterpieces did not succeed solely on the strength of
his directorial eye and Jacques Prevert's brilliant scripts; they were
equally beholden to Alexandre Trauner's brooding sets and Joseph
Kosma's haunting scores. These two irreplaceable collaborators were
both born in the Austro-Hungarian city of Budapest.
At the same time, the French cinema received an influx of Russian
immigrants that was considerably greater than the one absorbed by
Hollywood.
In
Dudley Andrew's words,
"Numerically
the
Russian
presence in the [French] cinema went far beyond the German" (Andrew
177). Director Dmitri Kirsanoff and cinematographer
Boris Kaufman
111
both
carved
infrastructure
vogue for
enviable
positions
for
themselves
of the French film industry.
within
the
What's more, "A certain
Dostoevsky had infiltrated Paris with the
well-educated
Russian and German emigres" (Andrew 162).
For
"Dostoevsky",
Punishment."
fictional
malignant
one
should
probably
read
"Crime
and
That book, it should be recalled, enriched the realm of
archetypes
with
police agent
Inspector
Porfiry,
in world literature.
perhaps
the
French culture,
most
having
already produced Hugo's mercilessly "just" Inspector Javert, as well as
Vautrin,
Balzac's
arch-Nietzschean
criminal
turned
police-
commissioner, was obviously in an ideal position to insinuate the sly
sleuth from St. Petersburg into its imaginative
universe. Georges
Simenon was one period writer who fell completely under the great
Russian's sway. In a recent article, Manuel Vasquez Montalban writes,
"Dans le cycle Maigret, presque tous les criminels ont quelque chose de
Raskolnikov et le commissaire apparait
comme le juge
que tout
criminel souhaiterait avoir pour avouer son delit" (Montalban 105). In
1935, Andre Lang scripted and Pierre Chenal directed what is generally
considered to be the best screen version of Crime and
Punishment—not
least because it was shot in an Expressionist style. In the process, the
parameters of the French crime movie were further refined. The "high"
art
of Zola and Dostoevsky could now happily co-exist with the
"popular" writing of Simenon and Mac Orlan; Ufa-style Expressionism,
with its emphasis on striking cinematography and entirely
artificial
sets, could be re-cast in a Franco-Russian mold. This rich gumbo of
influences and motifs could, as we shall soon see, only be enriched by
the addition of American ingredients. Almost from the beginning, its
112
style was as much international as it was national. Such forms can only
benefit from the widening of the cultural gene pool.
Across the Atlantic, German Expressionism came to America in a
slower, more gradual manner—a manner inseparable from the steady
consolidation of Nazi power. The gangster films of the early 1930s had
as much to do with the teething problems of sound film as they did
with any native or imported aesthetic. Screeching tyres and yammering
tommyguns
provided sounds that did not need to be lip-synched.
Inspired by the urban gangster wars engendered by Prohibition, they
allowed Hollywood filmmakers to make movies whose central figures
were amoral villains. Howard Hawks's Scarface
Leroy's Little Caesar
(1930)
and Mervyn
(1931) were both thinly disguised biographies of
Chicago's most notorious citizen, Alphonse Capone.
The vast majority
of these onscreen mobsters were of Sicilian origin, a fact that had
more to do with the Italian mob's victory over rival Irish, Jewish and
Polish gangs than it did with any nativist bias. William Wellman's The
Public Enemy (1931) was somewhat unusual insofar as it depicted an
American veteran's entry into crime as the result of his inability to
find remunerative work in the wake of the First World War. In general,
though, American mobsters were "foreign".
They were also rich, and—as the Great Depression deepened—this
wealth became a cause for concern among motion picture moralists.
Tuxedoed banquets in the company of beautifully dressed showgirls
came to seem increasingly alluring to unemployed Americans as the
bread lines lengthened. Thus, gangster films per se were no longer
made, having been replaced with the more acceptable "G-man" pictures,
underworld dramas where the heroes were not "foreign" gangsters but
113
native agents of the FBI. Along with Mae West's double entendres,
Maureen O'Sullivan's nude swim in Tarzan and His Mate (1934), and the
eponymous giant ape's violent and sexual indiscretions in King
Kong
(1933), gangster movies were one of the prime reasons why Hollywood
chose
to
shackle
itself
artistically
with the
set
of
self-imposed
restrictions which would be known to posterity as the Hays Code.
While French cinema was certainly no stranger to censorship, it
never suffered from
such chafing constraints—ironically,
not even
under German occupation. Still, as we read in French Film, "[Louis]
Feuillade began by celebrating master criminals who stop at nothing,
but the pressures of censorship made him turn later to the figure of the
avenger" (Armes 23). This would appear to be a close approximation of
the
anti-crime
strictures
Feuillade was wont
of the
Hays Code,
until we
recall that
to have his masked villains slaughter
entire
roomsful of social luminaries, an anarchistic excess which Hollywood
gangsters, even in their heyday, would never have been permitted to
contemplate, never mind enact. Extremely strict in regard to politics
and national "honour", French censorship was much more
laissez-faire
in matters of crime—particularly when the crimes in question happened
to be passionels.
Marcel Carne, curiously, was the French director who
suffered most from film censorship's obscure whims. A nude shot of
Arletty was excised from all prints of le Jour se leve (1939) by the
bluenoses of Vichy, and it still cries out to be re-inserted. This is
perhaps the least "French" of Carne's run-ins with the
authorities.
More typical is the filmmaker's run-in with "Commandant Calvet", a
military officer who, after seeing a workprint of Le Quai des brumes, a
bleakly poetic portrait of a deserter on the lam from the colonial
114
infantry, "demandait
prononce
seulement
et que, lorsque
les pile soigneusement
pele-mele
que le mot [deserteur]
le soldat se debarrasse
ne soit
jamais
de ses vetements,
et les pose sur une chaise,
il
au lui de la jeter
dans un coin de la piece...." (La Vie a belles dents 90). Prior
to the contemporary American hysteria over the issue of flag-burning,
such fussy concern with the miniutiae of national honour would have
seemed vaguely absurd, even to a Hays Code censor. Since Gabin was
doomed to die for his "sins", anyway, a little sloppiness with his
uniform, one might have thought, could easily have been forgiven.
In the
early
1930s, most
of the
major
"German"
—technically, most of them were Austrians—working
in
directors
Hollywood
(Erich von Stroheim; Josef von Sternberg) had been established in
Hollywood for many years. Expressionist influence on von Stroheim was
correspondingly weak—he was, after all, a disciple of Zola—while von
Sternberg's was strong but indirect, stemming largely from his 1929
visit to Berlin, the trip that saw him accomplish the double coup of
directing
Der Blaue
Engel,
the first first-rate
talking
picture, a n d
"discovering" its star, Marlene Dietrich. Of Hollywood's early Germans,
he alone can be considered a true progenitor of film noir.
Because there was never any question about who did what,
where, and why, the gangster movie was generically cut off from the
mystery
story
and detective
thriller; it was a
frowdunnit
not
a
whodunnit, having more in common with the war movie and western
than with its more obvious generic relations. Gangster fiction, as
epitomized by the writing of Rowland Brown—an author reputed to have
"underworld
connections"—followed its own set of ruthlessly simple
laws (Peary 30). Poverty was of dramatic use only insofar as it
11 5
provided a motivation for criminals to climb socially; onscreen, the
pleasures of being criminally on top of the world vastly outnumbered
the inevitably violent wages of sin climactically meted out to mob
anti-heroes by the Puritan strictures of the Hays Code.
In other words, gangster films in their early '30s American guise
were separated from their European roots to the point where they could
pass as nativist phenomena, even if—according to the rules of heartland
amour
propre, as well as period criminal demographics—most of its
underworld
anti-heroes were
international
not. The genre would become truly
only after it had been cross-fertilized by film noir, a
crime story/Expressionist hybrid which was brought to fruition by the
window
of cinematic opportunity
perceived by German refugees—
deracinated, embittered, frustrated and on the run from Hitler—in the
years immediately preceding and following the Second World War. Fury
(1936), and You Only Live Once (1937), Fritz Lang's first two American
features, are now often described as the ur-films of the noir stylistic.
In
the
process of
directing
them,
Lang furthered
the
postwar
internationalization of crime movies in a way that could not then have
been easily imagined.
Before embarking on a more specific
study of the French and
American policier, however, it would probably be best to consider more
fully the
importance
of German Expressionism to
both cinematic
genres. While Edvard Munch and a number of other late 19th and early
20th century painters and playwrights have been described as protoExpressionists, the movement was imbued with new power by the
empire-wrecking carnage of 1914-1918. If Dadaism and Surrealism
were
expressions of
French disaffection
with
the
conduct
and
116
aftermath of the First World War, post-war Expressionism was—in this
respect at least—their spiritual sister. As Lotte H. Eisner wrote in
L'Ecran
demoniaque,
"Mysticisme et magie, forces obscurs auxquelles
de tout temps les Allemands se sont abandonnes avec complaisance
avaient fleuri devant la mort sur les champs de bataille" (Eisner 15).
Neither
playful
hostile
to
nor
outward-looking,
contemporary
Gallic
Expressionism was
schools
of
artistic
implicitly
expression:
"L'expressionisme, declare Edschmid, reagit contre le 'depiecement
atomique' de I'impressionisme qui reflete les chatoyantes equivoques
de la nature, sa diversite inquietante, ses nuances ephemeres; il lutte
en meme temps contre la decalcomanie bourgeoise du naturalisme et
contre le but mesquin ...de photographer la nature ou la vie quotidienne"
(Eisner 97). For physically and emotionally scarred veterans such as
artist Oskar Kokoschka and filmmaker Fritz Lang, "il serait absurde
de...reproduire [le monde] tel que[l]...." (Eisner 97). For them, external
objects and events were useful only insofar as they helped to reveal
their protagonists "fantaisie secrete" (Eisner 97). Since it was the
ideal method for exploring the more obscure corners—not to mention
plumbing the more sinister depths—of the soul, psychoanalysis was, .of
course, all the rage. In film after film, "[les] ombres manifeste une
inspiration freudienne...." (Eisner 97). Expressionists were likewise
strongly drawn to the Talmudic myth of Lilith, Adam's disobedient first
wife, the metaphysical symbol of conflict and strife, of war within the
very heart of the patriarchal family, a great beauty armed with the
talons of a bird of prey, a female fury who "[at] times...is an angel who
rules over the procreation of mankind, at times a demon who assaults
those who sleep alone or those who travel lonely roads" (Borges 149).
117
Appearing first in the plays of Frank Wedekind—which were
later
brilliantly adapted for the screen by G.W. Pabst in the late 1920s, their
seductive protagonist being physically embodied by American screen
idol, Louise Brooks—the figure of the evil temptress or femme
fatale
would eventually become one of the emblematic figures of film noir. It
is surely not coincidental that so many "bad girl" names (Lulu; Lili;
Lolita; Lola Lola) begin with a capital "L," a circumstance which turns
them all into de facto homonyms of Lilith, the seductive beauty with
claws that rend.
Of course, in practice this separation from all things French was
not as absolute as it was in theory. Fritz Lang, for example, was
immensely fond of "les figures a cagoules qui viennent tout droit des
VAMPIRES de Feuillade...." (Eisner 162). In German films, "...comme chez
Feuillade, comme dans tous les serials, les kidnappers
emportent
ficelee leur victimes" (Eisner 162 - 163). If the ubiquity of postwar
Franco-German co-productions exposed French filmmakers to the tics
as well as the abilities of their German confreres, they returned the
favour
four-fold.
Even so, the Gauls learned a lot. Inspired by the post-1917
German practice of shooting every scene on an artificial stage, French
set designers began to build trompe I'oeil street scenes and
interiors that rivalled the most lavish accomplishments of Ufa, then
the best-equipped studio in Europe, if not the world (an advantage
which—unfortunately
import/export
for
the
Weimar
republic's
notoriously
dismal
balance—did not translate into a commanding German
position in the international movie mart). Alexandre Trauner and Lazare
Meerson shone in this metier, while the sets of Jacques Feyder's 1934
118
historical comedy La Kermesse
heroique
were so sumptuous they
attracted for a time the sort of tourist who is irresistably drawn to
"mad"
King Ludwig's castles in Bavaria.
Imagination,
intelligently
employed, more than made up for the modest budgets with which most
Gallic filmmakers were obliged to work. French cinematographers
studied the psychologically revealing camera angles pioneered by Karl
Freund, and came up with their
brilliantly
crafted
own counterparts.
scripts established high literary
Carl Mayer's
standards which
French screenwriters, with growing success, struggled to surpass. The
knowledge that "shadows can become the image of Destiny" subtly
inflected the ubiquitous nocturnal sequences that were as much a part
of poetic realism as they were of film noir. Indeed, in the aftermath of
World War Two, the fatalistic scripts and dark camera angles of such
gloomy features as Le Jour se leve and Le Quai des brumes were widely
regarded as nothing less than cinematic fifth columnists, defeatist
movies that fatally sapped French morale on the battlefield, creating
the mood which allowed morose poilus to be ground to powder by the
optimistic
storm-troopers
of the Third
Reich during the
shameful
summer of 1940.
Neither neorealist studies of poverty nor sentimental romances'—
the motion picture genres which one would ordinarily expect to provide
the most universally convertible forms of cinematic currency, given
the ubiquity of global misery and the probably genetic human need for
love—have proven to have the wide-spread appeal of the crime film. As
Claire Vasse put it in her essay, "L'enigme 'cinema': La Nouvelle
Vague
et le polar", "Le genre policier est certainement la chose du monde
cinematographique la mieux partagee" (Vasse 105.) French crime films
119
were visibly affected by foreign influences even in the 1930s, and—
more surprisingly still, even in the works of Jean Renoir, that most
"typically French" of French directors. As Charles Tesson would have
it, "Autant Toni, construit sur une symetrie de meme nature, est un
film dont la forme narrative doit beaucoup a l'Amerique du melodrame,
celle de Griffith et surtout de Chaplin...autant La Bete humaine est un
film place sous la signe croise de Lang et de Murnau. Lantier est le
frere de M (le 'ich kann nicht' de la pulsion criminelle) et la sequence
de barque de I'Aurore, celle ou le mari tente d'etrangler sa femme puis
renonce, est la sequence
cachee dont La Bete humaine sera la traversee
du miroir en deux temps" (Tesson 67).
Like
most
fictional
genres, the
crime
story
precedes
the
invention of the motion picture camera by many centuries. If Gilles
Deleuze was right when he claimed that "I'Ancien Testament n'est pas
un epopee ni une tragedie, c'est le premier roman...," then the killing of
Abel
is literature's
first murder
mystery,
and Cain
fiction's
first
"tra?tre...le personnage essentiel du roman, le heros" (Dialogues 53). If
one broadens the definition of crime to include transgression, then
humanity's first delit flagrant must fall on the shoulders of Adam and
Eve—on the symbolic level, the Ur parents of hairless apes. What this
means, basically, is that most Western narratives deal with characters
who have breached divine or secular laws or both.
Even so, the invention of the policier
proper is generally credited
to Edgar Allan Poe. In his short stories "The Murders in the Rue Morgue"
and "The Purloined Letter", the American author introduced
world
literature to its first private detective, the Chevalier C. Auguste Dupin:
"This young gentleman was of an excellent—indeed of an illustrious
1 20
family, but, by a variety of untoward events, had been reduced to such
poverty that the energy of his character succumbed beneath it, and he
ceased to bestir himself in the world or to care for the retrieval of his
fortunes" (Tales of Mystery and Imagination 180).) A bibliophile, Dupin
is flatteringly French: "Books, indeed, were his sole luxuries, and in
Paris these are easily obtained" (Tales of Mystery and
Imagination
180).
If one excludes Benjamin Franklin and the political "superstars"
of the American Revolution, Edgar Allan Poe was probably the first
American to be lionized by the Gauls. After excising the author's middle
name—endearing him forever to French readers as "Edgar Poe"—
Baudelaire proceeded to translate the American's texts with a verve
that most critics now regard as superior to the narratives which
inspired them. Thus, Poe came to be regarded in Parisian literary
circles as one of the first and greatest of the Symbolists, while in his
native Baltimore the poet is thought of primarily as the author of
various
obscure
19th
century
horror
stories.
In translating
him,
Baudelaire was at least half conscious of casting his American "idol"
in his idolator's image. In "Edgar Poe: Sa vie et ses oeuvres", the French
poet was pleased to introduce
his public to "un homme qui me
ressemblait un peu, par quelques points, c'est-a-dire une partie de
moi-meme...." (Baudelaire 348). In reality, it would probably be fairer
to say that Poe shared certain similarities with Baudelaire, rather than
the other way around. The French Poe is pre-eminently an urban writer,
whereas the American original grew up in a largely agrarian society. It
was only after he was thoroughly "Gallicized" that global readers were
free to mistake the streets of Baltimore for the streets of Paris. Out of
121
place in his homeland, the author of "The Raven" was turned into a de
facto European by the author of "The Albatross". The "fake" Poe of the
French is now, ironically, of immeasurably more cultural
importance
than the "real" Poe of his unappreciative and uncomprehending fellow
countrymen. Those who continue to be perplexed by the French
"canonization" of Clint Eastwood, Blake Edwards and Jerry Lewis would
be well-advised to bear in mind that the U.S. citizens in question were
all treated to a "Baudelairean" make-over—that is to say, they were
first situated in a pre-existing Gallic Zeitgeist—before
receiving
their
official laurels. If their path to the podium had not been paved with
influential
essays by Andre Bazin, Georges Benyaoun, and
other
acknowledged cultural authourities they would never have been so
honoured. Even so, the "outsider" quality of French perceptions often
provides insights which an "inside" American perspective precludes.
Thus Tzvetan Todorov writes, "On sait...que Poe a donne naissance au
roman policier contemporain, et ce voisinage n'est pas un effet de
hasard; on ecrit d'ailleurs souvent que les histoires policieres ont
remplace les histoires de fantomes" (Introduction a la fantastique 54).
When seen in this light, Poe's double importance as precursor of the
"new" and perfector of the "old" seems perfectly self-evident. This
insight
would,
in the
20th
century,
effectively
obscure the
line
between horror and detective stories in popular French literature. Thus,
Jacques van Herp could claim in "Le monde de Harry Dickson", an
appreciation of the texts Belgian fantasy author Jean Ray wrote about
"le Sherlock Holmes Americain," that the imaginative universe invoked
by these tales was in many respects identical to that of Belgium's
best-known
realistic
mystery
master: "On pense irresistablement
a
122
Simenon. Chez tous deux apparaTt le meme gout des heures indefinies,
de la pluie, au pave gras, des maisons lepreuses, et une identique
puissance d'evocation. Ainsi qu'un meme refus a jouer le jeu au policier
classique" (La Heme 278). Boileau and Narcejac, the most popular
French mystery writers of the post-war period, composed the original
stories for Vertigo,
Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 psychological thriller, and
Les Yeux sans visage, Georges Franju's 1960 surgical horror movie.
From the vantage point of a "properly" educated French film critic, the
co-authors did not change genres, just as—for an American critic—they
obviously did.
Ironically, despite their respect for Poe in general and Auguste
Dupin in particular, the French have not made much use of the tradition
he represents. According to Tzvetan Todorov's "Typologie du roman
policier", Dupin and his descendants belong primarily to the genre "que
nous pouvons appeler 'roman a enigme'" (Poetique de la prose 57). To a
greater or lesser degree, Miss Marple, Sherlock Holmes and Hercule
Poirot all belong to this genteel—and quintessential^ English—subcategory of amateur detecting. Although it is arguably the most popular
crime format in the world, it has very little to do with the American
and Italian literary traditions, and even less to do with the French.
American private detection, it should be emphasized, is a metier and
not
an avocation. Consequently, the "English" style to which
an
American gave birth and which a Frenchman subsequently valorized will
play the smallest possible role in the following pages.
Dostoevsky's
Inspector
Porfiry,
with
his
subtle,
insinuating,
almost priestly methods of imbuing criminals with the need to confess,
was, as we have already seen, the "eminence bleue" behind (Jules)
123
Maigret. In equal and opposite measure, Raskolnikov became the model
for countless criminals who must struggle with their conscience as
well as the law. In the policier,
the high-ranking plainclothesman and
the tormented outlaw are by far the most important characters. Private
detectives of the Sam Spade/Philip Marlowe variety are generally as
alien to the French fictive tradition as they are to the Italian (except,
of course, for retired police officers, who continue to exercise their
office in an unofficial capacity long after they have been pensioned off;
obviously,
Maigret
phenomenon).
is
the
most
important
manifestation
of
this
On the very rare occasions when private detectives do
show up in French crime films and novels, they generally lack glamour
and existential purpose. The detective agency that Antoine Doinel
(Jean-Pierre Leaud), director Francois Truffaut's onscreen alter ego,
works for in Baisers
voles does nothing but poke its nose into the
mundane affairs of the adulterous and the mildly dishonest—just as
real detectives do. Of the 40 films cited as the all time best French
policiers
by a select panel of French film critics, only one, Claude
Miller's Mortelle
randonnee
(1983), employed a private eye as its
principal protagonist. The real polar action would always take place in
Surete squadrooms and underworld caves.
For indigenous archetypes, the French have recourse to two
"home-grown" models. Respectively, these are Victor Hugo's Inspector
Javert—Jean Valjean's implacable nemesis, a government
functionary
who pushes justice to the frontiers of inhumanity and sin—and Vautrin,
Balzac's
master-criminal-turned-master-Wc.
In his prison diaries, Antonio Gramsci reflected on both of these
fictional creations. "II tipo di Javert dei Miserabili
e interessante," he
1 24
wrote, "dal punto di vista della psicologia popolare: Javert ha torto dal
punto di vista della 'vera giustizia', ma Hugo lo rappresenta in modo
simpatico, como 'uomo di carattere...." (Gramsci 2129). Javert, the
diarist felt, would eventually mutate
into superior judicial beings—
such as Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and G.K. Chesterton's Father
Brown. Although a prisoner himself—albeit
a political one—Gramsci
appreciated the fact that French and English detective story writers
did not, as a rule, romanticize crime. Conversely, he felt that Vautrin
was a little off the beaten path of fictional criminal
development:
"Balzac con Vautrin, si occupa del delinquente, ma non e 'tecnicamente'
scrittore di romanzi polizieschi" (Gramsci 2129).
Far from being a son of privilege, Hugo's incorruptible punisher of
the weak was born behind bars himself: "Javert etait ne dans une prison
d'une tireuse de cartes dont le mari etait aux galeres. Engrandissant il
pensa qu'il etait en dehors de la societe et desespera d'y
jamais. II remarqua que la societe maintient
rentrer
irremediablement
en
dehors d'elle deux classes d'hommes, ceux qui I'attaquent et ceux qui la
gardaient; il n'avait le choix qu'entre ces deux classes: en meme temps
il se sentait je ne sais quel fond de rigidite, du regularity et de probite,
complique d'une inexprimable haine pour cette race du bohemes dont il
etait. II entra dans la police. II y reussit. A quarante ans il etait
inspector" (Hugo 169).
This description of a man who was forcibly shaped by society is
probably
the
closest
Hugo
ever came to
exploring
what
would
subsequently be described as Zolaesque determinism. It is interesting
to note that Javert shares his fictional universe with Jean Valjean, the
convict-turned-capitalist-turned
philanthropist-turned-fugitive-
125
turned hero, a Romantic self-creator who is redeemed by the charity of
a saintly
bishop and who incarnates in his person the
absolute
antithesis of the naturalistic robot. The tension between these two
extremes has provided the locus for many a succesful policier,
dramas
in which the principle of freedom- is embodied by the criminal, while
the dead hand of sociological fatality hangs heavily over his legal
nemesis. By juxtaposing Javert and Valjean, Hugo unwittingly created a
paradigm which underscores the difference between French and Italian
attitudes
towards crime. Unfairly, almost obscenely, persecuted on
account of his poverty-driven misdemeanors, Valjean is the last word
in guiltless criminals, an Italian neorealist hero avant la lettre. Caught
between his robotic devotion to the state and his tragically
human
background, Javert, on the other hand, seems quintessentially French, a
polar
commissaire
par excellence,
a mixture of surface ruthlessness
and concealed understanding who is at least a century ahead of his
time. Later authors have continued to refine the dramatic polarities of
these archetypal antagonists till the present day.
That policemen come from humble, often "criminal" backgrounds,
and align themselves with the very classes and values that made their
early lives a living hell is an idea that would be further developed in
20th century French and American popular fiction—just as it would on
the actual streets of New York and Paris. In book after book, Inspector
Maigret wonders what his future might have been like if only his family
could have afforded to keep him in medical school. Sam Spade and Philip
Marlowe, different in so many ways, are united in their detestation of
"the rich". Javert infused some much-needed ambiguity into a genre
1 26
which, at its worst, reduces important moral issues to crude black and
white
dualities.
Although of earlier provenance than Javert, Balzac's
protean
Vautrin is clearly cut from the same narrative cloth, even though his
limitless ambition would seem to owe more to the author's socialclimbing businessmen. While making his "Human Comedy" debut in Le
Pere Goriot (1830), Vautrin explained his nature in the following terms:
"Voulez-vous connaitre mon caractere? Je suis bon avec ceux qui me
font bien ou dont le coeur parle au mien. A ceux-la tout est permis, ils
peuvent me donner des coups de pieds dans les os des jambes sans que
je leur dise: Prends garde] Mais, nom d'une pipe, je suis mechant comme
le diable avec ceux qui me fracassent, ou qui ne me reviennent pas. Et il
est bon de vous apprendre que je me soucie de tuer un homme comme 9a
dit-il en lancant un jet de salive" (Le Pere Goriot 106 - 107).
A reader and admirer of the murderous, bisexual Renaissance
artist Benvenuto Cellini, Vautrin thinks of himself as a poet of crime. A
practically-minded
believer
in
the
will-to-power,
he
dreams
of
becoming a wealthy slave-owner in America—an ambition which Hugo's
cockroach-like
Miserables.
Thenardier
will
eventually
accomplish
in
Les
When angered, his physiognomy changes like the features of
Cuchulainn in Celtic myth: "Horrible
et majestueux
spectacle! sa
physionomie presenta un phenomene qui ne peut etre compare qu'a celui
de la chaudiere pleine de cette vapeur fumeuse qui souleverait des
montagnes, et que dissout en un clin d'oeil une goutte d'eau froide" (Le
Pere Goriot 185). Ready and able to commit murder when it suits his
purposes, Vautrin is also modern fiction's first uncloseted homosexual.
Behind
prison
walls,
he consummates
his
desires with
younger
127
convicts. In the outside world, he sublimates them in his attempts to
push seemingly heterosexual young men of promise into the forefront of
post-Napoleonic French society.
By frankly
orientation
acknowledging his underworld
protagonist's
sexual
at a time when even heterosexual liaisons had to be
described with a great deal of circumspection, Balzac
unwittingly
endowed French crime fiction with a unique and precocious advantage.
Le Pere Goriot and its two sequels created a generic precedent which
prioritized
male/male
relations
within
le
milieu
criminel.
While
explicitly gay mobster connections remained comparatively rare, what
was once described as "feudal homosexuality" would play an important
role in the polars of artists as diverse as Francis Carco and JeanPierre Melville. Unlike so many of the artistic developments mentioned
in this work, this one seems somewhat "flukey," a wild card that could
not have been predicted by any deterministic philosophy. This anomaly
should be kept in mind when reading passages where events seem to
unfold with the inescapable finality of Calvinist theology. In the midst
of even the
most ordered universe, it seems, predestination
will
always play a role.
Be that as it may, we must now return to the main thread of our
story. Known by a variety of names, Vautrin/Jacques Collin is a master
of aliases. When his Lucien de Rubempre project collapses, the archcriminal is coerced into joining the police force in lieu of returning to
the pentitentiary or the galleys. As we learn in "La derniere incarnation
de Vautrin", "Apres avoir exerce ses fonctions pendant environ quinze
ans, Jacques Collin s'est retire vers 1845" (Splendeurs et miseres des
courtisanes
641). Unsurprisingly, Marcel Carne, by universal consent
128
the most "poetic" director of policiers,
"Depuis...un certain
nombre
d'annees...[a songe] a porter a I'ecran la vie extraordinaire d'un des
personnages les plus etonnants qu'ait compris Balzac dans sa
Humaine:
Comedie
Vautrin" (La vie a belles dents 378).
Remarkably, the supremely fictional character of Vautrin (and—as
literary scholarship might eventually prove—of Javert as well), was
modelled after one of history's more improbable figures. In A
Criminal
History of Mankind, we learn that a certain Eugene-Francois Vidocq was
turned into a police spy by an officer known as M. Henry. A veteran of
many crimes and escapes, the captured felon was, like Vautrin, forced
to choose between prison and "betrayal". Vidocq practiced his turncoat
metier with unprecedented skill: "[he] was allowed helpers, all chosen
by himself—naturally, he chose criminals. There was fierce opposition
from all the local police departments, who objected to strangers on
their 'patches', but Henry refused to be moved. Vidocq's little band was
called the Security—Surete—and it became the foundation of the French
national police force of today" (Wilson 471). After being forced into
retirement in 1833 "because a new chief of police objected to a Surete
made up entirely of criminals and ex-criminals. [Vidocq] immediately
became a private detective—the first in the world—and wrote his
Memoirs.
He became a close friend of writers, including Balzac, who
modelled his character Vautrin on Vidocq" (Wilson 471).
If one were to compile a detective genealogy, one could say with
some surety that Vidocq begat Vautrin who begat Javert who begat
Porfiry who begat Maigret. On a parallel line of development, Auguste
Dupin begat Sherlock Holmes who begat Father Brown who begat
Hercule Poirot who begat Miss Marple. These are not, however, Western
129
narrative's only criminal family trees. To seek out the third major line
of descent one must travel to the United States.
Hardboiled detective fiction a la americaine
is generally said to
have originated in Black Mask magazine, a pulp fiction periodical
which, shortly after its launching in 1920, ceased to be an imitator of
Argosy
and other "all story" magazines of that period, preferring to
focus exclusively on tales of crime. Dashiell Hammett's
Op" entertainments first appeared in Black
"Continental
Mask, as would Raymond
Chandler's early fictional efforts a decade later.
Intriguingly enough, neither author had picked fiction as his first
career choice. If the economy had been better, they would probably
never have submitted manuscripts to magazines.
Hammett was a
veteran of the Pinkerton Detective Agency, the questionable company—
since the 19th century, Pinkerton men had been hired out to large
corporations
as ultra-violent
strike-breakers—which
served as
the
model for the Continental, the organization that employed the author's
anonymous
"alter
ego". Red
Harvest,
the early "Op" novel which
Bernardo Bertolucci has been trying to adapt cinematically for more
than
two
"Italianate"
decades—no doubt
style
of
on account
governance—depicts
of
its fictional
a small
town
setting's
which
is
controlled by corruption from top to bottom. Employed by a rich old man
in Personville—known to the locals as Poisonville—the
Continental Op
proceeds to play one tainted faction against another, choreographing a
dance of death eerily similar to the one that would be orchestrated 34
years later by Toshiro Mifune's rootless samurai in Yojimbo
writer/director
harrowing
Akira
Kurosawa's
of a bandit-ridden
epic
black
comedy
(1961),
about
the
19th century Japanese village whose
130
leaders make the fatal mistake of assuming that the ronin they have
hired is really on their side. If anything, the Continental Op's approach
to "house cleaning" is even more cynical. As he sneeringly promises his
employer, "you'll have your city back, all nice and clean and ready to go
to the dogs again" (Hammett 134). In Yojimbo, one of the earliest shots
is of a dog running through the streets with a severed arm in its mouth.
No wonder Bertrand Tavernier referred to Hammett as "[un des] auteurs
de
romans
policiers explicitement
marxistes...." (Montalban
107).
Parenthetically, Woody Haut suggested that "It is no coincidence that
Dashiell Hammett's Red Harvest was published on the eve of the Wall
Street Crash" (Haut 1). In Red Harvest, even the crooked find it hard to
survive. The following exchange is fairly typical:
'"...What do you think of that? I pick up six hundred berries like
shooting fish, and have to bum four bits for breakfast.'
"I said it was a tough break but that was the kind of
world we lived in" (Hammett 63).
As the above passage clearly denotes, Dashiell Hammett knew
how to express himself in period slang with an economy and a clarity
which were much emulated. Over and above his political engagement
was the instinctive knowledge that less is sometimes more. Aside from
the
dated
argot
and
occasional concessions to
pulp
magazine
sensibilities, Hammett today can be comfortably compared to such
contemporary connoisseurs of "cool" crime as Barry Gifford and James
Ellroy.
"Popular
Although his disaffection with the modern world preceded
Front"
politics,
it
could
also
outlive
them.
Dialectical
materialist though he was, Hammett did not deny his readers a certain
131
metaphysical dimension. Thus, in a manner seductively reminiscent of
the Catholic legitimist Balzac's take on Vautrin, in The Maltese
Falcon
Hammett describes Sam Spade, his most famous protagonist, in the
following
quasi-Miltonic terms: "He looked rather
pleasantly like a
blond Satan" (Hammett 225).
Although equally suspicious of the motives of the rich, Raymond
Chandler's wary heroes were more traditionally
cast in the role of
disaffected knights errant. Even the names of his detectives remind one
of the author's proper British public school education. The author's
first
private
eye
protagonist,
was
called
"Mallory",
sharing
the
moniker—give or take an "I"—of the author of La Morte d'Arthur, while
his second would
be named after
the
most famous
Elizabethan
playwright after Shakespeare. Marlowe's sense of the ubiquity of evil
is as vast as Sam Spade's or the Continental Op's, but his apprehension
of it is more cosmic than socio-economic. Typically, Chandler—an
embittered alcoholic who had failed as an oil executive—writes, "Out
there in the night of a thousand crimes people were dying, being
maimed, cut by flying glass, crushed against steering wheels or under
heavy car tyres. People were being beaten, robbed, strangled, raped, and
murdered... A city...rich and vigorous and full of pride, a city lost and
beaten and full of emptiness" (The
Long
Stylistically, Chandler was as romantically
Goodbye 232 - 233).
florid as Hammett
was
icily precise. In novels and movies, Philip Marlowe would complete the
composite figure which Sam Spade began. Between them, these two
fictional archetypes would come to define what readers/viewers now
expect from hard-bitten private eyes. To a "t", they fit Lawerence's
"hard,
isolate, stoic and a killer" prescription. As Michel Ciment
132
pointed out in his book-length
study of the American crime film,
"Coince entre la police et la truand, le prive est un etre seul qui ne peut
compter
sur personne" (Le Crime a I'ecran
58). Of himself, Philip
Marlowe said, with a seductive mixture of pride and self-pity, "I'm a
lone wolf, unmarried, getting middle-aged, and not rich. I've been to
jail more than once and I don't do divorce business... The cops don't like
me too well, but I know a couple I get along with...." (The Long Goodbye
79). Often ex-cops themselves, with an instinctive affinity for those
outside the law, "hardboiled dicks" are uniquely privileged catalysts
who travel without obstruction between the social classes, moving up
and down the social ladder according to the dictates of each case.
Though, as we have seen, Vidocq invented the profession of
private detective, there has never been much space for such an
individual
in the
French fictional
firmament,
and still
less in the
Italian. In "L'americano, pistolero disincantato II mio Ambrosio colto,
con la cervicale", an article published recently in the cultural pages of
the Milanese daily // Corriere della Sera,
Renato Oliveri—creator of
Commissario Ambrosio, the closest thing Italy has to a successful
author of /' gialli— contrasted the characteristics of his flagship hero to
those of Raymond Chandler's most famous creation. At first glance, the
Milanese municipal employee would seem to suffer invidiously from the
comparison. Thus, we learn that "Marlowe
perche
non siano
beve regolarmente
dolci, e caffe nero senza
zucchero.
liquori,
In questo,
sul
caffe, Ambrosio gli somiglia." ("L'Americano, pistolero disincantato. II
mio Ambrosio colto, con la cervicale" 26.) On the level of ballistics,
"Marlowe
usa pistole
automatiche
Colt di vari calibri.
Si ricorda
particolare
una Smith & Wesson speciale cal. 38, probabilmente
in
con una
1 33
canna
di quattro pollici.
d'ordinanza,
e non
Ambrosio
e un
buon
ha invece
tiratore"
una
Beretta
("L'Americano,
disincantato" 26). On the field of sex, "L'atteggiamento
verso
le donne
e considerato
dal suo
calibro
ideatore
pistolero
di
'normale',
Marlowe
da
vigoroso e sano. Non e sposato, tutti Io sanno. Invece Ambrosio
lasciato da sua moglie Francesca e ha da anni un rapporto
con
Emanuela,
infiermiera
al
Policlinico
di Milano"
9
uomo
e stato
soddisfacente
("L'Americano,
pistolero disincantato" 26). Both men suffer from melancholia, but
Ambrosio's is said to stem from his physical separation from his
girlfriend. The Italian's loneliness, in other words, is both explicable
and curable. He is not happy with his slightly isolated position in a very
social society. The very sanity of his surroundings precludes the
elevation of individual alienation to the level of heroic status that is
the measure and reward of America's hardboiled heroes.
Although the most famous practitioners of their craft, Chandler
and Hammett did not single-handedly define the sub-genre in which
they worked. Indeed, from a contemporary perspective it seems most
unlikely that hardboiled fiction would have developed in the way that it
did if not for the hugely influential "failure" of an unsuccessful "art"
novel. With the exception of some of his posthumously published works,
To Have and Have Not is unquestionably the most critically despised of
Ernest Hemingway's novels (even Across the River and Into the Trees
enjoys a better press). First published in 1937 out of the author's need
for
money, the
book
seems rushed, disjointed,
and
abominably
constructed. From the perspective of hardboiled fiction, on the other
hand, it is a formative masterpiece on the level of The Maltese
(1930), The Big Sleep (1939) and The Postman
Always
Rings
Falcon
Twice
134
(1935). Its central figure, Harry Morgan, although imbued with the
fatalistic stoicism common to all Hemingway heroes, is also ruthless,
paranoid, bitter, a murderer,
untrustworthy
to
his friends, and a
cripple. He mutters contemptuous comments out of the corner of his
mouth like one of Humphrey Bogart's big screen heroes (it was not for
nothing that the cinematic interpreter of Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe
was chosen to play a far-less-dirty Harry in Howard Hawks's 1944
screen version of To Have and Have Not). He is also very much a man of
the "Dirty Thirties". After losing everything in the Depression to a
string of "bad luck", boat captain Harry Morgan explains things to a
prospective crew mate:
'"...What they're trying to do is starve you Conchs
out of here so they can burn down the shacks and
put up apartments and make this a tourist town...
I hear they're buying up lots, and then after the
poor people are starved out and gone somewhere
else to starve some more they're going to come
in and make it a beauty spot for tourists.'
'"You talk like a radical,' I said.
'"I ain't no radical,' he said. 'I'm sore. I
been sore a long time'" (Hemingway 97).
To Have and Have Not describes scenes of violence with the coldblooded objectivity that would later be perfected by Jim Thompson an—
on a more debased level—by Mickey Spillane: "He was trying to come up,
still holding onto the Luger, only he couldn't get his head up, when the
nigger took the shotgun against the wheel of the car by the chauffeur
and blew the side of his head off. Some nigger" (Hemingway 7 - 8).
1 35
Riddled with prejudice and free with racial epithets—"Cubans are bad
luck for Conchs. Cubans are bad luck for anybody. They got too many
niggers there too"—Harry Morgan is nonetheless willing to give credit
where credit is due (Hemingway 258). People constantly surprise him,
for better or worse. If he stereotypes co-workers on the basis of skin
colour, he fully expects them to return the favour when it comes to
him. He is also almost clinically paranoid. He breaks the neck of an
illegal Chinese labour importer whom he thought "was the easiest man
to do business with I ever met" primarily because he also "thought
there must be something wrong all the time" (Hemingway 55). Harry's
former friend Eddy, now a pathetic "rummy" and hanger-on,
escapes a
similar fate by sheer dumb luck. In 260 pages, Harry manages to lose
everything: his boat, his arm, his life. His philosophy can be summed up
by the bitter words, '"No matter how a man alone ain't got no bloody
fucking chance'" (Hemingway 225). Harry Morgan set the mold years
before "dans le film noir, apparu dans les annees 1940...Ton rencontre
la prefiguration du personnage contemporain de loser ' (Garbarz 95).
1
Although obviously written primarily for profit, To Have and Have
Not is not without its modernist literary techniques. Narrators, some
of whom are only peripheral to the plot, change from chapter to
chapter. An "unnnatural act" involving Harry's "flipper" reminds one
strongly of Popeye's "corncob rape" in Sanctuary,
the William Faulkner
novel that appeared around the same time and for much the same
reasons. Marie, Harry's ex-hooker wife, rhapsodizes about her husband's
unique manliness in a couple of medium-length monologues that are
essentially pocket-sized distillations of Molly Bloom's soliloquy. For
136
all its coarseness, the major thematic strains and motifs of "lost
generation" literature are very much present in To Have and Have Not.
The fourth major founder of hardboiled literature was James M.
Cain. Typically, when The Postman Always Rings Twice first appeared
in 1935, it was appreciated more by the French and Italians than it was
by the Americans. Pierre Chenal adapted the book for the screen in
1939, while Luchino Visconti used it as the source of Ossessione,
his
first feature, in 1942, four years before Tay Garnett directed the first
American version. Albert Camus claimed to have used The Postman as a
blueprint for his existentialist masterpiece, L'Etranger
(1942).
Elio
Vittorini, meanwhile, was particularly impressed by the book's utter
lack of introspection: "Cain non da che facce e fatti da vedere, e non
permette di vedere o intravedere altro. I fatti interiori da impliciti
negli esteriori..." (Diario
in
pubblico 93). For the first time, Cain
shifted the reader's locus of interest not to compromised heroes, but to
villains tout court. Although convention still required them to somehow
pay for their sordid deeds, Cain's novels managed to turn their readers
into conceptual accessories after the fact. The antisocial fun of
Fantdmas could now be made explicit in a more quotidian fashion.
This "breakthrough" would shortly be exploited by Jim Thompson,
David Goodis,
Cornell Woolrich, and the other
inheritors
of
the
Hammett-Chandler-Hemingway-Cain tradition. As we shall see shortly,
it was these "adepts" rather than their more famous "gurus" who
would capture the imagination of French filmmakers in the postwar
world. To understand how this could have occurred, one must first
return to the France of the 1930s.
137
As in the United States, the policier was a film genre that was
well adapted to the new and still unperfected technology
of
the
"talkie". Jean Renoir enjoyed his first commercial success with
La
Chienne (1931), a black comedy about an unequal romantic triangle
that leads to murder and the execution of a pimp who is guilty of
everything except the crime for which he is guillotined. A year later,
Renoir made La Nuit du carrefour, the first of dozens of movies to
feature
the
intuitive detective
methods
of
France's most
popular
detective, Inspector Maigret. Even though this project was seemingly
damaged by the persona! problems the director was experiencing at
that time—"Selon [Georges Simenon], Renoir qui etait en train de se
separer de sa femme...etait deprime. II buvait plus que de raison. C'est
ainsi qu'un jour completement ivre, il a oublie de tourner un certain
nombre de sequences"—the end result was still impressive enough for
Jean-Luc Godard to declare it "le plus grand film policier
dis je,
le plus grand film frangais
d'aventure."
frangais,
(Assouline 241
que
- 242;
Pai'ni 54).
Renoir made a number of other crime movies during the 1930s,
but their sociological emphases can more profitably be discussed in the
paragraphs devoted to Neorealism.
The parameters of the French crime film were further expanded in
1937 with the release of Julien Duvivier's nostalgic chef-d'oeuvre,
Pepe le Moko. Although the film is said to have been "inspired by the
non-romantic
Scarface"
(Peary 320), Duvivier's tale of the last days of
a doomed Parisian gangster in exile is a high- water mark in the
history of screen romanticism. Jean Gabin, the greatest French actor of
1930s vintage French cinema, plays Pepe like a poete maudit with
1 38
strong fashion sense. Secure in his refuge in the Casbah, this European
criminal faces immediate capture or summary execution the moment he
sets foot in the more respectable quarters of Algiers. His sense of
nostalgia is heightened when he becomes fond of the Parisian-born
mistress (Mireille Balin) of an older, wealthy tourist (Charles Granval).
Pepe's best friend/arch-enemy Inspector Slimane (Lucas Gridoux), an
Arab officer in an otherwise all-white police department,
welcomes
this development since it increases the chances of Pepe falling into his
devious clutches. While bewitched by infatuation—as much by memories
of his own past as by the new woman in his life—the Casbah-trapped
gangster
behaves shoddily
towards
his
greatest
underworld
ally
(Gabriel Gabrio) and loyal gypsy mistress (Line Noro). His legendary
reputation and de facto invulnerability seem less and less important
when set beside the passage of irrecoverable time.
Pepe le Moko is distinguished by many background shots of the
real Algiers and its equally real Casbah. Duvivier's camera zeroes in on
the town's diverse inhabitants—his emphasis on racial mixing verges on
visceral disgust vis-a-vis miscegenation—and records the names of
some of its stranger byways, such as "La Rue de
I'lmpuissance".
Initially Pepe is so sure of his Casbah refuge, he gallantly shoots
invading policemen in the legs in lieu of killing them. Ultimately, the
only thing that can kill him is his love for Paris.
Duvivier's gangsters are all imbued with the apache-flavoured
misogyny that we first found in Jesus-la-Caille.
"Je n'ecoute jamais
aux femmes," is a typical put-down. Inter-male loyalty is of paramount
importance, while Slimane's interest in his French nemesis is at least
latently homosexual, a fact underscored by Pepe's "butch" teasing of
139
the policeman whenever he's in this rather effete Arab's presence. Pepe
and Gaby's talk about Paris foreshadows the Bogart/Bacall doubles
entendres in The Big Sleep (1946). While not as common as in many
French crime films, underworld slang is still judiciously used. As one
older reprobate explains, "Je n'ai jamais employe les mots d'argots
sauf aux gens pour qui la langue francaise est morte."
Duvivier's
innovations
would
be carried still
further
by
the
greatest screenwriter/director team of the late 1930s, Marcel Carne
and Jacques Prevert. Today best known for Les Enfants du paradis
(1945), a large-scale historical romance which was recently voted the
best French sound picture of all time by a panel of practicing French
film critics, Carne and Prevert jointly created the most acclaimed
examples of poetic realism in 1938 and 1939.
Like Pepe le Moko, both Le Quai des brumes (1938) and Le Jour se
leve (1939) starred Jean Gabin in the leading role. Although extremely
charismatic, in all three films Gabin's fictional personae stem from
humble origins. In each feature he kills at least one person, and in all of
them he dies. As Jacques Prevert wrote in his bittersweet "Poeme de
Jacques Prevert a Jean Gabin", "On ne meurt qu'une fois/dit un diton/on meurt souvent,/on meurt tout le temps,/repond Jean Gabin sur
I'ecran...." (Jean Gabin 258).
Marcel Came enjoys the unenviable distinction of being the only
major filmmaker in the world who is suspected of being creatively
inferior to his favourite scenarist. More equitably, Edward Barton Turk
argues that the success of their joint efforts was the result of a
"clash of two strong creative forces, from the interaction
of
two
incompatible visions" (Turk 45). One thing the two men did have in
140
common was an understanding of poverty: both were mainly
self-
educated, having emerged from humble circumstances. Although a
strong fatalistic
streak
ran through
Prevert's scenarios, this
first-
generation Surrealist's public persona was very different. A populist
poet, chain-smoking bon vivant, and flaneur with a gift for maintaining
prolonged heterosexual relationships as well as countless easy-going
friendships, Jacques Prevert seemed in many ways to be the exact
opposite
of the withdrawn,
crabbed, homosexual Carne.
Prevert's
infectious sensuality, it was said again and again, was relentlessly
leached out of the frame by Carne's dour mise-en-scene.
This could
perhaps be explained by "the premature death of [Carne's]
mother
[which] influenced [his] dark conception of love and women" (Turk 11).
On the other hand, these unlikely collaborators loved "les memes
comediens. lis ont la meme sensibilite, le meme amour du peniches
dans la brume, de la pluie sur les paves de ce Paris ou ils ont connu les
meme annees difficiles" (Andry 96). What's more, if Prevert was the
one with the "ear" (for marvellously evocative dialogue), Carne was the
one with the eye (for splendidly visual effects). Like so many French
directors, Came was a retired film critic whose most famous article
was "Comment descend le cinema francais dans la rue?", a brief on
behalf of realistic urban set design and location shooting. He was a
great admirer of German cinema in general, and of F.W. Murnau's work in
particular. At the risk of over-simplifying the procedure, one might say
that he cut
Prevert's breezy Surrealism with some
much-needed
Expressionist rigour, finding the proper balance between romance and
tragedy, poetry and grit, in stories that could all too easily have grown
lopsided in the cinematic telling. Without this input, it seems most
141
unlikely that the ingredients needed for realisme
poetique
would ever
have properly gelled.
Poetic realism is said to create "a fantastic, stylized world in
which myth and reality merge in one...." (Garbicz and Klinowski 288).
Although usually regarded as the quintessential^ French film style, it
was not immune to foreign influences, American as well as German.
"Pictorially," one American critic claims, "Le Quai des Brumes shows
the influence of Josef von Sternberg's silent film The Docks
of New
York (1928)" (Turk 104).
In recent years, French film scholars have become increasingly
intrigued by the sway exercised by Edward Hopper's realistic urban
paintings on American popular culture in general, and on hardboiled
Hollywood cinema in particular. In "Cinema, cinema: Regard sur Edward
Hopper", Jean-Pierre Naugrette observed that, "A regarder de pres les
tableaux d'Edward Hopper (1882 - 1967), on a tres vite
I'impression que les liens entre peinture, litterature et cinema sont si
etroitement,
si finement tisses qu'il est pratiquement
impossible de
dire qui a commence le premier, qui a influence qui, ou est la cause, ou
est I'effet" (Naugrette
55). As an example of this confused line of
descent, Naugrette noted, "On sait par example que Hopper admirait
beaucoup Hemingway... Hemingway a inspire Hopper, qui a inspire les
cineastes...." (Naugrette 55).
From the perspective of 1997, one could probably say much the
same about Robert Brassai's snapshots of nocturnal Paris in regard to
French popular culture.
Although nowhere near as well known in the
1930s as his American comrade-in-arts, the Hungarian-born Brassai's
richly
evocative, intensely
"narrative"
black and white portraits of
142
prostitutes and pimps, night clubs and bordellos, abandoned streets and
dark canals, were soon absorbed by the commercial French film
industry, and brought to the peak of formal perfection by the cinema of
Carne and Prevert. The fictional world of Pierre Mac Orlan and Francis
Carco had finally been turned into cinematic flesh.
Le
Quai
des
brumes
was not
the
first
crime
film
the
Prevert/Carne team turned its hand to, but this moody thriller was
fated to be the most influential. More than 20 years after that landmark
was released, Pierre Leprohon would observe that even the film version
of Pasolini's Una vita violenta would seek "le decor sordide de la zone
peripherique, le 'miserabilisme' deviation faussee du neo-realisme, le
sens du social eher au film italien, deviennent alors le
pretexte
d'affabulations
souvent
purement
romantiques
toutes
proches—et
poesie en moins—du romantisme prevertien de Quai des brumes et des
Portes de la nuif (Leprohon 200).
Pierre Mac Orlan's original novel was largely set in the years
immediately preceding the First World War, being capped by a brief
post-war epilogue. A group of disparate individuals seek refuge in
Montmartre's famous "Lapin Agile" on a cold winter night, and gunfire
is briefly exchanged with a gang of shadowy underworld types who
want to kill one of the inn's besieged habitues. With the coming
of the
dawn, these chance acquaintances drift off to their various fates—most
of them tragic. The mood of the novel is expressed by the following
aphorism: "...le cafard n'a pas de patrie, il ne connait qu'une direction:
Le Sud" (Mac Orlan 51). In 1960 Frangois Truffaut would, at the end of
his second feature, Tirez sur le pianiste, choreograph a snowy death
similar to the one suffered by Jean Rabe on page 142 of Mac Orlan's
143
text. Edward Barton Turk described the author as "France's Liam
O'Flaherty", and believed that Mac Orlan's "two major themes—escape
and destiny—[were] a response to the gruesome forces unleashed by
World War I" (Turk 97 - 98). In the case of Came and Prevert, Gilles
Deleuze's assertion that "[l]a ligne de fuite est une
deterritorialization
[et les] Francais ne savent bien ce que c'est" most definitely does not
apply (Dialogues 47). For the Prevertian hero, as embodied by Jean
Gabin in Carne's films as well as Pepe
le Moko, life was always
elsewhere.
Nevertheless, despite
the
trench-flavoured
nostalgia
of
Mac
Orlan's prose, the film version of Le Quai enjoyed only a passing
connection to its source novel. As Carne recalled in his autobiography:
L'action du Quai des Brumes se passait a Montmartre du siecle,
plus particulierement au Lapin Agile. Comment reconstituer le
vieux Montmartre, celui de la rue des Saules et du cimetiere
Saint-Vincent, a Neubelsberg, ou le film devait etre tourne?
(La Vie a belles 93).
Originally conceived as a Franco-German co-production, the film
was eventually moved to the port city of Brest. Iconic movie star Jean
Gabin played Jean, the military deserter who, as we have already seen,
was required to refrain from specifying the precise nature
of his
contravention of military justice, and to stack his uniform neatly on a
chair prior to assuming civilian garb. Prevert's biographer Marc Andry
described Le Quai as "le film cle d'une epoque inquiete. Les brumes. La
pluie. Un amour impossible. L'etrangete d'un implacable destin dans un
enfer pave d'intonations
surrealistes" (Andry
118). Co-star Michele
Morgan helped to establish the norms of noirish fashion five years
1 44
before
the
stars of
Casablanca
slipped
into
matching
white
trenchcoats. She was helped in this endeavour by Coco Chanel, the
famed fashion designer who insouciantly insisted that "Un film comme
celui-la n'a pas besoin de robe: un impermeable, un beret, voila tout"
(Andry 118). Cinematographer Eugen Schufftan was happily able to fuse
Carne's
Expressionist taste
with Prevert's Surrealist sensibilities.
Although Le QuaFs plot is very similar to that of Pepe le Moko, it is the
latter film which stands as the signature example of poetic realism.
Ironically,
Le
Quai
des
brumes' romantic
fatalism
would
eventually be condemned as a contributing factor to the 1940 collapse
of French battlefield morale. To both Vichy and maquisard judges, the
film's "defeatist" dialogue and unsavoury characters were more than a
little suspect. Even when the film first came out, Jean Renoir—then at
the
height
condemned
of
his alignment
with the
French Communist
Party—
Le Quai as "fascist," avoiding a bloody nose from the
outraged Jacques Prevert only by lamely explaining, "—Jacques, tu me
connais!... Jamais je ne dirai qu'un film auquel tu as travaille est un
film fasciste... Non, j'ai voulu dire que certains personnages appelaient
la trique fasciste...." (La Vie a belles dents 110).
When first introduced onscreen, Jean Gabin is shown clambering
into the cab of a truck while hitchhiking in the fog; this opening would
re-appear
Ossessione.
four
years
later
in
Luchino
Visconti's
first
feature,
Its look also reminds the late 20th century cinephile of
Raoul Walsh's monochromatic nocturnes in the 1940 melodrama, They
Drive by Night, just as Walsh's film in turn makes one think of Edward
Hopper. When Gabin is gunned down from a moving car at the end of Le
Quai, the origins of this scene clearly belong to Scarface,
Little
Caesar,
145
and the other early gangster epics, but the shadowy decor and full shot
mise-en-scene
flash forward to Casablanca,
To Have and Have Not, and
other mid-'40s //7ms noirs. "The French film noir," Raymond Durgnat
reminds us, "precedes the American genre. French specialists include
Feuillade, Duvivier, Carne, Cloizot, Yves Allegret...." (Palmer 84) In
Hollywood, he whimsically points out, Pepe le Moko became not only
"Algiers
("Come with me to the Casbah") [but] also Pepe-le Pew [the
amorous French skunk featured in numerous Warner Brothers cartoons]."
(Palmer 84) Algiers was not the only Hollywood re-make of a French
policier,
either. In Fritz Lang's Hays Code-hobbled hands, Renoir's La
Chienne
was re-cast as Scarlet Street (1945). Hollywood's need to re-
make French films in American garb was established long before the
end of the Second World War.
Even so, the discovery of American
film noir had a
profound
effect on the French film industry. In Michel Ciment's words, "Si la
figure du gangster domine les annees trente, I'avenement du detective
prive caracterize le debut de la decennie suivante" (Le crime a I'ecran
53). Although John Huston's 1941 version was technically the third
cinematic adaptation of Dashiell Hammett'sThe Maltese
Falcon,
this
seminal work did not make a smooth, sequential transition to the
French screen, despite its subsequent status as "le paragon
d'un
nouveau genre, le 'film noir"'(Le crime a I'ecran 53). Thanks to the
cultural blockade imposed on France by the triumph of German arms,
Hollywood movies were not screened in either Vichy or the Occupied
Zone between 1940 and 1944, and very few were seen in 1945. Thus,
between mid-July and August of 1946, The Maltese
Falcon,
Double
Indemnity (1944), Laura (1944), Farewell, My Lovely (1944) and several
146
less important
noirish works were projected for the first time onto
Parisian screens. Despite the artistic quality and commercial success
of wartime polars—some
of which made Positifs
previously mentioned
"Top Forty List"—these American imports had a huge effect on French
intellectual
life.
Italy was equally impressed by these tough new works, although
from a somewhat different
perspective.
Giuseppe De Santis, for
instance, an Italian film critic who would later carve out a respectable
career for himself in his homeland's postwar film industry, believed
that "II realismo del cinema americano assunse le tinte nette e crude
che quella societa agitata, sconvolta e ancora in crisi di crescenza
suggeriva:
inoltre
erano
gli
anni
solenni
e
tragici
della
crisi
mondiale...." (De Santis 47). For most Italian observers, Hollywood's
depiction of onscreen violence had more to do with bleak social
conditions than it did with changing popular aesthetics and/or morbid
metaphysics. During the floodtide of Neorealism, things could hardly
have appeared otherwise.
Up until 1945, the crime genre belonged primarily to the English,
the Americans, and the
French, with strong stylistic
contributions
being provided by the Germans and, in a far more indirect way, the
Russians.
Since
three
of
these
nationalities
do
not
thematically
concern us, we have been restricted thus far to talking about French
and American generic contributions. From here on out, however, our
theoretical diptych becomes a triptych. Italian cinema—although not
Italian literature—will
become a major part of our cross-referential
evolutionary pattern. The reason why can be expressed in one word:
Neorealism (the gritty inheritor of poetic realism, the movement which
147
fizzled in 1946 following the disastrous public and critical reception
of Came and Prevert's Les Portes de la nuit).
For most of Western Europe, film noir and
Neorealism
were
synchronous phenomena. In the cinema of Milan and Marseilles, one
could scan Paisa
(1946) and The Maltese Falcon on the same afternoon.
Despite the vast stylistic and ideological differences between these
two forms, for a variety of reasons they appeared to be complementary.
If not for the sociological input of the Second World War, they would
never have symbiotically evolved in the way that they did.
Of course, behind Neorealism and film noir lay several other
movements, such as poetic realism—which was itself
indebted
to
German Expressionism and the Russian novel. Both before and after the
war,
aspiring
filmmakers.
Italian
worked
with
prominent
French
Michelangelo Antonioni, for instance, was "imposed" as an
assistant director
Visiteurs
directors
on Marcel Came, who was then shooting
Les
du soir (1942), an experience which the coercive cultural
climate of the Axis occupation doomed neither man to enjoy. Luchino
Visconti's experience with French cinema, on the other hand, was both
more extensive and purely voluntary: "Visconti prende conoscenza dei
film di Vigo, che lasceranno in lui qualche traccia, ed 'aiuta' Renoir per
Les basfonds
[sic], Une partie de campagne, Tosca.
questa scelta vediamo in Ossessione,
Le consequenze di
dove non e difficile
anche un passaggio visto con I'occhio del regista della Bete
ritrovare
humaine"
(Verdone 75).
Many
Italian
filmmakers
considered
poetic
realism
to
be
Neorealism's direct progenitor. It should be emphasized, however, that
their conception of poetic realism owed very little to the films of
148
Carne and Prevert, despite that filmmaking team's penchant for the
proletariat
and impeccable working
intellectuals
class
credentials.
For
Italian
Toni, the 1934 feature about poor immigrant workers in
Marseilles that Renoir made at Marcel Pagnol's Mediterranean film
studio, was the key proto-Neorealist work, not Le Quai des brumes.
According to
Peter Bondanella, the
very
"term
'neorealism'
was...first applied not to postwar Italian cinema but, instead, to the
French films of the thirties in an article written by Umberto Barbaro in
1943," a full year after the release of Ossessione,
the film which most
critics now regard as the first true brick in the Neorealist edifice
(Bondanella 24). Although Italy had been under Fascist control since
1922, very few
either
Italian
cineastes were
II Duce or his party. Within the
ideologically committed
ultra-modern
to
confines of
Cinecitta and the Centro Sperimentale, they made inconsequential
movies of the "white telephone" variety while writing
enthusiastic
articles about foreign motion pictures in the pages of Cinema
Bianco
and
e Nero, dreaming all the while of better times at home.
Occasionally, they were required to make patriotic propaganda movies,
but even these commissioned efforts were notably light on nationalist
fervor. What's more, Roberto Rossellini—the only major postwar Italian
filmmaker to have worked regularly on jingoistic morale builders—was
first off the mark with Roma,
citta aperta (1945), the flag-bearer of
Neorealism to the world and the first openly anti-fascist Italian film.
Ironically, when the critics of Cahiers du cinema and other French
film
journals
took
the
rough-and-ready
aesthetics of Rossellini's
ecumenical Resistance movie to heart, they didn't realize that many of
his decisions were based on necessity and not artistic choice. Because
149
all the studios in Rome had been damaged by Allied bombers, the Italian
director was obliged to take his camera into the streets. A shortage of
funds resulted in the employment of many non-actors, and the "raw"
quality of the lighting in Roma, citta aperta was the result not only of
shooting outdoors with insufficient artificial illumination, but also of
the different
grades of black and white film stock which Rossellini
was forced to purchase on the black market. Even the "elliptical
editing", which so much impressed the young Jean-Luc Godard and
Francois
Truffaut,
was
more
the
result
of
want
than
narrative
innovation.
In Open City and Paisa,
the
the "enemy" was openly identified with
Nazi troops who had occupied Italy since the fall of 1943.
Nevertheless,
Manichean-style dualism
was
exceedingly
rare
in
Neorealism. The movement's main thrust began with Vittorio De Sica's
/ Bambini ci guardano (1943) and peaked with the director's 1948
masterpiece, Ladri di biciclette, both works being scripted by Cesare
Zavattini, Neorealism's most influential ideologue. In Strapparole,
the
indomitable screenwriter/theorist wrote, "Ogni cinema che mira a un
rapporto
stretto
neorealismo,
con
partecipa
i gravi
problemi
a questo
dell'
movimento
uomo
coi
moderno,
modi
del
propri.
II
neorealismo e ormai la coscienza del cinema" (Zavattini 474). Because
of its emphasis on the problems of ordinary people—of the poor and
underprivileged
wing.
At
times,
classes—Neorealism's politics were
this
sensibility
invariably
transcended personal
left-
ideological
conditioning. Roberto Rossellini, for instance, came from a wealthy
bourgeois family, made films on demand for the ruling fascists, and
was subsequently a vocal apologist for the Christian Democratic party.
150
While these biographical details did earn the director a number of
critical brickbats in his native Italy, no one—not even Guido Aristarco,
the doyen of PCI film critics—could deny his claim to being the true
father of Neorealism.
Although
aforementioned
many
Bicycle
(1946) and Germania
policiers.
neorealist
Thieves,
films
dealt
with
crime—the
for instance, as well as
Sciuscia
Anno Zero (1947)—few if any could be called
It is perhaps not entirely accidental that Anglo-American
distributors habitually mistranslate the words Ladri di biciclette. The
whole point of the film may be culled from its title, since Zavattini ahd
De Sica are adamant in their insistence that poverty can make bicycle
thieves
out any of us; contextually, the romantic individualism of
bicycle thief just won't wash.
If America, France and England are the crime fiction capitals of
the world, this is at least in part because of the relative stability of
these three countries. For Englishmen, Frenchmen and Americans, the
state enjoys a solidity and a legitimacy that is alien to younger, more
fragile polities. While Italy, as a recognizable national entity,
has
existed longer than any other European state with the exception of
Greece, as a modern country its existence is much less assured. As of
this writing, the Risorgimento is only 127 years old. In 1870, citizens
of the new Italy had to make sense out of a state that had once been
known as the Roman Empire prior to fragmenting into an archipelago of
wealthy city-states which were constantly being occupied and attacked
by Turks, Austrians, Spaniards, Frenchmen, Normans, Moors and anyone
else with a strong national image and sense of national purpose. While
Tuscan was the
official
language of this strangely
artificial
new
151
country, most people spoke dialects that were as different from the
recognized tongue as Catalan is from Spanish. Northern, central and
southern regions were more different from each other than Norway is
from Denmark. Attempts to strengthen the sense of national purpose by
means of colonial adventures usually ended in disaster, whether on the
plains of Adowa (1896) or in the desert sands of El Alamein (1942).
Above all, there was the problem of Sicily. After 99.5% of
Sicilian voters cast their lot in favour of union with Italy in 1860,
the government in Rome proceeded to treat the most occupied and
invaded of all Italian provinces like a sort of colony. The Mafia, once a
secret society of 13th century
Sicilian knights whose
anti-Norman
battlecry, "Morte Ai Francesi,
Italia Anela," allegedly provided the
acronym for this most famous of all illegal organizations, began to
evolve into its present form as the result of a "series of exploitative
administrations
strangers
[which]
helped
to
create
general
among Sicilians" (Schneider and Zarate
increasingly in the hands of gabelotti,
"gombeen
a
men", cynical agents
mistrust
of
10). Land was
the Sicilian version of Ireland's
who
made
profits
for
absentee
landlords at the expense of the peasantry. Mafiosi, therefore, however
brutal and self-interested they might appear to outside eyes, could
sometimes assume the shape of a viable alternative to the status quo.
Mafia elements, then known to yellow journalists as "the Black
Hand", began emigrating to the United States in the last decades of the
nineteenth-century. After New Orleans Police Chief Dave Hennessy was
assassinated by Mafia gunmen in 1890—because he believed his brother
to have been murdered by Black Handers in Houston, this Southern
policeman was presumed by his pre-emptive killers to be thirsting for
152
revenge—an outraged mob lynched eleven suspects of Italian origin
while they languished in jail, awaiting trial.
This ferocious example of American vigilante justice convinced
period
Mafiosi that they
would
be well-advised
to
confine
their
criminal activities to their own neighbourhoods. Thus, "Italo-American
gangs remained secondary to Irish—and later Polish and Jewish—gangs
in the first two decades of the [20th] century" (Schneider and Zarate
73). It was the
1920s and the implementation
of Prohibition that
provided Italian gangsters with their "edge". By the early 1930s, the
Irish, Jewish and Polish mobs of America had been decisively defeated
in a long series of vicious, long-term turf wars. "Bugs" Moran, Dion
O'Bannion, Dutch Schultz, "Mad Dog" Vincent Coll, and most of the other
headline-grabbing mobsters of the Prohibition era were either killed or
put out of business. The few that remained (Bugsy Siegel; Meyer Lansky)
made common cause with the new streamlined syndicate perfected by
Charles "Lucky" Luciano, Louis "Lepke" Buchalter, and Vito Genovese
during the decade preceding the Second World War. When they died, they
were generally not replaced (Nash 538).
From the 1880s onward, the Mafia was at least a bi-national
corporation.
In
1908, Joseph Petrosino of
the
New York
Police
Department was sent to Sicily to explore U.S./ltalian underworld links,
and was subsequently assassinated in the streets of Palermo for his
pains (Nash 57 - 59). Only in the 1920s and '30s did the criminal
organization suffer real discomfort at the hands of Mussolini's security
forces (Schneider and Zarate 58 - 61).
153
Nevertheless, even the Fascist secret police were unable to
eliminate
this
problem
entirely.
Today, rumours
persist that
the
American Army was given a much easier time than the British during
the
1943 Allied invasion of Sicily thanks to a "sweetheart
deal"
worked out between the State Department and exiled Cosa Nostra
kingpin, Lucky Luciano. After the war, the devastation wrought on
Palermo provided an excuse to put money in Mafia pockets. "Of the 4025
construction licenses granted between 1957 and 1963, 80% had been
issued to only five persons." (Schneider and Zarate 92). Padded
construction bills provided the funds required to take the
lucrative
North American heroin trade out of the hands of France's Union Corse.
Tax fraud was near universal, since "Four Mafia families [controlled]
the 334 tax offices in Sicily leased to them by the state" (Schneider
and Zarate 103). Because Sicily is an autonomous region within Italy's
body politic, local banks are not accountable to the country's central
bank—an ideal circumstance for money-laundering (although
Italy's
tough-new anti-mafia laws will hopefully close this loophole in the
near future).
For all these reasons, the Sicilian Mafia, as Arnd Schneider and
Oscar Zarate convincingly argue in Mafia for Beginners, has always been
stronger and more powerful than its better-known
U.S. counterpart.
What's more, the Sicilian Cosa Nostra is outnumbered by the Neapolitan
Camorra and the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta (Usher 22). Collectively, the
united Southern crime syndicate is truly a force to be reckoned with,
especially since, until very recently, it was supported to the hilt by
Italy's
long-serving
Christian
Democratic
Party
and
their
State
1 54
Department/CIA allies. It is now generally acknowledged that post-war
Italy was kept under "A one-party
system [which] had ruled for nearly 40 years by large-scale political
and corporate racketeering, with the shady connivance of American and
Italian secret agencies, and by a coalition with the Mafia" (Schneider
and Zarate 119). Only in very recent years have these once unbreakable
cabals begun to unravel.
If I have tried to explore Italy's criminal history at some length,
it is only because understanding the country's cultural reaction to
crime is incomprehensible without it. Criminal counter-governments
have been a part of local life since the Medieval/Renaissance days of
the condottiere
and briganti.
In many ways, they were seen to be both
more indigenous and more stable than the various unrepresentative
regimes that came and went with dismaying regularity.
In / Promessi
century
Italian
sposi, the greatest and most influential of 19th
novels,
we
do
not
encounter
any
Vautrins
or
Raskolnikovs. Indeed, armed villains are described in a manner that
borders on melodrama: "Avevano entrambi intorno al capo una reticella
verde, che cadeva sulP omero sinistro, terminata in una gran nappa e
dalla quale usciva sulla fronte un enorme ciuffo: due lunghe mustacchi
arriciati in punta; una cintura lucida di cuoio a quella attacate due
pistole..." and so on and so on, for another 50 hair-raising words
(Manzoni
10).
The author's
stock villains are as colourful
and
impersonal as a flamboyant natural disaster. Manzoni's real interest
lies with Renzo and Lucia—the young lovers harassed and pursued by the
godless Don Rodrigo—the heroic priest Padre Cristoforo, and the
legendary bandit prince, I'lnnominato, who "turned from his wicked
155
ways and lived." When Renzo runs afoul of the law he is no more
volitionally responsible than he was when he contracted the plague.
Even in a work as conservative as this, the Protestant/Jansenist notion
of prideful sin—the basis of so much detective fiction—is
notably
absent, just as the polarities between "normalcy," as embodied by
society and the state, and "deviance", as made manifest by rebellion
and crime, are singularly weak. As Cesare Pavese bitterly noted in his
private journal, "L'origine di tutte le violenze tra uomo e uomo, e for
all that tra uomo e donna, sta in questo che rarissimamente ci si trova
d'accordo sul valore di un fatto, di un pensiero, di uno stato d'animo eio
che per uno e tragedia per I'altro e gioco" (II Mestiere della vita 97).
Despite the centrality of Roman Catholicism to its culture, and
despite the lingering
patriotism,
(historically
Italy
memory of the
is a country
well-merited)
parcel
of
where—thanks
lack
ecclesiastical authorities—moral
Roman Empire's power and
of
trust
in
to
the
the
population's
temporal
and
relativism has long been part and
popular thought. The artistic,
scientific, and economic
advances of the Renaissance did not result in an equally progressive
political system. Frenchmen might regard 1789 as the dawn of the
modern age, just as Americans are wont to connect the events of 1776
to the global triumph of democracy, but for Italians the slow progress
of the Risorgimento provides no such self-aggrandizing dates. The
ability to prove that the world was spherical and revolved around the
sun did not result in the unification of even two city states. The end
result of relentless foreign occupation was a cynicism that in some
ways
resembles the
political
disaffection
of
some of
the
more
beleaguered Central European nations. In such an atmosphere, belief in
156
abstract virtues is hard to come by. Thus, when Italian director Tinto
Brass, was asked what he thought about Giustizia,
the
filmmaker's
response was jarringly blunt:
B- Non esiste.
\-Dovere?
B- Non esiste neppure questo (Pisaro 156)
On the other hand, as Cesare Pavese put it, "La politica e I'arte
del possibile. Tutta la vita e politica" (Pavese 161). By extension, the
problem of crime in general, and of the Mafia in particular, is the
ultimate
political
dimensions.
In
problem,
Cinema
a
Italian!
headache
degli
anni
of
perhaps
'70,
insuperable
film historian
Uno
Micciche phrased the Mafia film problematic in the following fashion:
"Questa
complessa e dolorosa
materia—su
cui
la Commissione
parlamentare antimafia dovrebbe fare definitivemente luce tra qualche
mese e che affligge la Sicilia da decenni—non e certamente 'filmabile'"
(Micciche 81).
Paradoxically, if the Mafia was "unfilmable," its home ground
was all too lens-worthy. In the previous century, "Giovanni Verga non
ha solamente creato una grande opera di poesia, ma ha creato un
paese, un tempo, una societa...." (De Santis 49). What this meant,
essentially, was that Verga had turned Sicily into a sort of picturesque
outpost of "Orientalism". Most of those who either wrote about Sicily
or set movies in its territory, were Northern tourists
or, at best,
immigrants. Sicilian dialect was very seldom used in these works, but
local characteristics and customs were very broadly—some might say
sterotypically—reproduced. Thus, Pietro Germi, a filmmaker fated to
157
make
his
reputation
with
satirical
comedies
predicated
on
the
absurdities of Sicilian social customs, felt compelled to explain to a
French interviewer how he believed that "mes films, on pourrait les
imaginer realises en Amerique ou en Russie ou en Angleterre—a part
certains, lies des situations
strictement
locales, comme les
films
siciliens" (Germi 65). Rome, in other words, might be like everywhere
else
but
Palermo
was
not.
In
Roy Armes's
words,
"In
many
ways...Sicilian films are best regarded not as works in a pure realistic
tradition but as stylized Italian equivalents to the American Western"
(Armes 140). Since the Italian "Wild West" had never been entirely
pacified, it could not, of course, be treated as a purely mythological
phenomenon. Since Sicilian culture was even more venerable than
mainland Italian culture, there was also the problem of age. A whiff of
impropreity clings to the notion of younger countries colonizing older
frontiers.
A specifically
political
approach
was
also
out
question, as Pierre Leprohon acknowledges in Le Cinema
of
the
italien: "La
probleme du banditisme sicilien donnera matiere a de nombreux
films qui ne pourront toujours I'aborder avec la franchise necessaire"
(Leprohon 129).
Even when, in the late 1940s, Italian filmmakers did deal more
directly with crime than was customary in the better-known works of
Neorealism, the diegetic material never quite gelled into a full-scale
policier.
Late '40s films such as Alberto Lattuada's // Bandito a n d
Carlo Lizzani's // Gatto might have been set in underworld milieus, but
the connections made between the
prevalence of crime and the
devastation wrought by the Second World War and more than twenty
years
of
Fascist misrule
rendered
these
narratives
incapable
of
158
transporting the viewer to the semi-abstract cinematic plane inhabited
by Scarface, Maigret and Sam Spade. On the other hand, as Ray Armes
points out in Patterns
of Realism,
in the first of the two films, a bleak
picaresque about a returning war veteran whom bad luck steers into a
life
of
crime,
"There
are
certain
similarities
with
the
defeatist
atmosphere of prewar French works, like Carne's Quai des brumes, but
the Prevert poetry is missing" (Armes 103). Armes, like many foreign
and domestic film critics, cites Giuseppe De Santis's Riso
amaro
(1950) as the prime example of compromised Neorealism. "There is," he
writes, "an epic sweep and plenty of violent action in Bitter
Rice;
quarrels
in
among
the
girls
in
the
rice
fields,
a seduction
thunderstorm, a gun battle amid rotting carcasses in the
plant
and a spectacular suicide" (Armes
a
refrigeration
130). Despite the
film's
serious subject matter, "someone in the course of the production saw
the commercial possibilities of a film featuring several hundred nakedthighed young women" (Armes 129). Many of the more "commercial"
Neorealist film plots sound suspiciously like opera. Senza
instance, a 1948 work
directed
by Alberto
pieta, for
Lattuada, follows
the
doomed romance of Jerry, a black American military deserter who
commits suicide after his Italian lover Angela dies as an unfortunate
consequence of his criminal activites. In early postwar Italian crime
films, Le Quai des brumes often seems to run head-on into
Carmen.
Later in this chapter we will see how operatic motifs would eventually
"solve" the problem of filming the "unfilmable" Mafia. They also helped
to make poverty seem more palatable, the sordid hotel room of the
outlaw
on the
run being far
less discomfiting
to
motion
picture
159
audiences of modest means than the squalid apartments of unemployed
bricklayers.
Before pursuing this argument, however, we must return to the
intellectual milieu of postwar France. As we saw in the last chapter,
French feelings towards American culture were now exceedingly mixed.
On the one hand, there were positive memories of the Liberation and
limitless enthusiasm for new Hollywood movies, experimental
and jazz. Contrapuntally, there was much worry about the
fiction
long-term
implications of the Marshall Plan, strong working class loyalty to the
victors at Stalingrad, and a violent intellectual reaction against the
first stirrings of McCarthyism. Despite his admiration for Hemingway,
Faulkner, Dos Passos and Duke Ellington, Jean-Paul Sartre produced Le
Putain
respecteuse
in the mid-1940s, a depiction of a Klan-dominated
Deep South that was even grimmer than the "Jim Crow" reality that
invoked
it.
Even
Boris
Vian,
the
St.-Germain-des-Pres cultural
barometer who, in Jean Cau's words, "aimait le jazz, l'Amerique...les
'Series noires' de Marcel Duhamel'," (Croquis de memoire 47) achieved
his greatest commercial success in these years with J'lrai crachez
vos
tombes,
a temporarily
sur
banned novel allegedly written by the
lightskinned American mulatto "Vernon Sullivan". With tongue pressed
firmly in cheek, Vian disingenuously professed to be merely
the
translator of this book about a Southern American Black man who can
"pass" for white and who exacts a terrible
revenge on two
racist
Southern belles (Croquis de memoire 47). Mixing the styles of Richard
Wright's
Black Boy (1939)
and Henry Miller's phallus-driven
erotic
fantasies, Vian said of the fictitious Sullivan and his equally fictive
motives "...sa preference pour les Noirs inspirait a [lui] une espece de
160
mepris des 'bons durs'," since he temperamentally sides with "des
Noirs aussi 'durs' que les Blancs" (Vian 9). While J'irai cracher sur vos
tombe scontinues to be a contentious text on account of its ferocious
misogyny, the book is also an eerie foreshadowing of certain Black
militant fictions of the 1960s and '70s, notably Melvin Van Peebles's
genre-bending "blaxploitation" epic,
Sweet
Sweetback's
Baad
Asss
Song (1971). In France, more even than in the United States, it was
realized that "With
its
reputation
for
corruption,
racism, poverty,
backward and primitive sexuality, the South [was] an ideal setting for
pulp culture crime fiction" (Haut 149).
J'irai cracher sur vos tombes was far more sexually explicit than
any American crime movie or novel could then have hoped to be, but the
book's dark sexual undercurrents were very much in the American vein.
Of course, since Vian's unique take on the hardboiled novel was set in
the United States rather than France, it was initially seen as less
threatening
Salammbo
by
Gallic
censors, just
as
the
erotically
decadent
had once been considered less injurious to public morals
than was the relatively chaste Madame
Bovary, primarily because the
action of the first Flaubert text was situated in ancient Carthage while
the events of the second unfolded in contemporary—which is to say,
mid-1 nineteenth-century—France.
In "Chronique d'une imposture: L'erotic thriller'", Michel Cieutat
noted that "les films noirs des annees quarantes et cinquantes, par
respect pour les romans de Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler ou
James M. Cain dont ils etaient les adaptations...ont ete les premiers des
thrillers
a
mettre
en
relief
la force
matrice
du
sexe
dans
le
comportement de leur personnages, etre profondement impregnes de
161
I'etat d'esprit propre autant a I'air de la Depression (epoque ou furent
ecrits les romans) qu'a celui qui annoncait puis succedait au second
conflit mondial (periode ou furent produits ces films)" (Garbarz 97).
During the war years, lone wolf detectives achieved new onscreen
status because "Coince entre la police et la truands, le prive est un
etre seul qui ne peut compter sur personne" (Le crime a I'ecran 58).
Because American soldiers overseas were said to be almost universally
anxious that their wives and girlfriends—liberated from the home for
the first time, and working in the high-paying defence industry jobs
that were once exclusively reserved for men—would betray them at
their earliest possible opportunity, the image of the femme
fatale
arose from the miasma of turn-of-the-century coffeehouse chatter and
became a dominant figure on American screens. Perhaps for related
reasons, the latent homosexuality which Leslie Fiedler believes to be
at the heart of 19th century American fiction began to integrate itself
in precisely those films that favoured demonic female protagonists. In
his biography of the Austrian-born American filmmaker, Kevin Lally
writes, "[Billy] Wilder has called Double
Indemnity
a love story, but
he's not talking about the relationship between Walter and Phyllis—
rather, it's the bond between Walter and his mentor" (Lally 137). When
female "praying mantises" are present, it would seem that their male
counterparts can do little but huddle together for comfort—just as they
would do in foxholes and trenches when under hostile fire. Once again
we are reminded of Lilith, the Talmudic demon/angel who preys on men
who are young, lonely, and far from home.
When French cinephiles "discovered" film noir in 1946, virtually
all of the ingredients that went into it were already well known to
162
them. One can find all of the seven noirish characteristics cited by Paul
Schrader in his essay "Notes on Film Noir"—a majority
of scenes lit for night; a visual preference for oblique and vertical
lines; equal lighting emphasis on actors and settings; a tendency to
promote compositional tension at the expense of physical action; "an
almost Freudian attachment to water"; a love of romantic narration; a
complex chronological order—in Le Quai des brumes and Le Jour se /eve.
Even so, these darkly-textured
American films appeared to
reflect
something new.
In the 1930s, it should be recalled, Jean Gabin usually came to a
sorry end on account of his love for a woman—but his death was almost
never the woman's fault. The notion of the femme fatale was therefore
alien to Popular Front cinema. When dark forces took human shape, they
were most likely to do so in the form of Jules Berry, the actor who
played this trick in Jean Renoir's Le Crime de M. Lange in 1936, Le Jour
se leve in 1939, and Carne's
governments
might
Les
Visiteurs
du soir in
have been more reluctant
1942.
French
than their American
counterparts to grant political rights to their female constituents, but
French society as a whole was far less prone to all-male social
gatherings.
Underworld society, conversely, was virtually
all male,
with the exception of background wives, mob molls and
affiliated
whores. Male/male relationships were therefore
in such
paramount
dramas, but the more overtly homosexual formulas devised by Francis
Carco in Jesus-la-caille
would obviously be unacceptable to
mid-
century French viewers and censors alike. An American compromise
was therefore required.
163
If anything, the French craze for Americans romans noirs w a s
even
stronger
than
its
penchant
for
the
filmed
variety.
In
his
introduction to the new, now-famous Gallimard book line known as la
"Series noir", Marcel Duhamel warned his readers that "L'amateur
d'enigmes a la Sherlock Holmes n'y trouvera pas souvent son compte.
L'optimiste systematique non plus." (Le crime a I'ecran 158)
Just as, by a weird
stroke
of synchronicity,
Albert Camus
physically resembled Humphrey Bogart, so did the Existentialist novel
resemble its hardboiled predecessor. Horace McCoy's and James M.
Cain's fictions
have both been claimed as key influences on the
composition of L'Etranger
(1942). These two narrative streams were
more than merely compatible; they actively fed and augmented each
each other.
"En presque trente ans (1952 - 1981), 61 auteurs ont ete adaptes,
et cela 117 fois...." (Bertes 90). Ironically, "Le champion absolu est
James Hadley Chase (au moins 15 titres adaptes)...." (Bertes 90). Chase,
of course, was an English author whose knowledge of American mores
was
limited
to
what
he
had
learned
from
American
movies.
Nevertheless, Lemmy Caution, his most popular creation, would thrice
be put to good use by Jean-Luc Godard.
As
a rule,
French cineastes—very likely
la "Series noire's"
staunchest fans—preferred to tackle the less illustrious of America's
hardboiled talents. According to Catherine Berthe, "Les adaptations de
Hammett, Chandler ou Cain avaient donne lieu a des chefs-d'oeuvres
difficile
a egaler...."
(Bertes
francaise semble etre tiraillee
91).
Consequently, "La Serie
entre
noire
la parodie et le realisme...."
(Bertes 93). In the case of Cain, an Italian, rather than an American,
1 64
definitively explored what Joyce Carol Oates once described as "a
world immense with freedom, women hellish and
infantile...money,
power, the tantalizing promise of adventure" (Tough Guv Writers of the
Thirties
110).
Instead, French filmmakers enjoyed their
greatest
successes with William Irish, David Goodis, Charles Williams, Jim
Thompson,
and
other
hardboiled
authors
whom
the
American
mainstream more or less forgot. Lionel White and Charles Williams
would continue to inspire French filmmakers long after they had ceased
to exercise the imaginations of their fellow countrymen. As the subject
of the next few paragraphs once said,
II est difficile aux Francais de mesurer la solitude dans laquelle
vivent aux Etats-Unis les ecrivains qui ont choisi la litterature
populaire. Les amateurs francais de Serie noire, sans lire
forcement tout ce qui est traduit dans notre langue, parviennent
vite a reconnaitre le talent de tel ou tel romancier et a le faire
savoir. Le telephone arabe fait le reste, et c'est ainisi que les
noms de David Goodis, Dolores Hitchens, William Irish, Dorothy B.
Hughes, Henry Farrell, Jim Thompson, Joseph Harrington, Harry
Whittington...circulent de bouche a oreille et se font une
reputation parmi les specialistes (Le Cinema selon Francois
Truffaut (419 -420).
Francois
Truffaut—the
critic-turned-cineaste
whose
visceral
distaste for the gangster genre is reflected by his observation that,
in Scarface,
director Howard Hawks "a dirige Paul Muni de maniere a le
faire ressembler a un singe, les bras en demi-cercles, le visage
grimacant"—was as sympathetic to noirish losers as he was hostile to
criminal social climbers (Les Films de ma vie 96). While the director's
1966 feature, La Mariee etait en noir, might have been a visual homage
to the techniques of Alfred Hitchcock, his source material was provided
165
by
William
Irish
(the
pen
name
of
Cornell
Woolrich).
Truffaut
appreciated the fact that, in Irish's dyspeptic universe, "Au lieu d'avoir
des gangsters dans un milieu social bien defini, on avait des histoires
qui ressemblent a des cauchemars. Irish c'est presque toujours des
histoires d'amour empeches, histoires effrayantes, qui reposent sur une
idee de fatalite" (Le
Sounding like
Cinema selon
Francois Truffaut
183 - 184).
a latterday Baudelaire in the presence of his personal
Poe—in 1969, he would turn a second "Irish" novel into La Sirene de la
Missisippi—Truffaut
[David]
once described Woolrich as "un poete, tout comme
Goodis," another
American
authors
(Le
of
the
filmmaker's
Cinema selon
favourite
Francois Truffaut
hardboiled
184.) He
appreciated the fact that neither Irish nor the author of Down
(1956), the dour novel that would eventually
be transformed
There
into
Truffaut's darkly comic second feature, Tirez sur le pianiste, were very
specific about
locale. "Parce qu'on voit ces livres-la—les romans
d'lrish, de Goodis, que j'aime beaucoup egalement—comme des contes de
fees pour adultes," the director explained.
"Et je les adapte dans le
meme esprit que Cocteau tournant La Belle et la Bete, enfin en jouant
un jeu moins ouvertment feerique" (Le Cinema selon Francois Truffaut
185). Truffaut
prided himself on his ability not only to find visual
means of reproducing English language "tough guy" prose, but also to
insure that those methods were truly French as well: "Ainsi, quand je
devais affronter un 'probleme Irish', j'avais des chances de trouver la
'solution Irish'" (Le Cinema selon Francois Truffaut 244). As a critic in
the 1950s, the director had questioned the existence of "unfilmable"
scenes, and his crime movies provided him with the perfect opportunity
to put his theories to the test.
166
Each of Truffaut's five true polars—because
they're more about
adultery than murder, one should exclude from consideration La
douce
and La Femme
Peau
d'a cote —is a re-imagining of an American
hardboiled novel. Une belle fille comme moi was inspired by Henry
Farrell's Such a Gorgeous Kid Like Me, while Vivement Dimanche
was
hived off a Charles Williams story.
Of this quintet of cinematic adaptations, Tirez sur le pianiste is
unquestionably the most successful. While book and movie both deal
with
a
talented
insensitivity
concert
triggered
the
pianist
who
suicide of
believes
his
momentary
his self-sacrificing wife,
the
moods of these works could not be more different. Eddie Lynn, Goodis's
variation, is a wounded veteran of Merrill's Marauders who won medals
for killing Japanese soldiers in Burma; Charlie, meanwhile, Francois
Truffaut's much milder model, is a French pianist of Armenian descent
who reads self-help books in order to overcome his timidity. The
American pianist's Philadelphia is a joyless urban backwater; Charlie's
Paris, on the other hand, though imbued with melancholy, is a city
where complete strangers josh with each other, a place dripping with
Prevertian romanticism. To make ends meet, Charlie and Eddie both
tickle the
ivories in out-of-the-way
neighbourhood
bars, and
both
parties will unwittingly cause the death of barmaids thanks to their
unsavoury family connections. The barmaid whose love
pulls Charlie out of his snail's shell of emotional
romantic conflation of Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca
temporarily
isolation is a
and a feminized
version of Gavroche, Victor Hugo's immortal street urchin; Eddie's
doomed muse is neither romantic nor soft in any way, being the sort of
embittered, street-savvy woman who'd stab "roosters where it really
167
hurts" with a hatpin whenever it came time to fend off a pass. (Shoot
the
Piano
Hardboiled
Plaver 13) If, as Woody Haut claims in Pulp
Fiction:
Fiction and the Cold War, Goodis's women are either wives
or waifs, in Down There the waif is a wife and the wife is a waif. Still,
despite its utter lack of alcoholic self-pity, and despite the presence
of Groucho Marxist gangsters, funny songs and a decidely nonNeorealist appropriation of elliptical editing, Tirez sur le pianiste is
somehow even sadder than Down There. Although he was only 29 when
he directed the film, Truffaut
repeatedly told interviewers that the
movie was really about the onset of middle-age. Truffaut, haunted by
memories of his own unhappy childhood, clearly related to Charlie as. a
fellow sufferer who was trapped by his own genetic heritage. It seems
likely he related most strongly to the fictional passage where Eddie
Lynn's violent anger over the suicide of his wife finally sputters out, a
rage which will soon be replaced by passive, nostalgic despair: "The
wild man was gone, annihilated by two old hulks who didn't know they
were still in there pitching, the dull-eyed shrugging mother and the
easy-smiling, booze-guzzling father." (Shoot the Piano Plaver 87)
Noir's
obsession with the past, unsurprisingly, was one of the
factors that most attracted French writers and directors to it. In the
homeland of Proust and Bergson, it could hardly have been otherwise.
French intellectuals were equally partial to policiers
that shied away
from simplistic moral judgements. Georges Simenon, for instance, the
one francophone crime writer who was as revered by French detective
story aficionados as were any of his anglophone peers, would "presente
le plus souvent le coupable comme un irresponsable de naissance, une
victime
de
la societe" (Assouline 812).
By
means
of
judicious
168
borrowing, popular French cinema and literature was able to fuse the
otherwise incompatible myths of Hugo and Zola. Since many American
crime novels were also obsessed by the idea of escape,
the formula
could be still further broadened to accomodate the sympatico visions of
Pierre Mac Orlan and Jacques Prevert.
While he might not be most adapted, Jim Thompson would seem to
be the hardboiled American author who is most accessible to nonAmerican directors. Alain Corneau, whose 1979 feature Serie noire
was taken from Thompson's very different novel A Hell of a Woman,
explained this situation in the following terms: "A part Kubrick ou
Stephen Frears, Hollywood continue a ne pas etre tres excite par
I'adaptation des livres de Thompson, contrairement
aux Europeens.
D'ailleurs Thompson est beaucoup plus connu en Europe, et en France
principalement, a cause de ce phenomene. Avec Thompson, on est un peu
comme avec le jazz a une certaine epoque, quand les Americains ne
suivent plus ou ont de mal a s'y interesser, alors que les Europeens
aiment beaucoup ca et ont une vision differente. Or ce n'est pas du tout
parce que Thompson devient europeen, mais parce qu'il fait une analyse
spectrale de l'Amerique qui correspond a la maniere dont les Europeens
ont tendance a regarder l'Amerique." (Singer 97). In practice, this
usually means that the bleaker the vision of an American crime writer,
the more likely he or she is to be taken seriously by French artists and
critics. In their eyes, to be disparaged, dismissed and ignored at home
is to become a sort of pulp fiction Alexander Solzhenitsyn living on the
fringes of some problem-plagued U.S. town. For Parisian intellectuals,
le roman noir is pre-eminently
exiles, both internal
a literature of alienation written by
and external. The lack of
recognition
which
169
hardboiled novelists receive in the United States is seen as further
proof of the prophetic authenticity of their literary statements. To be
despised is to be Edgar Poe; to be Edgar Poe is to be Charles Baudelaire;
to be Charles Baudelaire is to be the father of modern literature.
No wonder the French admire them.
Like so many hardboiled American writers, Jim Thompson was not
"destined" to be a popular artist. Raised in the American
Southwest, Thompson's easy-going father won and lost fortunes
at
poker and oil speculation. As a teenager, the future noir novelist and
screenwriter worked as a bootlegging bellhop when Prohibition was in
full flower, as well as a reporter and wildcat oil rigger. For a time, he
was a left wing organizer, and his years in Hollywood were not happy.
From earliest youth, he was the observer—and sometimes the victim—of
cons and scams. His obsession with physical mutilation—the heroes of
at least three of his many novels are literally castrated—was perhaps
motivated by memories of his unhappy Uncle Ned, a farmer "who had to
submit to the gradual trimming
away of his leg." (Bad
Boy 31)
Thompson got into the bottle early, and was only fully pulled out of it
when his body was laid in the grave.
As a stylist, Thompson tended to mix the laconic exactitude of
Dashiell Hammett with the poetic wisecracks of Raymond Chandler. In
The Grifters, for instance, a conman is said to be "so crooked he could
eat soup with a corkscrew"—in terms of utter admiration.
Memorable
terms of phrase are ubiquitous in Thompson's novels: "I was sweating
like a chippie in church;" "The way she hung over the table you would
have thought she was the cloth" (A Hell of a Woman 92; A Hell of a
Woman 31.) Of all American crime novelists, Thompson was also the
170
one most smitten by modernism. Like Ernest Hemingway in To Have and
Have
Not,
he was wont to change narrators
from
paragraph
to
paragraph, and even when he didn't the dominant voice's reliability was
constantly compromised by the unstable flux of the speaker's sanity.
In A Hell of a Woman, Frank, the book's first-person narrator, is a
self-pitying
"loser" who
periodically
commits
impulsive
murders—
although he will usually pretend that he was doing something else.
Every second sentence refers to the bad luck he's faced all his life, or
else to
his inability
to escape from
equally bad women: "Three
goddamned tramps in a row...or maybe it was four or five, but it doesn't
matter. It was like they were the same person" (A Hell of a Woman 99).
Before doing away with a bipedal obstacle, Thompson's anti-hero feels
compelled to pre-demonize the soon-to-be-victim: "I think maybe he
was a Nazi or maybe a Communist—one of 'em that slipped over here
during the war" (A Hell of a Woman 101). Even after
committing
murder, this clinical paranoid feels more like the victim than
the
aggressor: "It had to be true. Something had to be true besides what—
what was true."
(A Hell of a Woman 167). Of course, Frank will
eventually get his comeuppance when, at long last, he finally meets a
woman who really is as "bad" as he believes her entire sex to be.
In
his
1979-vintage
feature
Serie
noire,
Alain
Corneau
transferred Thompson's small town Hell of a setting to the suburbs of
Paris. He also, as befits the French crime tradition, made the narrative
slightly more Dostoevskyan. In Positifs
oft-cited polar poll, the film
would be deservedly voted the third best French crime movie of all
time.
171
Thompson also provided Bertrand Tavernier with a means of
exploring some of the darker aspects of the French colonial experience.
As we saw in the last chapter, the French intellectuals who were so
solicitous of America's exploited Blacks were often strangely blind to
the African and Arab street sweepers who eked out a miserable
existence closer to home. Coup de torchon (1983) pivoted on the direct
transposition of the eponymous Florida hamlet in Thompson's Pop. 1280
to an outpost of French colonial Africa. In Thompson's text, "Un agent
de la loi raconte au lecteur ces crimes avec parcimonie, et un sens du
non-sens qui inscrit presque dans la litterature de I'absurde;
au cours
de ce voyage, il demolit les valeurs morales comme la familie, I'Etat,
la religion, les rapport de dependance, la societe capital" (Montalban
107). Pushing the chronological clock back to 1938, "Tavernier francise
le sherif en le transformant en policier des colonies, plonge dans une
ambiance coloniale plein d'hommages au cinema des annees trente"
(Montalban 109). Coup de torchon unfolds against the backdrop of the
Munich accords, and the
lazy, smalltown
policeman portrayed
by
Philippe Noiret, his adulterous wife, his battered mistress, his racist
colleagues, and the various canaille whom he shoots out of hand are all
representative of a dying world that deserves
grave.
to slip into the
Most of the film was shot in Steadicam, the hand-held shots
being used "en partie comme une reference a la facon de filmer dans
le
cinema colonialiste
representation
du
des
monde
annees trente,
de Jim Thompson
en
ou
partie
comme
Ton n'a
la
jamais
I'impression d'etre sur la terre firme, sur un champ mine" (Montalban
109). In Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory (1958), an anti-war movie coscripted by Jim Thompson, the filmmakers were obliged to substitute
172
French characters for American; in Coup de torchon an equal and
opposite alchemy occurs.
Much
of
the
attraction
of
hardboiled
fiction
for
French
filmmakers lay in the genre's extremely imaginative argot. To find a
suitable French equivalent for Jim Thompson's unique speech rhythms,
Georges Perec, the experimental novelist who composed the script for
Serie
noire,
entirely...from
found
himself
cliches, quotations
obliged
to
construct
it
"almost
and set phrases...." (Bellos 653).
What's more, "...every phrase uttered [would be] repeated elsewhere in
the film" (Bellos 653). Georges Simenon, who, in the late 1940s, won
the top mystery writer prize from Ellery
which
Queen's
marked "la premiere fois qu'un auteur
Magazine—an
de langue
event
frangais
I'emporte aux Etats-Unis sur un terrain ou les Anglo-Saxons passent
pour des maitres incontestes"—tended to compose his policiers
in a
fairly standard French, give or take the odd Belgicism (Assouline 564).
As a stylist, he was far removed from the half-Rabelaisian, halfTourette's
Syndrome-driven verbal explosions of a Louis-Ferdinand
Celine. Nevertheless, thanks to earlier writers such as Francis Carco,
French crime fiction was endowed with an authentic underworld idiom.
In the post-war years, it would be adapted and embellished by
policier
specialists such as Albert Simonin, whose 1953 novel Touchez pas au
grisbi! included a sixteen page glossary of the specifically criminal
slang that he worked into a text which contained few standard French
words apart from pronouns and articles. While such works would never
replace the American models, they were hugely influential. Jacques
Becker's 1954 film version of Touchez pas au grisbh,starring the iconic
Jean Gabin, was recently voted the best French polar of all time. More
173
commonly, though, argot heavy crime movies fall into the popular Henri
Verneuil "B movie" category—such as Le Clan des Siciliens
(1971)—or,
more recently, the angry-ethnic-youth-in-the-suburbs expose, such as
Mathieu Kassowitz's Cesar-winning second feature, La haine (1995).
This submission to American mores, though carried out with
seeming
enthusiasm,
was
inevitably
accompanied
by
certain
misgivings. For one thing, it meant that France was drifting ever
further away from the central place in world culture and politics which
post-Enlightenment
intellectuals
had
accorded it.
It
also
rubbed
abrasively against the French concern for the "purity" of the national
language, a purity made manifest
Frangaise.
In
his meditation
in the form
"De la superiority
of the Academie
de
la litterature
anglaise/americaine", Gilles Deleuze explained, with a mixture
admiration
and horror,
of
how the English tongue was "une langue
hegemonique, imperialiste. Mais elle est d'autant plus vulnerable au
travail souterrain des langues ou des dialectes qui le minent de toutes
parts, et lui imposent un jeu de corruptions et variations tres vastes"
(Dialogues
72). Once again, Anglo-American culture
is paid the
backhanded Gallic compliment of being more vibrant thanks to its New
World crudity, barbarity
and linguistic promiscuity. The interlopers'
"undeserved" victory can therefore be attributed largely to their nonGallic refusal to "play fair."
In French policiers,
characters are constantly making metaphors
that relate to American crime movies. In Boris Vian's Elles ne rendent
pas
compte, a car chase is "[c]omme dans les films de gangsters...
Ecoute les pneus" (Elles ne rendent pas compte 152). In a provincial
police
station
visited
by Georges Simenon's most famous
hero,
174
meanwhile, a detective wannabe "avait son chapeau en arriere comme
dans les films americains" (Les Vacances de Maigret 28). Indeed, even
Commissario Ambrosio, the best known of Italian literary
detectives,
is constantly likening aspects of his cases to Woody Allen or Jane
Fonda movies, even if his ultimate cultural loyalty, as Raffaele Croni
believes, is to "un understatement inglese" (Maledetto
Ferragosto 10).
Renato Olivieri, Ambrosio's creator, is likewise clearly familiar with
Georges Simenon's sympathetic approach to crimes passionels.
other hand, the ubiquity
of African women in Olivieri's
Somalian model in Maledetto
Ferragosto
isole Seychelles" in Dunque
Marranno—are
fiction—the
;"[la] ragazza...orginaria della
almost certainly
echoes of French attempts to re-capture echoes of their
colonial pasts by re-casting the
On the
motifs
Southern American melodrama (Dunque
and dramatis
Italian
respective
personae of
Maranno 20). Oliveiri's plots
often sound like elaborate riffs on the single paragraph, black-type
descriptions of murder that so often
favourite
newspaper,
valiant attempts
Corriere
to Italianize
appear in the pages of his
della sera.
a distinctly
Nevertheless, despite his
non-Italian
genre, Oliveri's
limited success reminds us irresistibly of Gramsci's frustration
with
his homeland's lack of popular literature. "Ogni popolo," he wrote in his
prison notebooks, "ha la sua letteratura, ma essa puo venirgli da un
altro
popolo, cioe il popolo in parola puo essere subordinate
all'
egemonia intelletuale e morale di altri popoli" (Gramsci 2253).
Happily, this state of affairs would not apply to crime movies in
the 1950s and '60s. During that decade, the film noir would burn itself
out in Hollywood—Orson Welles' Touch of Evil (1958)
is
generally
regarded as the last true descendant of this distinguished '40s style—
175
while the outlaw anti-hero movies of the late
1960s—pre-eminently,
Arthur Penn's Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and Dennis Hopper's Easy
Rider
(1969)—were gradually taking shape as the moralistic strictures of the
Hays Code fell one by one. In France, after Marcel Carne and Jacques
Prevert's attempt to resuscitate poetic realism failed when audiences
rejected their first post-war effort, Les Portes de la nuit (1946),
a
wave of underworld nostalgia quickly replaced it. Jacques Becker's
Casque
d'or (1952) highlighted a meticulously reconstructed
apache
Montmartre even more venerable than Francis Carco's, while his 1954
adaptation of Touchez pas au grisbi! re-made star Jean Gabin in the
image of an ageing underworld kingpin who must come to terms with
his own mortality
and declining physical powers, as well as battle
opposing mobs and the police. Except for the "B movie" bottom of the
market, polars did not generally concern themselves with the doings .of
the Union
Corse,
international
France's indigenous Mediterranean mob, a gang of
criminals who controlled the flow
of heroin
into the
Americas untill they were edged out by the Sicilian Mafia in the mid1950s. Like its wars in Algeria and Indochina, France's real c r i m e
problems were left largely untouched by French filmmakers until long
after they had ceased to stick in the national craw.
The man who really steered the French crime film into new
waters, though, was Jean-Pierre Melville. An eccentric known
for
sleeping by day and making movies by night, this sometime collaborator
of Jean Cocteau seemed ideally situated to create a noirish world of
his own. Bob le flambeur (1955), a "heist movie" about a degenerate
gambler whose plans to rob a luxurious casino are spoiled when he
finally gets lucky at cards, was Melville's first genre entry, even if he
176
refused "le label policier a ce film qui'il prefere definir comme une
comedie des moeurs" (Rouyer 100). At bottom, Bob was a nostalgic love
poem to the vanishing Montmartre of Jacques Prevert, Francis Carco
and Pierre Mac Orlan. His later films, however, would all be predicated
upon the assumption that "la trahison est le moteur
de Taction"
(Rouyer
homosexual
102). What's
more, following
in the
latently
footsteps of hardboiled American fictions, Melville's signature movies
were all "'films d'hommes' ou les femmes n'ont qu'un role episodique
et secondaire, sans que pour autant
apparaissant necessairement
comme des femmes fatales, ce qui les differencie des grands films
noirs Hollywoodien qui en sont la modele" (Martin 73).
Melville's Americanophilia is perhaps best exemplified by the
following anecdote. In 1958 he planned to make a political thriller that
was inextricably linked to the constitutional
structure of the Fourth
Republic. When that regime fell, to be replaced by the Fifth Republic
with General De Gaulle at its head, the film no longer made sense. Then
the filmmaker noticed that the set he had built for "un President de
conseil francais" was more-or-less identical to Louis Calhern's flat in
John Huston's 1950 underworld drama, The Asphalt Jungle
( "Jean-
Pierre Melville decide de partir pour New York" 80). Pierre Grasset, the
director's
set designer, suggested they
transport
their
production
across the Atlantic, and Melville eagerly agreed. The experience was to
have a profound experience on the filmmaker,
insight
into
the
relative
strengths
of
his
providing
him with
bi-national
cultural
inheritance. As Thierry Jousse would have it,, "en passant de I'autre
cote de I'Atlantique, il regie une bonne fois pour toute la question de sa
relation a l'Amerique. II existe une Amerique reelle, celle de
Deux
1 77
hommes
dans
Manhattan,
et une Amerique fantasmee, celle des
policiers des annees 60-70 et on ne peut absolument pas les confondre.
Autrement dit, cette decision d'aller tourner a New York...permettra a
Melville de se liberer de toute idee saugrenue d'aller s'installer' a
Hollywood et, par la meme occasion, de reinventer, tranquillement dans
les rues de Paris...." ("Jean-Pierre Melville decide de partir pour New
York" 80).
This knowledge would bear rich fruit. If Le Samourai,
Melville's
1967 masterpiece about a trenchcoated hitman who pushes stoicism to
the edge of catatonia, was consciously modelled after Frank Tuttle's
1942 noir, This Gun for Hire, its originality would later allow John
Woo, the greatest living Hong Kong director of policiers,
"introdui[re]
les constantes de son style avec des personnages qui doivent tout a
Melville, que Woo considere comme son maitre" (Saada 69). In the same
fashion, Thierry Jousse, when watching Melville's 1963 tough guy epic
Le Doulos
on TV a few years ago, "eu la nette impression qu'il
anticipait tres largement un film recent parmi les plus importants, en
I'occurrence Miller's Crossing des freres Coen" ("Le Doulos" 46).
A particularly direct gift to tough guy French cinema arrived in
the form of Jules Dassin. Chased out of McCarthyite Hollywood on
account of his left-wing politics, Dassin became a cinematic gypsy who
benefitted
the film industries of each of the nations in which he
temporarily
resided. Rififi chez les hommes (1955) was the definitive
French heist movie of the 1950s, a film that counterpoised prolonged,
carefully choreographed scenes of a complicated burglary's planning
and execution with shorter, more jagged shots of its bloody aftermath.
Its influence continues to be felt on both sides of the Atlantic. As
178
Francois Truffaut wrote in his book The Films in My Life—this text does
not appear in Les Films de ma vie, a source work whose diegetic
material
sometimes
differs
from that
of
its
"translation"—"Dassin
shot the film on the street during high winds and rain, and he reveals
Paris to us Frenchmen just as he revealed London to the English (Night
and the City) and New York to the Americans (Naked City)" (The Films in
My Life 209). Truffaut might well have added "and would eventually
reveal Athens to the Greeks (Never on Sunday)." We have already seen
how Hollywood furthered—and continues to further—its fortunes by
enriching
competing
its
human
national
assets with the
film industries.
more
talented
members
of
In a small way, Jules Dassin
reversed this entropic process.
One of the major influences on the harder '50s in crime films,
both
French and American, was Mike Hammer. Mickey Spillane's
sociopathic alter ego: "Ce detective peu sympathique n'a pas de valeur
morale ni sociale, et n'est pas un justicier...quand il tue, c'est pour se
defendre...." (Garsault 82). In Kiss Me Deadly (1953) we learn that
"There's no such thing as innocence,' says Hammer. 'Innocence touched
with guilt is as good as you get'" (Kiss Me Deadly 221). While nobody
seems to have much liked him, Hammer's brutal self-interest would, in
one way or another, come to mark the more sophisticated creations of
Jean-Pierre Melville, Jean-Luc Godard and Arthur Penn. Like the atomic
bomb, he was a sign of the times that could not be ignored.
In the early 1960s, the filmmakers of the Nouvelle Vague would
take to the policier in a big way. Before directing 7/rez sur le
pianiste,
Truffaut wrote the screen treatment
for Jean-Luc Godard's
first feature A bout de souffle (1959), an intellectual picaresque about
179
a likable cop killer, his lust for American women and cars, and his
narcissistic identification
with Humphrey Bogart's hardboiled persona.
Unsurprisingly, the film was dedicated "a Monogram Pictures". In "La
Paresse" (1961), Alphaville
(1965), and Germany
Nine Zero
(1992),
Godard would resurrect that most overexposed of borrowed "American"
tough guys, James Hadley Chase's two-fisted,
hard-drinking
Lemmy
Caution (played in all instances by expatriate American actor, Eddie
Constantine) and use him for everything from a paragon of laziness to a
futuristic James Bond, from a defender of humanism to a psychopathic
killer, from a mythic hero to a mute observer of the post-Communist
world.
With typical Godardian insouciance, Made in USA (1966)
was
based on a Donald Westlake crime novel which the director did not even
deign to read. Although set in "Atlantic City" and loaded with American
names and cultural archetypes, the film has nothing to do with New
Jersey's underworld
milieu. In Annie Goldmann's words, "En realite
c'est un film politique: les U.S.A., c'est la France...." (Goldmann 169).
In Pierrot le fou (1965), the film that directly inspired Arthur Penn's
Bonnie
and Clyde, voice-over narrators constantly remind us that the
proceedings are "comme dans un roman de...William Faulkner
ou...Raymond Chandler." In his book on the director, Richard Roud
reminds us that "Hardly any of his characters seem to have
families" (Roud 20). What's more, if Godard's protagonists are
enfants
de Marx
et Coca
Cola",
his women seem to be "more
"les
the
daughters of Coca-Cola than of Marx"—a view which partially explains
the filmmaker's abiding misogyny.
Claude Chabrol, the third wheel in the
Nouvelle
Truffaut-Godard-Chabrol
Vague troika, soon became a specialist in policiers.
Three .of
180
his
murder
mysteries would make Positif's
polar "Top 40", while
Godard and Truffaut could lay claim to only one film apiece. Chabrol is
one of the masters of the psychological
French crime
story, as
embodied by Georges Simenon's romans durs, such as Le Chat, a novel—
made into film in 1971 by Pierre Granier-Deferre—into which the only
"crime" is the murder of her husband's pet by an aggrieved, aging
housewife. An expert on the provincial bourgeoisie, Chabrol's
oeuvre
owes little to any American influence except for one: Alfred
Hitchcock.
1
Whether re-making Fritz Lang's M in late '80s Berlin, or
adapting Ruth Rendell (La Ceremonie) or Georges Simenon
(L'Enter),
Chabrol approaches the material with the shrewd eye of a smalltown
apothecary who lets down his guard only in the presence of such
simple, peasant pleasures as good food and good wine.
Italian cinema, meanwhile, has yet to transform the policier into
an indigenous Italian style. A film industry that is famously rich in
genres—the peplum; the sex comedy; the "spaghetti western"; the fake
documentary; the slasher movie—"Hollywood on the Tiber" has seldom
managed to abstract onscreen criminal activities to the point where
they constitute a distinct sub-category in the entertainment
industry.
Readers of this chapter will doubtless be surprised to discover that I was able to progress
so far without once mentioning the English-born "Master of Suspense", the generic giant
whose greatness is now acknowledged on both sides of the Atlantic. I have refrained from
reflecting on his overwhelming influence on the Franco/American crime film for two
reasons. In the first place, as Michel Ciment pointed out in Le crime a I'ecran, Hitchcock's
"oeuvre s'etait constitute a part, marquee d'un sceau si personnel qu'elle s'integre
difficilement a un genre." (Le crime a I'ecran 94) In keeping with this proud islation, the
lessons of Hitchcock were not only studied in the articles and then incorporated into the
films of the critic/cineastes of Cahiers du cinema, but were subsequently applied in a wide
variety of ways-some of which had nothing to do with the dynamics of the thriller. The
seemingly po/arphobic Eric Rohmer was as infatuated by Hitchcock as were the po/a/philic
Francois Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard. T o describe this class of Hollywood-friendly
auteurist critic, Cahiers founder Andre Bazin went so far as to coin the word "HawksoHitchcockian." "Alfred the Great" will therefore be considered in this dissertation's final
chapter, "Luc Moullet; or, The Last of the Hawkso-Hitchcockians."
1
181
If the gialli
have to struggle for
respect in the world
of
Italian
publishing, they can barely cast a shadow at Cinecitta.2
Nevertheless,
construct
to
despite
determine
the
its
absence
norms,
of
Italian
a
distinct
cinema
was
narrative
able
incorporate criminal motifs in new and intriguing ways throughout
to
the
1950s, '60s, and, '70s. In 1958, for instance, Mario Monicelli used
noirish parody to great comedic effect:
"The super-efficient
jewel
thieves of Jules Dasin's Rififi become the hopelessly incompetent gang
in Monicelli's / ignoti soliti..." (Italian
Films IX). In addition to its
mockery of a "serious" Franco/American model, / soliti ignoti w a s
simultaneously poking precocious fun at the virtuous victims of classic
Neorealism, the deprived individuals whose desperate poverty rendered
even the concept of crime more-or-less irrelevant to the cruelty of
their circumstances. As Peter Bondanella describes it, this "hilarious
parody of the typical American gangster film...concludes not with the
traditional gun battle...but with a bittersweet conversation among the
would-be robbers over plates of pasta and beans" (Italian Cinema 145).
If the film was refreshingly
anti-sanctimonious,
in the context
of
1950s-vintage Italian Marxism, it could also be perceived—and thus
condemned—as "objectively
reactionary."
Ettore Scola's eponymous // Commissario
Pepe (1969), one of the
very few Italian features to employ a police detective as its hero,
enjoys a pedigree that makes even Commissario Ambrosio, an amateur
Obviously, this claim can only be justified if one thinks of Dario Argento-style "murder
mysteries" as horror movies rather than policiers. Since the whole point of this rather
disgusting sub-genre seems to revolve around the "aesthetic" depiction of the gory murders
of young women, and since the "whodunnit" elements of such works are minor to nonexistent, I feel no compunctions about doing so. In terms of Hollywood, Argento and his
disciples have more to do with Friday the 13th than they do with Silence of the Lambs.
2
182
of modernist German literature, sound a little crude. This anomaly was
not wasted on critic Lino Micciche: "Al Commissario Pepe—un uomo
buono
e gentile,
umanistiche
(una
non privo
di cultura
e anzi frequenti
eccezione in somma rispetto
aperture
alia imagine
non
precisamente umanistica del polizotto italiano)...." (Micciche 41). More
typically, Marco Bellochio's / pugni in Tasca (1965) integrated
murder
so deeply within the Oedipal subtext of the story, that the film played
more like Greek tragedy than giallo.
All of which is not surprising, considering Italy's unique political
circumstances. If the economy continued to improve as the twentieth
century progressed, the legitimacy and solidity of the state remained
very much in doubt. Christian Democratic hegemony, everybody knew,
rested on the twin pillars of Mafia and CIA/U.S. State
support.
Department
It is difficult to feel guilty about smuggling cigarettes when
the biggest contrabbandiere
of them all are the Prime Minister and his
confederates. Progressive and centrist Italians also had to contend
with the
shadowy
forces
of
Operation
Gladio,
the secret anti-
communist army whose "members were armed and paid by the USA" to
"continue
internal
resistance" within the
occupation, if such a situation
country
arose." (Hobsbawn
"after
a Soviet
165) This unit
"originally consisted of last-ditch fascists...who subsequently acquired
a new value as fanatical anti-communists" (Hobsbawm 165). In such
conditions the concept of crime as social deviance cannot possibly
make headway against the shared idea that crime means business as
usual.
Of this daunting edifice of corruption from which Italians are
currently
struggling
to
free
themselves, the
Sicilian
Mafia
was
183
unquestionably its most famous and invasive arm. Movies about this
lethal organization, and the need for its suppression, became more
frequent as the 1960s wore on. One of the earliest was Un uomo da
bruciare
(1962), a film made the same year as Alberto Lattuada's
Mafioso,
a drama co-directed by the Taviani brothers and Valentino
Orsini about 'Tassassinat du Sicilien Savatore Camevale par le
mafia en 1955...." (Leprohon 202). This would establish the custom of
having heroic judges and prosecutors doing the work in Italian antiMafia movies that French and American filmmakers would usually
assign to "maverick" detectives. Even before the Sicilian underworld
took to eliminating troublesome authority figures in large numbers—
between 1979 and 1992, they assassinated three judges, four police
commissioners and three high-ranking politicians, as well as ancillary
wives and bodyguards—they were depicted as being quite capable of
doing so. No one explored this idea more thoroughly than Francesco
Rosi, the Neapolitan filmmaker whose entire career was devoted to
detecting
and
superstructure.
dissecting
the
fatal
flaws
in
his
homeland's
France's Andre Cayette and Filipino filmmaker
Lino
Brocka attempted similar assessments of their own societies, but—
despite the nobility of their intentions—their
analyses were nowhere
near as sharp as Rosi's. A keen observer and sharp dialectician, even
Rosi's guesses were "lucky".
Collectively,
Rosi's films touch
on virtually
every aspect of
Southern Italy's social dysfunction. La sfida, his debut feature, dealt
with the rise and fall of an ambitious Neapolitan black marketeer in the
employ of the Camorra. / magliori (1959) and Le momento
(1964)
focussed on the
specifically
Mediterranean
della
verita
mechanics of
184
employment-driven
emigration.
Salvatore
Giuliano
(1961)—the
breakthrough "investigative" feature that would profoundly
influence
the "Gillo Pontecorvo di La battaglia di Algeri (1966), al miglior CostaGavras, e...di altro...."—was an attempt to demystify the specifically
Sicilian
circumstances which gave rise to the
island's legendary
separatist bandit (Francesco Rosi 108). Le mani sulla citta (1963) was
a portrait of a corrupt developer/politician in Naples, a courtroom
drama in which the realms of commerce, control and crime are closely
related. // caso Mattei (1972) is, as Pauline Kael pointed out, a sort of
super-Citizen Kane in which the postwar giant of Italy's natural gas
industry finds his body, as well as his life, in pieces at the film's
beginning, a circumstance which prompts a formal investigation of the
magnate's past. In 1973, Rosi made a typicially non-linear "biopic"
about the most powerful of all Italian-American mobsters. "Pourquoi
Lucky Luciano?" he pondered rhetorically. "Parce que je pense que c'est
une bonne cle pour comprendre les rapports entre le pouvoir legal et le
pouvoir
illegal,
interdependance"
et
plus
encore
que
leurs
(Dossier Rosi 140). Cadaveri
rapports,
eccellenti
leurs
(1976), the
first Rosi feature to be based on a novel—and a French one at that—
follows in the melancholy footsteps of Inspector Rogas (Lino Venturi),
"un policier qui doit retrouver
I'assassin d'un certain
nombre de
juges...." after unknown assassins start taking aim at an unnamed—but
obviously Italian—judicial system (Dossier Rosi 173). Terrorism would
be on the agenda in Tre fratelle (1981), and the subject of ItaloAmerican criminal collusion would be returned to more realistically in
Dimenticare
Palermo
(1990), a work that was co-written by American
185
novelist Gore Vidal. Drug trafficking in his native Naples would be the
principal motif in the director's 1991 documentary, Diario
Michel
features can
politique
critic
Ciment
be
has rightly
perceived
observed that
as "I'histoire
locates the Neapolitan director's
Rosi's
sociale,
de Tltalie sous la Republique" (Dossier
napoletano.
interlocking
economique
Rosi 162).
et
The French
neorealist heritage
in "[son]
desir de rompre avec le cinema mensonger du fascisme, de combattre
des cliches et les mythes, appartient sa demarche a celle de Rossellini
et de De Sica et Zavattini" (Dossier Rosi 30). Unlike more traditional
Neorealists, however, Rosi is fascinated by the past, finding in its
Byzantine miasmas the roots of his country's contemporary
troubles.
Starting with Salvatore Giuliano—the Sicilian "Robin Hood" who waged
a Jesse James-like guerilla war against the authorities
for seven
years, championing a politically separate Sicily and entering
island
folklore as a hero until his reputation was permanently tarnished by
the massacre of a group of Communist Party supporters in 1947—Rosi
would
structure
his films
like open-ended
inquests.
Francis Ford
Coppola was impressed by the fact that "you hardly ever see Giuliano!"
in this film about his life. (Cowie 222) In 1987 Michael Cimino would
direct a more traditional Giuliano screen biography—one which does
exploit the outlaw's "cowboy" elements—but The Sicilian was neither a
critical nor a commercial success. In Rosi's portrait, on the other hand,
"I'urgenza
dell'
interrogativo
precede. ..I'inf uzione
narrativa"
(Francesco Rosi 14).
What's more, "Nei film di Rosi, al contrario delle tipiche storie
poliziesche
hollywoodiane,
manca
proposto...." (Francesco Rosi 20).
intanto
la
soluzione
del
caso
186
As we have already seen,
Salvatore
Giuliano's
narrative
innovations had a profound effect on filmmakers—not least upon Francis
Ford Coppola, the Italo-American director of The Godfather
trilogy.
Nevertheless, when it came time to make Lucky Luciano, the influence—
as Rosi himself freely conceded—was not all one-way: "Quant a mon
rapport avec les films de gangsters americains, j'en ai tellement vu,
surtout dans ma jeunesse, qu'il m'en reste surement quelque chose dans
ma fagon de regarder" (Dossier Rosi 145). Even when being influenced,
however, Rosi's cinematic vision is rigorously self-aware. At the core
of Lucky
Luciano,
for instance, "La polemica di Rosi e
rivolta
indirettamente contro alcuni esempi contemporanei di film sulla mafia:
sicuramente // padrino di Francis Ford Coppola, con il suo messaggio
superoministico
e il fascino escercitato dalle
anche il piu commerciale Joe
Valachi
menti
- I segreti
criminali, ma
di Cosa Nostra
di
Terence Young, provvisto di un ritualita morbosamente dettagliata nella
messa in scena del codice d'onore mafioso" (Francesco Rosi 137 - 139).
Gaetana Marrone believes that this critical distance is not always
recognized by Rosi's American supporters, an outside clique that
collectively tends to exaggerate "la componente eroica, essenziale alia
mitologia del genre gangster Hollywoodiano" (Francesco Rosi 79).
In the early 1970s, this was a particularly easy mistake to make.
Thanks to the explosion of specifically Italo-American
during
the
early years of
that decade, the
film talent
similarities
between
Hollywood crime films and their Cinecitta equivalents appeared to be
particularly marked. The paranoid universe imagined by Francis Ford
Coppola in The
Conversation
(1974)
seemed contiguous
to
the
Kafkaesque corruption of Elio Petri's Indagine su un cittadino al di
187
sopra
di ogni sospetto
(1970). Coppola's lonely, sax-blowing wire-
tapper would have fit right into the world of Petri's murderously kinky
"capo della 'squadri omicidi'...." (Micciche 55). If Cadaveri
eccellenti
"[ha visto] la Sicilia in chiave metaforica," Martin Scorsese's
Taxi
Driver (1976) attempted to deal with the analogous American problem
of "irrational" violence in a somewhat similar fashion (Francesco Rosi
104).
The
most
commonly
bracketed
Italian/American
cinematic
"complements", though, were Coppola's The Godfather and Rosi's LuckyLuciano,
movies released within a year of each other. Although Peter
Cowie thought that "The Godfather gives a romantic picture of gangster
life" (Cowie 74), Pauline Kael took a contrary position, insisting that
the film provided "A wide, startlingly vivid view of a Mafia dynasty, in
which
organized crime becomes an obscene nightmare
image of
American free enterprise" (5001 Nights at the Movies 220). Far from
simply going over the same well-trodden ground with less verve and
originality,
The Godfather, Part Two (1974) covers a much broader
canvas, both chronologically and thematically, than did its predecessor.
Its distanced, quasi-Marxist perspective seems to spring from
same source that prompted Rosi to make Lucky
Luciano.
the
The Italian
social critic explained his interest in the deported Sicilian mobster in
the following terms: "II a liquide la vieille conception de la Mafia et a
commence a chercher les alliances avec les Juifs et les Irlandais, deux
groupes criminels importants dans l'Amerique de cette epoque, alors
qu'auparavant le probleme de ces alliances n'avait meme pas ete pose.
II avait meme convaincu les differents
groupes mafiosi italiani de
s'allier au lieu de ce faire concurrente, comme c'etait le cas dans la
188
lutte ouverte qui opposait Napolitains et Siciliens" (Dossier Rosi 140 141). Jewish mobsters, American politicians and Cuban officials would
play prominent roles in the second half of The Godfather, Part Two. Ten
years later, Sergio Leone would pivot Once Upon a Time in
America
(1984), his only gangster movie, on the life-long friendship/enmity of
two Jewish mobsters. Ethnicity and crime would become a major theme
of American crime movies in the 1980s and '90s, with Chinese Triads,
Japanese Yakuza, the Jamaican Posse, Colombian drug lords, the RussoGeorgian "mafia" and other groups all vying for attention. Long-gone
were the days when Italo-American pressure groups—some of which
were Mafia controlled—forced The Untouchables,
a popular 1950s' TV
show set in the Prohibition-era Chicago of Al Capone, into premature
retirement
on account of the
"harmful"
anti-Italian stereotypes
it
presented on a weekly basis. With the exception of Year of the Dragon,
Michael Cimino's 1985 potboiler about a tough white policeman at war
with the Triads in New York, few of these neo-gangster movies have
aroused the ire of the groups concerned. Indeed, many second and thirdgeneration
Americans—now safely ensconced within the
matrix
of
middle class respectability—seem to revel in them. The reasons for this
are various, but most are in some way involved with America's semiparanoid obsession with crime and race. Black music, sports heroes and
fashion sense are all highly prized by white American teenagers, even
as their parents flee to the suburbs, elect candidates sworn to reduce
social
programs,
complain
bitterly
about
the
"inequities"
of
affirmative action, and sign petitions in favour of capital punishment,
more prisons and longer terms of incarceration. To imagine a criminal
past is to reduce guilt over black/white inequities. We were poor and
189
criminal once, this questionable logic runs, but somehow managed to
pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps. What's the matter with them?
The underlying logic of a Rosi film, in other words, is light years
removed from contemporary American views of crime and punishment.
What looked like a joining in 1974 is now exposed as what it always
was: an Atlantic-sized rift.
If ethnic crime has been a factor in French polars since before the
release of Pepe le Moko—with reservations, of course since Jean Gabin's
displaced Parisian gangster marooned in Morocco was made to seem at
least as "all French" as Jimmy Cagney's whitebread mobster was made
appear "all-American" in William Wellman's Public
recently
become an almost indispensable additive
Enemy—it
to the
standard
generic formula. The Algerian underworld of Bob Swaim's La
(1981)—like
has
Balance
Jules Dassin's Riffifi, a policier with an American at its
helm—has now become as fixed in French popular culture as Mafia
myths are in America. In flic movies such as Bertrand Blier's
(1985),
Claire
Tavernier's
Denis's J'ai pas sommeil
L. 627
(1994),
the
(1993),
onscreen
and
proceedings
Police
Bertrand
would
be
unthinkable without the presence of "minority" pressures. The current
crop of so-called banlieue
pictures, such as Mathieu Kassowitz's La
haine (1995), are also indebted to this trend—even if they do tend to
take the decidedly Italian approach of siding with the underdog.
Of course, in France the polar remains
multi-faceted.
It
still
includes heist films, gangster movies, poetic realism, films noirs, neonoirs,
psychological
studies,
chamber
mysteries,
police
detective stories, street exposes, nostalgic turns down
fin-de-siecle
apache
alleys, black
comedies, road
dramas,
Montmartre's
movies,
erotic
190
thrillers and what North Americans would probably define as horror.
Gilles Deleuze once promised to compose a new form of philosophical
discourse which would be situated "entre le roman policier et la
science-fiction" (Narboni 23).3
Aided in this instance by language itself—before they were recast
in the hardboiled mold, the words "roman
noir" originally referred to
the Gothic romances of the early 19th century—the polar has managed
to insert itself in that precise, theoretical situation. The inheritor of
all that has preceded it—including Hollywood's enormously rich generic
dowry—like DNA, it continues to mutate in new recombinant ways,
employing "foreign" means for local ends. In the mid-1990s, Hollywood
re-made La femme Nikita and Les Diaboliques,
attempting to refresh an
"exhausted" genre with fresh, exogamous blood (it began doing the
same with French screen farces in the late 1970s). The binational
release of Luc Besson's latest feature (known in France as Leon, and in
the U.S. as The
Professional)
probably represents some sort of
breakthrough in multinational filmmaking. That the French crime movie
can
maintain
its
own
identity
in
this
trans-Atlantic
style
is a
testament to its generic resilience.
It would seem that Deleuze's prediction has been confirmed more completely than he could
possibly have imagined. Since the late 1970s, futuristic thrillers, such as
Bladerunner,
routinely plunder the film noir canon when searching for visual ideas, while an even
greater number of faux-space operas thematically strip-mine the Hollywood western. In
Star Wars, for instance, Luke Skywalker's family is massacred in a manner virtually
identical to the one employed against Ethan Edwards' relatives in John Ford's 1956
masterpiece, The Searchers. Four years later, in 1981, Peter Hyams would enter Hollywood
history thanks to his famously brief pitch for Outland. "It's High Noon in outer space," the
director explained. This terse summation—reputedly then the shortest ever made—was
enough to get the project greenlighted.
3
1 91
Troublingly,
serial
murder
sagas
seem
to
have
struck
a
particularly resilient chord with the global public. As Camille Nevers
accurately pointed out,
Les Gilles de Rais, les Lacenaire, Landru, Jack I'Eventreur, Dr.
Petiot ou Dr. Holmes, et autre Vampire du Diisseldorf, tout ont
alimente via la tradition orale populaire, une litterature des
contes, de roman noir, roman policier, roman de gare, romanfeuilleton, et des feuilles de chou (type Detective). Tous firent
I'objet de transpositions au cinema avec un bonheur inegal
selon qu'elle etaient issues d'un Marcel Came ou d'un Fritz
Lang, d'un Robert Hossein ou d'un Edgar G. Ulmer, d'un Christian
de Chalonge ou d'un Claude Chabrol, d'un Francis Girod ou d'un
Charlie Chaplin.
Nevers could easily have added "d'un Aki Kaurismaki ou d'un Denys
Arcand, d'un Shohei Immamura ou d'un Kathryn Bigelow, d'un Dario
Argento ou d'un Ulli Lommel." The serial killer/slasher movie is now an
almost universal style.
Even more popular and widely-dispersed is the
neo-gangster
movie. Beat Takeshi and other young Japanese directors of "NeoYakuza" sagas have, in the last five or six years, broadened the
vocabulary and widened the popularity of a genre that was once little
more than a modern dress variation of the more violent sort of
geki [costume film].
jidai-
Contemporaneous with this upgrading were Hong
Kong director John Woo's affectionately nostalgic, latently homosexual,
blatantly cinephilic, joyously violent re-mixings of traditional
and American formulae. In Hardboiled
other
dazzlingly
Melville"
created
well-crafted
a style
thrillers,
that
was
French
(1991), The Killer (1989), and
the
man
"qui
so competitively
doit
tout
a
compelling,
1 92
Hollywood felt constrained to remove him from Hong Kong and set him
to work making American movies.
By the last decade of the 20th century, directing policiers
was
anything but an all-white profession. Generic influences could now
travel as freely across the Pacific as they could across the Atlantic.
Pierre
Leprohon's adage that "Chaque pays ecrit
I'histoire a sa
maniere" was now as much a practical reality as it was a theoretical
construct.
In America, meanwhile, the home of the detective story, the genre
is continuing to evolve. While policiers
might not be as consciously
critical or socially engaged as they were in the 1970s,
neos-noirs—
once again, the French coined the defining term first—continue to tap
aspects of the national psyche that regular watchers of LAPD and other
pro-police "reality" shows would prefer to forget. Contemporary crime
novelists such as Barry Gifford and James Ellroy describe anti-heroes
whose cynical amorality might give pause to Mike Hammer at his most
ornery. On the screen, David Lynch's Blue Velvet, with its Id-level take
on the fictitious small town America of Ronald Reagan's propagandafuelled dreams, is perhaps the most accurate Rorschach blot portrait
we have of the psychological underpinnings of the so-called "Greed
decade".
More recently, fear of AIDS and other
(hetero)sexually
transmitted diseases has resulted in a slew of erotic thrillers in which
the femme fatale of
thel890s/1940s returns with a vengeance to an
imaginative universe that was only briefly freed from its perennial
dread of the "great pox".
No doubt because of their very different attitudes towards the
nature of society, the police, the state, the judiciary and the causes,
193
meaning and consequences of crime, French, American and Italian
policiers
have managed to maintain distinct national identities despite
the post-GATT escalation of mid-Atlantic levelling and normalization.
In general, this process has benefitted only the culture industry of the
United States, but polars have somehow managed to survive under the
shadow of Hollywood hegemony.
It is interesting to note that the French crime film has followed
an opposite policy to that of the French language. Where the Academie
Francaise ceaselessly sought to keep the contaminating influence of
"franglais" out of Racine's pure tongue, polar directors have tried to
discover new ways to work them in. Far from being subservient, this
policy is actually "imperialist" in the way that Deleuze described the
English language. By being open to outside influences, the polar and
policier
they
manage to re-charge their batteries constantly; by absorbing,
escape
being
absorbed.
American
influence
is
therefore
everywhere present within their generic structures, but this influence
is nowhere dominant. What's more, such input is filtered through a
selective—if
policiers
not
exactly
distorting—mirror.
In
other
words,
les
et les polars are only as American as they want to be.
Unquestionably, this is the single greatest secret of their longevity.
Italian crime films, meanwhile, despite all that has happened
during the last forty years of social upheaval, remain inseparably tied
to Neorealism's apron strings. Organized crime and government are
probably close allies in most countries, but only in Italy is the average
citizen so painfully aware of this collusion. The state as idealized
whole or secular God substitute is an idea that simply
194
CHAPTER THREE: THE RUINS OF ROME
A s w e s a w in the l a s t t w o c h a p t e r s , A m e r i c a has long c o n s t i t u t e d
b o t h a c h a l l e n g e and a t h r e a t , an a f f r o n t and a s e d u c t i o n , to F r e n c h
i n t e l l e c t u a l s of a l l p o l i t i c a l p e r s u a s i o n s . It w a s s e e n as a d o u b l e - e d g e d
s w o r d w i t h a d a n g e r o u s t e n d e n c y to " c u t " even t h o s e who a d m i r e d
for its
strength
and b e a u t y . W i t h the p o s s i b l e e x c e p t i o n s of
it
Great
B r i t a i n and G e r m a n y , i t w a s p r o b a b l y the c o u n t r y t h a t the F r e n c h c o u l d
l e a s t a f f o r d to i g n o r e .
In I t a l y , t h i n g s w e r e v e r y d i f f e r e n t . Even w h e n the U n i t e d S t a t e s
w a s the f a v o u r e d l a n d of e m i g r a t i o n , i t a l w a y s s e e m e d to be a v e r y
d i s t a n t Utopia, a paradise on the f a r side of the horizon. On s o m e l e v e l ,
I t a l i a n s m i g h t d e r i v e a c e r t a i n m u t e d s a t i s f a c t i o n f r o m the k n o w l e d g e
that
they d i s c o v e r e d
A m e r i c a , but
this
emotion
has
never
been
p a r t i c u l a r l y m e a n i n g f u l or p r o f o u n d . The q u a s i - i n d i f f e r e n c e of w h i c h I
speak o w e s n o t h i n g to the c u r r e n t l y p o p u l a r b e l i e f t h a t the New W o r l d
c o u l d not, in f a c t , have been " f o u n d " s i n c e i t w a s n e v e r l o s t in the f i r s t
p l a c e , h a v i n g l o n g been s e t t l e d by the o r i g i n a l A s i a n p i o n e e r s w h o , in
the v e r y d i s t a n t p a s t , poured o v e r the l e g e n d a r y l a n d b r i d g e t h a t once
linked
Alaska
discovery
that
to
Siberia; still
l e s s does it
V i k i n g s and B a s q u e s had s e t
relate
silent
to
the
foot
belated
on
North
A m e r i c a n s o i l hundreds of y e a r s b e f o r e C h r i s t o p h e r C o l u m b u s of Genoa
r e c e i v e d h i s c h a r t e r of e x p l o r a t i o n f r o m Queen I s a b e l l a of S p a i n . What
i t does r e f e r t o , r a t h e r , i s the i n e s c a p a b l e f a c t t h a t I t a l y n e v e r d e r i v e d
much b e n e f i t f r o m C r i s t o f o r o C o l o m b o ' s e x e r t i o n s . T y p i c a l l y , in his
p r i s o n d i a r i e s , A n t o n i o G r a m s c i l a m e n t s the f a c t
t h a t m o s t of
his
195
c o u n t r y m e n c a n n o t a p p r e c i a t e the l a r g e r c o n s e q u e n c e s of the G e n o e s e
m a r i n e r ' s e n d e a v o r : " C h e C r i s t o f o r o C o l o m b o s i p r o p o n e s s e di a n d a r e
' a l a b u c a l del Gran K h a n / non s m i n u i s c e i l v a l o r e del suo v i a g g i o r e a l e e
d e l l e sue r e a l i s c o p e r t e per la ci vi 1 i t a e u r o p e a " ( G r a m s c i 2 1 9 2 ) .
D u r i n g the age of e x p l o r a t i o n
and c o n q u e s t , I t a l y w a s , f o r
m o s t p a r t , c o n q u e r e d and c o l o n i z e d i t s e l f . The m a r i t i m e
the
republics
of
V e n i c e and Genoa m i g h t have h e l d a M e d i t e r r a n e a n i s l a n d o r t w o
in
f o r t r e s s f i e f , but t h e i r e m p i r e s w e r e a l w a y s e s s e n t i a l l y
mercantile.
M a r c o P o l o , the m o s t f a m o u s I t a l i a n t r a i l b l a z e r p r i o r to C o l u m b u s , w a s
l e s s the e m i s s a r y of the G r e a t Khan of C h i n a than he w a s a
city-to-city
t r a v e l l i n g s a l e s m a n . A d d i n g i n s u l t to i n j u r y , h i s A s i a n m e m o i r s
written
not
in
I t a l i a n but
i n F r e n c h , the
language
h o m e l a n d ' s p r i n c i p a l o c c u p i e r s . A s an I m p e r i a l i s t
get s t a r t e d u n t i l w e l l a f t e r the l a t e
worse, its
one of
empire consisted primarily
reputation
as a m a j o r
e v e r to be s u f f e r e d
by an i m p e r i a l i s t
the
of
European
c o l o n i a l p l a y e r w a s d a r k e n e d by the " d i s a s t e r " at A d o w a , the
m i l i t a r y defeat
his
power, Italy didn't
19th c e n t u r y c o m p l e t i o n of
R i s o r g i m e n t o . Even t h e n , t h i s l a t t e r d a y
E r i t r e a and L i b y a . S t i l l
of
were
worst
p o w e r at
the
hands of a n o n - E u r o p e a n people d u r i n g the 19th c e n t u r y .
Colombus, therefore,
was something like Guglielmo Marconi, a
m a g n i f i c e n t i n n o v a t o r w h o s e d i s c o v e r i e s w o u l d u l t i m a t e l y be e x p l o i t e d
by
non-Italians.
One
senses
the
marginality
of
Cristoforo's
a c c o m p l i s h m e n t s in the I t a l i a n p e r i o d by a q u i c k s c a n of the e p i c p o e t s
of
the
16th
and
17th
c e n t u r y . The
I t a l i a n genre m a s t e r s
Ludovico
A r i o s t o and T o r q u a t o T a s s o sang of the a n c i e n t C a r o l i n g i a n hero R o l a n d
and of the " l i b e r a t i o n " of J e r u s a l e m . P o r t u g a l ' s L u i s de C a m o e n s , on the
o t h e r hand, c o m p o s e d The Lusiads,
his heroic g l o r i f i c a t i o n
of h i s s e a -
196
f a r i n g c o u n t r y m e n and the v a s t o v e r s e a s e m p i r e t h e i r c o u r a g e and s k i l l
were bringing into being.
1
It s h o u l d c o m e as no s u r p r i s e , t h e r e f o r e , to
d i s c o v e r t h a t n e i t h e r J o h n G l e n ' s Christopher
Columbus:
nor R i d l e y S c o t t ' s The Conquest of Paradise-th&
The
Discovery
two mega-movies w i t h
w h i c h the w o r l d f i l m m a k i n g c o m m u n i t y c e l e b r a t e d the
quinticentennial
of
even
the
great
Genoan's nautical
achievement-was
partially
f i n a n c e d by I t a l i a n s o u r c e s . T h e r e w e r e as many f r a n c s and p e s o s as
d o l l a r s i n t h e s e c o - p r o d u c t i o n s , but a b s o l u t e l y no l i r e .
Italy's rather
reserved reaction
to the n a t i o n ' s
most
famous
e x p l o r e r i s p e r h a p s b e s t e x p r e s s e d by C e s a r e P a s c a r e l l a ' s La
Scoperta
de ^America.
century,
W r i t t e n in Roman d i a l e c t in the l a t e n i n e t e e n t h
t h i s m o c k - e p i c poem s e l d o m r i s e s above the l e v e l of d o g g e r e l . Its tone
i s t h o r o u g h l y a n t i - h e r o i c , s h o t through w i t h c r i t i c i s m s of the C a t h o l i c
Church,
and
strongly
sympathetic
to
the
New
World's
original
i n h a b i t a n t s . Even s o , the a u t h o r i s a n y t h i n g but i n d i f f e r e n t to h i s h e r o ' s
heritage: " E h , la s t o r i a , percristo, e sempre s t o r i a / C r i s t o f o r o Colombo
era i t a l i a n o "
a l w a y s envied
( P a s c a r e l l a 9 4 ) . F o r e i g n e r s , the a u t h o r b e l i e v e s , have
Italians
b e c a u s e of
their
innate
genius:
"L'italiano
t ' i n v e n t a e r l e t t r i c i s m o " ( P a s c a r e l l a 98).
In m o s t c o u n t r i e s , s u c h a s s u m p t i o n s about the n a t i o n a l
spirit
w o u l d l e a d d i r e c t l y to p u g n a c i o u s a r r o g a n c e , but not i n I t a l y . In
Italians,
The
L u i g i B a r z i n i argued t h a t h i s c o u n t r y m e n are i n f u s e d w i t h a
seemingly ineradicable self-contempt
historically
derived from
the
Being a man of his time, Camoens naturally said nothing about the underhanded p o l i t i c s ,
military brutality and psychological intimidation that were then seen as equally essential
to the s u c c e s s f u l establishment of overseas dominions. This almost universal code of
silence was particularly pronounced in Portugal, a seafaring power which soon found that
rule by terror could compensate in large part for a small nation's limited manpower.
1
197
p e n i n s u l a ' s r e p e a t e d " f a i l u r e s to f u s e i n t o a u n i f i e d n a t i o n s t a t e d u r i n g
the e a r l y R e n a i s s a n c e and l a t e M i d d l e A g e s . T h a t t h i s f a i l u r e of
will
o c c u r r e d in a l a n d f i l l e d w i t h g r e a t m i n d s and s t u d d e d w i t h the r i c h e s t
and m o s t c u l t u r a l l y p r i v i l e g e d c i t i e s in Europe only made t h i n g s w o r s e .
In I t a l y , t h e r e s e e m s to be an a l m o s t u n i v e r s a l d e s i r e to s n a t c h f a i l u r e
f r o m the j a w s of s u c c e s s . B a r z i n i p a r t i c u l a r l y
mother's
d e s i r e to d e v o u r h e r o w n c u b s : "It
regretted this
is true
that in
wolfother
c o u n t r i e s g r e a t men have a l s o o c c a s i o n a l l y been p e r s e c u t e d and put to
death.
Nowhere
else,
however,
has
it
happened
with
the
same
d i s c r i m i n a t i o n , r e g u l a r i t y , and d e t e r m i n a t i o n " ( B a r z i n i x i i ) .
I t a l y ' s a l m o s t u n i v e r s a l p o p u l a r i t y w i t h o u t s i d e r s d o e s n o t h i n g to
d i s p e l l t h i s a i r of a l m o s t c o s m i c g l o o m . Q u i t e the c o n t r a r y : " T h e I t a l y
o f . . . f o r e i g n e r s , both r i c h and poor, i s m a i n l y an i m a g i n a r y c o u n t r y , not
entirely
c o r r e s p o n d i n g to the I t a l y of the I t a l i a n s . T h e
expatriates
o f t e n do not r e a l l y pay a t t e n t i o n t o , see c l e a r l y , or l i k e the I t a l y of the
I t a l i a n s " ( B a r z i n i 1 1).
T h i s l a n d - p e r h a p s one s h o u l d s a y Jands-has
irresistible attraction
a l w a y s e x e r c i s e d an
to w r i t e r s . S h a k e s p e a r e s i t u a t e d m o s t of h i s
c o m e d i e s in I t a l i a n t o w n s , though the B a r d of A v o n a l m o s t
certainly
never set foot in Verona. Italianate verse f o r m s s t r u c t u r e d C h a u c e r ' s
c a n t o s , w h i l e S p e n s e r and M i l t o n , though p a t r i o t i c a l l y opposed to t h e s e
continental
conventions, were always mindful
of t h e m . G o e t h e r e -
d i s c o v e r e d c l a s s i c i s m i n R o m e , w h i l e B y r o n , K e a t s , S h e l l e y , and the
o t h e r E n g l i s h R o m a n t i c p o e t s s a i l e d to I t a l y to e i t h e r l i v e o r d i e , as the
p r e - C h r i s t i a n gods w i l l e d . A l f r e d de M u s s e t w r o t e
Lorenzaccio,
his
g r e a t e s t p l a y , as the r e s u l t of an unhappy r e s e a r c h t r i p to F l o r e n c e i n
the c o m p a n y of h i s u n f a i t h f u l
m i s t r e s s , George Sand. F o r m o r e than a
198
century, w r i t e r s
Forster,
Ezra
l i k e Henry J a m e s , E d i t h W h a r t o n , T h o m a s Mann, E. M.
Pound,
Ernest
Hemingway,
Richard
A l d i n g t o n , D.H.
L a w r e n c e , K a t h e r i n e M a n s f i e l d , F r a n k O ' C o n n o r , J u l i a O ' F a o l a i n , and
c o u n t l e s s o t h e r w r i t e r s , both g r e a t and s m a l l , f l o c k e d to the c o u n t r y i n
s e a r c h of an a m b i e n c e t h a t w a s t o t a l l y i n k e e p i n g w i t h t h e a r t i s t i c
t e m p e r a m e n t . T h e m a r b l e s and c i t i e s of I t a l y w e r e m o r e p e r f e c t
than
a n y w h e r e e l s e ; the r u i n s of Rome w e r e c r o w n e d w i t h the g l o r i e s of the
Renaissance. This extraordinary
n o s t a l g i a i n e v i t a b l y exacerbated the
g u l f b e t w e e n r e a l i t y and d r e a m . In B a r z i n i ' s w o r d s , " T h e e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y I t a l y of f o r e i g n e r s ' d e s i r e s , the c o u n t r y of dead l a n g u a g e s , dead
I t a l i a n s , and m u t e s t o n e s , w a s n e v e r so d i s s i m i l a r f r o m t h e I t a l i a n s '
Italy" (Barzini 30).
Ironically,
there
i s one o u t s i d e
observer whom
virtually
all
I t a l i a n i n t e l l e c t u a l s have long a c k n o w l e d g e d as the u l t i m a t e a u t h o r i t y
on t h e n a t i o n a l
character.
L i k e A l e x i s de T o c q u e v i l l e , t h e o f f i c i a l
f o r e i g n e x p e r t on e a r l y A m e r i c a n m o r e s , M a r i e Henri B e y l e ( S t e n d h a l ' s
real
name)
was a Frenchman
travelling
abroad.
Indeed,
in
many
r e s p e c t s , S t e n d h a l ' s p r o n o u n c e m e n t s upon the M i l a n e s e , N e a p o l i t a n s
and R o m a n s a r e n o w r e g a r d e d as even more a c u t e and p r o p h e t i c than de
Tocqueville's
period
reflections
on N e w E n g l a n d e r s , S o u t h e r n e r s ,
Indians and A f r i c a n s l a v e s . T h i s N a p o l e o n i c o f f i c i a l w a s t h a t r a r e s t of
c u l t u r a l p h e n o m e n a , the f o r e i g n - b o r n t r a v e l w r i t e r w h o s e e s t h e l o c a l s
m o r e c l e a r l y than the l o c a l s s e e t h e m s e l v e s .
S t e n d h a l ' s p r e c o c i o u s p e r s p e c t i v e s c o n t i n u e to f a s c i n a t e . A s an
o f f i c e r i n N a p o l e o n ' s a r m y , and a l o n g - t i m e r e s i d e n t of I t a l y , he c a n be
s e e n as a c i t i z e n of t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s of Europe 150 y e a r s avant
lettre.
la
H i s s e n s e of F r e n c h n a t i o n a l i s m w a s c o u n t e r b a l a n c e d by an
199
e q u a l l y s t r o n g s e n s e of European i n t e r n a t i o n a l i s m . T h i s double v i s i o n
endows his travel w r i t i n g w i t h enduring value.
C u r i o u s l y enough, many of S t e n d h a l ' s c o m m e n t s sound l i k e e e r i e
p r e m o n i t i o n s of G r a m s c i ' s p r i s o n p r o g n o s t i c a t i o n s . In Rome, Naples,
Florence
et
en 1317, f o r i n s t a n c e , the F r e n c h o b s e r v e r w r o t e , " L a m u s i q u e
est le seul art
qui v i v e e n c o r e en I t a l i e " ( S t e n d h a l 3). J u s t o v e r a
century later, Gramsci would complain, " L a letteratura 'nazionale' cosi
d e t t a ' a r t i s t i c a ' non e p o p o l a r e in I t a l i a . Di chi l a c o l p a ? Del p u b b l i c o
che non l e g g e ? D e l l a c r i t i c a
che non s a p r e s e n t a r e
ed e s a l t a r e
al
p u b b l i c o i ' v a l o r i ' l e t t e r a r i ? Dei g i o r n a l i che i n v e c e di p u b b l i c a r e
in
a p p e n d i c e ' i l r o m a n z o moderno i t a l i a n o ' p u b b l i c a n o i l v e c c h i o Conte di
Montecristo"
( G r a m s c i 2 1 1 5 - 2 1 1 6 ) . To r e t u r n to S t e n d h a l in
this
r a t h e r o n e - s i d e d game of l i t e r a r y p i n g - p o n g , " E n A n g l e t e r r e , un d e r n i s o t f a i t s o u v e n t un bon l i v r e . I c i , un homme de g e n i e c o m m e F o s c o l o
s ' a m u s e a f a i r e un p a m p h l e t l a t i n c o n t r e s e s e n n e m i s " ( S t e n d h a l 2 0 ) .
A s u s u a l , S t e n d h a l thought he knew the r e a s o n f o r t h i s c u r i o u s s t a t e of
affairs
i n the l a n d of D a n t e , P e t r a r c h and V i r g i l : " . . . [ l ' l t a l i e n ]
essentiellernent
obscure, d'abord
parce
que
depuis
trois
p e r s o n n e n'a d ' i n t e r e t a e c r i r e s u r des s u j e t s d i f f i c i l e s . . . . "
72). This unfortunately
structure
writing,
siecles
(Stendhal
r e s u l t e d i n the i n d i r e c t , s e r p e n t i n e
t h a t c o n t i n u e s to be the bane of so m u c h f o r m a l
a shortcoming
est
sentence
Italian
w h i c h s e e m to be t o t a l l y at odds w i t h
the
p e o p l e b e h i n d the pens: " O n v o i t pourquoi l a f r o i d e u r a c a d e m i q u e g l a c e
l e s l i v r e s du peuple le p l u s p a s s i o n e de l ' u n i v e r s " ( S t e n d h a l 7 2 ) . In the
F r e n c h m a n ' s day, T u s c a n w a s f a r f r o m being e s t a b l i s h e d as the n a t i o n a l
t o n g u e , and t h i s r e s u l t e d in a l o c a l i z e d babel w h i c h , to a c e r t a i n admittedly
m u c h r e d u c e d - d e g r e e , p e r s i s t s to the p r e s e n t
day: " E n
200
croyant
p a r l e r i t a l i e n , l e s gens des p r o v i n c e s p a r l e n t
encore
leur
d i a l e c t e " (Stendhal 72).
As a privileged
tolerant
of
Italian
foreigner,
foibles
Stendhal could afford
than,
to
s a y , an i m p r i s o n e d
be
more
Communist
i n t e l l e c t u a l s c r i b b l i n g a w a y in s e c r e t i n the o b s c u r i t y of M u s s o l i n i ' s
p e n a l s y s t e m . T y p i c a l l y , he m i x e d r i g o u r and f o n d n e s s i n the
same
p h r a s e . T h u s , " R o s s i n i e c r i t un opera c o m m e une l e t t r e . Quel g e n i e s ' i l
se f u t donne l a peine d ' a p p r e n d r e s a l a n g u e " ( S t e n d h a l 16). Even I t a l y ' s
m o r e n o t o r i o u s c r u e l t i e s S t e n d h a l o b s e r v e d w i t h an u n j a u n d i c e d e y e :
"Je
s o r s de l a f a m e u s e c h a p e l l e S i x t i n e . . . j ' a i
entendu ces
fameux
c a s t r a t s de l a S i x t i n e " ( S t e n d h a l 18). S h o r t l y a f t e r W a t e r l o o , t h i s e x N a p o l e o n i c o f f i c e r o b s e r v e d t h a t I t a l y w a s a l r e a d y in the p r o c e s s of
b e i n g o c c u p i e d by i t s m o s t t e n a c i o u s t o u r i s t / i n v a d e r s : " J e f a i s , en
I t a l i e , un voyage en A n g l e t e r r e " ( S t e n d h a l 2 0 ) . H a r d h e a d e d F r e n c h m a n
t h a t he w a s , S t e n d h a l n o n e t h e l e s s f r e e l y c o n c e d e d t h a t h i s c o u n t r y m e n
w e r e no m a t c h f o r the I t a l i a n s w h e n i t c a m e to c y n i c i s m : " L a n a i v e t e
est
une c h o s e i n c o n n u e en I t a l i e , et
s o u f f r i r La Nouvelle
i s the
author's
Helo'ise"
( S t e n d h a l 54.) I m p l i c i t in t h i s
unspoken belief
delusion might well
c e p e n d a n t p e r s o n n e n'y
constitute
that a complete
an i m p e d i m e n t
peut
statement
a b s e n c e of
self-
to g r e a t n e s s . B e y l e
a t t r i b u t e d m o s t of the f a u l t s of I t a l y to the s t r e n g t h of the c h u r c h and
the w e a k n e s s of the p r e s s . In the f i r s t i n s t a n c e , " A R o m e et a N a p l e s ,
l a s e u l e l o i en v i g u e u r c ' e s t l a r e l i g i o n " ( S t e n d h a l 6 2 ) . A s f o r
latter, "Le dix-neuf
the
v i n g t i e m e s de l a c i v i l i s a t i o n de l a F r a n c e , de
T A n g l e t e r r e et de l a P r u s s e , s o n t dus a l a l i b e r t e de l a p r e s s e , et i c i
e l l e ne d i t que des m e n s o n g e s " ( S t e n d h a l 6 2 ) .
201
In d i s c u s s i n g I t a l i a n c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , o n l y r a r e l y d i d S t e n d h a l
s t o o p to s e n t i m e n t a l
p l a t i t u d e s . The f o l l o w i n g
i s one of the
more
e g r e g i o u s e x a m p l e s of t h e s e e x t r e m e l y a t y p i c a l l a p s e s : " L a c a r a c t e r e
i t a l i e n , c o m m e l e s f e u x d'un v o l c a n , n'a pu se f a i r e j o u r que p a r l a
m u s i q u e et l a v o l u p t e " ( S t e n d h a l 140).
Even a c l e a r - e y e d
materialist,
i t s e e m s , can o c c a s i o n a l l y get c a r r i e d a w a y .
A s a l r e a d y m e n t i o n e d in C h a p t e r One, S t e n d h a l w a s one of
the
v e r y f i r s t F r e n c h i n t e l l e c t u a l s to w o r r y about the f u t u r e p o w e r and
coming
greatness
mollified
by
the
of
the
young
United
S t a t e s . He w a s
republic's
not
in
well-established
the
least
democratic
i n s t i t u t i o n s . N e w Vork and P h i l a d e l p h i a , f o r i n s t a n c e , are d e s c r i b e d a s
" p a y s r e b e l l e s aux a r t s " ( S t e n d h a l 5 7 ) .
E l s e w h e r e he c o m p l a i n s t h a t
the U n i t e d S t a t e s " n e p r o d u i s e n t que des d o l l a r s " ( S t e n d h a l 145).
A s w e s a w i n the p r e v i o u s c h a p t e r , a n t i - A m e r i c a n
w e r e n e v e r as s t r o n g i n I t a l y as t h e y
sentiments
w e r e in F r a n c e , d e s p i t e
the
p r e s e n c e of much g r e a t e r o b j e c t i v e c a u s e . A m e r i c a n p o l i c e m e n p u r s u e d
the M a f i a on the I t a l i a n m a i n l a n d w i t h a p e r s i s t e n c e t h a t w a s n e v e r to
be a p p l i e d to F r a n c e ' s U n i o n C o r s e . D u r i n g the l a s t t h r e e y e a r s of
the
S e c o n d W o r l d W a r , i t w a s the U n i t e d S t a t e s A r m y A i r F o r c e t h a t c a u s e d
the m o s t damage to I t a l i a n c i t i e s and t o w n s , both b e f o r e and a f t e r the
e s t a b l i s h m e n t of the S a l o R e p u b l i c . In the l a t e 1 9 4 0 s , i n t e r n a l
Italian
p o l i t i c s w e r e i n t e r f e r e d w i t h by the U.S. S t a t e D e p a r t m e n t on a l e v e l
that
had
previously
been r e s e r v e d
almost
exclusively
for
those
u n f o r t u n a t e L a t i n A m e r i c a n and C a r i b b e a n c o u n t r i e s w h o s e d e s t i n i e s
w e r e c o m p r o m i s e d by W a s h i n g t o n ' s s e l f - s e r v i n g i m p o s i t i o n
of
Monroe D o c t r i n e . To a l l i n t e n t s and p u r p o s e s , W a s h i n g t o n t r e a t e d
the
Italy
202
l i k e an o v e r g r o w n " b a n a n a r e p u b l i c " . L o g i c a l l y s p e a k i n g , I t a l i a n s s h o u l d
not have l i k e d A m e r i c a n s . N e v e r t h e l e s s , they did.
One of the p r i n c i p a l r e a s o n s f o r t h i s a t t i t u d e w a s e m i g r a t i o n .
Letters
from an American
In
Farmer, J . H e c t o r S t . J o h n de C r e v e c o u r t ' s
g e n e r a l l y sunny a c c o u n t of the l a t e 18th c e n t u r y y e a r s he s p e n t i n the
New
W o r l d , the
author
o b s e r v e d t h a t the
American
people
"are
a
m i x t u r e of E n g l i s h , S c o t c h , I r i s h , F r e n c h , D u t c h , G e r m a n s and S w e d e s .
From this
p r o m i s c u o u s b r e e d t h a t r a c e now c a l l e d A m e r i c a n s
have
a r i s e n " (Crevecourt 37). Crevecourt h i m s e l f , however, a f t e r composing
h i s p o p u l a r paean to the new r e p u b l i c in
a b o r r o w e d E n g l i s h i d i o m , and
d e s p i t e h i s o f t - p r o f e s s e d a d m i r a t i o n f o r h i s s e c o n d h o m e l a n d and the
e m o t i o n a l e n t a n g l e m e n t s of an A m e r i c a n - b o r n f a m i l y , d e c i d e d to spend
h i s d e c l i n i n g y e a r s in h i s n a t i v e F r a n c e . T h i s r e t r e a t w a s t y p i c a l . In one
w a y o r a n o t h e r , the F r e n c h p i l l a r h o l d i n g up A m e r i c a w a s d e s t i n e d
to
r o t a w a y . L i k e t h e i r D u t c h , S c o t t i s h , S c o t c h - I r i s h , and G e r m a n p e e r s ,
the w e l l - b o r n F r e n c h m e n who r e m a i n e d in A m e r i c a tended to d i s a p p e a r
willingly
i n t o t h e i r host c o u n t r y ' s e m e r g i n g r u l i n g c l a s s .
By the e a r l y
2 0 t h c e n t u r y , the R o o s e v e l t s and the Du F o n t s , the C a r n e g i e s and the
M o r g a n s , the R o c k e f e l l e r s and the G e t t y s , a l l b e l o n g e d to the
seamless upper-class milieu
commonly-if
not
always
same
accurately-
d e s c r i b e d as W A S P . In t h i s c o n t e x t , F r e n c h names w e r e as o f t e n Norman
as G a l l i c , w h i l e the F r e n c h language and Roman C a t h o l i c r e l i g i o n
a b s t r a c t p r o p e r t i e s of l i t t l e i m p o r t a n c e and l e s s e m o t i o n a l
to p e o p l e w h o d i d n ' t even see t h e m s e l v e s
were
resonance
as H u g u e n o t s . T h e
self-
i d e n t i f i e d F r e n c h of A m e r i c a w e r e a l m o s t e x c l u s i v e l y New F r e n c h : the
e x p e l l e d A c a d i a n s who
created Creole culture
in New O r l e a n s ;
the
d i s p o s s e s s e d Q u e b e c o i s p e a s a n t s who f l o c k e d to the m i l l t o w n s of New
203
E n g l a n d i n the l a t e 1 9 t h c e n t u r y in s e a r c h of w o r k . W h i l e t h e i r
a b s o r p t i o n w a s n o w h e r e n e a r as c o m p l e t e as the one t h a t
their
upper c l a s s
brethren,
inter-marriage
with
ethnic
overtook
I r i s h , P o l i s h , and
I t a l i a n C a t h o l i c s e r o d e d " C a n u c k " n u m b e r s to a s i g n i f i c a n t degree. A s
w e s a w i n C h a p t e r One, 2 0 t h c e n t u r y
French t r a v e l l e r s
to t h e N e w
W o r l d s a w very f e w A m e r i c a n s as " F r e n c h " . In t h e i r t r a v e l d i a r i e s , the
Quebecois usually appear offstage like some modestly i n t e r e s t i n g t r i b e
of I n d i a n s w h o m t h e y n e v e r q u i t e found t h e t i m e to v i s i t .
Whatever
n o s t a l g i a t h e s e modern Europeans m i g h t have f e l t f o r the brave J e s u i t s
and i n t e n d a n t s w h o d i s c o v e r e d so much of N o r t h A m e r i c a , and w h a t e v e r
f e e l i n g s of p r i d e m i g h t have s u f f u s e d t h e i r b r e a s t s when t h i n k i n g about
F r a n c e ' s i n v a l u a b l e c o n t r i b u t i o n to A m e r i c a n v i c t o r y d u r i n g i t s h a r d f o u g h t W a r of Independence, t h e s e e m o t i o n s s e l d o m s p i l l e d o v e r i n t o
f a s c i n a t i o n w i t h the tidbitonts'
descendants. For P a r i s i a n i n t e l l e c t u a l s
w r i t i n g b e f o r e the 1 9 6 0 s , the Q u e b e c o i s m a s s e s w e r e not j u s t c o u n t r y
c o u s i n s , but c o u s i n s t o o many t i m e s r e m o v e d to be w o r t h t h e m o s t
h a l f - h e a r t e d s u c c o u r . Indeed, A m e r i c a c o u l d h a r d l y have appeared to be
so f a s c i n a t i n g i f i t had not a l s o s e e m e d so c o m p l e t e l y u n - F r e n c h .
With
Italians,
things
were
very d i f f e r e n t .
Between
1 4 9 2 and
1 8 9 2 , the c i t i z e n s of I t a l y ' s d i s p a r a t e r e g i m e s had p r e c i o u s l i t t l e to do
with
the land
that
Columbus discovered. As occupation
o c c u p a t i o n , and even t h e once f i e r c e l y
under foreign
domination,
Italians
followed
independent c i t y s t a t e s
became preoccupied w i t h
fell
their
i n c o h e s i v e u n i q u e n e s s . Even a f t e r the R i s o r g i m e n t o w a s c o m p l e t e , I t a l y
still
d i d not f e e l l i k e a " n o r m a l " c o u n t r y , l i k e F r a n c e o r the U n i t e d
States.
A b o v e a l l , t h e r e w a s the p r o b l e m of the S o u t h ,
S i c i l y , an i s l a n d t h a t s e e m e d to have n o t h i n g
particularly
in common w i t h the
204
northern
and c e n t r a l " p a r t s of the p e n i n s u l a , an u t t e r l y a l i e n
within-a-state
influence.
o v e r w h i c h Rome c o u l d e x e r c i s e an
state-
all-too-limited
2
P o v e r t y , I t a l y ' s o t h e r m a j o r p r o b l e m , w a s i n d i s s o l u b l y l i n k e d to
the i n t r a c t a b l e
Italy
heel of the n a t i o n ' s boot. What made the c r e a t i o n
impossible
was
the
Giuseppe Calzerato wrote
America!
America!,
e doloroso
that
in h i s i n t r o d u c t i o n
made
it
essential. As
to A n t o n i o
Margariti's
" P e r quanto p a r a d o s s a l e p o t r a a p p a r i r e , i l t r i s t e
fenomeno
nell'unificazione
same thing
of
dell'
emigrato
Italia"
ha una del 1 e sue c a u s e
(Margariti
8).
Italy's
principali
outpouring
of
p a u p e r s w a s n o t h i n g s h o r t of p h e n o m e n a l : " D a l 1 8 7 6 al 1901 i n t u t t o i l
' r e g i o ' ci furono 5.792.546 e m i g r a t i , e nella sola C a l a b r i a 310.363...."
(Margariti
1 1). T h e l a n d to w h i c h they w e n t w a s not the p l a c e w h i c h
g l a d d e n e d de T o c q u e v i l l e ' s h e a r t : " [ . ' A m e r i c a non e l ' e l d o r a d o f e l i c e e
incantato
ma una n a z i o n e v q r a c e che i n g h i o t t e
l a v o r o ed u o m i n i
c a m b i o di un i n s i g n i f i c a n t e pugno di d o l l a r i " ( M a r g a r i t i
In the p a r t i c u l a r
always
elude
him:
"A
f a b b r i c a . . . . " ( M a r g a r i t i 76).
factory,
10).
c a s e of A n t o n i o M a r g a r i t i , p r o s p e r i t y
Philadelphia
ho
lavorato
in
quasi
would
sempre
in
A s in C e l i n e ' s n i g h t m a r e v i s i o n of the F o r d
English was seldom spoken. Unlike Bardamu, however,
the
F r e n c h d o c t o r ' s a l t e r ego, M a r g a r i t i k n e w he had no a l t e r n a t e f u t u r e as
a s u r g e o n o r a w r i t e r . C o n s e q u e n t l y , he p o u r e d a g r e a t
d e a l of
his
S i c i l i a n p a r a l l e l s a r e , of c o u r s e , not e n t i r e l y u n k n o w n in o t h e r c o u n t r i e s - i n c l u d i n g
F r a n c e and the U n i t e d S t a t e s . C o r s i c a n s , f o r i n s t a n c e , are even more a l i e n a t e d f r o m P a r i s
than S i c i l i a n s are f r o m Rome; they a l s o play a c o m m a n d i n g r o l e in the F r e n c h u n d e r w o r l d ,
even i f they are n o w h e r e n e a r as v i o l e n t as t h e i r p e e r s in the M a f i a and C a m o r r a . In The
Nine Nations of North America, J o e l G a r r e a u s u g g e s t e d t h a t the s t a t e of F l o r i d a - t h a n k s
l a r g e l y t o the r e g i o n ' s u b i q u i t o u s L a t i n A m e r i c a n d r u g d e a l e r s - m i g h t be s i m i l a r l y
d i s a f f e c t e d f r o m the U S A , a l t h o u g h h i s c l a i m s i n t h i s r e g a r d are too c o m p l i c a t e d to
e x p l o r e in any depth here.
2
205
l i m i t e d l e i s u r e i n t o the s t r u g g l e f o r w o r k e r s ' r i g h t s : " P r e s i anche p a r t e
attiva
alle
lotte
miglioramento
per il
progresso
sociale,
dei l a v o r a t o r i " ( M a r g a r i t i
t r i p b a c k to the o l d c o u n t r y
to v i s i t
per il
76).
A m e r i c a mi
americano...."
chiamo
his dying mother,
italiano,
e per
qui i n
this
still-
in e a s i l y in
either
I t a l i a mi
chiamano
(Margariti 82).
J u s t as m e m o r i e s of the p o t a t o f a m i n e c o n t i n u e to haunt
a u t h o r s a c e n t u r y and a h a l f a f t e r the e v e n t , the s p e c t r e of
c o n t i n u e s to be a f a c t o r in I t a l y ' s a r t i s t i c
Blasetti,
il
D u r i n g the c o u r s e of a
m i l i t a n t w o r k e r d i s c o v e r e d t h a t he no l o n g e r f i t
p l a c e : "In
lavoro
an
important
film
critic
of
Irish
emigration
imagination. Alessandro
the
1930s
and
the
one
" e s t a b l i s h e d " d i r e c t o r f r o m the f a s c i s t p e r i o d w h o s e r e p u t a t i o n did not
s u f f e r i n the l i g h t of p o s t w a r r e a s s e s s m e n t , made a d o c u m e n t a r y
1972
entitled
Storie
dell'
emigrazione.
When a s k e d w h y
he
in
felt
c o m p e l l e d to t u r n h i s hand to t h i s t o p i c , the f i l m m a k e r r e p l i e d t h a t he
w a n t e d to u n d e r s t a n d
del f e n o m e n o e m i g r a z i o n e , partendo da una a n a l i s i del 1 e
c o n d i z i o n i s o c i a l i e p o l i t i c h e al m o m e n t o d e l l ' u n i t a d ' l t a l i a ,
quando c i o e , da una p r i m a e m i g r a z i o n e i n t e r n a , s i
passo alle
m a s s i c c e e m i g r a z i o n i v e r s o l ' A m e r i c a di cui hanno f a t t o le
s p e s e s o p r a t u t t o le p o p o l a z i o n i m e r i d o n a l i , a l l e t t a t e con
a r g o m e n t a z i o n i s p e s s o m e n z o g n e r e o f r a u d o l e n t i e che erano
d e s t i n a t e a prendere i l p o s t o d e g l i s c h i a v i neri che l a p o l i t i c a
a b o l i z i o n i s t a aveva t o l t o dal m e r c a t o , di q u e g l i s t e s s i s c h i a v i
che in una p r i m a f a s e s i era p e n s a t o di s o s t i t u i r e con g l i
i r l a n d e s i i q u a l i erano poi p a s s a t i a c o m p i t i meno i n g r a t i
(Blasetti 370).
T h i s r a t h e r s h o c k i n g and u n f a m i l i a r e x p l a n a t i o n c e r t a i n l y goes a
long
way
towards
explaining
why
Italian/Black
and
Irish/Black
206
r e l a t i o n s have been "and c o n t i n u e to be so p o o r in the U n i t e d S t a t e s ,
seemingly
racisme
in w h i t e
s u b - s t a n d a r d e v e n by the
ordinaire.
grim
statistical
averages
of
H a v i n g been c o n s i d e r e d no b e t t e r than b l a c k s l a v e s
s k i n by A m e r i c a ' s P r o t e s t a n t r u l i n g c l a s s , R o m a n C a t h o l i c
I r i s h and I t a l i a n i m m i g r a n t s f e l t c o m p e l l e d to t r u m p e t t h e i r E u r o p e a n
c r e d e n t i a l s at a l l t i m e s and in a l l p l a c e s , r e j e c t i n g
identification
every form
of
w i t h the f o r m e r s l a v e s w i t h w h o m t h e y had m o r e
in
c o m m o n than they c a r e d to a d m i t . The v e r y w e a k n e s s of t h e i r c l a i m s to
b e i n g c o n s i d e r e d p a r t of the A m e r i c a n m a i n s t r e a m a g g r a v a t e d
their
h o s t i l i t y t o w a r d s the only people i n the m e l t i n g - p o t w h o s e a m b i t i o n s
i n t h i s r e g a r d w e r e r e g a r d e d , by m e m b e r s of the P r o t e s t a n t
c l a s s , to be even m o r e r i d i c u l o u s than t h e i r s . In t h i s c a s e ,
ruling
familiarity
bred h o r r i f i e d , even v i o l e n t c o n t e m p t .
A m e r i c a , h o w e v e r , does not e n t i r e l y d o m i n a t e I t a l i a n e m i g r a t i o n
l i t e r a t u r e . A r g e n t i n a , a f t e r a l l , and not the U.S.A., i s the s e c o n d m o s t
I t a l i a n n a t i o n on e a r t h . A l a r g e p e r c e n t a g e of I t a l i a n e m i g r a t i o n
i n t e r - E u r o p e a n , and the l a r g e s t s h i f t s
Italian.
Pane e ciocolata
(1973),
of a l l c o n t i n u e to be
arguably
inter-
Franco B r u s a t i ' s
m e m o r a b l e f i l m , d e a l t w i t h the p l i g h t of a S o u t h e r n I t a l i a n
was
most
immigrant
t r y i n g to get h i s f i n a n c e s t o g e t h e r i n d i s d a i n f u l , G e r m a n - s p e a k i n g
S w i t z e r l a n d , a r i c h c o u n t r y w h e r e the s o - c a l l e d g u e s t w o r k e r s do a l l
the m e n i a l t a s k s . C l o s e r to h o m e , the move f r o m P a l e r m o to M i l a n o
r e m a i n s one of the w e l l s p r i n g s of I t a l i a n n a r r a t i v e a r t . O u t s i d e of the
country's s m a l l , s h o r t - l i v e d empire (Ethiopia; Eritrea; Libya; Albania),
Italian
rags-to-riches
stories
were
in
exceedingly
short
supply.
U n s u r p r i s i n g l y under the c i r c u m s t a n c e s , H o r a t i o A l g e r w a s not one of
207
the A m e r i c a n a u t h o r s c u l t i v a t e d by I t a l i a n i n t e l l e c t u a l s i n s e a r c h of
s o c i a l and c u l t u r a l r e n e w a l .
F o r v a r i o u s r e a s o n s , the e m i g r a t i o n p h e n o m e n o n p r o v i d e d m u c h
m o r e f o d d e r to I t a l i a n c i n e m a than i t did to I t a l i a n l i t e r a t u r e . M e m o i r s
s u c h as America!
America!
AJtre
memorie
del
popolo
were
usually
w r i t t e n by u n e d u c a t e d w o r k e r s , o f t e n w i t h o u t s i d e e d i t o r i a l a s s i s t a n c e
and, as a c o n s e q u e n c e , they r e s e m b l e the c u r r e n t l y f a s h i o n a b l e genre of
t a p e r e c o r d e d and t r a n s c r i b e d o r a l h i s t o r y m o r e than they do l i t e r a t u r e
per
se. T h o s e f e w
literary
works
devoted
to
the
Italo-American
e x p e r i e n c e w h i c h do not f o c u s on u n d e r w o r l d r i t u a l s and i n i t i a t i o n s ,
t e n d to be c a s t i n the f o r m of f a m i l y s a g a s about c l a n s of c o n s t r u c t i o n
w o r k e r s . Even h e r e , h o w e v e r , the p e d i g r e e i s a n y t h i n g but
J e w i s h - A m e r i c a n n o v e l i s t / s c r e e n w r i t e r Richard Price's
c o v e r s much the s a m e ground as I t a l o - A m e r i c a n
D o n a t o ' s Christ
in Concrete,
pristine.
Bloodbrothers
a u t h o r P i e t r o Di
and i s at l e a s t as w e l l k n o w n . One l o o k s i n
v a i n f o r a s c h o o l of I t a l o - A m e r i c a n w r i t i n g t h a t c o u l d p r o f i t a b l y
be
c o m p a r e d to t h e i r A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n , I r i s h - A m e r i c a n , and J e w i s h A m e r i c a n c o u n t e r p a r t s . Even c r i m e n o v e l i s t S a l v a t o r e L a m b i n o h i d e s
b e h i n d the d i s i n g e n u o u s l y " W A S P " p s e u d o n y m s " E v a n H u n t e r " and " E d
McBain".
T h i s s h o u l d not be t a k e n to mean t h a t the I t a l i a n p r e s e n c e w a s
entirely
invisible
in
America
in
non-criminal
format.
Popular
e n t e r t a i n e r s s u c h as Frank S i n a t r a and J i m m y D u r a n t e , s p o r t s h e r o e s
s u c h as R o c k y M a r c i a n o and J o e D i M a g g i o , w e r e very m u c h in the p u b l i c
eye. T w o of the m o s t h i g h l y - e s t e e m e d A m e r i c a n f i l m d i r e c t o r s of the
1 9 3 0 s , ' 4 0 s , and ' 5 0 s w e r e Frank C a p r a and V i n c e n t e M i n n e l l i , but the
I t a l o - A m e r i c a n s o c i a l experience was never central
to t h e i r
work.
208
Onscreen, recognizable Italian types were scarcely l e s s stereotyped
than B l a c k m a i d s and b u t l e r s , w h i l e t h e i r p r e s e n c e w a s a l m o s t a l w a y s
tangential
to the p l o t .
In H a y s Code H o l l y w o o d , a p l a c e w h e r e
the
p r e s u m e d p r e j u d i c e s of s m a l l - t o w n P r o t e s t a n t A m e r i c a n s w e r e n e v e r
u n d e r e s t i m a t e d , I r i s h C a t h o l i c i s m w a s about as much " e t h n i c i t y " as an
A - l i s t m o v i e hero c o u l d s t a n d .
To a c e r t a i n e x t e n t , t h i s s i t u a t i o n changed r a d i c a l l y i n the 1 9 7 0 s .
D u r i n g t h a t d e c a d e , m o s t of the " h o t " new A m e r i c a n d i r e c t o r s w e r e of
I t a l i a n d e s c e n t . M a r t i n S c o r s e s e , F r a n c i s Ford C o p p o l a , B r i a n de P a l m a ,
and M i c h a e l C i m i n o brought a new c o n s c i o u s n e s s to A m e r i c a n c i n e m a
that was often
between
their
d e s c r i b e d as " o p e r a t i c " . C r i t i c s f o u n d
work
and the
more
baroque p r o d u c t i o n s
connections
of
Luchino
V i s c o n t i , Michelangelo A n t o n i o n i , Bernardo B e r t o l u c c i , Francesco R o s i ,
and S e r g i o Leone. Even h e r e , h o w e v e r , the change w a s m o r e a p p a r e n t
than r e a l . N e i t h e r C i m i n o nor De P a l m a poured much a r t i s t i c energy i n t o
I t a l i a n s u b j e c t s , and w h e n they did i t e m e r g e d in the hoary old f o r m of
Mafia
melodrama. While
Godfather
the
first
two
of
F r a n c i s Ford Coppola's
f i l m s are a l m o s t u n i v e r s a l l y r e c o g n i z e d as m a s t e r p i e c e s ,
t h e y , t o o , are M a f i a e p i c s , even i f they do d i s p l a y an u n p r e c e d e n t e d
u n d e r s t a n d i n g of u n d e r w o r l d s o c i o l o g y .
3
T h e mob l i k e w i s e c a s t s a s h a d o w o v e r S c o r s e s e ' s w o r k , but
at
l e a s t here w e are g i v e n a chance to see the l a r g e r s o c i e t y t h a t p r o d u c e d
t h i s c r i m i n a l phenomenon. In Mean Streets,
the d i r e c t o r ' s
breakthrough
A s P a u l i n e K a e l and o t h e r A m e r i c a n c r i t i c s c o r r e c t l y p o i n t e d out at the t i m e . The
Godfather m o v i e s w e r e the f i r s t H o l l y w o o d f e a t u r e s to suggest that the l i n e b e t w e e n b i g t i m e c r i m e and b i g b u s i n e s s w a s o f t e n t h i n to the p o i n t of n o n - e x i s t e n t . In one of h e r
r e v i e w s , K a e l d e s c r i b e d the i n t e r l o c k i n g e p i c s as " A w i d e , s t a r t l i n g l y v i v i d v i e w of a
M a f i a d y n a s t y , i n w h i c h o r g a n i z e d c r i m e b e c o m e s an o b s c e n e n i g h t m a r e i m a g e of
A m e r i c a n f r e e e n t e r p r i s e " (5001 N i g h t s at the M o v i e s 2 2 0 ) .
3
209
1 9 7 3 f e a t u r e ; the M a f i a i t s e l f i s broken down i n t o b i g - s h o t s and s m a l l
operators
in a l i t t l e
Hollywood
movies,
I t a l y f u l l of p r i e s t s , m a c h i s m o , s e x u a l
instinctual
patriotism,
guilt,
neighbourhood
bars,
c o f f e e h o u s e s , r e s t a u r a n t s and a p a r t m e n t b u i l d i n g s w h e r e f a m i l i e s s t a y
t o g e t h e r u n t i l m a r r i a g e doth t h e m p a r t . T h i s i s e s s e n t i a l l y the s a m e
m i l i e u t h a t S c o r s e s e w o u l d r e p r o d u c e s e v e n y e a r s l a t e r in Raging
his
acclaimed "biopic"
of
Italian-American
Bull,
b o x e r J a k e La M o t t a .
S c o r s e s e ' s M a f i a i s both a p r e s e n c e and a t e m p t a t i o n ; i t f u n c t i o n s on
the s a m e l e v e l as e n t e r i n g the p r i e s t h o o d , s l e e p i n g w i t h
non-Italian
g i r l s — t h e f e m a l e p e r s p e c t i v e is seldom c o n s i d e r e d in these m o v i e s and l e a v i n g the n e i g h b o u r h o o d
"melting
pot"
emotional
f o r the f r i g h t e n i n g ,
o u t s i d e . More o f t e n
emigres
who
half-understood
than not, S c o r s e s e ' s heroes
nonetheless
think
of
themselves
as
are
all-
American.
The e m i g r e e x p e r i e n c e i s p a r t i c u l a r l y g e r m a n e to I t a l i a n c i n e m a
proper.
The
aesthetic
remembered, was
ancestor
of
Toni, J e a n R e n o i r ' s
neorealismo,
1934 study
it
of
should
be
multi-lingual
M e d i t e r r a n e a n e m i g r a n t s t r y i n g to s u r v i v e in the bidonvilles
around
M a r s e i l l e s . Even in f i l m s s i t u a t e d in v i l l a g e s and t o w n s w h e r e the l o c a l
f a m i l i e s have l i v e d f o r c o u n t l e s s g e n e r a t i o n s , t h e r e i s the f e e l i n g i n
N e o r e a l i s t c i n e m a t h a t p o v e r t y can at any m o m e n t s e n d t h e s e p e o p l e
w a n d e r i n g f r o m p l a c e to p l a c e . T h i s i s as t r u e of the
impoverished
f i s h e r m e n in V i s c o n t i ' s La Terra trema ( 1 9 4 7 ) as i t i s of the R o m a n
s u b - p r o l e t a r i a t d e p i c t e d in De S i c a ' s Ladri di biciclette
and His Brothers
( 1 9 6 0 ) , V i s c o n t i ' s l a s t b l a c k and w h i t e
d e a l t w i t h an i m p o v e r i s h e d S o u t h e r n f a m i l y
(1948).
Rocco
masterpiece,
that sought s e c u r i t y
in
i n d u s t r i a l i z e d M i l a n ; w i t h the e x c e p t i o n of the t r a g i c f a m i l y d y n a m i c s ,
210
L i n a W e r t m u l l e r ' s Mftfii metallurgico
ferito
nell'onore
( 1 9 7 2 ) and Tutto
a posto e niente in ordine ( 1 9 7 4 ) c o v e r much the s a m e ground. In many
ways,
Franco
Brusati's
already
mentioned
Pane
e
ciocolata
is
s t r u c t u r e d l i k e a l i g h t e r , c o o l e r v e r s i o n of Toni.
One of the m o r e i n t e r e s t i n g
ongoing
Lamehca.
problem
of
emigration
is
Gianni
Amelio's
1994
feature
T h i s t i m e the s t o r y i s not about p o o r I t a l i a n s t r y i n g to m a k e
good in s o m e m o r e f o r t u n a t e
about
I t a l i a n c i n e m a t i c a p p r o a c h e s to the
q u a r t e r of the i n d u s t r i a l i z e d w o r l d , but
I t a l i a n c o n m e n t r y i n g to e x p l o i t the s t a r v i n g i n h a b i t a n t s
c o u n t r y w h i c h I t a l y i t s e l f has h e l p e d to i m p o v e r i s h . Lamehca
of a
begins
w i t h documentary footage describing M u s s o l i n i ' s i n v a s i o n / o c c u p a t i o n
of A l b a n i a in 1 9 3 9 . The s c e n e then s h i f t s to the A l b a n i a of the 1 9 9 0 s , a
c o u n t r y only r e c e n t l y e m e r g e d f r o m the n i g h t m a r e y e a r s of the E n v e r
Hoxha r e g i m e and c u r r e n t l y
c r i p p l e d by an e c o n o m i c s t a g n a t i o n
g r e a t e r than t h a t of I t a l y in 1 9 4 5 . Gino ( E n r i c o Lo V e r s o ) , one of
two
even
the
I t a l i a n c o n f i d e n c e men i n t e n t on b i l k i n g t h e s e p o o r p e o p l e out of
t h e i r l i m i t e d f u n d s and even more l i m i t e d s u p p l i e s of hope, g e t s d r a w n
i n t o the v o r t e x of A l b a n i a n m i s e r y , and e v e n t u a l l y f i n d s h i m s e l f a b o a r d
a r e f u g e e - c r o w d e d s h i p t h a t p l a n s to beach i t s e l f on I t a l i a n s a n d s , to
seek refuge
in a country
that unceremoniously
sends most
illegal
e m i g r a n t s home. F o r G i n o ' s v i c t i m s , I t a l y i t s e l f l o o k s l i k e A m e r i c a .
In a m o v i n g i n t e r v i e w he gave to Positif
m a g a z i n e , the
director
e x p l a i n e d h i s m o t i v a t i o n s : " J ' a p p a r t i e n s a une f a m i l i e d ' e m i g r a n t s : mon
g r a n d - p e r e a e m i g r e et n ' e s t j a m a i s r e v e n u , i l a l a i s s e ma g r a n d - m e r e
e n c e i n t e ( e l l e a v a i t t r o i s e n f a n t s et e t a i t e n c e i n t e du q u a t r i e m e ) , i l a
d i s p a r u en A m e r i q u e du Sud. Mon p e r e - j ' a v a i s un an et demi et l u i d i x h u i t - e s t p a r t i a l a r e c h e r c h e de son p e r e , i l T a r e t r o u v e et a d i s p a r u l u i
2 1 1
a u s s i " ( V i v i a n i 2 5 ) . By m a k i n g Larnerica,
the d i r e c t o r c o n t i n u e d , " J e
voulais
cette
faire
un f i l m
sur
l'ltalie,
vue
fois
d'une
distance
g e o g r a p h i q u e a s s e z p a r t i c u l i e r e " ( V i v i a n i 25).
This ubiquitous
need to s o l v e
Italy's multitudinous
problems
s h o u l d , h o w e v e r , not be t a k e n as a s i g n of s e l f - c o n t e m p t . Even the i l l educated Antonio
Margariti, certainly
no f r i e n d
of the
status
quo,
d e s c r i b e d h i s h o m e l a n d as " N e l l a ' t e r r a i t a l i c a , madre d e l l a c i v i 1 i t a del
mondo'...."
(Margariti
19). B e h i n d
the
d i s o r d e r of p r e - and p o s t - R i s o r g i m e n t o
massive
chaos
and
chronic
I t a l y l a y the m e m o r y of R o m e ,
the w o r l d ' s f i r s t c e n t r a l i z e d m e g a - s t a t e , b r u t a l p e r h a p s , but s t i l l
most e f f i c i e n t l y
run e m p i r e the w o r l d had e v e r k n o w n .
4
the
If, on the one
hand, I t a l y ' s p r o b l e m s s e e m e d i n c u r a b l e , on the o t h e r they s e e m e d to be
of a c y c l i c a l , t r a n s i t o r y n a t u r e . The p r o b l e m w a s : how to s o l v e t h e m ?
B e n i t o M u s s o l i n i had one a n s w e r ; A n t o n i o G r a m s c i had
Mussolini
northwards
looked backwards
to
Imperial
In
sedimentazioni
A m e r i c a , , he
wrote,
vischiosamente
passate,
ha
permesso
and
other
Marxist principles, preferred
look to the U n i t e d S t a t e s f o r p a r t i c u l a r
storiche
inspiration,
f o r m i l i t a r y s u p p o r t f r o m G e r m a n y . G r a m s c i , on the
hand, d e s p i t e his d y e d - i n - t h e - w o o l
problems.
Rome f o r
another.
a n s w e r s to s p e c i f i c
"La
non
parassitarie
una
s p e c i a l m e n t e al c o m m e r c i o e p e r m e t t e
base
esistenza
lasciate
sana
di
to
Italian
queste
dalle
fasi
all'industria
sempre piu la riduzione
e
della
f u n z i o n e e c o n o m i c a r a p p r e s e n t a t a dai t r a n s p o r t i e dal c o m m e r c i o a una
r e a l e a t t i vi t a s u b a l t e r n a d e l l a p r o d u z i o n e , a n z i i l t e n t a t i v o di a s s o r b i r e
q u e s t a a t t i vi t a n e l l ' a t t i v i t a
p r o d u t t i v a s t e s s a . . . . " (Quaderni dal c a r c e r e
2 1 4 5 ) . G r a m s c i ' s p r o - A m e r i c a n e n t h u s i a s m s w e r e a l l p r e d i c a t e d on the
4
With the possible exception of the B r i t i s h , of course.
212
v e r y M a r x i s t need to advance Italy to the l e v e l of i n d u s t r i a l / d e m o c r a t i c
p e r f e c t i o n then b e l i e v e d n e c e s s a r y f o r the s u c c e s s f u l t r a n s l a t i o n i n t o a
t r u l y s o c i a l i s t s t a t e . Anything that advanced t h i s cause w a s promoted
by G r a m s c i ; a n y t h i n g t h a t h i n d e r e d i t , he o p p o s e d . T h u s , w e r e a d the
following
s a d l y d i s a p p r o v i n g c o m p a r i s o n : L / A m e r i c a ha i l R o t a r y e
TV.M.C.A., T E u r o p a ha l a M a s s o n e r i a e i G e s u i t i " (Quaderni dal c a r c e r e
246.)
T o w a r d s t h i s e n d , the p r i s o n p h i l o s o p h e r s p e c u l a t e d t h a t a
g e n e r o u s dose of s e x u a l p u r i t a n i s m and P r o t e s t a n t C h r i s t i a n i t y
well
be b e n e f i c i a l
to
Italy, although
might
he o b v i o u s l y w o u l d not
have
d e f e n d e d t h e s e p r i n c i p l e s as i n d e p e n d e n t v i r t u e s i n t h e m s e l v e s . The
t r i c k w a s to get I t a l y i n d u s t r i a l i z e d , and a n y t h i n g t h a t f u r t h e r e d
that
p u r p o s e w a s w o r t h p u r s u i n g . T h u s , he w r o t e , " L ' a n t i a m e r i c a n i s m o e
c o m i c o p r i m a a n c o r a di e s s e r e s t u p i d o " (Quaderni dal c a r c e r e 6 3 5 ) .
G r a m s c i w a s as p r a g m a t i c here as he w a s e v e r y w h e r e e l s e . P e r h a p s ,
t o o , he w a s haunted by a n o t h e r one of S t e n d h a l ' s d i s t u r b i n g I t a l i a n
o b s e r v a t i o n s , and sought some w a y to c i r c u m v e n t i t s s t u b b o r n t r u t h . In
Promenades
dans Rome, the g r e a t F r e n c h l i t e r a r y j o u r n a l i s t
contended
t h a t " L e m a t e r i a l i s m e d e p l a i t aux I t a l i e n s . L ' a b s t r a c t i o n e s t p e n i b l e
p o u r l e u r e s p r i t . II l e u r f a u t une p h i l o s o p h i e t o u t e r e m p l i e de t e r r e u r et
d ' a m o u r , c ' e s t - a - d i r e un Dieu pour p r e m i e r m o t e u r " ( S t e n d h a l 6 4 5 ) .
T h e F u t u r i s t s , c u r i o u s l y e n o u g h , had v e r y l i t t l e to s a y
America. While Filippo-Tommaso Marinetti
modern
Europe that
" L ' i d e a di
patria
about
w a s q u i t e happy to
a n n u l l a T i d e a di
tell
famiglia"
( M a r i n e t t i 3 8 9 ) , and to e x t o l l the m a g n i f i c e n t l y n o n - h u m a n g l o r i e s of
a i r p l a n e s , m o v i e s , m a c h i n e g u n s and e v e r y o t h e r p r o d u c t
of
modern
i n d u s t r y , he s e e m e d c o m p l e t e l y i n d i f f e r e n t to the v e r y f o u n t a i n h e a d of
the m a c h i n e w o r l d he e x t o l l e d , the U n i t e d S t a t e s of A m e r i c a . One w o u l d
213
have e x p e c t e d a c o n d e m n a t i o n of A m e r i c a n d e m o c r a c y , p e r h a p s , but
w h a t about i t s f a c t o r y s y s t e m ? P e r h a p s in the f i r s t t w o d e c a d e s of the
2 0 t h c e n t u r y i t w a s s t i l l p o s s i b l e f o r an a e s t h e t i c and p o l i t i c a l r a d i c a l
to be c o m p l e t e l y E u r o c e n t r i c .
By the e a r l y 1 9 3 0 s , h o w e v e r , t h a t o p t i o n had begun to e r o d e - a s
m u c h by c h o i c e as n e c e s s i t y . A s Italo C a l v i n o p o i n t e d out in h i s i n t r o d u c t i o n to C e s a r e P a v e s e ' s s e m i n a l s t u d y , Letteratura
there
was
more
intellectual
than
simple
enthusiasm
for
Americana,
U.S. w r i t i n g
behind
I t a l y ' s m i d - 1 9 3 0 s p a s s i o n f o r New W o r l d a u t h o r s . F o r
w r i t e r s on the l e f t , s u c h as P a v e s e and E l i o V i t t o r i n i , A m e r i c a n p o e t r y
and f i c t i o n
c o u l d be w i e l d e d , "...come
politica
letteraria-italiana."
e
American sentiments
went
uno
strumento
(Letteratura
a g a i n s t the o f f i c i a l
di
poJemica
A m e r i c a n a xv). P r o fascist line
which
d e c r e e d t h a t the U n i t e d S t a t e s s h o u l d be p r e s e n t e d as " u n a s o c i e t a in
c u i l ' a l f a e l ' o m e g a d e l l a v i t a e r a i l denaro e p r o t a g o n i s t a
autentico
d e l l a v i t a s o c i a l e era d i v e n u t a l a m a c c h i n a . . . . " (Zunino 3 2 9 ) .
U.S. l i t e r a r y
c r i t i c i s m c r e a t e d a s u r p r i s i n g l y f e r t i l e avenue f o r
d i s g u i s e d c r i t i c i s m of the s t a t e . A c c o r d i n g to L i n o P e r t i l e , " A m e r i c a n
literature
p r o v i d e d young I t a l i a n i n t e l l e c t u a l s w i t h a l l t h a t s e e m e d to
be m i s s i n g f r o m I t a l i a n l e t t e r s and l i f e " (Fourgues 181).
L e t us c o n s i d e r V i t t o r i n i ' s
author
of
Moby
Dick,
for
c a s e f i r s t . When c o m m e n t i n g on the
instance,
the
editor/translator
wrote,
" M e l v i l l e non s a c r e d e r e in una c o n q u i s t a t o t a l e d e l l a p u r e z z a . M e l v i l l e
d i f f i d a . Crede t u t t a v i a
n e l l a l o t t a " (Diario in oubblico
1 16). J u s t as
M i k h a i l B a k h t i n i m p l i c i t l y c r i t i c i z e d S t a l i n , w i t h h i s c o n d e m n a t i o n of
fifth
century
Athenian
aristocrats
who
preferred
Oriental-style
a u t o c r a c y to Greek d e m o c r a t i c i n s t i t u t i o n s , so did V i t t o r i n i
challenge
214
M u s s o l i n i ' s d e l u s i o n s of I t a l i a n p o l i t i c a l s o l i d a r i t y . In t h i s
context,
even s o m e of h i s m o r e l i g h t h e a r t e d c o m m e n t s can be r e a d as s l i g h t l y
m i s c h i e v o u s p r o p a g a n d a . In W i l l i a m S a r o y a n ' s f i c t i o n a l u n i v e r s e , f o r
e x a m p l e , " L ' A m e n c a appare come una r e i n c a r n a z i o n e m o d e r n a d e l l ' A s i a
di H a r u n - a l - R a s c i d , San F r a n c i s c o s u o n a c o m e B a g d a d . . . . " ( D i a r i o
in
p u b b l i c o 9 0 ) . It goes w i t h o u t s a y i n g t h a t no f a s c i s t I t a l i a n c i t y of t h i s
p e r i o d i n s p i r e d the a u t h o r w i t h s u c h p l e a s i n g , w h i m s i c a l c o m p a r i s o n s .
• ne can a l s o s e e how p r a i s i n g a n o v e l i n w h i c h a l l the e v e n t s
are
e x t e r n a l c o u l d s e e m s l i g h t l y s u b v e r s i v e w i t h i n the c o n f i n e s of a p o l i c e
s t a t e w h e r e p r i v a t e o p i n i o n s w e r e not above the l a w : " C a i n non da che
f a c c e e f a t t i da v e d e r e , e non p e r m e t t e di v e d e r e o i n t r a v e d e r e a l t r o . I
fatti interiori
da i m p l i c i t i
negli e s t e r i o r i . . . . " (Diario in pubblico 93).
N a z i r e a d e r s of V i t t o r i n i ' s a n t h o l o g i e s and t r a n s l a t i o n s m u s t have been
put
off
by
positively
the
Italian's
suggestions that
"Negro" spirituals
i n f l u e n c e d the w o r k s of G e r t r u d e S t e i n and E z r a
had
Pound.
V i t t o r i n i ' s m o s t u n f o r g i v a b l e p o l i t i c a l s i n , though, w a s u n q u e s t i o n a b l y
h i s c h a m p i o n s h i p of J o h n S t e i n b e c k , J a c k L o n d o n , and E r s k i n e C a l d w e l l ,
the A m e r i c a n w r i t e r s
an
w h o s e s o c i a l c r i t i q u e s c o u l d m o s t e a s i l y be
translated
to
Italian
context.
T h u s , the
author's
anthology
Americana
w a s banned "...not on a c c o u n t of the A m e r i c a n t e x t , but
b e c a u s e of V i t t o r i n i ' s I t a l i a n c o m m e n t a r y " (Fourgues 182).
In the e a r l y days of t h e i r p r o f e s s i o n a l a s s o c i a t i o n , C e s a r e P a v e s e
w a s , i f a n y t h i n g , an even s t a u n c h e r d e f e n d e r of A m e r i c a n
literature
than his p r i n c i p a l c o m r a d e - i n - a r t s , Elio V i t t o r i n i . Pavese w r o t e
his
doctoral
and
dissertation
on
Walt
Whitman's
Leaves
of
Grass,
t r a n s l a t e d Moby Dick at the t e n d e r age of 2 6 . In a l e t t e r w r i t t e n to h i s
American friend
A n t o n i o C h i u m i n a t t o , Pavese gushed, "You are
the
215
p e a c h of the w o r l d ! Not only in w e a l t h and m a t e r i a l l i f e but r e a l l y in
l i v e l i n e s s and s t r e n g t h of a r t w h i c h m e a n s t h o u g h t
and p o l i t i c s and
r e l i g i o n and e v e r y t h i n g . You've got to p r e d o m i n a t e in t h i s c e n t u r y a l l
o v e r the c i v i l i z e d w o r l d as b e f o r e did G r e e c e , and I t a l y , and F r a n c e "
(Lettere
1 926 -
1 9 5 0 1 17).
5
S a d l y , P a v e s e w a s q u i c k to r e m i n d h i s
A m e r i c a n c o r r e s p o n d e n t t h a t he had n o t h i n g in c o m m o n w i t h C h i c a g o ' s
m o s t f a m o u s p e r i o d c i t i z e n , A l Capone: "...you m u s t not f o r g e t t h a t w e
I t a l i a n s are t w o d i s t i n c t n a t i o n s , the N o r t h and the S o u t h , and t h a t w e
are the N o r t h e r n and t h a t the C h i c a g o gunmen are the S o u t h e r n and
t h e r e i s a d e e p e r d i f f e r e n c e of r a c e and h i s t o r y b e t w e e n us and t h e m
t h a t n o t h i n g c o u l d r e p a i r " ( L e t t e r e 1926 - 1 9 5 0 152).
In p r a c t i c e , P a v e s e w a s as e n t h u s i a s t i c about A m e r i c a n m o v i e s
as he w a s about A m e r i c a n b o o k s . In h i s o w n s l i g h t l y
ungrammatical
E n g l i s h w o r d s , " W h a t in t h e i r l i t t l e sphere have A m e r i c a n m o v i e s done
in o l d E u r o p e - a n d I've a l w a y s abused t h o s e who m a i n t a i n e d i t w a s t h e i r
f i n a n c i a l o r g a n i z a t i o n and a d v e r t i s e m e n t s w h i c h brought t h e m up: I say
i t i s not even t h e i r a r t i s t i c v a l u e , but t h e i r s u r p a s s i n g s t r e n g t h of v i t a l
e n e r g y don't m i n d w h e t h e r p e s s i m i s t i c or j o y f u l - w h a t
I say have done
m o v i e s w i l l do f o r the w h o l e of y o u r a r t and t h o u g h t " ( L e t t e r e
1926 -
1 9 5 0 1 17).
What P a v e s e p a r t i c u l a r l y w a n t e d to do w a s v i s i t A m e r i c a - b u t the
c i r c u m s t a n c e s w e r e n e v e r p r o p i t i o u s . He s i g h e d , "I d r e a m , hope, l o n g ,
die a f t e r A m e r i c a . I m u s t c o m e " ( L e t t e r e 1 9 2 6 - 1 9 5 0 2 0 8 ) . T h e young
P a v e s e used h i s l e t t e r s to t h i s i n c r e a s i n g l y d i s t a n t a c q u a i n t a n c e as a p r i m a r y means of
p e r f e c t i n g h i s E n g l i s h . He w a s p a r t i c u l a r l y i n t e r e s t e d i n w a d i n g h i s w a y t h r o u g h U.S.
a r g o t : " [ A m e r i c a n b o o k s l are f u l l of s l a n g , i d i o m s , I don't k n o w w h a t , and so f o r an h a l f
i n c o m p r e h e n s i b l e . I w a n t [a book on m o d e r n s l a n g usage] as the a i r I am b r e a t h i n g "
( L e t t e r e 1926 - 1950
90).
5
216
P a v e s e s e e m e d to b e l i e v e t h a t the New W o r l d w a s s u p e r i o r i n a l m o s t
e v e r y w a y to the Old: " S u r e l y A m e r i c a n s are k i n d e r t h a n w e "
1926 this
(Lettere
1 9 5 0 2 0 5 ) . T h u s , the m o r e " A m e r i c a n " a book w a s , the
Italian reader was
likely
to
endorse it.
One of
his
more
earliest
e n t h u s i a s m s w a s E d g a r Lee M a s t e r s ' The Spoon River Anthology,
b e l l i s s i m o l i b r o che non e poi di liriche,
ma di personaggi,;
"...un
un l i b r o c h e ,
a detta degli Americani s t e s s i , contiene tutta l ' A m e r i c a
attuale...."
(Lettere 1926 - 1950 220).
A s e a r l y as 1 9 3 2 , P a v e s e ' s e a r l y p a s s i o n f o r A m e r i c a w a s a l r e a d y
w e a r i n g the s t i g m a t a of s e c o n d t h o u g h t s . The a u t h o r ' s f i n a l
published
l e t t e r s to A n t o n i o C h i u m i n a t t o a r e c r i t i c a l - i n d e e d b a r b e d - i n the w a y
t h a t the e a r l y s c r e e d s w e r e not. In one e p i s t l e , P a v e s e argued v i s - a - v i s
the Old W o r l d ' s unpaid m u n i t i o n s b i l l s , "I m u s t say t h a t I don't t h i n k
Europe w i l l pay: a f t e r a l l Europe a l r e a d y paid in the W o r l d W a r w i t h a l l
i t s d e a d , w o u n d e d , and m a i m ' d [sic], and i t ' s only r i g h t you a l s o pay
with money" (Lettere
1926 -
1950 221). Things went
from
bad to
w o r s e : " A s f o r p o l i t i c s : h e r e ' s to y o u , hoping to e n c o u n t e r you at my
m a c h i n e - g u n ' s end and have you c r y mercy... P e r h a p s o n l y in the
next
W o r l d - w a r , w e ' l l f i n d out our t r u e c a l l i n g " ( L e t t e r e 1926 - 1 9 5 0 2 2 3 ) .
In P a v e s e ' s
d i a r i e s , the
S t e n d h a l del n o s t r o t e m p o "
American
culture,
author
wrote
that
"Hemingway
e lo
(11 m e s t i e r e di v i v e r e 3 3 4 ) . C o m m e n t s on
had, h o w e v e r ,
c e a s e d to
exercise
his
artistic
c o n s c i e n c e . I n s t e a d , he w a s p r e o c c u p i e d w i t h the p r o b l e m s of r e a l i s m ,
" w o m e n " , and s u i c i d e . A s h i s f a i t h in the r e s t o r a t i v e p o w e r s of l o v e
declined, Pavese grew
increasingly
m i s o g y n i s t i c : " S o n o un
popolo
n e m i c o , le donne come i l popolo t e d e s c o " (11 m e s t i e r e di v i v e r e 3 2 7 ) .
217
T h e a u t h o r ' s A m e r i c a n o p h i l i a peaked when he w a s s t i l l i n h i s 2 0 s .
E v e r y t h i n g about the U.S. s e e m e d to f a s c i n a t e h i m : "11 N o r d a m e r i c a e
s e m p r e s t a t o un paese di b e v i t o r i e c c e z i o n a l i " ( L e t t e r a t u r a
Americana
5). P a v e s e b e l i e v e d t h a t l i t e r a r y A m e r i c a n s l a n g c o n s t i t u t e d " . . . l a v e r a
creazione
di
un l i n g u a g g i o - i l
volgare
americano...."
Americana
2 8 ) . He b e l i e v e d t h a t U.S. a u t h o r s
indigenous
tradition,
(Letteratura
even
if
"Un
greco
A m e r i c a n a 79.) Moby Dick,
had b u i l t t h e i r
veramente
Pavese
most
wanted
his
e
own
Melville"
he f e l t , made ( o b v i o u s l y
m a l e ) r e a d e r s f e e l " p i u v i v o e piu u o m o " ( L e t t e r a t u r a
What
(Letteratura
countrymen
to
all
A m e r i c a n a 79.)
absorb
from
these
o v e r s e a s a u t h o r s w a s a p o p u l a r language of t h e i r o w n v e r s a t i l e enough
to e x p r e s s the t o t a l r e a l i t y of p o s t - R i s o g i m e n t o I t a l y , " u n l i n g u a g g i o
r i c c o di t u t t o i l sangue d e l l a p r o v i n c i a e di t u t t a l a d i g n i t a di un v i t a
rinnovata." (Letteratura
A m e r i c a n a 34.) P a v e s e b e l i e v e d t h a t
writers
l i k e 0. H e n r y , in T h e o d o r e R o o s e v e l t ' s t i m e , had helped to make A m e r i c a
one n a t i o n
from
Atlantic
to
P a c i f i c , an a l c h e m i c a l
process
that
s u p p l i e d the c o l l a t e r a l b e n e f i t of d e - p u r i t a n i z i n g the c o u n t r y .
E v e n t u a l l y , P a v e s e w o u l d c o n c e n t r a t e on h i s o w n l i t e r a r y
works,
r a t h e r than t h o s e w r i t t e n by f o r e i g n e r s ; in p l a c e of f o r e i g n m o d e l s , h i s
a e s t h e t i c g r e w i n c r e a s i n g l y w e d d e d to the h o m e - g r o w n c o n s t r u c t s of
n e o r e a l i s m and r e g i o n a l a u t h e n t i c i t y .
Even s o , in a r a d i o
broadcast
d e l i v e r e d s h o r t l y b e f o r e h i s s u i c i d e in 1 9 5 0 , P a v e s e i n d i c a t e d t h a t t h i s
r u p t u r e w a s not as c o m p l e t e as s o m e c r i t i c s b e l i e v e d : "...quando m i s i
descrive
come
uno
che
sarebbe
passato
n e o r e a l i s m o p o l e m i c o e poi a d d i r i t u r a
dall'americanismo
al r e g i o n a l i s m o n o s t r a n o
c o n f e s s o di non c a p i r e " ( L e t t e r a t u r a A m e r i c a n a 2 9 2 ) .
al
io
218
Although
emigrants
Southern
Italians
made
up
the
vast
majority
to A m e r i c a , m o s t of the m a j o r S i c i l i a n w r i t e r s
of
seemed
c o m p l e t e l y u n i n t e r e s t e d in New W o r l d l i t e r a t u r e . L u i g i P i r a n d e l l o , f o r
instance, was almost completely regionalist. Thirty
years later,
G i u s e p p e T o m a s o di L a m p e d u s a ' s m a s t e r p i e c e // Battopardo,
r e f e r e n c e to the U n i t e d S t a t e s i s a w i s t f u l
in
the only
a s i d e r e l a t e d to a 1 9 4 3
bomb f a t e d to d e s t r o y a once b e a u t i f u l palazzo.
This indifference,
it
s h o u l d be e m p h a s i z e d , w a s not e x c l u s i v e l y l i m i t e d to N a p l e s , C a l a b r i a
and S i c i l y . I t a l o S v e v o , Ignazio S i l o n e , and E l s a M o r a n t e , to
mention
j u s t t h r e e s t e l l a r t a l e n t s , a d d r e s s e d t h e m s e l v e s f i r s t l y to t h e i r f e l l o w
c o u n t r y m e n , s e c o n d l y to E u r o p e a n s , and t h i r d l y i f at a l l to r e a d e r s i n
the
New
and
Neo-colonial
Worlds.
In
some
cases,
Communist
s y m p a t h i e s l e d to a d e l i b e r a t e c o l d - s h o u l d e r i n g of l i t e r a t u r e f r o m the
f o u n t a i n h e a d of c a p i t a l i s m . O b v i o u s l y , t h i s t e n d e n c y w o u l d g r o w once
the
New
Deal
McCarthyism.
era
was
replaced
by
the
Cold
War
regime
of
6
Even s o , t h r o u g h o u t
the
1930s, most w r i t e r s
in N o r t h e r n
and
C e n t r a l I t a l y s h a r e d , to a g r e a t e r or l e s s e r d e g r e e , the p r o - A m e r i c a n
l i t e r a r y t a s t e s of V i t t o r i n i
and P a v e s e . N e v e r t h e l e s s , A l b e r t o M o r a v i a
w a s one of the f e w who a c t u a l l y s p e n t s o m e t i m e i n the U.S.: " N e T 1 9 3 5
sono a n d a t o a New Vork, o s p i t e su i n v i t o di G i u s e p p e P r e z z o l i n i d e l l a
C a s a i t a l i a n a d e l l a C o l u m b i a U n i v e r s i t y " ( D i a r i o Eurooeo 138). M o r a v i a
w a s m o r e c l e a r - e y e d about the p r o m i s e d l a n d t h a n w e r e m o s t of h i s
T h i s t e n d e n c y s e e m s p a r t i c u l a r l y p r o n o u n c e d in r e g a r d to M o r a n t e ' s g r e a t 1 9 6 4 n o v e l ,
HistoriQ. A l t h o u g h the b o o k ' s s t r u c t u r e o w e s a g r e a t d e a l to J o h n Dos P a s s o s ' s 49th
Parallel, r e f e r e n c e s to A m e r i c a are e x t r e m e l y s p a r s e . A t y p i c a l e x c e p t i o n r e a d s a s
f o l l o w s : " S u l f r o n t e di C o r e a , i n c u r s i o n e U S A a P y o n g Vang con l a m o r t e di s e i m i l a
c i v i l i " (Morante 1026).
6
219
c o n t e m p o r a r i e s , a l t h o u g h he did not s e e m to be p a r t i c u l a r l y a w a r e of it:
"Agli
occhi
di
un
tecnologicamente
arretrato,
europeo,
e piu
l'America
avanzato
e un
paese
dell'Europa,
schizof renico:
politicamente
piu
nel s e n s o che non ha p a r t i t i di s i n i s t r a che c o n t e s t i n o
la
s t r u t t u r a . E un po' c o m e , d i c i a m o , l a F r a n c i a p r i m a del 1 8 4 8 . Dal punto
di v i s t a t e c n o l o g i c o e piu v e c c h i o di n o i , da q u e l l e s o c i o l o g i c o e p i u
g i o v a n e . Un p a s t i c c i o " ( I n t e r v i s t a s u l l o s c r i t t o r e s c o m o d o 9 5 ) . Even s o ,
he b e l i e v e d t h a t "11 n e o r e a l i s m o n a s c e in I t a l i a da un l i b r o s o l o , e p e r
g i u n t a non di un i t a l i a n o . Addio alle armi
sullo s c r i t t o r e scomodo
di H e m i n g w a y "
(Intervista
22)7
Even a poet as o t h e r w o r l d l y
Hemingway's
as Eugenio M o n t a l e w a s c a p a b l e of
responding
to
Hemingway
non d e l u d e v a , c o n f e r m a v a a n z i quel s e n s o di
s c h i e t t a , quasi i n f a n t i l e - m a
tough-guy
charms:
"Tuttavia
respinta furiosamente
l'uomo
un'umanita
e c o m p r e s s a nel
fondo d e l l a c o s c i e n z a come indegna d'un uomo ' d e l n o s t r o t e m p o ' - c h e i
suoi l i b r i m i g l i o r i l a s c i a v a n o i n d o v i n a r e " (Montale 236).
Under
fascism,
fondness
for
American
culture
sometimes
a s s u m e d s e m i - c o m i c f o r m s . T h u s , one of the young F e d e r i c o F e l l i n i ' s
first creative
banned
t a s k s w a s to w r i t e an a l t e r n a t i v e
American
Federico
science fiction
F e l l i n i , alors
jeune
d e s s i n e e , se s u b s t i t u a n t ,
comic
strip:
journalists,
s u r la demande
Italian text for a
"Le futur
devint
auteur
cineaste
de
de l ' e d i t e u r , a un
bande
Alex
R a y m o n d m i s a l ' i n d e x p a r l e f a s c i s m e en I t a l i e , a f i n de t e r m i n e r
un
h i s t o i r e de Flash Gordon" (Le Monde D i p l o m a t i q u e . Dec. 1 9 9 6 2 9 ) .
T h i s s o m e w h a t s u r p r i s i n g c l a i m s e e m s more c o m p r e h e n s i b l e a f t e r r e a d i n g M o r a v i a ' s
p e r s o n a l d e f i n i t i o n of the movement: "11 n e o r e a l i s m e a u t o b i o g r a f i s m o e d o c u m e n t a r i s r n o
a 1 i v e i l o l i r i c o " ( I n t e r v i s t a s u l l o s c r i t t o r e scomodo 23).
7
220
One
of
Italy's
few
prominent
literary
intellectuals
to
be
a s s o c i a t e d w i t h the a n t i - A m e r i c a n c a m p i n 1 9 3 0 s I t a l y w a s E m i l i o
C e c c h i . W i t h the a i d of Messico,
America
amara, and Messico
rivisiata,
t h r e e t r a v e l books f i r s t p u b l i s h e d in the 1 9 3 0 s and l a t e r f u s e d i n t o the
o m n i b u s v o l u m e Nuovo continente,
t h i s l i t e r a r y a e s t h e t e , v i r t u a l l y by
d e f a u l t , a s s u m e d the p o s i t i o n of i d e o l o g i c a l opponent to P a v e s e and
V i t t o r i n i . America
amara,
in p a r t i c u l a r , e n s c o n c e d h i m in t h i s r o l e ,
a l t h o u g h he s u b s e q u e n t l y took c o n s i d e r a b l e p a i n s to deny i t . S
in h i s
i n t r o d u c t i o n to the p o s t - w a r t r i l o g y ' s r e - p u b l i c a t i o n , C e c c h i e x p l a i n e d ,
"Apparsa infatti
comunisti,
per
decisamente
durante la seconda guerra mondiale, a f a s c i s t i e
opposte
ragioni
America
antiamericano, mentre
amara
sembro
cercava soltanto
la
un
libro
verita...."
(Nuovo c o n t i n e n t e v i i ) .
In r e t r o s p e c t , C e c c h i ' s w r i t i n g s on A m e r i c a r e a d l e s s l i k e p r o f a s c i s t p o l e m i c s than the s o r t of t r a c t s w e have c o m e to e x p e c t f r o m
the t r a v e l
j o u r n a l s of F r e n c h i n t e l l e c t u a l s v i s i t i n g A m e r i c a i n
y e a r s i m m e d i a t e l y p r e c e d i n g and i m m e d i a t e l y f o l l o w i n g the
W o r l d W a r . In p a r t i c u l a r , the a u t h o r r e s e m b l e s a s o r t of
the
Second
Italianate
G e o r g e s D u h a m e l . A s Di B i a s e w o u l d have i t , " S i veda i l p r o b l e m a d e l
razzismo,
q u e l 1 o dei
n e g r i , dei
lavoratori
legati
alle
catene
di
T h e v e r y t i t l e of the m i d d l e v o l u m e in t h i s t r i l o g y plagued i t s a u t h o r u n m e r c i f u l l y . A s
C a r m i n e Di B i a s e noted in h i s book l e n g t h s t u d y of C e c c h i , the a c c u s e d i n s i s t e d t h a t he
w a s p r i m a r i l y a t t r a c t e d by t h e a l l i t e r a t i v e m a g i c of t h e l e t t e r " a " : " P e r i l t i t o l o
America
amara ( 1 9 3 0 - 1 9 4 3 ) C e c c h i s t e s s o d i c h i a r a , n e l l ' Avertimento
al l i b r o , di
e s s e r e a t t r a t t o da u n ' a l l i t t e r a z i o n e c o m e Arnica America
di J . G i r a u d o u x ,
Amusante
America
di A . de M e e u s , America
primo amore di Ii. S o l d a t i e con n e l l ' o r e c c h i o
' m a r e m m a a m a r a ' d'una v e c c h i a c a n z o n e t o s c a n a " (Di B i a s e 8 9 ) . T h a t h i s a l l i t e r a t i v e
t i t l e w a s the only n e g a t i v e one of the f o u r he c i t e d w a s a d e t a i l w h i c h C e c c h i c h o s e not to
d w e l l on u n d u l y . T h e f a c t t h a t Harlem,
a Second World War vintage a n t i - A m e r i c a n
p r o p a g a n d a f e a t u r e c o m m i s s i o n e d by the f a s c i s t s w a s l a r g e l y d e r i v e d f r o m C e c c h i ' s
t r a v e l w r i t i n g , w a s l i k e w i s e s o m e t h i n g he p r e f e r r e d to d o w n p l a y .
8
221
m o n t a g g i o , del c i n e m a , d e l l a d e l i n q u e n z a m i n o r i l e , dei gangsters,
scuola,
della
religione,
della
d o n n a " (Di
Biase
89).
della
Long-legged
A m e r i c a n w o m e n ; s k y s c r a p e r s ; m o v i e h o u s e s ; Henry F o r d ' s f a c t o r i e s :
f o r r e a d e r s of C h a p t e r One, C e c c h i ' s i t i n e r a r y w i l l s e e m v e r y
familiar.
F a r f r o m b e i n g r a c i s t , C e c c h i w a s as fond of " N e g r o s p i r i t u a l s " as any
writer
on
the
u g l i n e s s , it
antifascist
usually
left.
What's
w a s ugly: " V i
more,
sono l u o g h i
when
he
described
che l ' i n d i g e n z a ,
la
v e r g o g n a , l ' i n f a m i a hanno t a l m e n t e i m p r e g n a t i e s a t u r a t i , da r e n d e r l i , a
cosi dire, eloquenti
Sinistre
c o m e una s t o r i a t r a s f u s a s i i n s o s t a n z a v i s i v a .
epopee m u m m i f i c a t e .
Vie e piazze devastate
e
deserte;
l u g u b r a m e n t e s o l e n n i come c i m e t e r i . La B o w e r y , a Nuova Y o r k , e uno di
• u e s t i l u o g h i " ( A m e r i c a amara 519).
He w a s , of
c o u r s e , not
immune
to
the
feelings
of
cultural
s u p e r i o r i t y t h a t p e r m e a t e d so many F r e n c h and G e r m a n i n t e l l e c t u a l s of
his time. At
the
M u s e u m of N a t u r a l
History, for
i n s t a n c e , he
was
p r o m p t e d to m a k e the f o l l o w i n g o b s e r v a t i o n , " E c c o A m e r i c a . . . g r a c e e
p u e r i l e ; s e m p r e con q u e g l i o c c h i a l i da nonna e con q u e l l ' i n c a r n a t o di
l a t t e e r o s e ; c r e d u l a , eppoi pedante f i n o a l l ' i n v e r o s i m i l e "
(America
a m a r a 2 0 ) . U.S. m u s e u m s s e e m to have o f t e n d r i v e n t h i s s e a s o n e d a r t
l o v e r to c u l t i v a t e d d e s p a i r : " E d i f f i c i l e
c r e d e r e che m u s e o
' d i m o r a d e l l e M u s e , ' s i g i u d i c a da una q u a n t i t a di m u s e i
significhi
americani"
( M e s s i c o 4 8 ) . L i k e Duhamel and h i s F r e n c h c o m p a t r i o t s , C e c c h i t h o u g h t
of
America
as
a
strange
mixture
sexlessness,
a circumstance
separazione
dei
sessi;
p u r i t a n e s i m o . . . . " (Jodi 3 0 4 ) .
of
matriarchy
occasioned
effetto
dei
by
"il
preguidizi
and
enforced
fenomeno
instillati
della
dal
222
C e c c h i d i d , h o w e v e r , d i f f e r f r o m Duhamel in h i s a t t i t u d e t o w a r d s
m o v i e s . W i t h g r e a t p l e a s u r e , he d e s c r i b e s h i s m e e t i n g s w i t h A d o l p h e
M e n j o u , G l o r i a S w a n s o n , and George A r l i s s . S i n c e h i s f i r s t v i s i t
to
A m e r i c a c a m e in the f o r m of a v i s i t i n g p r o f e s s o r s h i p at the U n i v e r s i t y
of C a l i f o r n i a at B e r k e l e y in the e a r l y 1 9 3 0 s , the a u t h o r c o u l d o b s e r v e
the d e a t h of the s i l e n t m o v i e and the b i r t h of i t s t a l k i n g s u c c e s s o r at
f i r s t hand. S o m e w h a t s u r p r i s i n g l y f o r a c o n s e r v a t i v e I t a l i a n c i n e p h i l e ,
he p r e f e r r e d B u s t e r K e a t o n ' s m a t e r i a l i s t c o m e d i e s to the m o r e e t h e r e a l
m o v i e s of " t h e l i t t l e t r a m p " , l a u d i n g the s t o n e f a c e d s i l e n t
" S e n z a le s e n t i m e n t a l i
master
f i n e z z e e le t r a s c e n d e n t i i r o n i e di C h a p l i n . . . . "
(Messico 29).
I t a l i a n f i l m t h e o r i s t s , c o n v e r s e l y , g e n e r a l l y p r e f e r r e d C h a p l i n to
Keaton.
From
9
an
millionaire-kicking
cultural
antifascist
point
"little tramp"
of
view,
the
cop-hating,
o b v i o u s l y made a m o r e
effective
w e a p o n than did K e a t o n ' s s t o n e - f a c e d l o n e r . F o r the
critics
who w r o t e f o r Bianco e Nero and the o t h e r s e r i o u s I t a l i a n f i l m j o u r n a l s
of
the
1 9 3 0 s and ' 4 0 s , A m e r i c a n c u l t u r e
selectively
American
than
novels
it
was
were
in
the
useful,
literary
more
magazines. "Hardboiled"
because
t r a n s l a t e d i n t o I t a l i a n t e r m s of r e f e r e n c e .
was appropriated
they
could
so
easily
be
1 0
H o l l y w o o d , on the o t h e r hand, w a s r e g a r d e d w i t h m o r e s u s p i c i o n
than l o v e . C h a p l i n a s i d e , i t w a s g e n e r a l l y s e e n as the b a s t i o n of
the
In the 1 9 6 0 s , P i e r P a o l o P a s o l i n i w e n t so f a r as to argue t h a t the r e l e a s e of C h a p l i n ' s
Modern Times c o n s t i t u t e d an i m p o r t a n t t u r n i n g point in human h i s t o r y .
9
A t h e o r y w h i c h L u c h i n o V i s c o n t i proved c o n c l u s i v e l y w h e n he t u r n e d J a m e s l i . C a i n ' s
D e p r e s s i o n E r a pulp novel The Postman Always Rings Twice i n t o the f i r s t g r e a t I t a l i a n
n e o r e a l i s t f i l m in 1 9 4 1 . A t f i r s t banned by the a u t h o r i t i e s , i t w a s l a t e r r e l e a s e d at 11
Duce's request in 1942 despite a decidedly u n p a t r i o t i c subtext that c e l e b r a t e d bohemian
h o m o s e x u a l i t y o v e r both b o u r g e o i s m a r r i a g e and h e t e r o s e x u a l a d u l t e r y .
1 0
223
w o r l d ' s most c o m m e r c i a l l y s u c c e s s f u l " w h i t e telephone m o v i e s . "
1
1
J e a n R e n o i r ' s Toni w a s t h e i r model of c i n e m a t i c e x c e l l e n c e , not V i c t o r
F l e m i n g ' s Gone with
the Wind. A n d , so f a r as l i t e r a r y
sources were
c o n c e r n e d , the f a t h e r s of n e o r e a l i s m did not look to E r n e s t H e m i n g w a y
for
i n s p i r a t i o n , as A l b e r t o
Giovanni
c l a i m e d , but to
V e r g a . F o r t h e m , V e r g a ' s s t a n d a r d of " v e r i s m o "
narrative norm.
As
Moravia contentiously
1 2
Cal 1 i s t o
neorealismo,
s e t the
Cosulich wrote
in his i n t r o d u c t i o n
a c o l l e c t i o n of the hugely i n f l u e n t i a l
to
Verso
il
e a r l y w r i t i n g s of
G i u s e p p e De S a n t i s , " l ' e p i s o d i o s a l i e n t e r e s t a n o i due a r t i c o l i c h e De
S a n t i s s c r i s s e in c o l l a b o r a z i o n e con Mario A l i c a t a p e r r i c h i a m a r e
l'attenzione
del cinema italiano
s u l l ' o p e r a di V e r g a , l o
scrittore
s i c i l i a n o c i o e i n q u e g l i anni e r a d i v e n t a t o i l punto di r i f e r i m e n t o
tutti
i focolai
di d i s s i d e n z a c u l t u r a l e . . . . "
(De S a n t i s
di
18). F u t u r e
c i n e a s t e s w e r e a d v i s e d t h a t , " G i o v a n n i V e r g a non ha s o l a m e n t e c r e a t o
una g r a n d e o p e r a di p o e s i a , m a ha c r e a t o un p a e s e , un t e m p o , una
s o c i e t a . . . . " (De S a n t i s 4 9 ) .
1 3
W h i l e De S a n t i s a d m i r e d many t h i n g s about
A m e r i c a n r e a l i s m , the p r i n c i p a l c r i t i c of the j o u r n a l Cinema
believed
that European culture w a s e s s e n t i a l l y c l a s s i c a l , w h i l e i t s A m e r i c a n
counterpart, lacking sufficient historical reference points, " e s i s t e e
continue
a esistere mediante
schemi e convenzioni
instabilmente
' r o m a n t i c i ' " (De S a n t i s 6 0 ) . R o m a n t i c i s m , De S a n t i s p r i m l y n o t e d , had
T h e c o n t e m p t u o u s t e r m by w h i c h the l i g h t , f l u f f y , r o m a n t i c c o m e d i e s m a s s p r o d u c e d
by M u s s o l i n i ' s f i l m s t u d i o s w e r e g e n e r a l l y known.
1 1
V i s c o n t i w o u l d take t h i s a d v i c e to heart in the i m m e d i a t e p o s t - w a r period when he shot
La Terra trema, a f i l m based on a V e r g a t e x t , i n S i c i l i a n d i a l e c t w i t h S i c i l i a n n o n - a c t o r s
in an a u t h e t i c S i c i l i a n f i s h i n g v i l l a g e . On the m a i n l a n d , t h i s p i c t u r e w a s s h o w n w i t h T u s c a n
subtitles.
1 2
224
e x e r c i s e d l i t t l e i n f l u e n c e on I t a l y . C o n s e q u e n t l y , " L ' A m e r i c a , i n v e c e ,
e r a p r e o c c u p a t a s o l t a n t o di c r e a r e una nuova f o r m u l a d e s t i n a t a i n s i e m e
a l i a a l t r a che p o r t a v a a l i a r i b a l t a l a v i t a dei g a n g s t e r s , a s o s t i t u i r e con
s u c c e s s o i l g l o r i o s o ' w e s t e r n ' . . . . " (De S a n t i s 60). In m a t t e r s of r e a l i s m ,
De S a n t i s b e l i e v e d t h a t A m e r i c a n c i n e m a f o l l o w e d r a t h e r t h a n l e d : " F u
il cinema americano a continuare la esperienza
r e a l i s t i c a del c i n e m a
e u r o p e o . . . . " (De S a n t i s 4 7 ) . W h i l e he a d m i r e d K i n g V i d o r , J o h n F o r d ,
Frank C a p r a , and s e v e r a l o t h e r A m e r i c a n d i r e c t o r s , De S a n t i s c l a i m e d
t h a t " i l m i o ' c r e d o ' p a r t i v a d a l l ' e s e m p i o del c i n e m a f r a n c e s e di q u e g l i
anni s c a t u r i t o dal c l i m a del F r o n t e P o p o l a r e , e che a v e v a in J e a n R e n o i r
i l suo piu a t t e n t o e profondo poeta c i n e m a t o g r a f i c o . . . . " (De S a n t i s 3 8 ) .
French c r i t i c s
w e r e among the f i r s t i n t e r n a t i o n a l
viewers
to
r e c o g n i z e the unique g e n i u s of t h i s n e w f i l m s t y l e , but they d i d not f e e l
i n c l i n e d to bask in the r e f l e c t e d g l o r y of t h e i r a l l e g e d t u t e l a g e . A n d r e
Bazin
and h i s
Rossellini
more
disciples
might
have
o r l e s s e q u a l l y , but
admired
R e n o i r and
Roberto
to
they
entirely
them
separate geniuses, discrete national p e r s o n a e .
1 3
were
R o s s e l l i n i , of c o u r s e ,
w a s the d i r e c t o r w h o made a v i r t u e out of p o v e r t y of m e a n s , w h o s h o t
i n the s t r e e t
under v a r i a b l e l i g h t i n g
c o n d i t i o n s b e c a u s e the r o o f
C i n e c i t t a and R o m e ' s o t h e r s t u d i o s had a l l been b l o w n o f f
of
by A l l i e d
b o m b e r s , who w o r k e d w i t h a m a t e u r a c t o r s b e c a u s e he c o u l d n ' t a f f o r d a
f u l l y p r o f e s s i o n a l c a s t , w h o - d u r i n g the s h o o t i n g of Open
City-mixed
N e v e r t h e l e s s , the F r a n c o - I t a l i a n c u l t u r a l exchange w a s so e x t e n s i v e on the c i n e m a t i c
p l a n e t h r o u g h o u t the 1 9 3 0 s and e a r l y ' 4 0 s , the p h e n o m e n o n d e s e r v e s s o m e c o m m e n t .
Luchino V i s c o n t i w o r k e d as a d e s i g n e r and a s s i s t a n t d i r e c t o r f o r J e a n R e n o i r during those
y e a r s , w h i l e M i c h e l a n g e l o A n t o n i o n i a p p r e n t i c e d w i t h M a r c e l C a r n e . In P i e r r e L e p r o h o n ' s
w o r d s , " L ' a x e R o m e - B e r l i n f a c i l i t a i t l e s e c h a n g e s a v e c l ' A U e m a g n e , m a i s de P a r i s
egalement, p l u s i e u r s r e a l i s a t e u r s vinrent t r a v a i l l e r avec les equipes i t a l i e n n e s . A p r e s
Max O p h u l s , J e a n de L i m e u r , J e f f M u s s o et P i e r r e C h e n a l , M a c e l l ' H e r b i e r . . . e t J e a n
R e n o i r (La Tosca) s'y t r o u v a i e n t en 1 9 4 0 " (Leprohon 80).
1 3
225
and m a t c h e d b o o t l e g f i l m s t r i p s he bought on the b l a c k m a r k e t ,
pour
faute de mieux, a f t e r a l l the u s u a l o u t l e t s had shut d o w n . R o u g h , e d g y ,
verging
on d o c u m e n t a r y :
n e o r e a l i s m s e e m e d to be j u s t
p o s t w a r w o r l d needed. W h i l e f i l m s s u c h as Roma citta
and Ladri di biciclette
what
aperta
the
(1945)
a l l f o c u s s e d on e x t r e m e l y l o c a l s o c i a l p r o b l e m s ,
the i n t e r n a t i o n a l p o s s i b i l i t i e s of the f o r m b e c a m e a l m o s t i m m e d i a t e l y
apparent.
As
neorealism's
foremost
ideologue
and
exponent,
s c r e e n w r i t e r Cesare Zavattini wrote in his autobiography: "Ogni cinema
che m i r a a un r a p p o r t o s t r e t t o con i g r a v i p r o b l e m i d e l l ' uomo m o d e r n o ,
fa del n e o r e a l i s m o , p a r t e c i p a a questo movimento
che e o r m a i
la
c o s c i e n z a del c i n e m a " ( Z a v a t t i n i 4 7 4 ) .
Perhaps
the f i r s t
neorealist
film
to d e a l w i t h
the
wartime
r e l a t i o n s h i p s of A m e r i c a n s and I t a l i a n s w a s R o b e r t o R o s s e l l i n i ' s 1 9 4 6
o m n i b u s f i l m , Paisa.
B e g i n n i n g w i t h t h e A l l i e d l a n d i n g s i n S i c i l y and
1 9 4 3 , and c o n c l u d i n g w i t h j o i n t
Wehrmacht in northern
evolves
from
mutual
U.S./partisan actions against the
I t a l y t w o y e a r s l a t e r , t h e mood of t h e f i l m
hostility
and s u s p i c i o n to t o t a l
t r u s t and
understanding, between these l i n g u i s t i c a l l y separated protagonists, as
t i m e p a s s e s and the t r o o p s m a r c h n o r t h . Not a l l of t h e s e e a r l y t a k e s on
U.S./Italian
Lattuada's
relations
Senza
were
pieta,
quite
so upbeat,
however.
f o r e x a m p l e , deals w i t h a doomed romance
b e t w e e n a b l a c k A m e r i c a n m i l i t a r y p o l i c e m a n and an I t a l i a n
A s i n La putain
Alberto
respectueuese,
m o s t of the b l a m e f o r t h i s
s t a t e of a f f a i r s i s d i r e c t l y a t t r i b u t e d
prostitute.
unfortunate
to i n g r a i n e d , i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z e d
American racism.
Ironically, quite a f e w neorealist f i l m s
escapist
attributes
of
the A m e r i c a n
a s s u m e d s o m e of t h e
cinema
whose
norms
they
226
o s t e n s i b l y s o u g h t to e s c a p e . A s Roy A r m e s w r o t e of // Cammino
speranza,
della
" T h e g u n f i g h t at the r a i l w a y s t a t i o n in Rome i s c o n s t r u c t e d
in t r u e g a n g s t e r f i l m f a s h i o n , w h i l e the r i t u a l i s t i c e l e m e n t i s s t r e s s e d
i n the k n i f e f i g h t to the d e a t h t h a t t a k e s p l a c e in the s h o w b e t w e e n
S a r o and V a n n i f o r the p o s s e s s i o n of B a r b a r a " ( P a t t e r n s of R e a l i s m
140). In the s a m e v o l u m e , A r m e s a d d e d , "In many w a y s [the] S i c i l i a n
films
of G e r m i are b e s t r e g a r d e d not as w o r k s i n a pure
realistic
t r a d i t i o n but as s t y l i s e d I t a l i a n e q u i v a l e n t s to the A m e r i c a n w e s t e r n "
( A r m e s 140).
B e t w e e n the l a t e 1 9 4 0 s and l a t e 1 9 5 0 s , I t a l i a n c i n e m a e v o l v e d in
a n u m b e r of s i g n i f i c a n t w a y s . N e o r e a l i s m p r o p e r soon d e g e n e r a t e d i n t o
the c o r r u p t s u b - g e n r e k n o w n as neorealismo
rosa, a f o r m a t in w h i c h
the t r a g e d y of I t a l i a n p o v e r t y w a s l a r g e l y s u p p l a n t e d by l o w c o m e d y
and l o c a l c o l o u r .
1 4
So f a r as the m a s s a u d i e n c e w a s c o n c e r n e d , b r o a d
f a r c e w a s the p r e f e r r e d b i l l of f a r e , though f e w of t h e s e c o m e d i e s
were ever exported outside Italy's b o r d e r s .
f o r m u l a e i n c l u d e d the "peplum"
1 5
Other viable c o m m e r c i a l
(or n e o - m y t h o l o g i c a l f i l m , m u s c l e m a n
h i s t o r i c a l e p i c s w h o s e r o o t s r e a c h e d back to M a c i s t e , the
hero of Cabiria),
strongman
the I t a l i a n s o c i a l c o m e d y (in w h i c h S i c i l i a n s e t t i n g s
w e r e u b i q u i t o u s ) , o m i n i b u s m o v i e s ( c o l l e c t i o n s of s h o r t f i l m s ,
often
t h e m a t i c a l l y l i n k e d by a u t h o r or human f o i b l e ) , the o p e r a t i c f i l m ( o f t e n
of v e r y high q u a l i t y ) , and the m u s i c a l ( u s u a l l y w r e t c h e d ) . In the 1 9 6 0 s
Even i n t h e i r h e y d a y , i t s h o u l d be n o t e d , n e o r e a l i s t p r o d u c t i o n s n e v e r a m o u n t e d to
m o r e t h a n a m o d e s t p e r c e n t a g e of o v e r a l l I t a l i a n f i l m o u t p u t . A c c o r d i n g to P e t e r
B o n d a n e l l a , of the 8 2 2 I t a l i a n f e a t u r e f i l m s p r o d u c e d b e t w e e n 1 9 4 5 and 1 9 5 4 , " o n l y
about 9 0 ( o r s l i g h t l y o v e r \0%) c o u l d e v e r be c a l l e d n e o r e a l i s t f i l m s . . . . " ( B o n d a n e l l a 3 5 ) .
A n u m b e r of t h e s e f i l m s n o n e t h e l e s s c o n c e r n e d t h e m s e l v e s w i t h I t a l o - A m e r i c a n
s u b j e c t m a t t e r . R a f f a e l l o f l a t a r r a z z o ' s Come scopersi VAmerica ( 1 9 4 9 ) i s a c a s e i n
point.
1
4
1 5
227
and ' 7 0 s , t h e s e s t a p l e s w o u l d be a u g m e n t e d by Mondo
cane-style
documentaries
sensational
(questionably
non-fictional
records
of
e v e n t s f r o m around the w o r l d ) , the " s p a g h e t t i w e s t e r n " ( m o r e
t h i s l a t e r ) , the e r o t i c h o r r o r m o v i e , and "la
luce rossa"
about
(pornography,
both h a r d - a n d s o f t - c o r e ) .
Hollywood
studios, meanwhile,
often
availed
themselves
of
C i n e c i t t a ' s s e r v i c e s , w h e n they w a n t e d to m a k e e p i c s on the cheap.
A m e r i c a n a c t o r s f r e q u e n t l y s t a r r e d in I t a l i a n m o v i e s of both the f i r s t
and s e c o n d r a n k .
1 6
F o r many y e a r s , Rome w a s a f f e c t i o n a t e l y k n o w n as
" H o l l y w o o d on the T i b e r . " S u r p r i s i n g l y , t h i s U.S. i n v a s i o n did not have
an i n i m i c a l e f f e c t on l o c a l p r o d u c t i o n . A s P e t e r B o n d a n e l l a p o i n t e d out
in Italian
Cinema: From Neorealism
to the Present,
in 1972 " I t a l i a n
p r o d u c t s g a i n e d 62.5% of the b o x - o f f i c e r e c e i p t s as c o m p a r e d to a m e r e
15.1% earned by H o l l y w o o d f i l m s " ( I t a l i a n C i n e m a 145).
A r t i s t i c c h a n g e s ran p a r a l l e l to t h e s e e c o n o m i c g a i n s . M o s t of the
m a s t e r s of n e o r e a l i s m g r a d u a l l y d r i f t e d a w a y f r o m the o r t h o d o x
path.
F o r V i s c o n t i , t h i s " h e r e s y " took the f o r m of p e r i o d f i l m s s u f f u s e d w i t h
elegant
n o s t a l g i a f o r the M a r x i s t d i r e c t o r ' s
own a r i s t o c r a t i c
past.
A n t o n i o n i , on the o t h e r hand, abandoned p r o l e t a r i a n and p e t i t - b o u r g e o i s
concerns
almost
entirely
in
favour
of
his
intimate,
exhaustive
e x p l o r a t i o n s of upper c l a s s a n o m i e . F i n d i n g i t i n c r e a s i n g l y d i f f i c u l t to
f i n d b a c k e r s f o r the n e o r e a l i s t p r o j e c t s he s t i l l w a n t e d to c o m p l e t e ,
Rossellini
gradually
switched
media,
specializing
in
unadorned
t e l e f i l m s about f a m o u s people w h i c h w e r e made in F r a n c e as w e l l as
I t a l y . De S i c a f l o u n d e r e d
1 6
for
many y e a r s , u n t i l
the
world
and
A t a c t i c made much e a s i e r by the a l m o s t u n i v e r s a l I t a l i a n p r a c t i c e of p o s t - d u b b i n g .
the
228
H o l l y w o o d A c a d e m y e m b r a c e d // Giardino
dei Finzi-Contini,
his
1972
e l e g y to I t a l i a n J e w s k i l l e d in the H o l o c a u s t .
With
his
highly
personal
iconography, s u r r e a l i s t i c
childlike innocence, playful a n t i - c l e r i c a l i s m , pre-pubertal
and c i r c u s a e s t h e t i c s , of a l l the m a j o r
imagery,
sensuality
Italian directors, Federico
F e l l i n i w o u l d a p p e a r to have t r a v e l l e d the f u r t h e s t f r o m the n e o r e a l i s t
point
of
origin.
He m i g h t
a l s o s e e m the
furthest
removed
from
A m e r i c a n c u l t u r a l i n f l u e n c e . And y e t , as I s h a l l s h o r t l y a r g u e , t h i s i s
f a r f r o m b e i n g the c a s e .
A s a l r e a d y m e n t i o n e d , one of F e l l i n i ' s e a r l i e s t j o b s w a s w r i t i n g
the I t a l i a n t e x t f o r the A m e r i c a n s c i e n c e f i c t i o n c o m i c s t r i p ,
Flash
Gordon.
most
He w a s a l s o one of the c o - w r i t e r s of Paisa,
still
the
r i g o r o u s s t u d y of U . S . / I t a l i a n s o c i a l r e l a t i o n s , a f a c t w h i c h s u g g e s t s he
w a s then as c o m f o r t a b l e w i t h n a t u r a l i s t i c c o v e n t i o n s as he w a s w i t h
c o m e d i c and f a n t a s t i c f o r m u l a e . In Testaments
trahis,
we learn that
" D e p u i s l o n g t e m p s i l [ F e l l i n i ] r e v e de f a i r e de L'Amerique
K a f k a ] un f i l m , et dans Intervista
[the n o v e l by
i l nous a f a i t v o i r l a s c e n e du c a s t i n g
pour ce f i l m reve...." (Kundera 61) A l l t h i s i s f a i r l y w e l l - k n o w n . What I
a m a b o u t to s u g g e s t n o w , h o w e v e r , i s m u c h m o r e u n o r t h o d o x .
After
h a v i n g r e a d C u r z i o M a l a p a r t e ' s a u t o b i o g r a p h i c a l n o v e l La Pelle,
I can
only
c o n c l u d e t h a t the n o v e l i s t ' s s t y g i a n i m a g i n a t i o n
exercised a
p o w e r f u l i n f l u e n c e o v e r the younger f i l m m a k e r ' s e l y s i a n p s y c h e . If t h i s
c o n n e c t i o n has not been made e a r l i e r , I s u s p e c t i t i s p r i m a r i l y b e c a u s e
radical
d i f f e r e n c e s in e m o t i o n a l tone have o b s c u r e d the i m a g i s t i c s i m i l a r i t i e s .
M a l a p a r t e d e d i c a t e d h i s g r e a t e s t book as f o l l o w s : " A l l '
memoria
del Colonnello
Henry H. Cummings, dell' Universita
affetuosa
di
Virginia,
229
e di tutti
i bravi, i buoni, gli onesti soldati
americani,
d'arme dal 1943 al 1945, morti inutilmente
miei
per la liberta
compagni
dell'
Europa"
( M a l a p a r t e 4). A g a i n and a g a i n , the a u t h o r i d e n t i f i e s h i m s e l f w i t h the
spirit
of the Old Europe w h i c h the w a r has d e s t r o y e d . D e s p i t e h i s
sympathy
for
the A m e r i c a n s o l d i e r s w h o f o u g h t
" b o o t " , h i s book s h a r e s none of the o p t i m i s m of the
f i l m Paisa.
their
way
up
the
similarly-themed
H a v i n g been both a f a s c i s t and an a n t i f a s c i s t , M a l a p a r t e
w a s s e e m i n g l y t r u s t e d by f e w of h i s f e l l o w
I t a l i a n s , and he r e t u r n e d
t h i s f a v o u r w i t h ( l i t e r a r y ) i n t e r e s t . He both b l a m e s h i s h o m e l a n d f o r
W o r l d W a r T w o and e x t r a c t s a l m o s t m a s o c h i s t i c s a t i s f a c t i o n f r o m the
b i t t e r n e s s of d e f e a t : " E c e r t o a s s a i piu d i f f i c i l e p e r d e r e una g u e r r a che
v i n c e r l a " ( M a l a p a r t e 12). He and the o t h e r I t a l i a n s o l d i e r s now e n l i s t e d
in
the
Allied
uniforms
cause wear
the
haunting
stigmata
of
bloodstained
w h i c h were taken from "ai soldati britannici
c a d u t i a El
A l a m e i n e a T o b r u k " ( M a l a p a r t e 12).
The l a t e s t o c c u p i e r s of N a p l e s are s i m u l t a n e o u s l y c o n t e m p t u o u s
and f r i e n d l y . A n A m e r i c a n o f f i c e r s a y s , "'I
l i k e i t a l i a n (sic)
people. I
l i k e t h i s b a s t a r d , d i r t y , w o n d e r f u l p e o p l e ' " ( M a l a p a r t e 17). On a c c o u n t
of the g r e a t s u f f e r i n g s of the N e a p o l i t a n s , " C r i s t o e r a n a p o l e t a n o "
( M a l a p a r t e 17). M a l a p a r t e ' s l i k i n g f o r A m e r i c a n s i s the e x a c t o p p o s i t e
of t h a t of h i s U.S. s u p e r i o r s : '"I
c l e a n , the w o n d e r f u l a m e r i c a n (sic)
l i k e A m e r i c a n s . I l i k e the p u r e , the
p e o p l e ' " ( M a l a p a r t e 17).
In a s c e n e t h a t c o u l d not help but s t i r the i m a g i n a t i o n of a F e l l i n i ,
w e are t o l d t h a t N e a p o l i t a n w h o r e s f a v o u r not only blonde w i g s but a l s o
blonde m e r k i n s , b e c a u s e f o r b l a c k A m e r i c a n s G.l.s, t h e i r p r e f e r r e d p r e y ,
" n o n p i a c c i o n o l e donne b i a n c h e t r o p p o
nere" (Malaparte 21). Like
C e l i n e , M a l a p a r t e w a s an a n t i - r a t i o n a l i s t :
" ' P e r capire l'Europa...la
230
r a g i o n e c a r t e s i a n a non s e r v e a n u l l a . L ' E u r o p a e un p a e s e m i s t e r i o s o
pieno
di
segreti
inviolabili'"
(Malaparte
2 7 ) . A m o n g the
indigent
f a m i l i e s of N a p l e s , b l a c k s o l d i e r s are t r a d e d l i k e s l a v e s by l o c a l s t r e e t
a r a b s j they are not p e r c e i v e d as f i e l d h a n d s , h o w e v e r , but as h u s b a n d s .
Even m o r e i m p o r t a n t
than h i s c o l o u r , t h o u g h , i n the c o n t e x t
of
this
s t a r v i n g c i t y , i s a G.l.'s a c c e s s to A l l i e d s u p p l i e s : "...un b i a n c o del P X
c o s t a quanto un driver
di c o l o r e " ( M a l a p a r t e 3 4 ) .
1 7
On a p a r t i c u l a r l y
bizarre Neapolitan s t a i r c a s e , Malaparte described a vision that could
not h e l p but i n f l a m e
the young F e l l i n i ' s i m a g i n a t i o n , an u r b a n
hell
i n h a b i t e d s o l e l y by g r o t e s q u e f e m a l e d w a r v e s : " S o n o c o s i p i c c o l e , che
giungono a s t e n t o al g i n o c c h i o di un uomo di m e d i a s t a t u r a " ( M a l a p a r t e
37). While
American soldiers will
sometimes
cohabit
with
these
c r e a t u r e s as p r o s t i t u t e s , even the m o s t hardened I t a l i a n w h o r e - m o n g e r
w i l l have n o t h i n g to do w i t h t h e m .
1 8
Of N a p l e s ' r e c e n t s t r u g g l e to f r e e
i t s e l f f r o m N a z i o c c u p a t i o n , the a u t h o r i s e q u a l l y proud and h o r r i f i e d :
"I r a g a z z i e le donne furono i piu t e r r i b i l i , in q u e l l e q u a t t r o g i o r n a t e di
l o t t a s e n z a q u a r t i e r e " ( M a l a p a r t e 6 3 ) . A v i s i t to the " V i r g i n of N a p l e s "
( a l l e g e d l y , the o n l y g i r l of the c i t y to have not t h u s f a r
herself,
although
she m a k e s h e r l i v i n g
exclusively
prostituted
from
publicly
p r o v i n g t h a t she i s s t i l l " v i r g o i n t a c t a " ) f i l l s M a l a p a r t e w i t h the m o s t
S u c h e x p l o i t e d b l a c k c h a r a c t e r s w e r e a l s o f e a t u r e d i n Paisa, Senza pieta,
ande v e n t u a l l y — L i l i a n a C a v a n i ' s 1981 s c r e e n v e r s i o n of La Pelle. A r e l a t e d f i g u r e can a l s o be
found in F e d e r i c o F e l l i n i ' s 1957 m a s t e r p i e c e , I Hotte di Cabiria.
1 7
Images of d i s t o r t e d f e m a l e s e x u a l i t y are one of the abiding c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of F e l l i n i ' s
c i n e m a . One i s r e m i n d e d of the p i l l b o x o g r e s s f r o m Otto e demi, the g i a n t e s s a t t e n d e d by
t w o p e r i w i g g e d d w a r v e s in Fellini Casanova, the h e r m a p h r o d i t e / " f r e a k s h o w " a t t r a c t i o n
f r o m Fellini
Satyricon,
and d o z e n s of o t h e r s of s t r i k i n g e x a m p l e s t h a t m i g h t , u n d e r
s l i g h t l y d i f f e r e n t c i r c u m s t a n c e s , have been e t c h e d by M a l a p a r t e ' s pen. One m i g h t a l s o
p o i n t out t h a t , a c c o r d i n g t o M i l a n K u n d e r a , w h a t m o s t a t t r a c t e d F e l l i n i t o K a f k a ' s
America w a s the f i g u r e of B r u n e l d a , a g i a n t - s i z e d d i v a - t u r n e d - p r o s t i t u t e w h o m the C z e c h
n o v e l i s t d e s c r i b e s as " u n m o n s t r e de s e x u a l i t e a l a f r o n t i e r e du r e p u g n a n t et de
l'excitant...." (Kundera 62).
,
8
231
profound
shame; it
makes
him
feel
conquered
f o r e i g n e r s who are no l o n g e r f r i e n d s but v i c t o r s .
i s l e s s than p l e a s e d by the t r a n s f o r m a t i o n
what
he
describes
as
the
1 9
in
the
presence
In the s a m e v e i n , he
of I t a l y ' s l a r g e s t c i t y
homosexual
of
capital
of
the
into
world:
" L i n t e r n a z i o n a l e degli i n v e r t i t i , tragicamente s p e z z a t a della guerra, si
r i c o m p o n e v a in quel p r i m o l i m b o d ' E u r o p a l i b e r a t a da s o l d a t i
(Malaparte
123). M a l a p a r t e
a s s o c i a t e s these
C o m m u n i s m , the new g e n e r a t i o n of w r i t e r s ,
alleati"
gay i m m i g r a n t s
and the a r t i s t i c
with
avant-
g a r d e ; he s e t s t h e m up i n o p p o s i t i o n to b o t h h i m s e l f and I t a l y ' s t a i n t e d
but s t i l l
glorious p a s t .
2 0
A t one p o i n t , the a u t h o r goes so f a r as to
s u g g e s t t h a t G e n e r a l Donovan a c t i v e l y r e c r u i t e d h o m o s e x u a l s f o r
the
OSS as a m e a n s of s p r e a d i n g s u b v e r s i o n and bad m o r a l e behind G e r m a n
lines.
2
1
On a v e r y f e w o c c a s i o n s , M a l a p a r t e ' s l i t e r a r y v o i c e a s s u m e s the
s u p e r c i l i o u s t o n e s of a s u p e r i o r F r e n c h v i s i t o r to the New W o r l d : " C o m e
t u t t i i G e n e r a l i d e l l ' U.S. A r m y , i l G e n e r a l e Cork [ C l a r k ? ] a v e v a un s a c r o
t e r r o r e dei S e n a t o r i e dei C l u b s f e i m m i n i l i d ' A m e r i c a " ( M a l a p a r t e 2 7 9 ) .
Once o r t w i c e , he even s a t i r i z e s F r e n c h a t t i t u d e s
towards
Italy. A
f r i e n d in the F r e n c h A r m y , f o r i n s t a n c e , i s not e n t i r e l y s a t i s f i e d w i t h
Stendhal's 19th-century
r e p o r t a g e f r o m the C i t y of the C a e s a r s : " ' S i
j ' a i un r e p r o c h e a l u i f a i r e - d i s s e P i e r r e L y a u t e y - c ' e s t d ' a i m e r
R o m e que P a r i s " ( M a l a p a r t e 3 9 0 ) .
1 9
Need one add t h a t b i z a r r e b r o t h e l
mieux
Malaparte's p e s s i m i s t i c view
of
s c e n e s are y e t a n o t h e r f i x t u r e of F e l l i n e s q u e
cinema?
W h i l e the F e l l i n i w h o shot Satyricon
w a s c l e a r l y q u i t e s y m p a t h e t i c to the n o t i o n of
s e x u a l a m b i g u i t y , the d i r e c t o r w h o made La Dolce vita a d e c a d e e a r l i e r u s e d gay
c h a r a c t e r s as a m e a n s of u n d e r l y i n g c o n t e m p o r a r y d e c a d e n c e in a m a n n e r not u n l i k e
Malaparte's.
2
0
I n t e r e s t i n g l y enough, Donovan's name w a s purged f r o m the e a r l i e s t A m e r i c a n
t r a n s l a t i o n of La Pelle, as w e r e many of the book's more g r a p h i c s e x u a l d e s c r i p t i o n s .
2
1
232
E u r o p e ' s i m m i n e n t d o o m - a n d A m e r i c a ' s n a i v e a t t e m p t to p r e v e n t
perhaps
best
impotently
epitomized
when
a volcano erupts
and U.S.
it-is
fighters
pour m a c h i n e g u n b u l l e t s i n t o the l a v a in a v a i n a t t e m p t to
s t o p i t . Once a c i v i l i z a t i o n had been r e d u c e d to a p r i m i t i v e
survival
l e v e l , M a l a p a r t e a p p a r e n t l y b e l i e v e d , t h e r e w a s n o t h i n g anyone c o u l d do
to r e s t o r e i t to i t s f o r m e r s t a t e . 2 2
A l t h o u g h N e o r e a l i s m w a s abandoned by v i r t u a l l y
i t s pure f o r m , i t s m o r a l a u t h o r i t y
everyone
in
2 3
c o n t i n u e d to h o l d s w a y o v e r
the
c o n s c i e n c e s of m o s t s e r i o u s I t a l i a n d i r e c t o r s . G u i d o A r i s t a r c o ,
the
s e l f - a p p o i n t e d g u a r d i a n of M a r x i s t p u r i t y in I t a l i a n f i l m c r i t i c i s m , had
f a m o u s l y t h u n d e r e d , "I s o l i o p p o s i t o r i del n e o r e a l i s m o f u r o n o dunque i
f a s c i s t i , i r e a z i o n a r i di q u a l s i a s i s p e c i e " ( A r i s t a r c o 2 8 ) .
S i n c e A m e r i c a m e d d l e d i n s o many o t h e r a s p e c t s of I t a l i a n
life
d u r i n g the e a r l y y e a r s of p o s t w a r p o l i t i c a l and e c o n o m i c r e c o v e r y , i t
s h o u l d c o m e as no s u r p r i s e to d i s c o v e r t h a t H o l l y w o o d r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s
w e r e s i m u l t a n e o u s l y doing e v e r y t h i n g in t h e i r p o w e r to u n d e r m i n e the
c o m m e r c i a l h e a l t h of n e o r e a l i s m . A s A r i s t a r c o a s t u t e l y w a r n e d :
"'11 M a n i f e s t o del C i r c o l o romano del c i n e m a d i c e
anche d e l l a
c o n c o r r e n z a a m e r i c a n , ' " s o t t o l i n e a nel 1 9 5 5 ' C i n e m a N u o v a '
che c o s i c o m m e n t a : 'Quando, tempo f a , venne in I t a l i a Mr.
J o h n s o n p e r c o n t o d e l l a M P A A e c i i n v i t o c h i a r a m e n t e ad
abbandonare l a s t r a d a del n e o r e a l i s m o con l a p r o m e s s a di
a p r i c i , in c a m b i o , i grandi c i r c u i t i a m e r i c a n i , non fu d i f f i c i l e
s c o r g e r e i l f i n e d e l l a m a n o v r a , l a quale t e n d e v a a e l i m i n a r e un
ipo di c o n c o r r e n z a p e r i c o l o s a perche c o s t i t u i v a un genere
b a s a t o su b a s s i c o s t i , per i n v i t a r e i n o s t r i i n d u s t r i a l i a
s c e n d e r e in c a m p o s u l t e r r e n o d e g l i a m e r i c a n i , dove a l i a
f i n e s a r e m m o s t a t i f a c i l m e n t e b a t t u t i (come g i a a c c a d d e
2
2
2 3
T h i s m e s s a g e , h a p p i l y , w a s not absorbed by I t a l y ' s g r e a t e s t l i f e - a f f i r m i n g
director.
Accatone, P i e r P a o l o P a s o l i n i ' s 1961 d i r e c t o r i a l debut, w a s r a t h e r p e r v e r s e l y s h o t i n
a pure n e o r e a l i s t s t y l e .
233
t r e n t ' anni f a ; come e a c c a d u t o di r e c e n t e ad A r t h u r R a n k ) " '
( N e o r e a l i s m o e nouva c r i t i c a 140).
As
things
turned
out,
many
Italian
movies
of
less
than
A u g u s t i n i a n m o r a l r i g o u r did indeed p e n e t r a t e the A m e r i c a n m a r k e t
in
the e a r l y 1 9 6 0 s , d e s p i t e A r i s t a r c o ' s deep r e s e r v a t i o n s . Many of t h e s e
f e a t u r e s w e r e s e r i o u s w o r k s w i t h a s e x u a l c o n t e n t t h a t U.S. c e n s o r s
w e r e p r e p a r e d to t o l e r a t e in o v e r s e a s i m p o r t s , but not in
motion picture productions.
homegrown
A decade l a t e r , when H o l l y w o o d f u n c t i o n e d
u n d e r f e w e r " b l u e n o s e " c o n s t r a i n t s , the s e r i o u s d r a m a s of F e l l i n i ,
V i s c o n t i and A n t o n i o n i had been l a r g e l y r e p l a c e d by l i g h t s e x f a r c e s ,
many s t a r r i n g L a u r a A n t o n e l l i . By and l a r g e , t h e s e l a t e r w o r k s
were
i n f e r i o r not only to I t a l i a n c i n e m a ' s m a j o r p o s t w a r m a s t e r p i e c e s but
a l s o to s u c h s k i l l f u l l y made s a t i r i c a l f a r c e s as V i t t o r i o de S i c a ' s
oggi domani ( 1 9 6 3 ) and P i e t r o G e r m i ' s Divorzio
all'
Italiana
(1961).
F r a n c e s c o R o s i and the T a v i a n i b r o t h e r s w e r e p r o b a b l y the l a s t
I t a l i a n c i n e a s t e s to
be m o r e
or l e s s guaranteed
U.S.
leri
major
distribution.
B e r n a r d o B e r t u l u c c i s t i l l i s , p r i m a r i l y on a c c o u n t of the f a c t t h a t , f o r
the l a s t f i f t e e n y e a r s , m o s t of h i s m o v i e s have been made w i t h A n g l o A m e r i c a n money and s h o t in E n g l i s h .
2 4
In r e t r o s p e c t , i t now s e e m s
c l e a r t h a t I t a l i a n c i n e m a n e v e r a c h i e v e d m o r e than a succes
d'estime
among A m e r i c a n a u d i e n c e s , even d u r i n g i t s " a r t h o u s e " heyday. N a t i v e
i n s u l a r i t y and s t u d i o m a n i p u l a t i o n of a d v e r t i s i n g , t h e a t r e c h a i n s , and
p o p u l a r t a s t e - M P A A s p o k e m a n J a c k V a l e n t i has been t e l l i n g the
world
A c c o r d i n g to f i l m h i s t o r i a n P e t e r B o n d a n e l l a , even Last Tango in Paris ( 1 9 7 2 ) , the
d i r e c t o r ' s f a m o u s s t u d y of a g r i e f - s t r i c k e n m i d d l e a g e d A m e r i c a n e x p a t r i a t e s e e k i n g
s e x u a l s o l a c e i n the C i t y of L i g h t , w a s o r i g i n a l l y c o n c e i v e d , at l e a s t i n p a r t , as an
i n v e r t e d , e n t i r e l y n e g a t i v e i m a g e of V i n c e n t e M i n n e l l i ' s i r r e p r e s s i b l y c h e e r f u l An
American
in Paris ( 1 9 5 1 )
2
4
234
t h a t " A m e r i c a n s don't l i k e m o v i e s w i t h s u b t i t l e s ' " f o r the p a s t t h i r t y
y e a r s - H o l l y w o o d on the T i b e r n e v e r s t o o d m u c h c h a n c e of t u r n i n g i n t o a
New W o r l d succes de
scandale.
N e v e r t h e l e s s , in s p i t e of e v e r y t h i n g , the s p i r i t
c o n t i n u e d to l i v e on. S o m e t i m e s i t
of
neorealism
c r o p p e d up i n the m o s t
unlikely
p l a c e s . Who, f o r i n s t a n c e , w o u l d have e x p e c t e d to f i n d i t in w h a t
later
b e c a m e d e r i s i v e l y k n o w n as the " s p a g h e t t i w e s t e r n , " the i m m e n s e l y
p o p u l a r I t a l o - A m e r i c a n s u b - g e n r e w h i c h d i r e c t o r S e r g i o Leone f i r s t
c r o s s - b r e d in 1 9 6 4 ? In Per un pugno di dollari
dollaro
( 1 9 6 4 ) and Per
qualche
in piu ( 1 9 6 5 ) , Leone e s t a b l i s h e d many of the c o n v e n t i o n s w h i c h
h u n d r e d s of i m i t a t o r s w o u l d soon f o l l o w . U s u a l l y f r o n t e d by A m e r i c a n
s t a r s ( m o s t f a m o u s l y C l i n t E a s t w o o d ) , f i l m e d in the p l a i n s of A n d a l u s i a
( E u r o p e ' s c l o s e s t e q u i v a l e n t to A m e r i c a ' s Old W e s t ) , and h e l m e d by
Italian
directors
who
sometimes
affected
Anglo-Saxon
names,
s p a g h e t t i w e s t e r n s w e r e both more c y n i c a l and b l o o d i e r than t h e i r U.S.
c o u n t e r p a r t s . O c c a s i o n a l l y , they w e r e a l s o m o r e p o i n t e d l y
A c c o r d i n g to U.S. c r i t i c Danny P e a r y , Per qualche dollaro
political.
in piu c o n t a i n s
" t h e k e y p o l i t i c a l s c e n e i n a l l of L e o n e ' s w o r k : at the end E a s t w o o d
p i l e s up the dead b o d i e s of V o l o n t e ' s gang, c o u n t i n g t h e m not by n u m b e r
but by the b o u n t i e s each c o r p s e w i l l earn h i m . S o c i a l i s t L e o n e ' s p o i n t i s
c l e a r : in c a p i t a l i s t A m e r i c a , dead men equate w i t h m o n e y " ( P e a r y 156).
It
might
a l s o be n o t e d t h a t , in h i s h e r o i c l o n e r r o l e s w i t h L e o n e ,
E a s t w o o d ' s n a m e l e s s h e r o e s w e r e i n v a r i a b l y t r e a t e d to s a v a g e b e a t i n g s
w h o s e i c o n o g r a p h y c o u l d e a s i l y be c o m p a r e d to t h a t of the C r u c i f i x i o n .
Once a g a i n w e are r e m i n d e d of the d e e p l y b u r i e d , a l m o s t
I t a l i a n c o n f l a t i o n of the briganti
the Old W e s t .
subliminal
of m o d e r n S i c i l y w i t h the o u t l a w s of
235
M a r x i s m and C h r i s t i a n h u m a n i s m a s i d e , h o w e v e r , the n e o r e a l i s t
element in spaghetti
westerns was extremely
slight. Super-heroes
gunned d o w n a r m i e s of v i l l a i n s w i t h l i t t l e r e g a r d f o r the l a w s of e i t h e r
p r o b a b i l i t y o r b a l l i s t i c s . In L e o n e ' s f i l m s in p a r t i c u l a r , w o m e n w e r e
even s c a r c e r than they w e r e in the r e a l Old W e s t , w h i l e h i s c o l d - e y e d
s u p e r - h e r o e s poured m o s t of t h e i r e r o t i c energy i n t o h i g h l y r i t u a l i z e d ,
c i r c u l a r d u e l s t h a t e m p h a s i z e d f l i n t y - e y e d c l o s e - u p s . In a w o r d , t h e y
w e r e s t r a n g e . Of // Buono il brutto
the Man W i t h
No Name t r i p t y c h ,
il cattivo
( 1 9 6 6 ) , the l a s t panel i n
P a u l i n e Kael
wrote,
"This
Italian
W e s t e r n s e t in our C i v i l W a r p e r i o d , l o o k s m o r e f o r e i g n to us than an
ordinary
Italian f i l m - w h i c h
g i v e s r i s e to s p e c u l a t i o n about how
we
a l t e r the s c a l e , and hence the m e a n i n g , in our m o v i e v e r s i o n s of f o r e i g n
s t o r i e s " (Going S t e a d y 53). Or, as A m e r i c a n c r i t i c B i l l Krohn put i t in a
F r e n c h f i l m j o u r n a l , " L e o n e n ' e t a i t pas a m e r i c a i n , et l e c i n e m a dont i l
t i r e son i n s p i r a t i o n l e p l u s p r o f o n d e n ' e t a i t l e n o t r e . II
commence
c o m m e a s s i s t a n t de V i t t o r i o de S i c a , et son p r e m i e r w e s t e r n f u t
' r e m a k e ' p r e s q u e s c e n e a s c e n e , de Yojimbo,
p l a n e t e L e o n e " 12).
un
le f i l m de K u r o s a w a " ( " L a
A s the I t a l i a n ' s f i l m s g r e w m o r e a m b i t i o u s , C l i n t
E a s t w o o d began to f e e l as i f t h i s I t a l i a n a u t e u r w e r e " t r y i n g to be m o r e
D a v i d L e a n t h a n S e r g i o L e o n e " ( S c h i c k e l 169). E v e n the
filmmaker's
g e n e r a l l y s y m p a t h e t i c f e l l o w c o u n t r y m a n L i n o M i c c h i c h e f e l t t h a t the
d i r e c t o r w a s m o r e on P l a n e t a S e r g i o t h a n in the Old W e s t : ' " L e o n e
a t t e s t a con grande e v i d e n z a al c a r a t t e r e f o n d a m e n t a l m e n t e
asttrato
del p r o p r i o c i n e m a : i l suo r e f e r e n t e e s c l u s i v o , i n f a t t i , r i s u l t a e s s e r e
non g i a l a s t o r i a del W e s t , s i a pure f i l t r a t a a t t r a v e r s o l ' e p o p e a che ne
ha f a t t o i l c i n e m a a m e r i c a n o , ma l ' e p o p e a c i n e m a t o g r a f i c a s t e s s a ; non
236
la
s t o r i a , c i o e , e neppure
il mito,
ma l a s t o r i a
del c i n e m a e la
rapprentazione del mito.../" ( S t o r i a e f i l m 64).
Leone h i m s e l f , h o w e v e r , w a s s t r o n g l y i n s i s t e n t on t h e . a b s o l u t e
i m p o r t a n c e of H o l l y w o o d c i n e m a to h i s l i f e and w o r k . In a t r i b u t e to
J o h n F o r d , he w r o t e , " J e n ' a u r a i s j a m a i s pu tourne // etait
un fois dans
1'ouest, et m e m e Le Bon, la brute et le truand, s i l ' e n f a n t que j ' e t a i s
n ' a v a i t vu l e s d e s e r t s de T A r i z o n a , l e s v i l l e s de b o i s en f e u que J o h n
F o r d m o n t a i t dans une l u m i e r e pure et e t o n n a n t e " ( L e o n e 1 5 ) . F o r L e o n e ,
F o r d w a s a n y t h i n g but a r e a l i s t : " L a v e r i t a b l e f o r c e de s e s f i l m s on l a
trouve
dans
la puissante
irremediablement
nostalgie
p e r d u e s et s u r t o u t
d'un monde
aux
frontieres
dans s o n i d e e v i s i o n n a i r e de
l ' A m e r i q u e qui t r a n s p i r a i t de chaque p h o t o g r a m m e " (Leone 15).
It s h o u l d , p e r h a p s , be e m p h a s i z e d here t h a t t h e l a t e
nineteenth
c e n t u r y - t h e h i s t o r i c a l p e r i o d in w h i c h m o s t s p a g h e t t i w e s t e r n s w e r e
s e t - w a s a t i m e when Italian i n t e l l e c t u a l i n t e r e s t in the New World
was
negligible
to n o n - e x i s t e n t . T h e l i t e r a r y
t r e a s u r e s of H e r m a n
M e l v i l l e and Mark T w a i n w e r e not to be o f f i c i a l l y
acknowledged for
a n o t h e r h a l f c e n t u r y . L i t e r a r y P a r i s i a n s m i g h t have k e p t one u n q u i e t
eye p e r m a n e n t l y f a s t e n e d on t h e b r a s h p o l i t i c a l and e c o n o m i c g i a n t
g r o w i n g by l e a p s and bounds on t h e o t h e r s i d e of t h e A t l a n t i c f o r t w o
c e n t u r i e s o r m o r e , but I t a l y ' s s e l f - i n v o l v e m e n t w i t h i t s o w n s e e m i n g l y
i n s u p e r a b l e p r o b l e m s d i d not a l l o w N e a p o l i t a n w r i t e r s and F l o r e n t i n e
p h i l o s o p h e r s the s a m e l e i s u r e . T h i s e a r l y i n d i f f e r e n c e has o f t e n had t h e
u n i n t e n t i o n a l but u n a v o i d a b l e e f f e c t of m a k i n g I t a l i a n p o r t r a i t s of t h e
A m e r i c a n p a s t s e e m even more f a b u l o u s (i.e. Zabriskie
Point) than t h o s e
of t h e F r e n c h . A m e r i c a n e c o n o m i c a t t i t u d e s , p o l i t i c a l a m b i t i o n s , and
237
ethnic
hierarchies were already fully
formed
by t h e t i m e
outside
I t a l i a n o b s e r v e r s f i n a l l y took a b e l a t e d - i f g e n e r a l l y a d m i r i n g - l o o k .
Even s o , i t
would
be w r o n g
to s u g g e s t
that
distant
Italian
o b s e r v e r s w e r e e n t i r e l y b l i n d to U.S. f a u l t s . Even S e r g i o L e o n e , d e s p i t e
h i s s e l f - e v i d e n t l o v e f o r a l l t h i n g s A m e r i c a n , w a s q u i t e c a p a b l e of
implicitly criticizing anti-Italian
s t e r o e t y p e s w i t h i n the iconography
of H o l l y w o o d c i n e m a . It i s f o r t h i s r e a s o n , I a s s u m e , t h a t he made t h e
underworld
protagonists
of Once Upon a Time in America,
g a n g s t e r f i l m , J e w i s h r a t h e r than S i c i l i a n .
h i s only
2 5
A s i d e f r o m L e o n e ' s p o p u l a r r i f f s on A m e r i c a n g e n r e s , f e w I t a l i a n
productions
motifs.
of t h e 1 9 6 0 s and ' 7 0 s f e a t u r e d
Marco
Ferreri's
Dilinger
e morto
significant
(1969),
for
r e s t r i c t e d i t s e x p l i c i t U.S. c o n t e n t to a s i n g l e Chicago
American
instance,
Sun-Times
h e a d l i n e . S i n c e w e have a l r e a d y d i s c u s s e d t h e A m e r i c a n c o n n e c t i o n
running through Francesco R o s i ' s c r i m i n a l autopsies in Chapter T w o ,
t h e r e i s no need to r e - c o n s i d e r t h e m here beyond t h e b a s i c a c t of
r e m e m b r a n c e . T h e m a j o r e x c e p t i o n one s h o u l d make to t h i s r u l e w o u l d
be t h e s i n g l e f l a s h b a c k s e q u e n c e i n Tre fratelli
(1981) wherein Second
W o r l d W a r e r a I t a l i a n s make j o y f u l c o n t a c t w i t h I t a l o - A m e r i c a n G.l.s.
T h i s f i l m e d m e m o r y i s c l e a r l y a n o s t a l g i c homage to R o s s e l l i n i ' s Paisa.
In t h e " A g e of Marx and Coca C o l a " , V i t t o r i o de S i c a made s e v e r a l
features with partial
e f f o r t s {After
U.S. f i n a n c i n g , but none of t h e s e
throw-away
the Fox; Woman Times Seven) c a n be c o u n t e d among h i s
H i s t o r i c a l l y s p e a k i n g , of c o u r s e , he w a s q u i t e w i t h i n h i s r i g h t s to do s o . U n t i l t h e y
e m e r g e d t r i u m p h a n t f r o m the i n t e r - e t h n i c P r o h i b i t i o n gang w a r s of t h e l a t e 1 9 2 0 s and
e a r l y 1 9 3 0 s , L a C o s a N o s t r a had to s h a r e urban p o w e r w i t h a l a r g e n u m b e r of I r i s h and
J e w i s h A m e r i c a n gangs. If they had not, p o p u l a r s t e r e o t y p i n g i n the U.S. w o u l d d o u b t l e s s
have f o l l o w e d a s o m e w h a t d i f f e r e n t course.
2
5
238
major works. "Toby D a m m i t / ' Federico F e l l i n i ' s short contribution
the 1 9 6 8 h o r r o r - t h e m e d o m n i b u s f i l m Spirits
to
of the Dead, d e a l t w i t h a
s e l f - l o a t h i n g A m e r i c a n a c t o r in R o m e , and the e p o n y m o u s a n t i - h e r o of
Casanova ( 1 9 7 6 ) w a s p l a y e d by Donald S u t h e r l a n d .
2 6
Aside from these
r e l a t i v e l y m i n o r d e t a i l s and one s i n g u l a r l y e v o c a t i v e f i l m t i t l e
e Fred),
the d i r e c t o r ' s
post
\9b0-oeuvre
(Ginger
w a s m o r e I t a l i a n and l e s s
A m e r i c a n than w e r e h i s m o r e n a t u r a l i s t i c w o r k s of the 1 9 5 0 s ( w h i c h
w e r e o f t e n f r o n t e d by s u c h m i n o r H o l l y w o o d s t a r s as R i c h a r d B a s e h a r t
and B r o d e r i c k C r a w f o r d ) . A s has a l r e a d y been m e n t i o n e d , d u r i n g the l a s t
d e c a d e of h i s l i f e ( 1 9 6 6 - 1 9 7 7 ) , R o b e r t o R o s s e l l i n i ' s c r e a t i v e e n e r g i e s
w e r e a l m o s t e n t i r e l y c o n s u m e d by the p r o d u c t i o n of s e m i - d o c u m e n t a r y
t e l e f i l m s about the l i v e s of c u l t u r a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t E u r o p e a n s . In s i m i l a r
f a s h i o n , the l a v i s h h i s t o r i c a l d r a m a s w h i c h c h a r a c t e r i z e d the
latter
t h i r d of L u c h i n o V i s c o n t i ' s d i r e c t o r i a l c a r e e r m o r e or l e s s l i m i t e d U.S.
influence
to
occasional
casting
choices.
American enthusiasms, meanwhile, were
director/poet's oft-stated
2 7
Pier
Paolo P a s o l i n i ' s
seemingly
limited
to
the
l i k i n g f o r the f i l m s and p e r s o n a of C h a r l i e
C h a p l i n . T h a n k s to h e r m a s s c i r c u l a t i o n f a n s in New V o r k ' s j o u r n a l i s t i c
c o m m u n i t y , L i n a W e r t m u l l e r w a s i n v i t e d to make a s i n g l e U.S. f e a t u r e
(The End of the World in Our Usual Beds on a Night Full of Rain) in 1 9 7 6 ,
an
entirely
unsatisfactory
venture
which
not
only
damaged
the
d i r e c t o r ' s r e p u t a t i o n , but w h i c h a l s o drove h e r back to the b u r l e s q u e
2
6
A l t h o u g h t e c h n i c a l l y a C a n a d i a n , S u t h e r l a n d i s s t i l l thought of as A m e r i c a n by m o s t
Europeans.
B u r t L a n c a s t e r ' s s t a r r i n g r o l e in // Gattopardo (1962) being by f a r the m o s t n o t a b l e .
R e c o g n i z i n g t h i s f a c t , B e r n a r d o B e r t o l u c c i , u n q u e s t i o n a b l y the m o s t A m e r i c a n i z e d of the
m a j o r I t a l i a n d i r e c t o r s , w o u l d s u b s e q u e n t l y use the a g i n g H o l l y w o o d a c t o r i n a l m o s t
i d e n t i c a l i c o n o g r a p h i c f a s h i o n i n Novecento ( 1 9 7 6 ) . P e r h a p s not so c o i n c i d e n t a l l y ,
B e r t o l u c c i l i k e w i s e c h o s e D o n a l d S u t h e r l a n d , t h e d i s a g r e e a b l e l e c h e r of F e l l i n i ' s
Casanova, f o r the part of A t t i l a , the c o n t r o v e r s i a l e p i c ' s f a s c i s t v i l l a i n .
2
7
239
portraits
of I t a l i a n c u l t u r e w h i c h had made h e r f a m o u s in the
first
place. Ermanno O l m i ' s oeuvre w a s i n t e n s e l y n a t i o n a l , as w a s P i e t r o
G e r m i ' s (even if
Italian
he did c a s t D u s t i n H o f f m a n i n h i s
s e x u a l m o r e s , Alfredo
Bertolucci's
Last
existentially
tormented
Alfredo).
Tango in Pahs
w i t h the
(brilliantly
last
d a y s of
p l a y e d by
an
Marlon
B r a n d o ) , w h i l e La Luna ( 1 9 7 9 ) d e a l t w i t h the i n c e s t u o u s t r a v a i l s
A m e r i c a n s in I t a l y .
Indeed,
aside
of
On the o t h e r h a n d , B e r n a r d o
dealt
U.S. e m i g r e
1973 s a t i r e
of
2 8
from
Bertolucci
and
Francesco Rosi,
only
M i c h e l a n g e l o A n t o n i o n i e v i n c e d s t r o n g U.S. i n t e r e s t s in the 1 9 6 0 s and
' 7 0 s . Professione:
Reporter
(1 9 7 5 ) d e a l t w i t h the Odyssey of a doomed
overseas correspondent
( p l a y e d by t h a t q u i n t e s s e n t i a l l y
actor,
who
Jack
Nicholson)
fatally
a s s u m e s the
American
identity
of
an
international arms dealer. While this feature was favourably received
by m o s t A m e r i c a n c r i t i c s , A n t o n i o n i ' s e a r l i e r e f f o r t , Zabhskie
Point
( 1 9 7 0 ) , m o s t d e f i n i t e l y w a s not. P r i m a r i l y c o n c e r n e d w i t h the r a d i c a l
s t u d e n t m o v e m e n t in C a l i f o r n i a , c i r c a 1 9 6 9 , the f i l m w a s denounced by
m o s t A m e r i c a n c r i t i c s as the m o s t v i c i o u s p i e c e of
anti-American
p r o p a g a n d a e v e r to be u n l e a s h e d by a n o n - E a s t e r n B l o c f i l m m a k e r . 2 9
The p a s s a g e of a l m o s t t h i r t y y e a r s h a s , a l a s , done v e r y l i t t l e to change
I r o n i c a l l y , v i r t u a l l y a l l of the m o v i e s w h i c h B e r t o l u c c i a c t u a l l y made in the U n i t e d
S t a t e s w e r e c o n c e r n e d w i t h m a t t e r s N e a r and F a r E a s t e r n . T h i s i s t r u e of The Last
Emperor ( 1 9 8 7 ) , The Sheltering Sky ( 1 9 9 0 ) , and Little Buddha ( 1 9 9 4 ) . On the o t h e r hand,
Stealing Beauty ( 1 9 9 6 ) , the d i r e c t o r ' s f i r s t I t a l i a n f e a t u r e s i n c e La Tragedia di un uomo
hdiculo ( 1 9 8 1 ) , r e t u r n e d to h i s f a v o u r i t e t h e m e of A m e r i c a n s a b r o a d . W h a t ' s m o r e , i t
w a s s i m u l t a n e o u s l y r e l e a s e d i n m a i n l y E n g l i s h and m a i n l y I t a l i a n language v e r s i o n s . T h u s ,
d e s p i t e a c e r t a i n t h e m a t i c r e p e t i t i o u s n e s s , Bernardo B e r t o l u c c i
2
8
r e m a i n s the m o s t e t h n i c a l l y u n c l a s s i f i a b l e of a l l m a j o r I t a l i a n f i l m m a k e r s .
P e r h a p s b e c a u s e he w a s then l a r g e l y u n k n o w n to a l l but c o n n o i s s e u r s of a l t e r n a t i v e
t h e a t r e , U.S. p l a y w r i g h t S a m S h e p a r d ' s c o n t r i b u t i o n to A n t o n i o n i ' s s h o o t i n g s c r i p t d i d
n o t h i n g to a s s u a g e the c r i t i c s ' xenophobic fury.
2
9
240
this
national
c o n s e n s u s . P e r i o d I t a l i a n c r i t i c s , on the
t e n d e d to see the f i l m v e r y d i f f e r e n t l y .
"Alia
maggior parte
other
hand,
In the w o r d s of one of t h e m ,
dei r e c e n s o r i s t a t u n i t e n s i
di Zabriskie
Point
s e m b r a , i n f a t t i , t o t a l m e n t e s f u g g i t o che l ' u l t i m o f i l m di M i c h e l a n g e l o
A n t o n i o n i non e un ' p a m p h l e t ' contro
I ' A m e r i c a , ma un p o e m a
sull'
A m e r i c a " ( M i c c i c h e 65).
This
difference
of
opinion
reminds
us o n c e a g a i n of
L e p r o h o n ' s i n f i n i t e l y w i s e a x i o m f r o m Le Cinema italien:
Pierre
"Chaque pays
e c r i t l ' h i s t o i r e a s a m a n i e r e " (Leprohon 3 2 ) . F o r I t a l y , t h i s m e a n t t h a t
the long, p e r i o d i c a l l y p r o s p e r o u s , p o l i t i c a l chaos that f o l l o w e d
the
c o l l a p s e of the Roman E m p i r e - a s i t u a t i o n w h i c h did not e n t i r e l y change
w i t h the t h e o r e t i c a l c o m p l e t i o n of the R i s o r g i m e n t o p r o c e s s - c a s t a
l o n g s h a d o w o v e r t h a t c o u n t r y ' s i n h e r i t o r s , j u s t as A m e r i c a n s w e r e
i n d e l i b y m a r k e d by the r e v o l u t i o n a r y e v e n t s of
1 7 7 6 , and F r e n c h m e n
w e r e p e r m a n e n t l y changed by 1 7 8 9 , the y e a r w h e n B o u r b o n a b s o l u t i s m
was
dealt
its
death
blow.
These
radically
different
political
i n h e r i t a n c e s in l a r g e p a r t e x p l a i n the d i v e r g e n c e of F r e n c h and I t a l i a n
a t t i t u d e s t o w a r d s the U n i t e d S t a t e s as c u l t u r a l s y m b o l and p o l i t i c a l
entity.
If
F r a n c e has c a u s e to
s e e the
U n i t e d S t a t e s as a g l o b a l
c o m p e t i t o r w h i c h t h r e a t e n s i t s o w n c l a i m s to b e i n g c o n s i d e r e d the
u n i v e r s a l r e p u b l i c , one w o u l d e x p e c t I t a l i a n s to e x p e r i e n c e a c e r t a i n
d e g r e e of envy i n r e g a r d to a n a t i o n w h o s e u n i t y
can be r e a d as an
i m p l i c i t r e p r o a c h to t h e i r t r a d i t i o n a l f r a c t i o u s n e s s . Even s o , i t m u s t be
a d m i t t e d t h a t A m e r i c a n o p h o b i a has t h u s f a r n e v e r r e a c h e d the s a m e
l e v e l s among I t a l i a n l e f t i s t s t h a t i t did among t h e i r F r e n c h - s p e a k i n g
c o u n t e r p a r t s , d e s p i t e the f o r m e r g r o u p ' s g r e a t e r o b j e c t i v e g r i e v a n c e s .
In p o l i t i c a l l y m i l i t a n t Roman c i r c l e s , s y m p a t h y f o r T h i r d W o r l d c a u s e s
241
and s u s p i c i o n of m a s s c u l t u r e
3 0
d i d not a u t o m a t i c a l l y t r a n s l a t e
into
e x p l i c i t c o n d e m n a t i o n of U.S. f o r e i g n p o l i c y i n S o u t h e a s t A s i a the w a y
t h a t i t d i d a m o n g r a d i c a l P a r i s i a n s and B e r l i n e r s . G r a m s c i
after
a l l , had a r g u e d t h a t
the ideology
himself,
of a n t i - A m e r i c a n i s m w a s
i n h e r e n t l y s t u p i d . U n t i l the n a t i o n had s o l v e d i t s m o s t p r e s s i n g p r o b l e m
of i n c o m p l e t e n a t i o n a l c o h e s i o n , I t a l i a n i n t e l l e c t u a l s w e r e not about to
pre-emptively
s l a m any s o c i o e c o n o m i c d o o r s t h a t m i g h t be m a d e t o
s w i n g i n a p r o g r e s s i v e f a s h i o n w i t h i n the c o n t e x t of I t a l i a n c u l t u r e and
social conditioning.
thinkers
have
3 1
P e r h a p s f o r r e l a t e d r e a s o n s , I t a l i a n w r i t e r s and
generally
been r e m a r k a b l y
tolerant
of
foreigners'
m i s c o n c e p t i o n s of t h e i r h o m e l a n d . U n l i k e t h e i r F r e n c h p e e r s , t h e y
a l m o s t n e v e r w a x p a r a n o i d , w h i l e t h e i r o u t b u r s t s of t e s t i n e s s a r e f e w
and f a r b e t w e e n .
3 2
D u r i n g the p a s t q u a r t e r c e n t u r y , I t a l i a n i n t e r e s t i n A m e r i c a n l i f e
has not so m u c h w a n e d as b e c o m e m o r e p e r i p h e r a l to n a t i o n a l
self-
i n t e r e s t . C o n t e m p o r a r y and n e a r - c o n t e m p o r a r y w r i t e r s s u c h as U m b e r t o
Eco and I t a l o C a l v i n o have w r i t t e n f r e q u e n t l y on A m e r i c a n t h e m e s and
s u b j e c t s , but g e n e r a l l y i n a tone of c o o l d e t a c h m e n t t h a t s t a n d s i n
T h e o d o r W. A d o r n o ' s i n f l u e n c e w a s at i t s peak d u r i n g the 1 9 6 0 s , t h e s a m e d e c a d e i n
which Antonio G r a m s c i ' s prison diaries were f i n a l l y published in t h e i r entirety.
3
0
S i n c e both n a t i o n s a t t a i n e d u n i t a r y s t a t e h o o d more o r l e s s c o n t e m p o r a n e o u s l y d u r i n g
the 1 8 7 0 s , a f t e r h a v i n g e x i s t e d f o r many c e n t u r i e s as g e o g r a p h i c a l a b s t r a c t s of r e l a t e d
r e p u b l i c s and p r i n c i p a l i t i e s , i t w o u l d m a k e f o r an i n t e r e s t i n g s t u d y t o c o m p a r e and
c o n t r a s t the v e r y d i f f e r e n t a t t i t u d e s t o w a r d s n a t i o n a l i d e n t i t y w h i c h have been h e l d by
the c i t i z e n s of Italy and Germany. Such s p e c u l a t i o n i s , of c o u r s e , o u t s i d e the p a r a m e t e r s
of the p r e s e n t d i s c u s s i o n .
3 1
S t e f a n o M o n t e f i o r e p r o v i d e d us w i t h one of t h e s e r a r e e x a m p l e s of i l l - h u m o u r i n the
N o v e m b e r 14, 1 9 9 6 e d i t i o n of Corriere della Sera: " E m a f i a l a p a r o l a i t a l i a n a p i u c i t a t a
nel l a s t a m p a s t r a n i e r a , " ( M o n t e f i o r e 14) t h i s l i n g u i s t i c p a t r i o t c o m p l a i n s . T h e w o r l d
p r e s s , i t s e e m s , w i l l go to any l e n g t h s to add i n s u l t to i n j u r y : " U n r e g o l a m e n t e di c o n t i a
T o k i o ? E s t a t a l a Japanese mafia. Non l a yakuza" ( M o n t e f i o r e 14.) S u c h d i s e n c h a n t m e n t
w i t h m a i n l y A n g l o - S a x o n m e d i a i s , of c o u r s e , p r e t t y m i l d s t u f f w h e n c o m p a r e d t o t h e
a n g r i e r j e r e m i a d s of Georges Duhamel and L o u i s - F e r d i n a n d C e l i n e .
3
2
242
s t a r k c o n t r a s t to the h o t - b l o o d e d , a l m o s t d e s p e r a t e e n t h u s i a s m s of
C e s a r e P a v e s e and E l i o V i t t o r i n i . W h i l e i t i s s t i l l a l a n d of m a r v e l s , f o r
these later authors
potential
it
has l o n g s i n c e c e a s e d to be a H o l y L a n d of
Italian salvation. Commissario Ambrosio might walk
through
the s t r e e t s of M i l a n t h i n k i n g about the l a t e s t Woody A l l e n m o v i e , and
the t e r r o r i s t - h a u n t e d
f a m i l y of G i a n n i A m e l i o ' s Colpire
al cuore
w a t c h dubbed e p i s o d e s of Kojak on T V , but t h e s e c u l t u r a l
might
comestibles
a r e o n l y i m p o r t e d l u x u r i e s , not the s t a p l e s of t h e i r l i v e s . If I t a l y h a s
b e c o m e s o m e w h a t m a r g i n a l i z e d in r e l a t i o n to the m o d e r n w o r l d , so has
A m e r i c a in r e l a t i o n to Italy.
S i n c e t h i s s i t u a t i o n i s i n many w a y s i n s e p a r a b l e f r o m p o s t m o d e r n
e x i s t e n c e as a w h o l e , w e w i l l
not e l a b o r a t e on i t h e r e . I n s t e a d , w e
s h a l l c o n t i n u e the a r g u m e n t at the a p p r o p r i a t e p l a c e in C h a p t e r F o u r ,
o u r s t u d y of the d i s s o l u t i o n of n a t i o n a l i d e n t i t y w i t h i n the a c i d b a t h of
a multinational
world.
243
CHAPTER
As
FOUR: SLOUCHING TOWARDS
the
intellectuals
twentieth
tend
to
century
view
the
fades
United
THE MILLENNIUM
into
the
21st,
States from
two
French
radically
d i f f e r e n t , m u t u a l l y i n c o m p a t i b l e p e r s p e c t i v e s . On the one hand, t h e r e i s
a c a l m a c c e p t a n c e of the c e n t r a l i t y
o t h e r , t h e r e i s the h o r r i f i e d
most
extreme
of U.S c u l t u r a l h e g e m o n y ; on the
r e a l i z a t i o n t h a t the w o r s t f e a r s of
anti-American
Jeremiahs
of
the
past
have
the
been
confirmed with interest.
As
Jack
Ralite
Diplomatique,
wrote
in
a
recent
edition
of
Le
Monde
"Les enterprises geantes-Time Warner-Turner, Disney-
A B C , W e s t i n g h o u s e - C B S - s o n t , de p l u s en p l u s p r e s e n t e s en E u r o p e , ou
elles
achetent
interviennent
des s t u d i o s , c o n s t r u i s e n t
des s a l l e s
multiplexes,
dans l e s r e s e a u x c a b l e s , p a s s e n t des a c c o r d s a v e c l e s
e n t e r p r i s e s l o c a l e s " ( R a l i t e 32). T h i s c e n t r a l i z a t i o n of c u l t u r a l
has
resulted
in
a situation
where
"Aux
quelque
140
capital
monopoles
n a t i o n a u x de T a u d i o v i s u e l s ' e s t s u b s t i t u e un o l i g o p o l e m o n d i a l c o m p o s e
de 5 ou 6 g r o u p e s avec un chef de f i l e a m e r i c a i n "
1
(Ralite 32). A g a i n s t
C a n a d i a n r e a d e r s , s t e e p e d i n t h e i r o w n s u b j e c t i o n to the a l l - d e v o u r i n g U.S. m e d i a
m a c h i n e , w i l l undoubtedly w a r m to the l e g i t i m a c y of R a l i t e ' s c l a i m s when they peruse the
f o l l o w i n g p a s s a g e : " L e g o u v e r n e m e n t f r a n c a i s , r e p r e s e n t s p a r l e m i n i s t e r e des f i n a n c e s
et s o u m i s a l a v i g i l a n c e des m i l i e u x de l a c r e a t i o n , s ' e f f o r c e d ' o b t e n i r une c l a u s e
d ' e x c e p t i o n c u l t u r e l l e ' dans le AMI, s e m b l a b l e a c e l l e q u i , a l a demande du C a n a d a , f i g u r e
d a n s l ' A c c o r d de l i b r e - e c h a n g e n o r d - a m e r i c a i n . . . . " ( R a l i t e 3 2 ) C a n a d i a n c u l t u r a l
n a t i o n a l i s m has long been f u e l l e d by the notion that the nation north of the 4 9 t h P a r a l l e l i s
the one m o s t in t h r a l l to U.S. e n t e r t a i n m e n t c o n g l o m e r a t e s . To d i s c o v e r t h a t the C a n a d i a n
p r e d i c a m e n t s e e m s e n v i a b l e to a r e p r e s e n t i v e of F r a n c e , the m o s t c u l t u r a l l y independent
of W e s t e r n E u r o p e a n s t a t e s , i s to r e a l i z e j u s t how c o m p l e t e A m e r i c a n c o n t r o l of the
p r e s s and the a i r w a v e s has become.
1
244
t h i s u n r i v a l l e d c o l o s s u s , t h e r e i s no l o n g e r a C o m m u n i s t " O t h e r "
to
keep i t in c h e c k ; y i n g no l o n g e r k n o w s y a n g , n o r a n i m a a n i m u s .
Indeed, in even the m o s t " p o s i t i v e " F r e n c h a c c o u n t s of A m e r i c a n
t r i u m p h a l i s m , one can hear a c e r t a i n note of m e l a n c h o l y , the
fatalistic
sigh
unwanted
of
defeated
realists
who
know
they
must
n e c e s s i t y . T h i s i s t r u e not only of Realpolitik-minded
bow
to
Atlanticists
of
the R a y m o n d A r o n s c h o o l , but of l e f t i s t " h e r e t i c s " as w e l l . It a p p l i e s
w i t h p a r t i c u l a r f o r c e to the m o s t i n f l u e n t i a l
m e m b e r of t h i s s e c o n d
group, J e a n B a u d r i l l a r d .
W h i l e , as we s h a l l soon s e e , many F r e n c h w r i t e r s and f i l m m a k e r s
s e t the s t a g e f o r B a u d r i l l a r d ' s p o s t - E u r o p e a n p e r s p e c t i v e , t h i s
weary
i c o n o c l a s t r e m a i n s the m o s t
classical
Gallic
intellectual.
In
striking
e x a m p l e of
1 9 8 5 , he w r o t e ,
world-
the
anti-
"L'Amerique
est
p u i s s a n t e et o r i g i n a l e , l ' A m e r i q u e e s t v i o l e n t e et a b o m i n a b l e - i l ne f a u t
chercher
ni
a effacer
Tun
ou l ' a u t r e ,
ni
a reconcilier
les
deux"
( A m e r i q u e 87.) In l o v e w i t h A m e r i c a n f r e e w a y s and d e s e r t s , B a u d r i l l a r d
r e v e l s i n the m i n d l e s s s p e e d of New W o r l d l i f e : " L a V i t e s s e e s t
le
t r i o m p h e de l ' e f f e t s u r l a c a u s e , l a t r i o m p h e de T i n s t a n t e s u r le t e m p s
c o m m e p r o f o n d e u r , le t r i o m p h e de l a s u r f a c e et de l ' o b j e c t a l i t e pure
s u r l a p r o f o n d e u r du d e s i r " ( A m e r i q u e 12). A t one p o i n t , he even f l i r t s
w i t h the u n t h i n k a b l e by s u g g e s t i n g t h a t the h o m e l a n d of l y n c h i n g i s , i n
practical
t e r m s , l e s s r a c i s t t h a n the n a t i o n t h a t gave the
huddled m a s s e s
liberte,
F r a n c e , on a s u r t o u t
egalite,
fraternite:
l'impression
world's
"...quand on r e v i e n t
v i s q u e u s e de p e t i t
en
r a c i s m e , de
s i t u a t i o n f a u s s e et h o n t e u s e pour t o u t le monde. A l o r s qu'en A m e r i q u e ,
chaque
ethnie,
chaque
race
developpe
une
langue,
une
culture
245
c o m p e t i t i v e , p a r f o i s s u p e r i e u r e a c e l l e des ' a u t o c h t o n e s ' . . . " ( A m e r i q u e
82).
To be s u r e , s o m e of the a u t h o r ' s c o m m e n t s do a p p e a r to be f a i r l y
t r a d i t i o n a l . When he w r i t e s , f o r i n s t a n c e , t h a t " L e s A m e r i c a i n s c r o i e n t
aux f a i t s , m a i s pas a l a f a c t i c i t e "
imagine almost
identical
(Amerique
words flowing
8 4 ) , one c o u l d e a s i l y
f r o m the pen of A l e x i s de
T o c q u e v i l l e . In s i m i l a r f a s h i o n , h i s c l a i m t h a t " . . . l ' A m e r i q u e e n t i e r e e s t
pour nous un d e s e r t . La c u l t u r e e s t s a u v a g e : e l l e y f a i t le s a c r i f i c e de
l ' i n t e l l e c t et de t o u t e e s t h e t i q u e , p a r t r a n s c r i p t i o n
reel"
(Amerique
97)
inevitably
r a i s e s the
G e o r g e s D u h a m e l . In a p a r t i c u l a r l y
imagine
l i t t e r a l e dans le
Eurocentric
spectre
e n t h u s i a s t i c m o m e n t , one
S i m o n e de B e a u v o i r t r i g g e r i n g
the
following
of
could
explosion
of
e c s t a t i c g u s h : " B e a u t e des N o i r e s , des P o r t o r i c a i n e s a New York. En
d e h o r s de l ' e x c i t a t i o n s e x u e l l e que donne l a p r o m i s c u i t e r a c i a l e , i l f a u t
d i r e que l e n o i r , le p i g m e n t
des r a c e s s o m b r e s , e s t c o m m e un
n a t u r e l qui s ' e x a l t e du f a r d a r t i f i c i e l
fard
pour c o m p o s e r une b e a u t e - n o n
s e x u e l l e : a n i m a l e et s u b l i m e - q u i manque d e s e s p e r e m e n t aux v i s a g e s
b l e r n e s " ( A m e r i o u e 2 1).
Still,
if
Baudrillard
s e e s A m e r i c a as a s u c c e s s f u l U t o p i a , a
p a r a d i s e r e g a i n e d , the e n s u i n g g a r d e n of d e l i g h t s i s m o r e w o r m
than
apple. " L e p a r a d i s , " he w r i t e s , " e s t ce q u ' i l e s t , e v e n t u e l l e m e n t
funebre,
monotone
et
superficiel"
(Amerique
96). Under Ronald's
R e a g a n ' s h a p p y - f a c e d r e g i m e , he a r g u e s , the U n i t e d S t a t e s b e c a m e a
g i a n t C a l i f o r n i a s a n d b o x , and, d e s p i t e i t s o f t - d e m o n s t r a t e d
potency, a
" m e n o p a u s a l " c u l t u r e . Under R e p u b l i c a n r u l e , w a r i t s e l f has b e c o m e a
s o r t of a u d i o v i s u a l game. The i n v a s i o n of G r e n a d a , f o r e x a m p l e , e n j o y e d
246
the l u x u u r y
of "[Un]
S c e n a r i o s a n s r i s q u e , m i s e en s c e n e c a l c u l e e ,
e v e n e m e n t a r t i f i c i e l , s u c c e s a s s u r e " ( A m e r i q u e 107).
N e e d l e s s to s a y , the p r e v i o u s c o n s t r u c t w a s b r o u g h t to the peak
of p e r f e c t i o n by George Bush d u r i n g the G u l f War. A s B a u d r i l l a r d w o u l d
have i t , " A p r e s l a guerre chaude (la v i o l e n c e du c o n f l i t ) , a p r e s l a g u e r r e
froide morte-decongelation
de l a g u e r r e f r o i d e - q u i
nous l a i s s e aux
p r i s e s a v e c le c a d a v r e de l a g u e r r e , et l a n e c e s s i t e de gener ce c a d a v r e
en d e c o m p o s i t i o n , que p e r s o n n e aux c o n f i n s du G o l f e ne p a r v i e n t
a
r e s s u c i t e r . Ce que l ' A m e r i q u e , S a d d a m H u s s e i n et l e s p u i s s a n c e s du
G o l f e se d i s p u t e n t l a - b a s , c ' e s t le c a d a v r e de l a g u e r r e " (La G u e r r e du
G o l f e n'u a oas eu l i e u 9). In 1 9 9 1 , A m e r i c a ' s " v i r t u a l " energy w o u n d up
s e r v i n g the i n t e r e s t s of the W h i t e H o u s e , the W e s t , I s r a e l and the A r a b
m a s s e s : " T o u t se p a s s e c o m m e s ' i l a v a i t un agent de l a CIA d e g u i s e en
Saladin"
(La
Guerre
du
Golfe
n'u
a pas
eu
lieu
71).
General
S c h w a r t z k o p f ' s p r e d i c t i o n of a c o s t l y c a m p a i g n ended in v i c t o r y
tinged
w i t h f a r c e : " P a r f o i s un t r a i t d ' h u m o u r n o i r : l e s douze m i l l e c e r c u e i l s
a c h e m i n e s en meme t e m p s que l e s m u n i t i o n s et l e s a r m e s . La a u s s i , l e s
A m e r i c a i n s avons f a i t preuve de p r e s o m p t i o n : l e u r s p e r t e s s o n t s a n s
c o m m u n e m e s u r e avec l e u r s p r e v i s i o n s " (La Guerre du G o l f e n'u a pas eu
1 i e u 5 3 ) . Indeed, " U n s i m p l e c a l c u l f a i t a p p a r a i t r e que s u r 5 0 0
000
s o l d a t s i m p l i q u e s dans l e s o p e r a t i o n s du G o l f e , i l en s e r a i t m o r t t r o i s
f o i s p l u s s i on l e s a v a i t
l a i s s e s dans l a v i e c i v i l e , u n i q u e m e n t
en
a c c i d e n t s de l a r o u t e " (La Guerre du G o l f e n'u a pas eu l i e u 7 4 ) .
When c o m p a r i n g Europe to A m e r i c a , B a u d r i l l a r d d o e s so i n a
m a n n e r t h a t d e v a s t a t i n g l y d e f l a t e s the p r e t e n t i o n s of b o t h : " Q u a n d j e
v o i s des A m e r i c a i n s , s u r t o u t i n t e l l e c t u a l s , l o u c h e r avec n o s t a l g i e s u r
l ' E u r o p e son h i s t o i r e , s a m e t a p h y s i q u e , s a c u i s i n e , son p a s s e , j e me d i s
247
q u ' i l s ' a g i t l a d'un t r a n s f e r ! rnalheureux. L ' h i s t o i r e et le r n a r x i s m e s o n t
c o m m e l e s v i n s f i n s et l a c u i s i n e ; i l s ne f r a n c h i s s e n t pas v r a i m e n t
l ' o c e a n , m a l g r e l e s t e n t a t i v e s e m o u v a n t e s pour l e s a c c l i m a t e r . C ' e s t l a
revanche j u s t i f i e e
du f a i t que n o u s , E u r o p e e n s , n ' a v o n s j a m a i s
apprivoiser vraiment
l a m o d e r n i t e , qui se r e f u s e a u s s i a
pu
franchir
l ' o c e a n , m a i s dans l ' a u t r e s e n s " ( A m e r i q u e 7 9 ) . F o r a l l h i s m o d e r n i t y ,
on t h i s l e v e l at l e a s t , B a u d r i l l a r d a p p r o a c h e s the U n i t e d S t a t e s in a
manner indistinguishable
f r o m t h a t of
his i l l u s t r i o u s
nineteenth-
c e n t u r y f o r e b e a r , A l e x i s de T o c q u e v i l l e . Once a g a i n , Old W o r l d s are o l d ,
and New W o r l d s are n e w , and n e v e r the t w a i n s h a l l m e e t .
In any e v e n t , n e i t h e r Europe nor A m e r i c a have any r e a l hope of
triumphing
quotidian
over
the
realities:
other
"Mais
in
que
the
les
effectless
US ne
void
soient
of
postmodern
plus
le
centre
m o n o p o l i s t i q u e de l a p u i s s a n c e m o n d i a l e , ce n ' e s t pas q u ' i l s
Taient
p e r d u e , c ' e s t t o u t s i m p l e m e n t que le c e n t r e n ' e x i s t e p l u s " ( A m e r i o u e
105). T h i s p r o b l e m i s i n t i m a t e l y r e l a t e d to the 2 0 t h c e n t u r y c o m m o d i t y
w h i c h i s in s h o r t e s t s u p p l y : " A u j o u r d ' h u i , t o u t e s t l i b e r e , l e s j e u x s o n t
faits,
et
nous nous r e t r o u v o n s
collectivement
devant
la
question
c r u c i a l e : QUE FAIRE A P R E S L ' O R G I E ? " (La T r a n s p a r e n c e du m a l 1 1).
In the l a t e 2 0 t h c e n t u r y , A m e r i c a n i n f l u e n c e i s by no m e a n s the
o n l y t h r e a t to F r e n c h amour-propre:
"Les cultures fortes
(Mexique,
J a p o n , I s l a m ) nous r e n v o i e n t le m i r o i r de n o t r e c u l t u r e d e g r a d e e , et
l ' i m a g e de n o t r e c u l p a b i l i t e p r o f o n d e " ( A m e r i o u e 121).
If
we jump f o r w a r d
a decade in t i m e , we w i l l
discover that
B a u d r i l l a r d ' s once unusual p e r s p e c t i v e s have b e c o m e c o i n of the r e a l m
in c o n t e m p o r a r y F r e n c h d i s c o u r s e . If t h i s i s not a l w a y s
immediately
a p p a r e n t , i t i s p r o b a b l y b e c a u s e not e v e r y o n e a c c e p t s the n e w
world
248
order
with
the
same
sanguine, shoulder-shrugging
r e p e a t e d l y d e m o n s t r a t e d by the a u t h o r of Amerique.
indifference
W h i l e hope f o r
F r a n c e ' s f u t u r e i s now e x c e e d i n g l y r a r e , the w i l l to r e s i s t i s f a r f r o m
dead.
Le Monde Diplomatique,
f o r i n s t a n c e , c o n t i n u e s to r a i l a g a i n s t the
d y i n g of the (European) l i g h t in f r o n t page a r t i c l e / e d i t o r i a l s . In one
s u c h t h i n k p i e c e , Ignacio R a m o n e t c o m p l a i n e d t h a t " l ' e m p i r e a r n e r i c a i n
est
l e s e u l au m o n d e , c ' e s t
une h e g e m o n i e e x c l u s i v e , et
c'est
la
p r e m i e r e f o i s que ce phenomene e t r a n g e s u r v i e n t dans 1 ' h i s t o i r e de
l ' h u m a n i t e " (Ramonet 10). Ramonet s e e m s p a r t i c u l a r l y d i s t u r b e d by U.S.
d o m i n a n c e of E u r o p e a n m e d i a : " . . . s u r l e s 5 0 c h a i n e s e u r o p e e n e s de
t e l e v i s i o n a d i f f u s i o n n a t i o n a l . . . l e s f i l m s a m e r i c a i n s r e p r e s e n t a i e n t , en
1 9 9 3 , 55% de l a p r o g r a m m a t i o n " (Ramonet 1).
In
all
s u c h a r t i c l e s , the
editorialists
typically
focus
on a
c u l t u r a l l y t h r e a t e n e d Europe r a t h e r than a c u l t u r a l l y t h r e a t e n e d F r a n c e .
In the l a t e 1 9 9 0 s , only a u n i t e d Europe s e e m s s t r o n g enough to r e s i s t
extra-continental
s o c i o - e c o n o m i c i n c u r s i o n s , a changed s t a t e
of
a f f a i r s f r o m the C o l d W a r days w h e n European e n t r e p r e n e u r s d e f e n d e d
virtually
any A m e r i c a n c o n n e c t i o n on the g r o u n d s t h a t i t c o u l d o n l y
s t r e n g t h e n the Old W o r l d ' s f i r s t l i n e of d e f e n c e a g a i n s t C o m m u n i s m ,
b o t h f o r e i g n and d o m e s t i c . W i t h the c o l l a p s e of the S o v i e t U n i o n ,
h o w e v e r , the old p l a y i n g f i e l d w a s changed beyond r e c o g n i t i o n .
Interestingly
e n o u g h , i n Le Monde's
pan-European
polemics,
A m e r i c a i s no l o n g e r p r e s e n t e d as the only c a p i t a l i s t b a r b a r i a n at the
g a t e s . I n c r e a s i n g l y , J a p a n e s e e c o n o m i c s u c c e s s e s are r i n g i n g
alarm
b e l l s as w e l l . In h i s r e c e n t s t u d y of the g r o w i n g p o w e r of the w o r l d ' s
l a r g e s t m u l t i n a t i o n a l s , F r e d e r i c F. C l a i r m o n t p o i n t e d out t h a t , at the
249
p r e s e n t t i m e , J a p a n c o n t r o l s 6 2 of t h e s e e c o n o m i c j u g g e r n a u t s
while
A m e r i c a i s in c h a r g e of only 5 3 . The Land of the R i s i n g S u n , the a u t h o r
c o n t e n d s , i s even m o r e of a c h a l l e n g e r than t h e s e f i g u r e s s u g g e s t . He
w r i t e s , "11 e x i s t e c i n q e n t e r p r i s e s M i t s u b i s h i p a r m i l e s ' d e u x c e n t s
p r e m i e r e s ' , dont le c h i f f r e d ' a f f a i r e s agrege d e p a s s e l e s 3 2 0 m i l l i a r d s
de d o l l a r s " ( C l a i r m o n t
16). In o t h e r w o r d s , M i t s u b i s h i by i t s e l f
is
e c o n o m i c a l l y m o r e p o w e r f u l than the 1 1 m u l t i n a t i o n a l s c o n t r o l l e d by
H o l l a n d , V e n e z u e l a , S w e d e n , B e l g i u m , M e x i c o , C h i n a , B r a z i l and C a n a d a .
Under the c i r c u m s t a n c e s , the need f o r an e c o n o m i c a l l y u n i t e d E u r o p e an a r e a w h i c h , a f t e r
all, still
c o n t r o l s 37%
of the top 2 0 0
global
c o r p o r a t i o n s - s e e m s more urgent than ever.
Le Monde, i n t r i g u i n g l y
cultural
e n o u g h , s e e m s as p e t r i f i e d
of J a p a n e s e
i n f l u e n c e as i t i s of the i s l a n d n a t i o n ' s e c o n o m i c s t r e n g t h .
P e r h a p s b e c a u s e they have a p p a r e n t l y s e i z e d a " f r i g h t e n i n g " 50% of the
French
bandes
dessinees
market-by
expanding
it,
it
should
be
e m p h a s i z e d , not by d e c i m a t i n g i t - P a s c a l L a r d e l l i e r ' s r a t h e r p a r a n o i d
a r t i c l e on the J a p a n e s e manga e m p h a s i z e d the a l l e g e d c r u d i t y , c r u e l t y ,
and i n h u m a n i t y
of t h i s i m m e n s e l y p o p u l a r c o m i c book f o r m ,
while
s a y i n g v e r y l i t t l e about i t s c r o w d - p l e a s i n g v i s u a l s t y l e ( L a r d e l l i e r 2 9 ) .
N o w a d a y s , i t w o u l d s e e m , the b a r b a r i a n s a t t a c k f r o m b o t h e a s t
and w e s t .
F o r t h o s e who a s s o c i a t e F r e n c h c u l t u r e w i t h the e a r l y e s p o u s a l of
B l a c k j a z z , nigritude,
B e n i n s c u l p t u r e , japonaiserie,
Mesoamerican
m y s t i c i s m , and a h o s t of o t h e r n o n - w h i t e or n o n - W e s t e r n i n f l u e n c e s ,
the t h i n l y - v e i l e d x e n o p h o b i a of s u c h a r t i c l e s m u s t c o m e as s o m e t h i n g
of a s u r p r i s e . C o u l d R e g i s D e b r a y , C h e ' s c a m p a i g n c o m p a n i o n in B o l i v i a
and the m o s t a d m i r e d i n t e l l e c t u a l m a n - o f - a c t i o n s i n c e A n d r e M a l r a u x ,
250
r e a l l y f e a r t h a t F r a n c e i s b e c o m i n g "un pays sans Jules,
sans Ernest, un plein pays de Boris et d'Ursula,
Milan
et
Julio..."
resurgence
of
(Debray
186).
French l e f t - w i n g
Indeed,
activism
sans
de Djamila
prior
to
a propos
Hippolyte,
et de Rachel,
the
refreshing
the
country's
r e a c t i o n a r y new a n t i - i m m i g r a t i o n l a w s , i t s e e m e d f o r a t i m e t h a t m o s t
of the n a t i o n ' s l e a d i n g i n t e l l e c t u a l s a c c e p t e d at l e a s t s o m e of
the
p l a n k s of J e a n - M a r i e Le P e n ' s n e o - f a s c i s t p r o g r a m .
In r e a l i t y , of c o u r s e , m o d e r n F r a n c e f a l l s s o m e w h e r e in b e t w e e n
the e x t r e m e s of a c t i v i s m and r e a c t i o n . Much P a r i s i a n
intellectual
d i s c o n t e n t i s not so much a r e j e c t i o n of the o u t s i d e w o r l d as i t i s a
d e s p e r a t e , a l m o s t e c o l o g i c a l , a t t e m p t to p r e v e n t the d e s t r u c t i o n of the
e n v i r o n m e n t they know b e s t . It a l s o c o n s t i t u t e s a r e a r - g u a r d a t t e m p t
to p r e s e r v e F r a n c e ' s r o l e as the " A t h e n s " of the m o d e r n w o r l d
long
a f t e r i t s t o p p e d a t t e m p t i n g to be i t s " R o m e " . S i n c e the a u t h o r i t y
for
t h i s r o l e r e s t s s o l e l y w i t h the F r e n c h R e v o l u t i o n and the s o c i o p o l i t i c a l
E n l i g h t e n m e n t w h i c h i t s p a w n e d , any c h a l l e n g e to t h i s
increasingly
f r a g i l e l e g i t i m a c y i s d e e p l y r e s e n t e d . One f i n d s t h i s a t t i t u d e c r o p p i n g
up in a d i z z y i n g v a r i e t y of f o r m s . Even Liberation's
recent
"Livres
Tokyo 1 9 9 7 " supplement seemed f a r more preoccupied w i t h F r a n c e ' s
d e c l i n i n g i n f l u e n c e on J a p a n e s e thought than i t w a s w i t h the r e a l i t y of
J a p a n e s e l i t e r a t u r e t o d a y . "[Meme] s i l e s n o m s de D e l o n et de B a r d o t
d i s e n t e n c o r e v a g u e m e n t quelque c h o s e , l ' l t a l i e s e m b l e a v o i r r e m p l a c e e
l a F r a n c e dans l a p e t i t e p l a c e que l e s J a p o n a i s l a i s s e n t aux m o d e s
o c c i d e n t a l e s , " one c r i t i c
complains (Haraig K i l l ) , w h i l e
another
is
o b v i o u s l y d e l i g h t e d w h e n a J a p a n e s e a u t h o r a s s e r t s t h a t the h i g h e s t
p r a i s e one can p r o f f e r a book i s to l i k e n i t to J e a n G e n e t ' s Journal
voleur (Ludon 111). In t h i s c o n t e x t , i t w o u l d s e e m , the U n i t e d S t a t e s
du
251
does not t r u l y count as the " W e s t " . F o r H a r a i g and h i s a s s o c i a t e s , the
w o r d occidentale
o b v i o u s l y r e f e r s to E u r o p e , and not the N e w W o r l d ,
w h i c h i s a l m o s t as d o m i n a n t in J a p a n as i t i s e v e r y w h e r e e l s e .
T h i s u n d e r s t a t e d but v e r y c o m m o n a t t i t u d e p u t s the s t i n g i n t o
A l a i n F i n k i e l k r a u t ' s La Defaite
de la pensee,
the n e w
philosopher's
a n g u i s h e d a c c o u n t of the d e f e a t of F r e n c h - c e n t r e d " u n i v e r s a l " v a l u e s
at the hands of a v a s t n u m b e r of m u l t i - c u l t u r a l
v i l l a i n s who
justify
their
adaptations
of
reversion
to
barbarism
with
cynical
the
p a r t i c u l a r i s t i d e a s of J o h a n n G o t t f r i e d von H e r d e r and A i m e C e s a i r e .
" D i e u e s t m o r t , " the a u t h o r s n e e r s , " m a i s l e Volksgeist
(Finkielkraut
est
fort"
143.) A g a i n s t the c l a i m s of the T h i r d W o r l d n a t i o n a l i s t s ,
m i n d l e s s young p e o p l e , and pop c u l t u r a l P h i l i s t i n e s who have s e e m i n g l y
i n h e r i t e d the e a r t h , the p h i l o s o p h e r a d v a n c e s the w a r n i n g t h a t , " L a
liberte
est
impossible
a
l'ignorant"
(Finkielkraut
168)
Most
e x a s p e r a t i n g of a l l , " L e s i n t e l l e c t u e l s ne se s e n t e n t p l u s c o n c e r n e s p a r
l a s u r v i e de l a c u l t u r e " ( F i n k i e l k r a u t 163).
What i s p e r h a p s m o s t f a s c i n a t i n g f o r n o n - F r e n c h r e a d e r s of t h i s
book i s the i n e s c a p a b l e f a c t t h a t i t s a u t h o r , a " u n i v e r s a l " c h a m p i o n
who a t t a c k s p e t t y n a t i o n a l i s m s on e v e r y f r o n t , i s s e e m i n g l y o b l i v i o u s
to the o b v i o u s o b j e c t i o n t h a t w h a t h e ' s r e a l l y d o i n g i s d e f e n d i n g one
f o r m of r e g i o n a l i s m - t h a t
of h i s h o m e l a n d , F r a n c e , the c r a d l e of
the
F r e n c h R e v o l u t i o n and i t s a v a t a r N a p o l e o n - a g a i n s t a l l the o t h e r s . He
t h i n k s l i k e a s e c o n d c e n t u r y B.C. A t h e n i a n c o w e d by the
competing
s h a d o w s of R o m e , S p a r t a , and Macedon. He l i t e r a l l y c a n ' t s e e t h a t the
" t r e e " he d e f e n d s i s j u s t a n o t h e r p a r t of the " f o r e s t " he c o n d e m n s .
If t h i s s e e m s s e l f - e v i d e n t to A n g l o - C a n a d i a n - A m e r i c a n r e a d e r s ,
w e s h o u l d p e r h a p s b e a r in m i n d t h a t , as a group, w e are e q u a l l y prone to
252
making
universalis!:
claims
of
equivalent
self-centeredness.
For
m o n o l i n g u a l a n g l o p h o n e s , the w o r l d s p e a k s E n g l i s h and E n g l i s h o n l y . To
be m u l t i l i n g u a l , i n s u c h c i r c l e s , i s to s t a n d o u t , to be e l i i t i s t , to deny
the u n i f y i n g p r i m a c y of the w o r l d ' s l a t e s t l i n g u a f r a n c a - i n e f f e c t ,
s p e a k one of the s o c i a l l y d i v i s i v e t o n g u e s d e v i s e d by S a t a n a f t e r
fall
of
the
proponent
powerful
Tower
of
Babel. Although
it
is
currently
the
the
loudest
of E u r o p e a n u n i t y , of the Old W o r l d ' s need f o r a n e w and
polyglot
s t a t e , F r a n c e in many w a y s m i r r o r s
these A n g l o -
A m e r i c a n s e n t i m e n t s . T h e m e m o r y of F r e n c h as the e d u c a t e d
lingua franca is s t i l l
national
to
tongue's
very much a l i v i n g memory
subsequent
replacement
world's
i n P a r i s , and
the
by J o h n n y - C o m e - L a t e l y
E n g l i s h i s both r e m e m b e r e d and r e s e n t e d . Indeed, i f F r a n c e , E n g l a n d , and
the U n i t e d S t a t e s did not c o n t a i n s u c h t e t c h y , e a s i l y - b r u i s e d e g o s , the
age-old
dance
of
Anglo/French
and
Franco-American
love/hate
r e a c t i o n s c o u l d n e v e r have t a k e n p l a c e . A s La R o c h e f o u c a u l d so a p t l y
put i t , " N o s e n n e m i s a p p r o c h e n t p l u s de l a v e r i t e dans l e s
jugements
q u ' i l s f o n t que nous n'en a p p r o c h o n s n o u s - m e m e s " (La R o c h e f o u c a u l d
18).
B e f o r e t r a v e l l i n g any f u r t h e r in t h i s d i r e c t i o n , i t w o u l d p r o b a b l y
be b e s t to r e t u r n to the p r e c i s e p o i n t w h e r e w e d e c a m p e d at the end of
C h a p t e r One. A s the r e a d e r may r e c a l l , we ended t h a t s e g m e n t w i t h a
b r i e f c o n s i d e r a t i o n of Mobile and 6 810
OOO litres
d'eau par
t w o of M i c h e l B u t o r ' s e a r l i e r etudes stereophoniques,
to a day i n the l i f e of e a c h of A m e r i c a ' s c o n s t i t u e n t
seconde,
the f i r s t d e v o t e d
s t a t e s , and the
s e c o n d to a y e a r i n the l i f e of N i a g a r a F a l l s . D e s p i t e t h e i r e x p e r i m e n t a l
literary
inherited
f o r m a t , many of the i d e a s c o n t a i n e d i n t h o s e t e x t s
from
previous
generations
of
French literary
were
travellers
253
exploring
the
mysteries
of
the
New W o r l d . The g h o s t l y
voices
of
m a r t y r e d , m y s t i c a l Indians and o p p r e s s e d , m a r g i n a l l y - e m p l o y e d B l a c k s
o w e d as m u c h to a g e - o l d P a r i s i a n p r e s u p p o s i t i o n s about A m e r i c a as
t h e y d i d to the New W o r l d ' s i n d i s p u t a b l y ugly r a c i a l h i s t o r y .
c e l e b r a t i o n of A m e r i c a n o p u l e n c e and v a r i e t y , of a m a t e r i a l
Butor's
plenitude
t h a t w a s as d e p r e s s i n g l y r e p e t i t i o u s as i t w a s s e n s u a l l y e x h i l a r a t i n g ,
was chronologically
f a r more s p e c i f i c , harking
back to the
French
t r a v e l l e r s of the l a t e 1 9 4 0 s , the s t a r v e d p i l g r i m s who f l e d d e f e a t e d ,
r a t i o n - r i d d e n F r a n c e to f e e d off the f l e s h p o t s of New Vork. D e s p i t e h i s
c o n n e c t i o n to the nouveaux romanciers,
B u t o r ' s books f i t p e r f e c t l y
into
the t i m e - h o n o u r e d c h a i n of F r a n c o - A m e r i c a n t r a v e l j o u r n a l s .
La Brume a Santa Barbara w a s s o m e w h a t d i f f e r e n t . F o r one t h i n g ,
the a u t h o r a p p e a r s not as an e n l i g h t e n e d v i s i t o r but as a g u e s t w o r k e r .
F o r a n o t h e r , the s t o r y u n f o l d s e n t i r e l y in S o u t h e r n C a l i f o r n i a , f a r f r o m
the t r a d i t i o n a l
author
t o u r i s t c e n t r e s of C h i c a g o and N e w Vork. W h i l e
i s t e a c h i n g at the U n i v e r s i t y
c a m p u s , a bomb goes o f f , m o r t a l l y
the
of C a l i f o r n i a ' s S a n t a B a r b a r a
wounding a night w a t c h m a n : " L e
g a r d i e n e s t m o r t deux j o u r s p l u s t a r d s a n s a v o i r r e p r i s c o n n a i s s a n c e . . .
L ' a f f a i r e devenant m e u r t r e , le FBI v i n t e n q u e t e r " (Ou: La genie du l i e u 2
95.) N e e d l e s s to s a y , J . E d g a r H o o v e r ' s a g e n t s " f i t
p e s e r des s o u p c o n s
s u r l e s o r g a n i s a t i o n s de gauche, c e l l e s des N o i r s en p a r t i c u l i e r " (Ou: La
g e n i e du l i e u 2 9 5 ) . T h u s , the s n a k e s l i t h e r e d i n t o p a r a d i s e , " e t
comprenions
qu'on
eut
pu
nommer
Pacifique
cet
Ocean
nous
fameux
a u j o u r d ' h u i p a r l e s f u r e u r s . L e s v a g u e s , l e s o i s e a u x , l e s b r a n c h e s " (Ou:
La genie du l i e u 2 9 9 ) .
T h i s b r i e f w o r k i s e s s e n t i a l f o r a n u m b e r of h i s t o r i c a l r e a s o n s .
F o r one t h i n g , i t
i s among the v e r y f i r s t F r e n c h t e x t s
to be s e t
in
254
S o u t h e r n C a l i f o r n i a , to use the " f l a k y " s t a t e as a p a r a d i g m f o r A m e r i c a
tout court. F o r a n o t h e r i t s e p a r a t e s i t s e l f f r o m the s l i g h t l y
patronizing
a t t i t u d e t o w a r d s A m e r i c a n B l a c k people t h a t even J e a n - P a u l S a r t r e f e l l
p r e y to in La Putain
respectueuse.
Although they cannot " p a s s "
for
w h i t e l i k e the v i n d i c t i v e m u l a t t o hero of B o r i s V i a n ' s J'irai
cracher
sur
vos
against
the
tombes,
dark-skinned rebels s t i l l
s y s t e m , using their
off-centre
manage to r e v o l t
stage obscurity
as a d e a d l y
weapon
i n s t e a d of a s e n t i m e n t a l p l a y f o r f o r e i g n e r s ' p i t y . La Brume a
Barbara
l a p s a g a i n s t none of the t r a d i t i o n a l
Chateaubriand
l a n d s c a p e s c h e r i s h e d by
and de T o c q u e v i l l e . B u t o r ' s
Americans
are
i m m a n e n t , e x i s t i n g in a rapidly changing present, c o m p l e t e l y
from
Europeans
and
yet
still
somehow
Santa
caught
up
in
totally
different
the
same
c o n v u l s i o n s t h a t g r i p p e d F r a n c e , I t a l y , and G e r m a n y i n May of
1968.
A f t e r B u t o r , the U n i t e d S t a t e s w i l l n e v e r be s e e n t h r o u g h F r e n c h e y e s
in q u i t e the s a m e w a y a g a i n .
J e a n F r a n c o i s L y o t a r d ' s Le Mur du Pacifique,
the s a m e t i m e as La Brume a Santa Barbara,
a p p e a r e d at r o u g h l y
and w e n t o v e r m u c h the
s a m e ground. T h i s t e x t i s a l l e g e d l y w r i t t e n by e i t h e r M e r l i n V a c l e z o r
M i c h e l V a c l a y , a w o u l d - b e i n s t r u c t o r at yet a n o t h e r of the U n i v e r s i t y of
C a l i f o r n i a ' s ubiquitous campuses: " L e s V i s i t i n g P r o f e s s e u r s europeens
s u r l e s c a m p u s s o n t l e s p r e c e p t e u r s g r e c s . . . . " (Le Mur du P a c i f i o u e 2 0 ) .
F o r h i m , the F r a n c o - A m e r i c a n p a r a l l e l s b e t w e e n Rome and G r e e c e are
now
complete:
"Les
presidents
americains
sont
des
empereurs,
Washington est Rome, les E t a t s - U n i s d'Amerique sont l ' l t a l i e ,
1'Europe
est
is
leur
Grece"
(Le
Mur
du
Pacifioue
19).
If
California
now
e m b l e m a t i c of the e n t i r e U.S.A., t h i s i s b e c a u s e t h a t f o r m e r l y S p a n i s h speaking
region
is-Hawaii
being
summarily
excluded
from
255
c o n s i d e r a t i o n on the grounds t h a t the h i s t o r y of t h i s f o r m e r P o l y n e s i a n
k i n g d o m c a n be b e t t e r u n d e r s t o o d w i t h i n a N o r t h / S o u t h
most
westerly
U.S. s t a t e : " C ' e t a i t
context-the
TOuest absolu: Les moyens
du
c a p i t a l i s m e a m e r i c a i n , c ' e s t - a - d i r e le p o u v o i r r o m a i n ; l a b e a u t e des
c o r p s c o u r a n t s u r l e s plages.... (Le Mur du P a c i f i o u e 41.) L y o t a r d ' s v i s i o n
of A m e r i c a n i m p e r i a l s p l e n d o u r r e a d s l i k e a c r o s s b e t w e e n a D a v i d
Hockney p a i n t i n g and an e p i s o d e of Baywatch:
" L ' O u e s t a b s o l u n ' e s t que
v i l l e s , j a r d i n s i r r i g u e s , p l a g e s et d e s e r t s , en c e l a t o u t c o n f o r m e au
P r o c h e - O r i e n t " (Le N u r du P a c i f i a u e 18).
T h i s n o t i o n of C a l i f o r n i a as the new s e a t of the P a x A m e r i c a n a
w o u l d be e c h o e d , in d i v e r s e w a y s , by I t a l i a n as w e l l as F r e n c h w r i t e r s ,
f o r the r e s t of the 2 0 t h c e n t u r y . F o r , d e s p i t e t h e i r i n c r e a s e d i n t e r e s t i n
the q u o t i d i a n r e a l i t i e s of the U.S.A., B u t o r and L y o t a r d w e r e
ultimately
m o r e i n t e r e s t e d in r e - r o u t i n g the Myth of A m e r i c a than in d e s t r o y i n g . i t
a l t o g e t h e r . T h i s w a s in p a r t a r e f l e c t i o n of r e a l i t y . S i n c e the
early
1 9 6 0 s , A m e r i c a n w e a l t h and i n d u s t r y have t r a v e l l e d in a S o u t h w e s t e r l y
d i r e c t i o n , l e a v i n g the N o r t h e r n i n d u s t r i a l s t a t e s s o m e w h a t b e r e f t . Even
New Y o r k , s t i l l u n c h a l l e n g e d as the hub and a x i s of A m e r i c a n high a r t ,
had
been r e n d e r e d
an e c o n o m i c
b a s k e t c a s e by
radical
shifts
in
e c o n o m i c s as w e l l as d e m o g r a p h i c s . If W a s h i n g t o n w a s R o m e , then L o s
A n g e l e s w a s C o n s t a n t i n o p l e , the c a p i t a l of a s e c o n d Roman E m p i r e t h a t
w o u l d l o n g o u t l i v e the f i r s t .
Much of Le Mur du Pacifique
w a s t a k e n up w i t h m e d i t a t i o n s on
the n a t u r e of the B l a c k m a l e p s y c h e , the angry l i b i d o t h a t i n c e s s a n t l y
s u f f e r e d in the s o c i o - p s y c h o l o g i c a l m a z e of W h i t e c a p i t a l i s m . A g r e a t
many of t h e s e p r o n o u n c e m e n t s s e e m to have been i n s p i r e d by p r i m a r i l y
Black
literary
s o u r c e s , in p a r t i c u l a r
Richard Wright's
Black
Boy,
256
E l d r i d g e C l e a v e r ' s Soul on Ice, and
R a l p h E l l i s o n ' s Invisible
Man.
If
" V o t r e v e r g e e s t n o i r e , done vous n ' e x i s t e z p a s , le b l a n c s e u l e x i s t e "
(Le Mur du P a c i f i o u e 3 2 ) . In t h i s s i t u a t i o n , " L a peau b l a n c h e s o u l e v e le
d e s i r meteque
comme l ' i n t e r i e u r appelle l'exterieur...."
(Le M u r du
P a c i f i o u e 19). The n a t u r e of t h i s hunger i s u n a v o i d a b l y ugly: " C o m m e n t
s i t u o n s - n o u s le d e s i r de v i o l e r qui naTt dans l a verge m e t e q u e ? " (Le Mur
du P a c i f i o u e 3 4 ) . F r o m A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n a n g s t , i t ' s a s h o r t j o u r n e y
to
F r a n t z F a n o n ' s m o d e l of the c o l o n i z e d m i n d : " C ' e s t Rome qui le rend
a i n s i : La C e s a r e b l a n c h e s u s c i t e l e s m a s q u e s a s a p e r i p h e r i e , e l l e f a i t
l e v e r des e p a i s s e u r s , e l l e s ' e n t o u r e de s i g n e s , de s i n g e s , de f o u s , de
n e g r e s , de g r e c s , de j u i f s , d ' a r a b e s , de c h i n o i s , de r i t a l s , t o u t b a s a n e s "
(Le Mur du P a c i f i o u e 3 5 ) . S i n c e the n a r r a t o r has a l r e a d y l i n k e d
visiting
E u r o p e a n p r o f e s s o r s to the c o n c e p t of Greek t u t o r s under Roman r u l e ,
L y o t a r d has e s s e n t i a l l y p l a c e d F r e n c h m e n on the s a m e l e v e l as B l a c k s
in the A m e r i c a n s c h e m e of t h i n g s . T h i s r e s u l t s in an i d e n t i c a l i r e : " L e
m e t e q u e e s t c r i t i q u e e v i d e m m e n t p a r c o n s t i t u t i o n , p u i s q u ' i l n ' e s t pas
c i t o y e n a m e r i c a i n - r o m a i n " (Le Mur du P a c i f i o u e 3 9 ) .
W h i l e J e a n Genet did not c o n c e r n h i m s e l f unduly w i t h the
reality
of " R o m a n " A m e r i c a - t h a t i d e a w o u l d not become une idee fixe u n t i l the
1980s-he
was
very
much
attracted
to
the
popular
image
of
the
A m e r i c a n B l a c k as s o c i o s e x u a l o u t s i d e r . I n i t i a l l y h i s i n t e r e s t in ( m a l e )
Africans
was twigged
c o n v i c t s , an e r o t i c
by h i s e a r l y
fascination
with
dark-skinned
obsession which acquired a political
w h e n p l a c e d i n the c o n t e x t
dimension
of E u r o p e a n c o l o n i a l i s m . T h i s w a s
the
i m p e t u s behind Les Negres, one of h i s g r e a t e s t p l a y s . T h i s e x p e r i m e n t a l
d r a m a d e a l t w i t h "[!_'] A f r i q u e aux m i l l i o n s d ' e s c l a v e s r o y a u x , A f r i q u e
deportee, continent a la derive...." (Oeuvres c o m p l e t e s
125). In o t h e r
257
w o r d s , A m e r i c a ' s h i s t o r i c a l c o n t r i b u t i o n to the h i s t o r y of s l a v e r y w a s
i m p l i e d r a t h e r than e x p l i c i t , an unnamed c h o r a l p a r t f o r a c h o i r of p a l e skinned exploiters.
It w a s only a f t e r the a u t h o r d e v e l o p e d an a c t i v e i n t e r e s t in the
B l a c k P a n t h e r m o v e m e n t d u r i n g the l a t e
emphasis started
to s h i f t .
1 9 6 0 s , t h a t the
continental
He began to b r e a k b r e a d w i t h
African-
A m e r i c a n m i l i t a n t s , j u s t as he w o u l d l a t e r e s t a b l i s h s o c i a l c o n t a c t s
w i t h a r m e d m e m b e r s of the P L O . In b o t h i n s t a n c e s , he w a s a s k e d to
p a r t i c i p a t e : " J ' a i ete i n v i t e par deux m o u v e m e n t s r e v o l u t i o n n a i r e s , p a r
le m o u v e m e n t
des B l a c k s P a n t h e r s , des P a n t h e r e s N o i r e s , et
des
P a l e s t i n i e n s " ( D i a l o g u e s 2 5 ) . When a s k e d i f he f e l t at home w i t h the
first
of
these
two
"Immediatement...pendant
groups,
the
author
responded,
deux m o i s j ' e t a i s tous s e u l au m i l i e u d ' e u x "
( D i a l o g u e s 17). L i k e the P L O , the P a n t h e r s h e l d f o r Genet " u n e c h a r g e
e r o t i q u e t r e s f o r t e " ( D i a l o g u e s 2 6 ) . The h o m o s e x u a l i t y t h a t s e p a r a t e d
h i m f r o m t h e s e m a i n l y h e t e r o s e x u a l r a d i c a l s c l e a r l y only i n c r e a s e d h i s
d e s i r e . He d e l i g h t e d i n the f a c t t h a t h i s r e p u t a t i o n c o u l d daunt e v e n
a r m e d r e v o l u t i o n a r i e s b r a n d i s h i n g guns: " J ' a i r e v u A n g e l a D a v i s , e l l e
me dit: ' M a i s , nous a u s s i , on a peur de v o u s ' " ( D i a l o g u e s 17).
M i c h e l F o u c a u l t ' s i n t e r e s t i n the U n i t e d S t a t e s w a s m o r e a c t i v e l y
gay t h e n G e n e t ' s . Many of h i s n o t i o n s of f r e e d o m w e r e r e v i s e d by h i s
e x p e r i e n c e of San F r a n c i s c o b a t h h o u s e s and s a d o m a s o c h i s t i c b a r s : " J e
crois
qu'il
est
politiquement
important
que
la
sexualite
puisse
f o n c t i o n n e r c o m m e e l l e f o n c t i o n n e dans l e s s a u n a s , ou, s a n s que T o n
s o i t e m p r i s o n n e dans s a p r o p r e i d e n t i t e , T o n r e n c o n t r e des gens qui
s o n t pour vous c o m m e on e s t pour eux: r i e n d ' a u t r e que des c o r p s a v e c
lesquels
d e s c o m b i n a i s o n s , des f a b r i c a t i o n s
de p l a i s i r
vont
etre
258
p o s s i b l e " (La V o l o n t e de s a v o i r 9 4 ) . S t i l l , d e l i g h t e d though he w a s by
the s e x u a l e x p e r i e n c e of A m e r i c a - e v e n though i t w a s t h r o u g h
these
anonymous
which
eventually
pleasures
that
he
contracted
k i l l e d h i m - F o u c a u l t ' s specific
the
AIDS
virus
r e f e r e n c e s to A m e r i c a and
A m e r i c a n c u l t u r e are as r a r e in h i s books as they are in t h o s e of h i s
contemporaries
R o l a n d B a r t h e s , J a c q u e s L a c a n , L o u i s A l t h u s s e r , and
J a c q u e s D e r r i d a . If h i s l i b i d o c e a s e l e s s l y s o u g h t to e s c a p e f r o m
s o c i a l and s e x u a l r e s t r a i n t s
i d e a s w i t h an a l m o s t
of Old E u r o p a , h i s s u p e r - e g o
the
constructed
e x c l u s i v e l y E u r o p e a n a u d i e n c e in m i n d . U n l i k e
G e n e t , he c o u l d n e v e r s a y , " L a p o l i t i q u e f r a n c a i s e , j e m'en f o u s , c a ne
m ' i n t e r e s s e p a s " ( D i a l o g u e s 56).
Of c o u r s e , f o r some F r e n c h w r i t e r s and i n t e l l e c t u a l s ,
of
the
U.S. d i d n ' t
scathing
change much
jeremiad-"Derisoire
premedi tee/Tout
est
faux
doute/Simplement
la lumiere
o v e r the
erreur
dans
ce
perceptions
years. Jacques
Prevert's
j udi c i ai r e / O f f i c i el 1 e m e n t
proces/Pas
Tombre
de T i n n o c e n c e . . . " ( O e u v r e s
d'un
completes.
T o m e 11 8 1 2 ) — l i n e s w r i t t e n in the e a r l y 1 9 5 0 s on b e h a l f of the a c c u s e d
A m e r i c a n s p i e s J u l i u s and E t h e l R o s e n b e r g , do not d i f f e r g r e a t l y
from
" S a t e t e , s a j o l i e t e t e e t a i t m i s e a p r i s aux e n c h e r e s du m a l h e u r , du
grand
malheur
d e o - l e g a l , dei
dollar,
haineux, raciste...."
(Oeuvres
c o m p l e t e s . T o m e 11 3 4 8 ) , w o r d s c o m p o s e d a l m o s t t w e n t y y e a r s l a t e r in
support
of
another
American political
prisoner,
the
Black
Marxist
c o l l e g e i n s t r u c t o r and c o m r a d e - i n - a r m s of Bobby S e a l e and J e a n G e n e t ,
A n g e l a D a v i s . J e a n C a u , m e a n w h i l e , s e e m e d d e t e r m i n e d to put a 1 9 7 0 s s t y l e s l a n t on the d i s d a i n f u l o b s e r v a t i o n s of the a r c h - A m e r i c a n o p h o b e ,
G e o r g e s D u h a m e l : " L e s USA...ont l e u r s e u i l de d e c a d e n c e : l e s a r s e n a u x
a t o m i q u e s a v e c l e s q u e l s , j ' e n j u r e , on ne c o n s t r u i r a pas des s a l l e s de
259
c o n c e r t s " (Cau 5 1 ) . W i t h O l y m p i a n a p l o m b , he s n e e r s at
teenagers,
B l a c k s , and e v e r y o n e e l s e w i t h o u t a v e s t e d i n t e r e s t i n the Old Europe
w h i c h no l o n g e r e x i s t s . L i k e h i s 1 9 3 0 s p r e d e c e s s o r , Cau i s a d e p t
at
beating
of
the
left
conservative
with
the
traditionalists.
arms
of
the
left
for
the
benefit
Thus, we hear that A m e r i c a n
student
a c t i v i s t s are c o w a r d l y as w e l l s t u p i d and p r i m i t i v e : " N o u v e a u b a r b a r e s ,
des j e u n e s p e u v e n t s a c c a g e r des b a n c s et des p u p i t r e s d'uni v e r s i t e s ,
mais i l s n'approcheront
pas des s i l o s de f u s e e s , et l e s a r i s t o c r a t e s de
l a t e r r e u r ne l a i s s e r o n t pas l e s b a b b a r e s de l a c o n t r e - c u l t u r e
casser
l e s o r d i n a t e u r s " (Cau 51 - 5 2 ) . A t t e m p t i n g to f e l l t w o i d e o l o g i c a l f o e s
w i t h a s i n g l e b l o w , Cau c o n t e n d s t h a t the Red b o u r g e o i s i e
resembles
"la
acultures,
bourgeoisie
reprochent
noire
americaine
dont l e s f i l s ,
aux p e r e s l e u r t r a h i s o n
et v e u l e n t
un j o u r
revenir
n o i r e s d'une ame c o m m u n e et d'un d e s t i n c o l l e c t i f "
particularly
aux
sources
(Cau 163). In a
n a s t y b i t of w o u l d - b e r e - v a l o r i z a t i o n , the a u t h o r
argues
t h a t the s t r u g g l e b e t w e e n A m e r i c a n s l a v e s and A m e r i c a n s l a v e o w n e r s
a p p r e c i a b l y w o r s e n e d on the day w h e n " l e B l a n c e s t devenu
hontueux.
A l o r s , en un p r e m i e r t e m p s , l e s N o i r s ont r e c l a m e l ' e g a l i t e , m a i s au f u r
et
a
mesure
naturellement-le
que
celle-ci
leur
etait
p r o c e s s u s e s t toujours
c e u x qui l e u r o u v r a i e n t
accordee,
totalement
ils
ont
tout
le m e m e - m e p r i s e
l e s p o r t e s de l e u r monde et en un d e u x i e m e
t e m p s , i l s ne v e u l e n t pas e t r e l e s egaux de ceux a l ' e g a r d d e s q u e l s i l s
n ' e p r o u v e n t que m e p r i s . . . . " (Cau 133). In C a u ' s n e o - f e u d a l u n i v e r s e , " U n e
s o c i e t e s a n s e s p e r a n c e et s a n s f o i d e v i e n t f a t a l e m e n t
une s o c i e t e de
t o l e r a n c e " (Cau 7 3 ) . U n s u r p r i s i n g l y , the only " R o m a n " c o m p a r i s o n
the
a u t h o r m a k e s in c o n n e c t i o n w i t h the U n i t e d S t a t e s c o n c e r n s the
new
260
e m p i r e ' s i n e v i t a b l e f a l l ; about i t s heyday and r i s e he has v e r y l i t t l e to
say.
As
mentioned
in
Chapter
One, m o s t
of
the
pro-American
p r o p a g a n d a to f l o w f r o m F r e n c h pens d u r i n g the 1 9 7 0 s w a s d i p p e d i n
the
Atlanticist
i n k w e l l . R a y m o n d A r o n and o t h e r
"objective"
pro-
G a u l l i s t i n t e l l e c t u a l s defended the U n i t e d S t a t e s on the grounds t h a t i t
w a s the one d e p e n d a b l e b a s t i o n a g a i n s t t o t a l i t a r i a n i n c u r s i o n s
from
the S o v i e t U n i o n . To o u t s i d e r s , s u c h v o i c e s s e e m e d to be f e w and f a r
b e t w e e n , s h o u t e d d o w n and d r o w n e d out by the much l o u d e r r h e t o r i c of
the l e f t . Of c o u r s e , to o u t s i d e e y e s , t h i n g s l o o k e d q u i t e s i m i l a r in the
1 9 2 0 s . To a New Vork a c a d e m i c s c r i b b l i n g in h i s C a m b r i d g e s t u d y , P a r i s
was
the
home
anarchists,
of
of
Surrealists
hard
drinkers,
and
drug
D a d a i s t s , of
addicts,
and
Communists
sex
fiends.
o v e r w e e n i n g C a t h o l i c i n f l u e n c e on i n t e r - w a r F r e n c h i n t e l l e c t u a l
and
The
life,
of w h i c h A n d r e Gide c o m p l a i n e d so o f t e n in h i s j o u r n a l s , w a s l a r g e l y
l o s t on the o v e r s e a s o b s e r v e r . O u t s i d e r s m i g h t be a w a r e of the
works
of G e o r g e s B e r n a n o s , F r a n c o i s M a u r i a c , and S i m o n e W e i l , but the v a s t
g a l a x y of m i n o r p o e t s , n o v e l i s t s , and j o u r n a l i s t s w h o s u p p o r t e d t h e s e
s t a r s of the F r e n c h C a t h o l i c i n t e l l i g e n t s i a w e n t l a r g e l y u n n o t i c e d . The
overall effect
w a s not d i s s i m i l a r to j u d g i n g an o c e a n s o l e l y on the
b a s i s of i t s w h a l e s and s h a r k s . W h i l e i t i s by no m e a n s c e r t a i n t h a t the
A t l a n t i c i s t s of the e a r l y 1 9 7 0 s d o m i n a t e d t h e i r M a o - i n s p i r e d l e f t - w i n g
p e e r s i n the s a m e w a y t h a t C h a r l e s M a u r r a s ' s d i s c i p l e s o v e r w h e l m e d
the B o l s h e v i k o p p o s i t i o n f o r t y y e a r s e a r l i e r , they w e r e u n q u e s t i o n a b l y
s t r o n g e r than m o s t s o c i a l h i s t o r i e s s u g g e s t . N e v e r t h e l e s s , s i n c e t h i s
i n t e l l e c t u a l d i s p u t e w a s m o r e of an i n t e r n a l c u l t u r a l s t r u g g l e than
it
261
was a reflection
of c o n c r e t e F r a n c o - A m e r i c a n r e l a t i o n s , i t s
further
c o n s i d e r a t i o n c l e a r l y f a l l s o u t s i d e the p a r a m e t e r s of t h i s s t u d y .
France's
late
' 6 0 s , early
'70s flirtation
with
Maoism
ended
a l m o s t as s u d d e n l y as i t began. The r e s u l t of the s a m e h i s t o r i c a l f o r c e s
which
gave b i r t h to
Situationism
a d e c a d e e a r l i e r , the
movement
r e f l e c t e d i n t e l l e c t u a l d i s e n c h a n t m e n t w i t h the e s t a b l i s h e d C o m m u n i s t
p a r t i e s of the S o v i e t v a r i e t y . The h e r o e s of the O c t o b e r R e v o l u t i o n ,
G a l l i c t h i n k e r s b e l i e v e d , had d e g e n e r a t e d i n t o m e r e s o c i a l i m p e r i a l i s t s .
C h i n e s e s o c i a l i s m w a s s e e n as the m o r e a u t h e n t i c p a t h to f o l l o w , one
that
had not
been c o - o p t e d
by too
many
y e a r s of
self-interested
f i n a g l i n g and bad f a i t h . Even s o , the S o v i e t Union n e v e r a c h i e v e d the
E v i l E m p i r e s t a t u s in F r a n c e w h i c h i t
e n j o y e d in the U n i t e d
States
a l m o s t f r o m the day w h e n the R o m a n o v s w e r e s e c r e t l y s h o t and b u r i e d
in a b a s e m e n t ( t h i s s t i g m a only r e a l l y l i f t e d in the y e a r s 1 9 4 2 - 1 9 4 5 ,
w h e n M o s c o w w a s W a s h i n g t o n ' s i n d i s p e n s a b l e a l l y in the w a r a g a i n s t
the T h i r d R e i c h ) .
A s F r e d e r i c J a m e s o n put i t in h i s r e v i e w of the h i s t o r y
c u t t i n g edge F r e n c h j o u r n a l
special
i s s u e on t h e
Tel
United
Quel, " . . . t h e r e
the
c a m e an e n t h u s i a s t i c
S t a t e s ; an a p p a r e n t l y
e x p e r i e n c e of S o l z e n i t s y n ' s Gulag Archipelago
of
mind-blowing
( p u b l i s h e d in F r e n c h in
1 9 7 4 ) , l e a d i n g to the d i s c o v e r y of ' t o t a l i t a r i a n i s m ' and the
of the d i s s i d e n t . . . . " ( J a m e s o n 6). F r o m t h i s r a d i c a l s h i f t i n
revelation
political
e m p h a s i s s p r a n g the c l a s s of d i s a f f e c t e d f o r m e r M a o i s t s s o o n dubbed
les nouvelles
philosophes.
T h e i r best known text, Bernard-Henri Levy's
La Barbarie
a visage humaine, w a s a s y s t e m a t i c r e p u d i a t i o n of F r a n c e ' s
long-term
r o m a n c e w i t h M a r x i s t - L e n i n i s m . Levy r e j e c t e d B o l s h e v i s m
w i t h a d i s m i s s i v e c o m p l e t e n e s s t h a t w a s f a r m o r e d o g m a t i c than the
262
m o r e m o d e s t s e p a r a t i o n w h i c h A l b e r t C a m u s had a d v o c a t e d a q u a r t e r
c e n t u r y e a r l i e r i n L'Homme revolte.
Unlike Camus, however, Levy w a s
not r e v i l e d f o r h i s " d e f e c t i o n " b e c a u s e the mood of F r e n c h t h i n k e r s
w a s then m o v i n g in an i n c r e a s i n g l y p r o - A m e r i c a n d i r e c t i o n . S t a t e m e n t s
t h a t w o u l d once have been condemned as r e a c t i o n a r y now r e c e i v e d a i l but
unanimous
nods
e x p r e s s i n g the Zeitgeist
of
approval.
Tzvetan
Todorov
was
merely
when he w r o t e , " C a r l a d i g n i t e e s t t o u j o u r s
s e u l e m e n t c e l l e d'un i n d i v i d u , non c e l l e d'un groupe ou d'une
et
nation"
(Face a l ' e x t r e m e 3 5 ) .
P l e n t i f u l e v i d e n c e of t h i s a l t e r e d p e r s p e c t i v e may be f o u n d
P h i l i p p e S o l l e r s ' s Femmes and J u l i a K r i s t e v a ' s Les Sarnourais,
romans
a clefs
in
two
by the m a r r i e d " s u c c e s s o r s " to J e a n - P a u l S a r t r e and
S i m o n e de B e a u v o i r . Of t h e s e t w o w o r k s , K r i s t e v a ' s n o v e l , w i t h
its
metaphorical association with a proverbial Asian elite, was obviously
the m o s t b e h o l d e n to Les
Mandarins,
de B e a u v o i r ' s P r i x
Goncourt-
w i n n i n g , s e m i - a u t o b i o g r a p h i c a l p r e s e n t a t i o n of the l o r d s and l a d i e s of
S t . G e r m a i n - d e s - p r e s ' s p o s t w a r E n l i g h t e n m e n t . In K r i s t e v a ' s
fictional
u n i v e r s e , the l e a d i n g l i g h t s of p o s t - s t r u c t u r a l i s m have s u p p l a n t e d the
s t a r s of e x i s t e n t i a l i s m . W h i l e S o l l e r s ' s book c o v e r e d m u c h the s a m e
t e r r i t o r y , i t s s t y l i s t i c i n d e b t e d n e s s to C e l i n e , as w e l l as i t s s e x u a l
b r a v a d o and t e a s i n g corrida
with feminist
orthodoxy, turned
Femmes
i n t o a s o m e w h a t o b l i q u e homage to de B e a u v o i r ' s book.
A t one p o i n t d u r i n g the n o v e l , J e r r y S a l t z m a n , an A m e r i c a n f r i e n d
of Herve S i n t e u i l and Olga M o r e n a , the n e w l y - c r o w n e d k i n g and queen of
intellectual Paris,
r h e t o r i c a l l y a s k s , " Q a v i e n t d'Anne D u b r e u i l ? " ( L e s
S a r n o u r a i s 3 5 4 ) . S i n c e Anne D u b r e u i l , g i v e o r t a k e a l e t t e r (h, to be
p r e c i s e ) , i s the name of de B e a u v o i r ' s a l t e r ego in Les Mandarins,
this
263
b i t of l i t e r a r y l a r c e n y l e a v e s the r e a d e r i n no doubt as to the a u t h o r ' s
real
intentions.
fictional
Kristeva
is
insinuating
her
rival/predecessor's
p e r s o n a i n t o the t e x t . T h i s j e s t i s r e n d e r e d even r i c h e r , even
m o r e c o m p l e x by S a l t z m a n ' s next s e n t e n c e : " D e l ' A c a d e m i e f r a n c a i s e ? "
(Les S a m o u r a i s 3 5 4 ) . In the 1 9 8 0 s , the f i r s t and only w o m a n to have
been e l e c t e d t o t h e F r e n c h A c a d e m y w a s , of c o u r s e , not S i m o n e de
B e a u v o i r , but M a r g u e r i t e
Samourais,
Yourcenar, the " h e r m i t "
of M a i n e . In
Les
one w i l l d i s c o v e r t h i n l y v e i l e d pen p o r t r a i t s of C l a u d e L e v i -
S t r a u s s , R o l a n d B a r t h e s , J a c q u e s L a c a n , M i c h e l F o u c a u l t , and the r e s t of
the Tel Quel crew,
j u s t a s one f i n d s , i n de B e a u v o i r ' s s o u r c e
text,
f i c t i o n a l r i f f s on A l b e r t C a m u s , A r t h u r K o e s t l e r , and the o t h e r
literary
satellites
and de
who once
orbited
Les
Temps
tiodernes,
Sartre
B e a u v o i r ' s i n f l u e n t i a l m o n t h l y m a g a z i n e , during the l a t e 1 9 4 0 s .
Like
intellectual
Anne
Dubreuihl,
Olga
Morena
acquires
an
American
l o v e r w h i l e in the U n i t e d S t a t e s . T h i s i n d i v i d u a l , l i k e so
many of the c h a r a c t e r s i n t h i s m o c k - r o m a n a c l e f , b e a r s a name h e a v i l y
f r e i g h t e d w i t h m o d e r n i s t r e s o n a n c e . J u s t as O l g a ' s husband c a r r i e s the
Proustian
moniker
Herve S i n t e u i l , her l o v e r
is saddled
with
the
W o o l f i a n f a m i l y name, Dalloway. Olga's a f f a i r w i t h Edward i s c l e a r l y
meant
to p a r a l l e l
Anne D u b r e u i h l ' s
trans-Atlantic
dalliance
with
" L e w i s B r o g a n , " de B e a u v o i r ' s f i c t i o n a l i z e d p o r t r a i t of N e l s o n A l g r e n
(at t h i s p o i n t i n t i m e , I w o u l d not c a r e to h a z a r d a g u e s s a s t o w h e t h e r
Edward Dalloway
historical
century,
w a s , in f a c t , m o d e l l e d a f t e r
an e q u a l l y
concrete
p e r s o n a g e ) . A d d i n g r e f e r e n c e to r e f e r e n c e , and c e n t u r y
to
O l g a / J u l i a o c c a s i o n a l l y r e f e r s to h e r a m o r o u s A m e r i c a n as " l e
p a s t e u r B o v a r y , " a f a c t w h i c h p e r h a p s e x p l a i n s w h y E d w a r d - y o k e d to
the m e m o r y of n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y
literature's most famous c u c k o l d - i s
264
less central
storyline
to the p l o t
of
Les
coincidental
d'histoires
that
of Les
Mandarins
the
novel
Samourais
(Les
than
L e w i s w a s to
S a m o u r a i s 306).
b e g i n s w i t h the
It
the
is
hardly
w o r d s , " / / n'y
a plus
d'amour" (Les S a m o u r a i s 9).
K r i s t e v a ' s t o n e i s c o o l e r t h a n de B e a u v o i r ' s : l e s s p a s s i o n a t e ;
more elegant. Her B u l g a r i a n c o n n e c t i o n s more or l e s s guarantee
she w i l l have d i f f i c u l t y
f u n c t i o n i n g as a l e f t i s t m i l i t a n t ,
even at the
b e s t of t i m e s : " ' C ' e s t l a l u t t e f i n a l e , ' entonne O l g a , c a r e l l e
tous
l e s c o u p l e t s de ce c h a n t
depuis l'age
de s i x
that
connait
a n s , quand
les
d o m i n i c a i n e s f r a n c a i s e s qui d i r i g a i e n t l a m a t e r n e l l e f u r e n t e x p u l s e e s
et que des m a t t r e s s e s nomine par le gouvernment r e m p l a c e r e n t ' M i n u i t ,
Chretiens, c'est
l'heure
s o l e n n e l l e . . . ' par ' D e b o u t
l e s d a m n e s de l a
t e r r e . . . . " ( L e s S a m o u r a i s 1 18). W h i l e she i s as s o l i c i t o u s of S o l l e r s ' s
reputation
a s de B e a u v o i r w a s of S a r t r e ' s , s h e c e l e b r a t e s i t
in a
p a r t i c u l a r l y S o l l e r s i a n w a y , p u t t i n g w o r d s of a l m o s t M e p h i s t o p h e l e a n
iconoclasm
into
Herve's
France's intellectual
sarcastic
mouth.
Indeed,
when
mocking
s t a r s of the 1 9 8 0 s , H e r v e / P h i l i p p e s o u n d s m o r e
than a l i t t l e l i k e C a m i l l e P a g l i a : " - D e s i m p o s t e u r s ! P r o d u i t s
bons p o u r l ' e x p o r t a t i o n !
Japon,
en
Afrique,
frelates
On l e s v e n d , et t r e s c h e r , en A m e r i q u e , au
bientot
en
Russie"
(Kristeva
352).
In
this
d e s a t u r a t e d , e f f e c t l e s s t i m e p e r i o d , c u l t u r a l m o n u m e n t s are as r a r e as
l o v e s t o r i e s . Olga t r a v e l s to A m e r i c a and C h i n a , j u s t as s h e o r i g i n a l l y
journeyed
to
France. Epiphanic s u r p r i s e s , it
s e e m s , c a n be
found
n o w h e r e : " A l ' h o t e l A l g o n q u i n d e s c e n d a i e n t des F r a n g a i s p r e t e n t i e u x a
l a r e c h e r c h e des I n d i e n s d ' o r i g i n e , ou s i m p l e m e n t
New-Yorkais
spirituels
des
annees
vingt.
Ronde...n'avaient s u r v e c u " (Les S a m o u r a i s 5 0 0 ) .
n o s t a l g i q u e s des
Helas!
La
Table
265
Life
i s not
only
elsewhere
in t h i s
narrative;
it
is
literally
nowhere.
In
Femmes,
m o s t of the n a r r a t o r ' s j o u r n e y s are m o t i v a t e d by h i s
p e r i p a t e t i c phallus. His g i r l f r i e n d s include Chinese, A m e r i c a n , Spanish,
and I t a l i a n w o m e n , and t h i s g i v e s h i m a m p l e o p p o r t u n i t y
to t r a v e l
to
t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e h o m e l a n d s on q u e s t s t h a t are as m u c h e r o t i c as t h e y
a r e c u l t u r a l . T o muddy
the
waters,
Philippe Sollers
i n s c r i b e s himself into two separate literary
journalist
symbolically
p e r s o n a e : the A m e r i c a n
around w h o m the a c t i o n r e v o l v e s , and S , the F r e n c h w r i t e r
w i t h w h o m he c o l l a b o r a t e s . A b o v e a l l t h e r e are w o m e n : s e d u c t i v e ,
b e a u t i f u l , o m n i p r e s e n t , but a l w a y s a pain. If the a u t h o r i s a m i s o g y n i s t ,
h i s h a t r e d of w o m e n i s a l t e r n a t e l y p a s s i v e and m a n i p u l a t i v e ,
the
best
of
bad s i t u a t i o n s
while
cynically
bowing
to
n e c e s s i t y . T h e f o l l o w i n g p a s s a g e i s p r o t o t y p i c a l : " L e monde
making
historical
appartient
aux f e m m e s . C ' e s t - a - d i r e a l a m o r t " ( S o l l e r s 12). W r i t t e n i n a p s e u d o C e l i n e a n s t y l e , t o p - h e a v y w i t h e l l i p s e s , the n a r r a t o r does e v e r y t h i n g in
his
power
to
draw
t e c h n i q u e s : " L e mot
the
reader's
'roman'
est
attention
to
his
meta-fictional
m a g i q u e . Et un r o m a n
A m e r i c a i n ? F i t z g e r a l d ? B e l l o w ? R o t h ? M a i l e r ? Ou p l o t o t
policiere,
relating
mafia,
drogue, d o l l a r s ? " ( S o l l e r s
his s t o r i e s through
comment?
atmosphere
78). His reasons
the m e d i u m of an e x p e r i m e n t a l
for
Gallic
a u t h o r are e q u a l l y a r t i f i c i a l : " J ' a i demande s i m p l e m e n t a l ' e c r i v a i n qui
s i g n e r a ce l i v r e , de d i s c u t e r avec moi c e r t a i n s points... P o u r q u i j e
l'ai
c h o i s i , l u i ? P a r c e q u ' i l e t a i t h a l " ( S o l l e r 12). The s a m e a p p l i e s to h i s
c h o i c e of the F r e n c h l a n g u a g e : " P o u r q u o i en f r a n c a i s ? Q u e s t i o n de
tradition...
Les F r a n c a i s , c e r t a i n s
F r a n c a i s , en s a v e n t
davantage,
266
f i n a l e m e n t , s u r l e t h e a t r e que j ' a i i n t e n t i o n de d e c r i r e . . . " ( S o l l e r s 12 13).
The n a r r a t o r ,
and i d e o l o g i c a l
agent
like S o l l e r s h i m s e l f , changes p o l i t i c a l ,
affiliations
provocateur,
religious
the w a y m o s t p e o p l e c h a n g e s h i r t s .
he o u t d o e s
even H e n r i
Sinteuil
in
An
intellectual
i n s o l e n c e . S ( f o r s e x e , p e r h a p s , or s o p h i s t e , as w e l l as S o l l e r s ? ) s t a n d s
in
perpetual
awe
of
novelty
and c h a n g e . T h u s ,
c e l e b r a t e s i s the New York t h a t a r o s e after
literary
pilgrimage:
postgothique,
computer
"La
nuit
de
New
the
New
York
the g r e a t age of F r e n c h
York,
verticale,
empilee,
p e r p a n t e , c u b i q u e . . . Le W o r l d T r a d e C e n t e r c o m m e
lumineux,
a v e c s e s deux
tours
he
comme
de l o n g s
v i s u e l s . . . E t , au bout de l a rue ou j ' h a b i t e , le m o u v e m e n t
e n t r e p o t s , l e s c a m i o n s . . . Le m a g a s i n de Delikatessen
un
micros
du p o r t . . . l e s
ouvert
jusqu'a
deux h e u r e s l e s m a t i n s . . . Le b a r des P o r t o r i c a i n s . . . N e w York e s t a u s s i
une
ville
espagnol..."
(Sollers
161).
The
narrator's
American
e n t h u s i a s m s - w h i c h range f r o m M e l v i l l e ' s Moby Dick to the p a i n t i n g s of
" B i l l " de K o o n i n g , f r o m W i l l i a m S t y r o n ' s b e s t s e l l e r s to J o h n M c E n r o e ' s
b a c k h a n d - a r e s e l d o m r e c i p r o c a t e d by the many w o m e n i n h i s l i f e , m o s t
of w h o m he s l y l y m o c k s as u n w i t t i n g P h i l i s t i n e s and p a r l o r r a d i c a l s . Of
one m i s t r e s s , he c o m p l a i n s : " E l l e n ' a i m e pas l ' A m e r i q u e . . . E l l e
trouve
que New York e s t une v i l l e n e o g o t h i q u e s a n s i n t e r e t . . . E l l e s c o m m e l e s
p r o g r e s s i s t e s du monde e n t i e r ; c o m m e tous ceux qui sont v i s c e r a l e m e n t
et p r o v i n c i a l e m e n t
a t t a c h e s aux g r a n d e s i d e e s s i m p l e s du XIXe s i e c l e ,
i n c a p a b l e s d ' a p p r e c i e r l a n o u v e l l e beaute de l a - b a s . . . s a s o u p l e s s e , s o n
e n e r g i e . . . . " ( S o l l e r s 199 - 2 0 0 ) . The n a r r a t o r ' s
sudden i n t e r e s t
i n the
B i b l e , I s r a e l , and r e l i g i o u s c o n v e r s i o n s i t s no m o r e c o m f o r t a b l y
his
former
peers
than
do
his
views
on
women,
America,
with
and
267
h o m o s e x u a l s . P e r h a p s t h i s i s why he f e e l s the need to d i v i d e the g u i l t ,
i n v e n t i n g an A m e r i c a n s e l f f o r the s u p e r f i c i a l l y s e l f - e f f a c i n g S:
- J e ne s u i s pas r e e l l e m e n t e c r i v a i n , d i s - j e , C ' e s t vous
qui e t e s mon double au pays des d o u b l e s !
- J e me demande qui e s t l ' e c r i v a i n de n o u s , d i t - i l , s o n g e u r
(Sollers 659).
Of c o u r s e , d e s p i t e the n a r r a t o r ' s e l a b o r a t e l i t e r a r y d i s g u i s e , he i s
still
s u r r o u n d e d by v e i l e d p o r t r a i t s of Tel
Quel's
intellectual
B e i n g m a l e , h o w e v e r , and m u c h m o r e p r o m i s c u o u s
stars.
than e i t h e r
Olga
M o r e n a o r A n n e D u b r e u i h l , he d e v i s e s a m o r e p i c a r e s q u e c a r e e r
for
h i m s e l f , a r a n d i e r j o u r n e y . D e s p i t e i t s C e l i n e a n s t y l e , Femmes can even
be r e a d as Les Mandarins
updated not by S i m o n e de B e a u v o i r ' s
spiritual
h e i r , but by J e a n - P a u l S a r t r e ' s - o r i s i t N e l s o n A l g r e n ' s ? The a b s u r d
hubris
of
this
a p p r o a c h adds c o n s i d e r a b l y
to the
novel's
sardonic,
m e a n - s p i r i t e d c h a r m . A t t i m e s i t ' s d i f f i c u l t to t e l l w h e r e the p r e e n i n g
self-flagellation
s t o p s and the s e l f - i n c r i m i n a t i n g
any c a s e , i t i s not the s o r t of s t r a t e g y
American
b o a s t i n g b e g i n s . In
one i s a c c u s t o m e d to f i n d i n
novels.
Being
the
beneficiaries
of
relatively
cheap jet
K r i s t e v a and S o l l e r s take A m e r i c a n l i f e much more
travel,
both
matter-of-factly
than did t h e i r p r e d e c e s s o r s . V o y a g i n g to A m e r i c a does not m a k e t h e m
f e e l l i k e C h r i s t o p h e r C o l u m b u s o r V a s c o da Gama. T h e y are
treading
well-charted
younger
t u r f and t h e y k n o w i t . S o m e of t h e i r s l i g h t l y
c o n t e m p o r a r i e s k n o w i t even b e t t e r . Indeed, t h e i r r e l a t i o n s h i p to t h a t
of
the
New W o r l d , being more
closely approximates
complete
and l o n g e r - l a s t i n g ,
more
the p e r s p e c t i v e of a J o h n C r e v e c o u r t t h a n
an
268
A l e x i s de T o c q u e v i l l e . F o r t h e m , A m e r i c a i s m o r e t h a n j u s t a h a l f t h r e a t e n i n g , h a l f - s e d u c t i v e , f a n t a s t i c a l l y r i c h , q u a s i - b a r b a r i c p l a c e to
v i s i t . It i s , r a t h e r , the l o c u s of a l l m o d e r n l i v i n g , a m i n d s c a p e t h a t
young E u r o p e a n s c o u l d n ' t e s c a p e even i f they w a n t e d to.
This
changed
reality
is
m e m o i r i s t i c n o v e l , L'Occupation
at
the
core
americaine.
of
Pascal
Quignard's
I n i t i a l l y the n a r r a t o r i s
q u i t e s a n g u i n e about t h i s t u r n of e v e n t s : " L ' O r l e a n a i s f u t o c c u p e p a r l e s
C e l t e s , p a r l e s G e r m a i n s , p a r l e s R o m a i n s et l e u r douze d i e u x
durant
c i n q s i e c l e s , p a r l e s F r a n c s , par l e s N o r m a n d s , p a r l e s A n g l a i s , p a r l e s
A l l e m a n d s , p a r l e s A m e r i c a i n s " (Quignard 9). A l t h o u g h the l a s t of t h e s e
o c c u p a t i o n s i s the m o s t p l e a s a n t , i t i s a l s o the m o s t i n s i d i o u s . P a t r i c k
C a r r i o n and h i s f r i e n d s are f a s c i n a t e d by t h e s e f o r e i g n e r s i n
midst, high-living
GIs i n
1950s France, all
blithely
their
unaware
that
G e n e r a l C h a r l e s de G a u l l e w o u l d s h o r t l y r e - i n t e r p r e t the n a t i o n ' s NATO
c o m m i t m e n t s to the p o i n t w h e r e the Yanks and t h e i r t a n k s w o u l d be
o b l i g e d to w i t h d r a w . Even the young C o m m u n i s t s in O r l e a n s , d i s d a i n f u l
though they are of A m e r i c a n c u l t u r e in g e n e r a l , are f r a n k l y e n a m o u r e d
of the s e p i a - t o n e d u n d e r b e l l y of the i m p e r i a l i s t b e a s t . T V , t h e y can
r e s i s t , but j a z z , r o c k ' n ' r o l l , and r h y t h m and b l u e s l e a v e s t h e m
totally
d e f e n c e l e s s . F r a n c o i s - M a r i e R i d e l s k y , the m o s t m i l i t a n t of the l o c a l
B o l s h e v i k s , i s r e - b o r n as " R y d e l l . " A l t h o u g h h i s a n t i - A m e r i c a n r a n t s
are both
p a s s i o n a t e and p r o l o n g e d — ' " J e c h i e s u r l a c o n q u e t e
de
l ' O u e s t . . . s u r l a bombe L i t t l e B o y , s u r l e s F o r d s et l e s C h e v r o l e t s , s u r l e
r a c i s m e , s u r le W a l l S t r e e t , s u r l e s b u i l d i n g s " (Quignard
108)--nothing
can change the f a c t t h a t " S o n dieu e t a i t Monk. S e s a p o t r e s a v a i e n t nom
C h a r l i e P a r k e r et M i l e s D a v i s " (Quignard 6 2 ) . The U.S. o c c u p a t i o n c a s t s
a s h a d o w on e v e r y t h i n g , i n c l u d i n g l o v e , the p r e v i o u s r o m a n c e b e t w e e n
269
the n a r r a t o r and M a r i e - J o s e being s e r i o u s l y d i s r u p t e d by t h e a r r i v a l of
o v e r s e a s o b j e c t s of d e s i r e . Of a l l the l i n e s i n Q u i g n a r d ' s t e x t , t h e
f o l l o w i n g i s the m o s t i r o n i c a l l y untrue: " L e 2 7 a v r i l 1 9 6 7 , l e t e r r i t o i r e
f u t e n t i e r e m e n t l i b e r e " (Quignard 2 0 9 ) . T h e A m e r i c a n s m i g h t be gone,
but they a r e c e r t a i n l y not f o r g o t t e n .
Many of Q u i g n a r d ' s t h e m e s w o u l d be i n c o r p o r a t e d in C l a i r e D e n i s ' s
1 9 9 4 f e a t u r e , U.S. Go Home. C o - s c r i p t e d by Anne W i a z e m s k y , J e a n - L u c
G o d a r d ' s s e c o n d w i f e and one of the l e g e n d a r y d i v a s of m o r e t h a n one
E u r o p e a n N e w Wave m o v e m e n t , t h i s s h a r p l y o b s e r v e d , c h r o n o l o g i c a l l y
s e n s i t i v e , and s u r p r i s i n g l y g e n t l e c o m i n g - o f - a g e c o m e d y c e n t r e s on a
1965 vintage party
after
w h i c h teenaged Martine ( A l i c e Houri), her
p o p u l a r f r i e n d M a r l e n e ( J e s s i c a T h a r a u d ) , and M a r t i n e t s o l d e r
brother
A l a i n ( G r e g o i r e C o l i n ) f i r s t dance to A m e r i c a n m u s i c , then get p i c k e d
up by an A m e r i c a n A r m y o f f i c e r ( V i n c e n t G a l l o ) in a j e e p . A s i d e o l o g y
b a t t l e s d e s i r e , and c o n s u m e r i s m s u c c e s s f u l l y c o - o p t s i d e o l o g y , t h e
"battle honours" ultimately
go to the A m e r i c a n , w h o i s as w i l l i n g l y
k i n d as he i s a t t r a c t i v e l y n a i v e .
P h i l i p p e L a b r o ' s L'Etudiant
etranger
i s even m o r e
definitively
c a s t i n the C r e v e c o u r t i a n m o l d of a u t o b i o g r a p h i c a l o b s e r v a t i o n . U n l i k e
P a s c a l Q u i g n a r d , Labro a c t u a l l y l i v e d in the U n i t e d S t a t e s f o r a n u m b e r
of y e a r s , s t u d y i n g at a c o n s e r v a t i v e S o u t h e r n u n i v e r s i t y
during the
McCarthyite
among h i s
1950s. The author
describes a conformism
f e l l o w c l a s s m a t e s t h a t one o r d i n a r i l y a s s o c i a t e s only w i t h Red G u a r d s
d u r i n g C h i n a ' s C u l t u r a l R e v o l u t i o n : " D e t o u t e l a r a n g e e , Buck e s t l e s e u l
a n ' a v o i r p a s l e s c h e v e u x en b r o s s e , l a crewcut...."
(Labro
18). T h e i r
g a r m e n t s a r e as u n i n d i v i d u a t e d as t h e i r h a i r : " I l s s o n t t o u t h a b i l l e s de
l a m e m e f a c o n , on c r o i r a i t
p r e s q u e en u n i f o r m e : c o l de c h e m i s e a
270
p o i n t e s b o u t o n e e s , c r a v a t e s a r a y u n e s , tweed jackets
b l a z e r s o m b r e " (Labro
18). A l l t h i s p r o v i n c i a l b r o w n - n o s i n g f a i l s
s o l i c i t the s o p h i s t i c a t e d s n e e r of c o n t e m p t
from
a Jean-Paul
a c h e v r o n s ou
Sartre
or
w h i c h one w o u l d
to
expect
a S i m o n e de B e a u v o i r : " J e v e u x
me
c o n f o r m e r . J e veux e t r e a m e r i c a i n c o m m e eux...." (Labro 2 7 ) . T h e young
Labro i s l e s s i n t r i g u e d by the i n h a b i t a n t s of F a u l k n e r ' s V o k n a p a t a w p h a
C o u n t y t h a n he i s by the c h a r a c t e r s i n C h a r l e s S c h u l t z ' s
c o m i c s t r i p , Peanuts.
then-new
W i t h l i t t l e c o m p l a i n t , he a c c e p t s the
puritan
r e s t r a i n t s of Deep S o u t h d a t i n g r i t u a l s : "...il n'y a pas de p u t a i n dans l a
v a l l e e de V i r g i n i e " (Labro 3 4 ) . F o r a w h i l e , the c a l l o w n a r r a t o r d a t e s a
black school teacher, until " B i g J i m M c L a i n " - a Southern sheriff
whose
name q u i t e f i t t i n g l y , i s i d e n t i c a l to t h a t of an e p o n y m o u s J o h n Wayne
r o l e in a p e r i o d a n t i - C o m m u n i s t C o l d W a r a g i t p r o p d r a m a - w a r n s
him
off. A f t e r t h i s t h i n l y v e i l e d t h r e a t , our n o m i n a l hero p u r s u e s a S o u t h e r n
b e l l e i n a m o r e c o n v e n t i o n a l m a n n e r . H e ' s a t t r a c t e d to B l a c k c u l t u r e ,
f e r r e t i n g out R & B r e c o r d s on the f o r b i d d e n " d a r k s i d e " of t o w n , but he
i s s t i l l a s t r a n g e r , and not a p a r t i c u l a r l y c o u r a g e o u s one at t h a t . A s he
h i m s e l f a d m i t s , " J e ne s a i s r i e n des N o i r s . A c e t t e epoque, l a V i r g i n i e
t e l l e que j e l ' a i d e c o u v e r t e , e s t t o t a l e m e n t s e g r e g a t i o n i s t e . . . I c i , c ' e s t
le s u d " (Labro 8 6 ) .
T h e c o n t e m p o r a r y F r e n c h w r i t e r who i s m o s t s t r o n g l y a s s o c i a t e d
w i t h p r o - A m e r i c a n p o s i t i o n s , though, is unquestionably P h i l i p p e Djian.
Aside from Louis-Ferdinand Celine, virtually
a l l of D j i a n ' s
cultural
i n f l u e n c e s are U.S. in o r i g i n . A s one of h i s b i o g r a p h e r s w r o t e , " A v i n g t
ans...a c e t t e epoque...il h a i t l a c u l t u r e . . . D y l a n et Cohen s o n t l e s d i e u x
271
vivants"
(Boudjedra
8 -
9).
2
Djian worked
for six months
at the
R o c k e f e l l e r C e n t r e in 1 9 6 8 , t r a v e l l e d throughout L a t i n A m e r i c a w i t h an
a v a n t - g a r d e t h e a t r e troupe s h o r t l y t h e r e a f t e r , and s e t t l e d h i s f a m i l y i n
M a r t h a ' s V i n e y a r d a f t e r t u r n i n g 4 0 . W h i l e the a u t h o r does not f o r g e t to
pay t h e o b l i g a t o r y
G a l l i c homage to E r n e s t H e m i n g w a y and W i l l i a m
F a u l k n e r , he h a s been f a r m o r e
marginal writings
profoundly
affected
by t h e
more
of Henry M i l l e r and R i c h a r d B r a u t i g a n . " H e n r i , " a s
Mohamed B o u d j e d r a p o i n t s o u t , i s the m o s t r e c u r r e n t g i v e n name among
D j i a n ' s f i c t i o n a l p r o t a g o n i s t s . Above a l l , though, t h e r e i s B r a u t i g a n , the
U.S. h i p p i e m o v e m e n t ' s c l o s e s t e q u i v a l e n t to a l i t e r a r y f i g u r e of m a j o r
"beat" status: "Brautigan, l'instinctif, l'ambivalent Richard Brautigan
est
la premiere
figure,
figure
recurrente
puisqu'il
revient
dans
p l u s i e u r s r o m a n s , q u ' i l e s t a l u i s e u l l e s u j e t de l a n o u v e l l e Une raison
d'aimer
la vie..."
( B o u d j e d r a 8 9 ) . In Maudit manege, the n a r a t o r / a l t e r
ego r e c o r d s t h a t " C ' e s t l e j o u r ou j ' a i tape l a d e r n i e r e page qu'on a
a p p r i s l a m o r t de R i c h a r d B r a u t i g a n , et le s o i r j e me s u i s s a o u l e c o m m e
j e l ' a v a i s e n c o r e j a m a i s f a i t de ma v i e et j e s u i s r e s t e un l o n g m o m e n t
c o u c h e en t r a v e r s du t a p i s a e c o u t e r l e s gens c h i a l e r dans l a r u e "
( M a u d i t m a n e g e 5 1 ) . W i t h i n the p a r a m e t e r s of the a u t h o r ' s
hip u n i v e r s e , t h i s k i n d of m o u r n i n g i s as h e a r t - f e l t
tragically
and p r o f o u n d as a
f u l l - s c a l e V i k i n g funeral. Djian i s equally taken w i t h A n g l o - A m e r i c a n
n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y a u t h o r s and l a t e t w e n t i e t h - c e n t u r y
rock ' n ' r o l l e r s :
" A p r e m i e r e v u e , une c o n s t a t a t i o n s ' i m p o s e : peu d ' e c r i v a i n s f r a n c a i s
dans c e t t e
e c u r i e " ( B o u d j e d r a 8 8 ) . Only i n one r e s p e c t i s he t r u l y
t r a d i t i o n a l : "11 y a c h e z c e t a u t e u r un r a p p o r t s i n g u l i e r au t e r r i t o i r e ,
L e o n a r d C o h e n , t h e m o s t c r i t i c a l l y r e v e r e d of a l l C a n a d i a n t r o u b a d o r s , i s
d e s c r i b e d as " A m e r i c a n " i n F r e n c h p e r i o d i c a l s .
2
often
272
une c o n n i v e n c e s e c r e t e , p o u r le r o m a n t i c i s m e f a c o n C h a t e a u b r i a n d ,
epoque Natchez..."
(Boudjedra 91).
A m e r i c a n i n f l u e n c e on the a u t h o r can be f e l t even in t h o s e n o v e l s
and t a l e s w h e r e New W o r l d geography i s n o t a b l y a b s e n t . In h i s r e v i e w
of J e a n - J a c q u e s B e i n e i x ' s s c r e e n v e r s i o n of J 7 o 2 le matin,
a French
f i l m c r i t i c c o m p l a i n e d t h a t " P h i l i p p e D j i a n , [le c o m p e r e du r e a l i s a t e u r ] ,
qui a e c r i t le l i v r e , e s t t r o p envoute p a r l ' A m e r i q u e pour e t r e s i n c e r e ,
et c o n f o n d a v e c une c e r t a i n e d e l e c t a t i o n de s o l i t u d e et e g o t i s i n e " ( " L e s
o r i p e a u x du l o o k " 79).
If P a r i s i a n c r i t i c s have l o n g r a i l e d a g a i n s t the r e l a t i v e l y
mild
" l i b e r t i e s " w h i c h D j i a n t a k e s w i t h the F r e n c h l a n g u a g e , i t i s a l m o s t
c e r t a i n l y b e c a u s e they s u s p e c t t h i s f r e e d o m s t e m s f r o m Nexus, and not
Voyage au bout de la nuit. T h i s d e f e n s i v e h o s t i l i t y
i s at l e a s t
partly
m o t i v a t e d by the u n c e r t a i n t y g e n e r a t e d by F r a n c e ' s d e c l i n i n g c u l t u r a l
r o l e on the g l o b a l s c a l e . A s D j i a n h i m s e l f w o u l d have i t , " ' A P a r i s , on
croit
que l a l i t t e r a t u r e f r a n c a i s e e s t e n c o r e en t r a i n d ' i l l u m i n e r
m o n d e , en f a i t l e s gens r i g o l e n t . L e s e d i t e u r s a m e r i c a i n s
le
n'achetent
j a m a i s un r o m a n f r a n c a i s , l e s E s p a g n o l s et l e s I t a l i e n s un p a r - c i p a r la...." ( R o b i t a i l l e 2 0 2 ) .
Even s o , D j i a n i s not as s e a m l e s s l y w e l d e d to the
American
m a i n f r a m e as h i s d e t r a c t o r s c o n t e n d . A s he h i m s e l f a d m i t s , " ' B r e f , j e
p a r l e l ' a n g l a i s . . . c o m m e un F r a n c a i s . . . . " ( R o b i t a i l l e 2 0 4 ) . He h a s ,
s e e m s , no i n t e r e s t
it
i n h o b n o b b i n g w i t h h i s A m e r i c a n p e e r s : "11 y ' a
q u e l q u e s a n n e e s quand i l
habitait
Cape C o d , W i l l i a m
Styron,
qu'il
l ' a d m i r e , n ' h a b i t a i t pas t r e s l o i n : ' J ' e t a i s c o n t e n t q u ' i l s o i t l a , m a i s j e
ne l u i ai j a m a i s p a r l e . En l i s a n t s e s o e u v r e s , j ' a v a i s eu le m e i l l e u r de
lui m e m e ' " (Robitaille 201).
273
Henri-John
narrator/hero
(again
that
Milleresque
given
name!),
the
of Lent dehors, i s a F r e n c h p r o f e s s o r w h o m o p e s around
Cape Cod a f t e r h i s w r i t e r w i f e l e a v e s h i m . New England i s l e s s a p l a c e
f o r h i m to l i v e than i t i s the i d e a l l o c a t i o n to b r o o d i n g l y r e f l e c t on h i s
(Gallic)
past.
Not
for
this
melancholic
the
solace
of
political
e n g a g e m e n t : " J e p e n s a i s que l e s R u s s e s et l e s A m e r i c a i n s m e t t r a i e n t
b i e n t o t un p o i n t f i n a l e a nos p r o b l e m e s , a u s s i ne v o y a i s - j e pas d ' u t i l i t e
a me m e l e r de s e s c h o s e s " ( D j i a n
382). S i g n i f i c a n t l y ,
Henri-John's
A m e r i c a n o p h i l i a p r e - d a t e s h i s h a n d s - o n A m e r i c a n e x p e r i e n c e . In
the
m i d - 1 9 6 0 s , his friend Meryl looked a f t e r his overseas education: " E l l e
me f i t d e c o u v r i r - c e r t a i n s paquets a r r i v a i e n t e x p r e s pour moi des U S A q u e l q u e s j e u n e s a u t e u r s c o m m e C a r v e r ou H a r r i s o n a l o r s que j ' e n e t a i s
e n c o r e a K e r o u a c ou S a r o y a n , et j e f u m a i s des W i n s t o n s
d'importation,
j ' e n r e c e v a i s d e s c a r t o u c h e s e n t i e r e s " ( D j i a n 4 1 8 ) . When r e a d i n g
the
p r e v i o u s p a s s a g e , one s h o u l d b e a r in m i n d t h a t blond t o b a c c o w a s once
as hard a s e l l in F r a n c e as w e r e w h i s k y and b o u r b o n ; the
e c o n o m i c s u c c e s s of t h e s e s t i m u l a n t s
r e c o g n i z e d as c i r c u m s t a n t i a l
subsequent
in F r a n c e s h o u l d t h e r e f o r e
e v i d e n c e of a f u n d a m e n t a l
be
change
in
D j i a n has begun
to
n a t i o n a l t a s t e s , not as a m e r e e x p a n s i o n .
Starting
w i t h his
1994 novel
Assassins,
e x p l o r e an A m e r i c a t h a t i s even m o r e a m o r p h o u s t h a n i t w a s
One assumes
before.
t h a t the a c t i o n s d e s c r i b e d t a k e p l a c e in the New W o r l d ,
but one can n e v e r be e n t i r e l y s u r e . A t t i m e s , i t s e e m s as i f the a u t h o r ' s
v i s i o n of H e n o c h v i l l e - a name w h i c h in and of i t s e l f s u g g e s t s s o m e s o r t
of u n i o n b e t w e e n New England and Old F r a n c e - o c c u p i e s an
half-world
where
imaginary
F r e n c h and A m e r i c a n l a n d s c a p e s and m o r e s
have
b e c o m e h o p e l e s s l y i n t e r t w i n e d . To quote one o u t s i d e o b s e r v e r , t h i s New
274
World
belongs
to
imaginaire...cree
an
"Amerique
de t o u t e s
jamais
i d e n t i f iee...un
pieces" (Robitaille).
territoire
T h e end r e s u l t
is
u n p r e c e d e n t e d : as s h a r p l y o b s e r v e d as de T o c q u e v i l l e ' s A m e r i c a , as
r o m a t i c i z e d as de B e a u v o i r ' s , and as d e r a c i n a t e d as K a f k a ' s .
In F r a n c e , as in the r e s t of E u r o p e , the w i d e s p r e a d a d a p t a t i o n
American
technology
and
practices
has
led
to
a
de
of
facto
A m e r i c a n i z a t i o n of the p o p u l a c e . C r o w d s f l o c k to M c D o n a l d ' s i n P a r i s ,
the c i t y of haute c u i s i n e . The m o d e r n i z a t i o n of the C i t y of L i g h t
i n s p i r e d J e a n - L u c G o d a r d ' s AlphavilJe
provincial
cities.
3
Without
can now be f o u n d in
that
remote
i r o n y , the P a r i s - b a s e d J u l i o C o r t a z a r , a
l e f t - w i n g m a g i c r e a l i s t , can e n t h u s e , " P o u r n o u s , P a r k i n g l a n d e s t une
terme
de l i b e r t e "
( C o r t a z a r and Dunlop 9 6 ) . In 1 9 9 7 , a
Situationist
c o n d u c t i n g a derive through even the o l d e s t , m o s t i n d i g e n o u s s t r e e t s of
the
French
capital
would
find
no q u a r t e r
untouched
by
changing
p s y c h o g e o g r a p h y ; the o l e a g i n o u s s t r a i n s of M i c h a e l J a c k s o n b o o m b o x i n g
f r o m a Sony W a l k m a n i s now more than enough to s c a t t e r the
s h a d e s of V o l t a i r e , V e r l a i n e , and V i l l o n . C l a u d e M i l l e r ' s
cringing
expressed
d e s i r e to c o n s t r u c t "un u n i v e r s qui r e n v o i e a m e s r e v e s de c i n e m a , des
s o u v e n i r s m a g n i f i e s de f i l m s a m e r i c a i n s vus l e s s a m e d i s s o i r s dans
mon e n f a n c e " ( C u r c o l 107) now s e e m s q u a i n t l y a n a c h r o n i s t i c . More than
7 0 y e a r s ago, D.H. L a w r e n c e w r o t e t h a t " a l l t h a t i s v i s i b l e to the naked
European e y e , in A m e r i c a , i s a s o r t of r e c r e a n t E u r o p e a n " ( L a w r e n c e 3).
Nowadays
one
contemporary
could
say
the
E u r o p e a n s . What
same
thing
today
once s e e m e d m o s t
in
reverse
about
eccentric
about
Although, of course, the most famous Russian Communist paper, and the leading French
conservative paper, have not yet fused into Figaro-Pravda,
as Godard predicted. S t i l l ,
when you consider the other media mergers that have taken place, one can hardly accuse
the Franco-Swiss filmmaker of shoddy prescience.
3
275
Lawrence's
literary
study
prescient: "The furthest
reached
the p i t c h
of
of t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s n o w a p p e a r s
most
f r e n z i e s of F r e n c h m o d e r n i s m . . . h a v e not y e t
extreme
consciousness that
Poe, Melville,
H a w t h o r n e , W h i t m a n r e a c h e d . T h e European m o d e r n s are a l l trying to be
extreme. The great A m e r i c a n s I mention j u s t were i t " (Lawrence 4).
The p r e v i o u s s t a t e m e n t
r i n g s even t r u e r
when you p l a c e the w o r d
" p o s t " b e f o r e the w o r d " m o d e r n " .
S t i l l , i f t h e F r e n c h o f t e n s e e m angry a t , and unhappy w i t h , U.S.
cultural
i n v a s i o n s of t h e u n c o n t r o l l e d
variety,
they
still
derive a
m e a s u r e of p r i d e f r o m t h e i r c h a m p i o n s h i p of u n d e r v a l u e d A m e r i c a n
a r t i s t i c a s s e t s , a p r i d e t h a t i s s u r e l y not u n c o n n e c t e d to t h e i r
unvanquished belief in superior G a l l i c s e n s i b i l i t y .
in A m e r i c a n h a r d b o i l e d n o v e l s c o n t i n u e d
disparate
filmmakers
the a l t e r e d
national
Francois Truffaut
que je
and A l a i n C o r n e a u (Serie
c i r c u m s t a n c e s of t h e s e
a d a p t a t i o n s , they w e r e s c r i p t e d in a s p i r i t
interest
unabated, inspiring
a s C l a u d e M i l l e r (Dites-lui
B e r t r a n d T a v e r n i e r (Coup du torchon),
Despite
Cinematic
still
such
1'airne),
noire).
wide-screen
very c l o s e to r e v e r e n c e .
w a s f a i r l y t y p i c a l w h e n he e x p l a i n e d t h a t , a p r o p o s
the w o r k s of W i l l i a m I r i s h , " q u a n d j e d e v a i s a f f r o n t e r
un ' p r o b l e m e
I r i s h ' , j ' a v a i s des c h a n c e s de t r o u v e r l a ' s o l u t i o n I r i s h ' " ( G i l l a i n 2 4 4 ) .
In
1 9 9 6 , C l a u d e M e s p l e d e and J e a n - J a c q u e s S c h l e r e t
published a
m a s s i v e b i o g r a p h i c a l d i c t i o n a r y / b i b l i o g r a p h y / b i o g r a p h y of t h e m a i n l y
A m e r i c a n a u t h o r s w h o s u p p l y the r a w m a t e r i a l f o r La S e r i e n o i r e . T o
d a t e , no p u b l i s h e r i n A m e r i c a has seen f i t to t r e a t n a t i v e c r i m e w r i t e r s
w i t h the s a m e s c r u p u l o u s r e s p e c t .
In t h e U n i t e d
S t a t e s , by f a r t h e m o s t
contentious
Franco-
A m e r i c a n e n t h u s i a s m i s t h e one c o n n e c t e d to J e r r y L e w i s . In h e r
276
February
1 9 8 9 " l e t t r e de N e w Y o r k / ' B e r e n i c e R e y n a u d p u b l i s h e d an
extremely
f u n n y and p r e s c i e n t a r t i c l e e n t i t l e d
" Q u i a P e u r de J e r r y
L e w i s ? P a s N o u s , pas n o u s . " To the h a c k n e y e d q u e s t i o n " W h y do t h e
F r e n c h l o v e J e r r y L e w i s / ' Reynaud posed a c o u n t e r - q u e s t i o n ' " P o u r q u o i
l e s A m e r i c a i n s p e n s e n t - i l s que l e s F r a n c a i s a i m e n t J e r r y
Lewis?'"
( R e y n a u d V l l l ) . T h e e n s u i n g a n s w e r s to the l a s t q u e s t i o n p r o d u c e d a
sort
of
Rorschach blot
contemptuous attitudes
two
nations
enemies.
portrait
of t h e a l t e r n a t e l y
underlying cultural
who are s i m u l t a n e o u s l y
admiring
relations between
wary
friends
and
and
these
friendly
4
L i t m u s t e s t p s y c h o l o g y a s i d e , h o w e v e r , J e r r y L e w i s does have h i s
c r i t i c a l c h a m p i o n s in F r a n c e , f i l m . t h e o r i s t s w h o w o u l d s e r i o u s l y c l a i m
that their
i d o l i s as w o r t h y
underappreciated
Alfred
of s e r i o u s r e s p e c t as w e r e t h e o n c e -
Hitchcock
and H o w a r d
H a w k s . Of
these
d e f e n d e r s , by f a r the m o s t e f f u s i v e w a s the r e c e n t l y d e c e a s e d R o b e r t
Benayoun.
A
fluent
translator
of
anglophone,
Edward
magazine revelled
last
generation
Lear's limericks,
in " c e 'tour
d'esprit'
F r a n c a i s ont t o u j o u r s t a n t de d i f f i c u l t y
this
tres
Surrealist,
stalwart
of
and
Positif
a n g l o - s a x o n que l e s
a s a i s i r " ( J o u b e r t 6 6 ) . In the
w o r d s of l o n g - t i m e c o l l e a g u e M i c h e l C i m e n t , " i l etait...un s o r c i e r c a r ,
non c o n t e n t
de nous t r a n s p o r t e r
d'une r i v e a l ' a u t r e ,
il fut le plus
s o u v e n t en a m a n t du f l e u v e , d e c o u v r i r a u s s i b i e n l e C i n e m a Novo e t
G l a u b e r R o c h a , l e s i n d e p e n d e n t s n e w - y o r k a i s , l e s c o u r t s m e t r a g e s de
R e s n a i s , J e r r y L e w i s ou l e s c o m i q u e s j u i f s du Borscht
B r o o k s a Woody A l l e n " ( B e n a y o u n l e dandy l i t t e r a i r e
though
4
not
as high
profile
on t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l
F o r a c o m p l e t e t r a n s c r i p t of t h i s a r t i c l e , p l e a s e see Appendix 3.
Belt,
de Mel
63). Benayoun,
circuit
as the
277
c i n e a s t e / c r i t i c s of Cahiers
they for
re-setting
du cinema,
the p a r a m e t e r s
w a s at l e a s t as r e s p o n s i b l e as
of F r e n c h t a s t e . H i s e a r l y
and
e x t r a v a g a n t e n t h u s i a s m f o r Night of the Hunter, C h a r l e s L a u g h t o n ' s only
m o t i o n p i c t u r e in the c a p a c i t y of d i r e c t o r , u n q u e s t i o n a b l y
to the f a c t t h a t Studio
premiere
magazine awarded that
p l a c e de c l a s s e m e n t " in i t s
contributed
1955 production
r a n k i n g of " l e s 5 0
"la
meilleurs
f i l m s - c u l t e s " ( 7 7 ) . B e n a y o u n ' s m a g a z i n e w r i t i n g o w e d l i t t l e to
the
i d e o l o g i c a l l y - d r i v e n c r i t i c i s m of the 1 9 7 0 s and ' 8 0 s . A s he h i m s e l f put
i t , " J ' a i t o u j o u r s pense que la critique
devait
etre poetique,
meme si
e l l e s ' a p p l i q u e a un f i l m i m p a r f a i t , ce a T i n v e r s e de c e r t a i n s de m e s
a m i s qui c r o y a i e n t a l a p o s s i b i l i t y d'une p o e t i q u e d e l i b e r e e on ne d e c i d e
p a s , p a r e x e m p l e , qu'on f e r a un f i l m s u r r e a l i s t e , on e s t s u r r e a l i s t e ou
on ne T e s t p a s " ("Le c i n e m a et n o u s " 4 8 ) .
B e n a y o u n ' s d e d i c a t i o n to Bonjour,
Mr. Lewis,
the a u t h o r ' s
best
k n o w n - s o m e w o u l d say h i s m o s t n o t o r i o u s b o o k - b e g i n s w i t h a c u r i o u s
dedication:
"A
ANDREW
SARRIS,
le
Spiro
Agnew
de
la
critique
a m e r i c a i n e . " ( B o n j o u r . Mr. L e w i s 6) S a r r i s , i t s h o u l d be r e c a l l e d , w a s
the A m e r i c a n r e v i e w e r who f i r s t i n t r o d u c e d F r e n c h - s t y l e
criticism
Cahiers
i n t o the U n i t e d S t a t e s , a d a p t i n g i t
du Cinema's
downplaying
the
in a w a y t h a t
pro-Hollywood enthusiasms while
magazine's
equally
n e o r e a l i s m and F r e n c h realisme
p o i n t e d o u t , w a s at c r i t i c a l
strong
poetique.
auteurist
simultaneously
advocacy
Positif,
exalted
of
Italian
i t s h o u l d a l s o be
and i d e o l o g i c a l odds w i t h t h e
Cahiers
c r o w d , so A n d r e w S a r r i s ' a p p r o a c h c o u l d not help but be s c r u t i n i z e d
w i t h double s u s p i c i o n . T h i s p a r t i a l l y
e x p l a i n s the c r i t i c s
insulting
bracketing w i t h Richard Nixon's disgraced, philistine Vice President,
but not e n t i r e l y . Benayoun was a S u r r e a l i s t p o e t , a f t e r a l l ; c o n c e i v a b l y ,
278
h i s Bonjour
d e d i c a t i o n c o u l d , i f one i n s i s t s , be r e a d as an e x t r e m e l y
obscure compliment.
O r i g i n a l l y , Benayoun w a n t e d to w r i t e a book c a l l e d Les Jokers,
a
w o r k t h a t w o u l d have e n c o m p a s s e d the c a r e e r s of W.C. F i e l d s , B u s t e r
K e a t o n , Groucho M a r x , T o t o , A l b e r t o S o r d i , and The B e a t l e s , as w e l l as
Jerry
L e w i s . F o r the
author,
these a r t i s t s
"etaient
a la f o i s
les
b o u f f o n s , l e s d a n d y s , l e s e x c e n t r i q u e s de l e u r t e m p s ' " ( B o n j o u r .
Mr.
L e w i s 1 1). If B e n a y o u n ' s book can be read as a p a n e g y r i c o r h a g i o g r a p h y ,
i t i s at t i m e s c u r i o u s l y u n f l a t t e r i n g to i t s s u b j e c t . When c o n s i d e r i n g
the n a t u r e of L e w i s ' s p a r t n e r s h i p w i t h the h a n d s o m e Dean M a r t i n , f o r
i n s t a n c e , the a u t h o r w r i t e s , " D ' a u t r e p a r t se p r e s e n t J e r r y L e w i s , un
a v o r t o n s i m i e s q u e et j u v e n i l e , c o i f f e c o m m e s a b r o s s e a d e n t s , qui ne
s a i t ni c h a n t e r ni d a n s e r m a i s s ' o b s t i s e a le f a i r e , et q u i , r e f u s a n t t o u t
p u b e r t e , se l a i s s e c a l i n e r par des dames o p u l e n t e s au s e i n p l e i n de l a i t ,
ou p r e f e r a b l e m e n t par son i d o l e m a s c u l i n e , Dean M a r t i n " ( B o n j o u r . MrLewis
21). Benayoun d e s c r i b e s J e r r y
as b o t h " l ' a n t i - J a m e s
Dean"
( B o n j o u r . Mr. L e w i s 19) and as an a d u l t who a d o r e s a l l c h i l d r e n b e c a u s e
" [ i l s ont] de son a g e " ( B o n j o u r . Mr. L e w i s 41). A g a i n and a g a i n , B e n a y o u n
r e f e r s to h i s s u b j e c t ' s o n s c r e e n w e a k n e s s , e f f e m i n a c y ,
immaturity,
i n e p t i t u d e w i t h w o m e n . F o r the a u t h o r , L e w i s ' s w i l l i n g n e s s to e x p l o r e
e m o t i o n s and m o d e s of being w h i c h m o s t p e o p l e w o u l d be a s h a m e d to
a d m i t i s w h a t m a k e s h i m a g r e a t a r t i s t . It i s on the s t r e n g t h of
volition
that
he m a k e s h i g h - f l o w n
claims
s u c h as t h e
this
following:
" C o m m e c e l l e de B u n u e l (et l a r a s s e m b l a n c e a r r e t e l a ) , l ' o e u v r e
de
J e r r y L e w i s e s t basee s u r des s o u v e n i r s d ' e n f a n c e " ( B o n j o u r . Mr. L e w i s
3 3 9 ) . T h i s , in B e n a y o u n ' s e y e s , m a k e s h i s s u b j e c t a c u l t u r a l
incendiary:
" P o u r t a n t i l r e s t e un p e r s o n n a g e s u b v e r s i f . II e s t le s a t i r i s t e l e p l u s
279
f e r o c e , le plus
disent
des r e g i m e s
johnsoniens
et
n i x o n i e n s . Son
p a c i f i s m e e s t m i l i t a n t . II ne c r a i n t pas d ' a t t a q u e r l a guerre du V i e t n a m ,
de donner l e p a r t b e l l e aux n o i r s " ( B o n j o u r . Mr. L e w i s 147).
Pacifist; pro-Black; anti-establishment:
these three
c o u l d not help but e n d e a r t h e m s e l v e s to l e f t - w i n g
qualities
European c r i t i c s . In
E u r o p e , the c o m m e r c i a l or c r i t i c a l f a i l u r e of m a j o r A m e r i c a n m o v i e s i s
o f t e n a t t r i b u t e d to p o l i t i c a l f a c t o r s . By i m p l i c a t i o n , Heaven's Gate d i e d
at the b o x - o f f i c e not b e c a u s e i t w a s a s t r u c t u r a l m e s s but b e c a u s e i t s
u n d e r l y i n g m e s s a g e about the c l o s i n g of the W e s t w a s u n c o n g e n i a l to
M i d d l e A m e r i c a n v i e w e r s . T h e r e i s m o r e than a l i t t l e t r u t h to t h e s e
charges.
Much of Bonjour, fir.
feelings
of
gratitude
Lewis
for
his
i s t a k e n up w i t h the
continental
actor/director's
acceptance. At
a press
c o n f e r e n c e , he s a y s , " - E n F r a n c e , on r e c o i s l e s f i l m s d i f f e r e m m e n t ,
meme
en
Italie,
en A n g l e t e r r e ,
en A l l e m a g n e
de
ou en E s p a g n e . Le
c i n e p h i l i e europeen e x a m i n e l e s f i l m s , et se p r e o c c u p e m o i n s de T a n g l e
c o m i q u e que de s a m o t i v a t i o n . II se s o u c i e de l ' e c r i t u r e , du m o n t a g e , de
l a p h o t o , de l a m i s e en s c e n e , et i l e s t i n t r i g u e p a r I'homme... Aux U.S.A.
l e s i n t e l l e c t u e l s n'ont pas l e t e m p s pour c e s c h o s e s - l a , i l s s o n t t r o p
o c c u p e s a q u i t t e r l a s a l 1 e avant meme de s ' a s s e o i r " ( B o n j o u r . Mr. L e w i s
161).
Most
gratifying
of
a l l , "Nous
avons
la-bas
une
categorie
d ' i n d i v i d u s que nous a p p e l o n s (par d e r i s i o n ) c r i t i q u e s . En F r a n c e vous
a v e z des a n a l y s t e s " ( B o n j o u r . Mr. L e w i s 161).
More r e c e n t l y , Woody A l l e n has been g e t t i n g
treatment
in F r a n c e . A s the a c t o r / d i r e c t o r
the J e r r y
t o l d Cahiers
du
Lewis
Cinema,
" C ' e s t une h i s t o i r e qui a c o m m e n c e avec Edgar P o e , p u i s a c o n t i n u e a v e c
F a u l k n e r et t a n t d ' a u t r e s . T o u t l e monde s a i t aux E t a t s - U n i s que l a
280
France
a la
reputation
de d e c o u v r i r
et
de c e l e b r e r
les
artistes
a m e r i c a i n s qui s o n t i g n o r e s dans l e u r p a y s . II y a q u e l q u e s a n n e e s , l e
New
Yorker a p u b l i e un d e s s i n ou T o n v o y a i t un r o i s u r s o n t r o n e qui
d i s a i t du b o u f f o n a s s i s a s e s p i e d s : 'lei,
France on considere
il n'est pas etre drole, mais en
que c est un genie!' C ' e s t un a t t i t u d e
J
typiquement
a m e r i c a i n " ( C i m e n t and T o b i n 14). J u s t a s , s o m e m i g h t
add, r o l l i n g
out the r e d c a r p e t to o s t e n t a t i o u s l y
honour
neglected
A m e r i c a n a r t i s t s i s t y p i c a l l y F r e n c h . A s Mia F a r r o w p o i n t e d out in
h e r m e m o i r s , " P a r i s i a n s are a l o t n i c e r i f y o u ' r e w i t h Woody A l l e n "
(Farrow 242).
The l i s t of s i m i l a r l y p r i v i l e g e d A m e r i c a n c u l t u r a l c e l e b r i t i e s i s
very
long indeed. C u r r e n t l y , they
include Clint
Eastwood, Michael
C i m i n o , S a m F u l l e r , T i m B u r t o n , J o h n C a r p e n t e r , and Monte H e l l m a n .
T h e s e N e w W o r l d h e r o e s are m o r e o r l e s s e v e n l y d i v i d e d
t a l e n t e d m o n e y - m a k e r s qui sont meprises
par
between
leurs concitoyens,
and
m a r g i n a l f i g u r e s w h o s e c a r e e r s have been d r o w n e d i n the H o l l y w o o d
f a c t o r y s y s t e m . A t p r e s e n t , m o s t U.S. l i o n s in F r a n c e are c o n n e c t e d i n
some
way
with
the
cinema; forty
years
a g o , the
majority
were
a f f i l i a t e d w i t h j a z z . W i t h the n o t a b l e e x c e p t i o n s of E d g a r A l l a n Poe (a
w r i t e r who i s o f t e n p e r c e i v e d as more F r e n c h than A m e r i c a n , a n y w a y ) ,
H e r m a n M e l v i l l e ( F r e n c h c r i t i c s adore h i m a l m o s t as much as do t h e i r
Italian counterparts),
cultural
William
F a u l k n e r (now
c o m m o d i t y ) , Ernest Hemingway (highly
an a l m o s t
universal
prized for his lean,
s p a r e s t y l e ) , and v i r t u a l l y a l l U.S. m a s t e r s , m a j o r or m i n o r , of le roman
noir, a u t h o r s are s e l d o m so p r i v i l e g e d .
The s h o r t r o s t e r above w a s r e c e n t l y expanded to i n c l u d e a n o t h e r
l i t e r a r y c e l e b r i t y : W i l l i a m S t y r o n . P h i l i p p e D j i a n , as w e have a l r e a d y
281
s e e n , r e g a r d s t h i s man as an i d o l ( a l b e i t one he'd p r e f e r not to w o r s h i p
in the f l e s h ) . M i c h e l B u t o r , a n o t h e r G a l l i c a d m i r e r , w r o t e the p r e f a c e to
the F r e n c h l a n g u a g e e d i t i o n
of Set
This House on Fire.
In M e l v i n J .
F r i e d m a n ' s o p i n i o n , t h i s phenomenon can be e x p l a i n e d p r i m a r i l y
as an
e x t e n s i o n of the l o n g - e s t a b l i s h e d F r e n c h l o v e of W i l l i a m F a u l k n e r : " H e
w a s t a k e n up v i g o r o u s l y and c r e a t i v e l y by the F r e n c h - e v e n b e f o r e he
w a s p r o p e r l y a p p r e c i a t e d in h i s n a t i v e c o u n t r y - a n d , on o c c a s i o n , w a s
d e e m e d to be the i n h e r i t o r of the F r e n c h s y m b o l i s t s " (Kolb and N o a k e s
123) . F r i e d m a n r e m i n d s us t h a t " A l m o s t t w o d e c a d e s ago the S o r b o n n e
p r o f e s s o r R o g e r A s s e l i n e a u e d i t e d an i n f l u e n t i a l
March
by
speaking
of
its
author
as
'un
e s s a y on The
ecrivain
plus
Long
francais
q u ' a m e r i c a i n ' " ( K o l b and N o a k e s 123). In the s a m e v e i n , he p r o p o s e s
t h a t " S t y r o n s e e m s to be f o l l o w i n g in a l i n e of m e m o i r i s t s of d e c i d e d l y
French temperament
w h i c h began w i t h M o n t a i g n e and c a r r i e d
S a i n t - S i m o n and R o u s s e a u d o w n to S a r t r e
Noakes
through
and M a l r a u x " ( K o l b
and
1 2 3 ) . In the p r o c e s s , " S t y r o n s e e m s to have j o i n e d P o e and
F a u l k n e r in the e n v i a b l e p r o c e s s of being G a l l i c i z e d " (Kolb and N o a k e s
124) .
One a s p e c t of t h i s phenomenon w h i c h F r i e d m a n does not deal w i t h
at s u f f i c i e n t
l e n g t h i s the g r a c e f u l e a s e w i t h w h i c h S t y r o n ' s p r o s e
t a k e s to F r e n c h t r a n s l a t i o n . To c i t e
language r e n d e r i n g of Sophie's
just
one e x a m p l e , the
French
Choice e n d o w s t h a t t e x t w i t h an e l e g a i c
m e l a n c h o l y t h a t i s in s o m e w a y s r i c h e r and m o r e r e s o n a n t t h a n
the
s a d n e s s to be f o u n d in the E n g l i s h o r i g i n a l . L i k e P o e , F a u l k n e r , J i m
Thompson, William
I r i s h , and P a t r i c i a H i g h s m i t h , S t y r o n
w h e n p l a n t e d in F r e n c h s o i l . T h e s a m e c a n n o t be s a i d f o r
flourishes
Gertrude
S t e i n , E z r a P o u n d , e.e. c u m m i n g s , or a hundred o t h e r w r i t e r s of g r e a t e r
282
or equal w o r t h . F o r an A m e r i c a n " g r a f t " to t a k e , in o t h e r w o r d s , i t m u s t
be j o i n e d to a p l a n t of s i m i l a r s p e c i e s t h a t has long been i n d i g e n o u s to
F r e n c h s o i l . W h i l e t h e r e are o b v i o u s l y s o m e m a j o r e x c e p t i o n s to
rule (rock V
r o l l i s p r o b a b l y the m o s t e g r e g i o u s e x a m p l e ) , i n
i n s t a n c e s it
h o l d s t r u e . W h a t ' s m o r e , as one a s c e n d s f r o m
this
most
popular
c u l t u r e to high a r t (pace, d e c o n s t r u c t i o n i s t s ) , t h i s t h e o r y b e c o m e s v e r y
c l o s e to a l a w .
A s the o l d c h e s t n u t w o u l d have i t , h o w e v e r , i m i t a t i o n i s s t i l l
the
s i n c e r e s t f o r m of f l a t t e r y . J a c q u e s Demy t r i e d to b u i l d an e n t i r e c a r e e r
on the b a s i s of h i s l o v e f o r 1 9 5 0 s ' - v i n t a g e H o l l y w o o d m u s i c a l s , o n l y
o c c a s i o n a l l y r e f e r r i n g to the s t y l i s t i c s of Rene C l a i r ' s e a r l y m u s i c a l
c o m e d i e s and the much o l d e r n a t i v e t r a d i t i o n of l i g h t - h e a r t e d
Interestingly,
operetta.
e n o u g h , The Model Shop, the one f i l m he made i n
the
p r o m i s e d l a n d of S o u t h e r n C a l i f o r n i a , w a s not o n l y n o n - m u s i c a l
but
d e c i d e d l y d o w n b e a t . By g e t t i n g too c l o s e to the t i m e l e s s f a n t a s y , he
s u c c e e d e d only in t u r n i n g i t i n t o h a r s h q u o t i d i a n r e a l i t y .
M u l t i p l e d i s i l l u s i o n m e n t s are a l s o at the r o o t of A l a i n R e s n a i s ' s
little-seen
1989 feature,
playwright/cartoonist
/ Want to Go Home. S c r i p t e d i n E n g l i s h by
Jules
Feiffer
(although
most
francophone
a u d i e n c e s s a w i t in a v e r s i o n w h i c h , w i t h the e x c e p t i o n of one key and
rather
p e r p l e x i n g s e q u e n c e , had been dubbed i n t o F r e n c h ) , the
film
d e s c r i b e d the r e t u r n of one p a r t i c u l a r A m e r i c a n to P a r i s . J o e y W e l l m a n
( A d o l p h G r e e n , the c o - a u t h o r in r e a l l i f e of a dozen MGM m u s i c a l s ) i s a
f o r m e r G l - t u r n e d - s u c c e s s f u l - c a r t o o n i s t who f l i e s to F r a n c e to r e c e i v e
a p r i z e f o r h i s w o r k and p a t c h up h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h h i s
expatriate
d a u g h t e r . W e l l m a n ' s c o m i c s t r i p " H e p C a t " i s a l l the rage i n
bandes
dessinees
by h i s
c i r c l e s , and the a r t i s t / a u t h o r
is initially
gratified
283
r e c e p t i o n in a c o u n t r y w h i c h he f i r s t s a w through the s i g h t s of h i s M-1
c a r b i n e . M o s t of the A m e r i c a n s he m e e t s are e x t r a o r d i n a r i l y
boorish
and a n n o y i n g . One l u n k - h e a d e d d i r e c t o r g r u n t s , " L ' A m e r i q u e e s t
fait
p o u r l e v i o l , p e u t - e t r e , m a i s pas pour l ' a m o u r " - a s e n t i m e n t one c o u l d
m o r e e a s i l y i m a g i n e a F r e n c h m a n e x p r e s s i n g than an A m e r i c a n . D u r i n g
the
movie,
Wellman/Green
finds
himself
caught
in
the
p r e d i c a m e n t t h a t one w o u l d e x p e c t to b e f a l l Gene K e l l y in An
in
Paris.
More s p e c i f i c a l l y , he s t u m b l e s
sort
of
American
into a French bistro
and
m y s t e r i o u s l y l o s e s h i s a b i l i t y to speak the l o c a l language (the p e c u l i a r
l i n g u i s t i c a l l u s i o n I r e f e r r e d to e a r l i e r v i s - a - v i s the dubbed v e r s i o n ) ,
and m u s t use pad and p e n c i l to make h i m s e l f u n d e r s t o o d - l i k e
good c a r t o o n i s t , one m i g h t add. In h e r r e v i e w
of t h i s f i l m ,
every
Colette
M a z a b r a r d w r o t e , " L ' A m e r i c a i n , c a r i c a t u r a l , r e p r e s e n t e un f a n t a s m e de
l ' A m e r i q u e on n'ose p l u s en f a i r e . T o u t c o m m e l e s l i e u x de F r a n c e s o n t
l a c a r i c a t u r e des f a n t a s m e s a m e r i c a i n s . La F r a n c e e s t r e d u i t e a P a r i s
(et P a r i s a l a S o r b o n n e , un h o t e l , une g a l e r i e d ' a r t , un b u r e a u de l a
S o r b o n n e ) , et l a N o r m a n d i e ( d e b a r q u e m e n t
oblige)" (Mazabrard
54).
R e f e r r i n g to the f i l m ' s o r i g i n a l r e l e a s e p r i n t , she a d d s , " C e t t e F r a n c e
p o u r nous d e v i e n t t e r r e e t r a n g e r e ( t o u t le f i l m e s t en a n g l a i s , s o u s t i t r e en f r a n c a i s ) " ( M a z a b r a r d 55). / Want to Go Home l e a v e s us hanging
" E n t r e deux p a y s , e g a r e , e n t r e deux e p o q u e s , a v e c s a t r i s t e f i g u r e ,
il
i n c a r n e l ' e r r a n c e du h e r o s de l a m o d e r n i t e , un peu m o r t - v i v a n t , un peu
relique...et ' s i t r i s t e , s i t r i s t e ' " ( M a z a b r a r d 5 6 ) .
F o r our p u r p o s e s , " L a m o d e r n i t e d ' e t r e v i e i l l o t " c r o s s - r e f e r e n c e s
a n u m b e r of i n t e r e s t i n g c h a r a c t e r s and m o t i f s . D i r e c t e d by an a g i n g
member
of
la
Nouvelle
Vague ( s o m e
critics
might
dispute
this
d e s i g n a t i o n , but to me i t s e e m s s o u n d ) , and s t a r r i n g one of the grand
284
o l d men of the H o l l y w o o d m u s i c a l , / Want to Go Home d e s c r i b e s a
cultural
conflict
t h a t a p p e a r s p r e p a r e d to m u t a t e
if
not,
s p e a k i n g , to die out. R e s n a i s , F e i f f e r and G r e e n , though s t i l l
strictly
creatively
p r o d u c t i v e , knew a l l too w e l l t h a t they w e r e in f a c t r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s of
a cultural
cultural
ancien
regime
t h a t w a s f a t e d to die w i t h t h e m . F o r the
c o n s u m e r s of the 2 1st C e n t u r y , the G r e a t W a r , the R o a r i n g
Twenties,
the
L i b e r a t i o n , the
Postwar Existential
B o o m , and
the
R a d i c a l S i x t i e s w i l l j u s t be p h r a s e s as i n n o c e n t of e m o t i o n a l r e s o n a n c e
as the t r e a t y of N a n t e s or the R i s e of the J a n s e n i s t s . If the o l d w a r
were
to
go on at
a l l , it
will
inevitably
be f o u g h t
with
different
w e a p o n s , and f o r d i f f e r e n t ends.
To a l a r g e d e g r e e , one a l r e a d y s e e s t h i s h a p p e n i n g in the F r e n c h
movie industry. For several years now, governmental funding agencies
have made a p o i n t of d i s t i n g u i s h i n g b e t w e e n F r e n c h p r o d u c t i o n s t h a t
are s h o t i n t h e i r n a t i v e tongue and t h o s e t h a t are s h o t i n E n g l i s h ,
r e w a r d i n g the f o r m e r e c o n o m i c a l l y , and p u n i s h i n g the l a t t e r .
m o s t G a l l i c f e a t u r e s are s t i l l s h o t in F r e n c h , the n a t i o n ' s t i n y
While
handful
of " m e g a - p r o d u c t i o n s " a r e , w i t h i n c r e a s i n g r e g u l a r i t y , w r i t t e n and
r e l e a s e d in E n g l i s h . To d a t e , Luc B e s s o n ' s The Fifth Element ( 1 9 9 7 ) , i s
the m o s t e g r e g i o u s e x a m p l e of t h i s t r e n d . The m o s t e x p e n s i v e m o v i e
e v e r to be made o u t s i d e the s t a t e - s u b s i d i z e d S o v i e t o r c o r p o r a t e l y c o n t r o l l e d A m e r i c a n s t u d i o s y s t e m s , Le Cinqieme
element
t i t l e ! ) f o l l o w s hard on the h e e l s of The Professional/Leon
bleu/The
(its
dubbed
and Le Grand
Big Blue, t w o of the d i r e c t o r ' s e a r l i e r f e a t u r e s , the f i r s t of
w h i c h w a s s h o t in New Vork w i t h m a i n l y A n g l o - A m e r i c a n a c t o r s , w h i l e
the s e c o n d w a s l e n s e d i n E n g l i s h w i t h a U.S. f e m a l e l e a d . E v e n
Femme
Nikita,
La
the one F r e n c h l a n g u a g e , F r e n c h - t h e m e d L u c B e s s o n
285
p i c t u r e of the p a s t d e c a d e — s t y l i s t i c a l l y i t o w e d m o r e to J e a n - P i e r r e
M e l v i l l e than to any H o l l y w o o d f i l m m a k e r - w a s l a t e r r e - m a d e f i r s t as
an A m e r i c a n f e a t u r e , then as an A m e r i c a n T V s e r i e s .
If B e s s o n ' s i s s t i l l a s o m e w h a t e x t r e m e c a s e , i t i s n o n e t h e l e s s
t r u e t h a t H o l l y w o o d i n c r e a s i n g l y l o o k s at the F r e n c h f i l m i n d u s t r y as a
s o u r c e of r a w c u l t u r a l DNA. Ignoring a l l but a f e w of the h u n d r e d s of
a d m i r a b l e F r e n c h d r a m a s t h a t have been made o v e r the y e a r s , the U.S.
m o t i o n p i c t u r e i n d u s t r y g e n e r a l l y p r e f e r s to z e r o in on the
French comedies, awkwardly
Things
critics
r e - d r a p i n g them in Anglo Saxon " d r a g " .
have p r o g r e s s e d so f a r
commercially-minded-some
now
actually
light-weight
down this
might
s e e m to
say
welcome
sad road that
the
more
culturally-colonized-film
this
state
of
affairs.
For
i n s t a n c e , i n a r e c e n t a r t i c l e , Studio c r i t i c A l a i n K r u g e r w a s d e l i g h t e d
by the f a c t t h a t t w o F r e n c h p r o d u c e r s w o u l d have a hand in the r e - m a k e
of the G a l l i c f a r c e , Un indien dans la ville,
enthusiastically declaring,
"11 f a u t e s p e r e r que l e s t a l e n t s et T e n e r g i e des p r o d u c t e u r s
Lhermitte
et L o u i s B e c k e r s u f f i r o n t
Thierry
a c o n v a i n c r e D i s n e y de s o r t i r
f i l m a v e c l e s v r a i s m o y e n s " ( K r u g e r 1 1). P e r h a p s the m o s t
le
frightening
e l e m e n t i n t h i s e q u a t i o n i s the i m p l i c i t b e l i e f t h a t budget i s the o n l y
thing
that
makes
commercial
movies
different,
not
national
t e m p e r a m e n t . Once upon a t i m e , s u c h an a t t i t u d e w o u l d have p r o m p t e d
d e m o n s t r a t o r s to m a r c h through the s t r e e t s .
It w o u l d be r e a s s u r i n g to t h i n k t h a t t h i s a t t i t u d e is only h e l d by
the m a s s m a r k e t F r e n c h f i l m c r i t i c s and d i r e c t o r s , but s u c h i s not the
c a s e . Even B a r b e t S c h r o e d e r , one of the unsung " s a i n t s " of i n d e p e n d e n t
French f i l m
production, is anything
but
deaf
to the s i r e n s o n g
S o u t h e r n C a l i f o r n i a . A s w e read in a 1991 e d i t i o n of Cahiers
du
of
cinema,
286
" D i r i g e a n t la son t r o i s i e m e f i l m a m e r i c a i n , Barbet Schroeder est ravi
du t r a v a i l d e s a c t e u r s a m e r i c a i n s - ' / 7 s se donnent vraiment
a
fond'-et
des l u x u e u s e s c o n d i t i o n s de p r o d u c t i o n a H o l l y w o o d , qui l u i ont p e r m i s
d ' a u d i t i o n e r 'cinquante
Posit/T-backed
acteurs pour chaque role du film.'"
(Krohn 7).
w r i t e r s and c r i t i c s a r e no m o r e i m m u n e to t h i s
t e m p t a t i o n than are t h e i r Cahiers-bQsed
a s s e s s m e n t of Atlantic
r i v a l s . C o n s i d e r the f o l l o w i n g
City. " L ' u n des m e i l l e u r s f i l m s e t r a n g e r s de l a
r e n t r e e t o u c h e de p r e s le c i n e m a f r a n c a i s , i l e s t de L o u i s M a l l e . T o u r n e
en a n g l a i s
aux U S A et a M o n t r e a l
a v e c de l ' a r g e n t
canadien
(il
r e p r e s e n t e m e m e l e Canada au F e s t i v a l de V e n i s e ) pendant l e boom d e s
t a x - s h e l t e r s , q u ' i l a su c o n t o u r n e r avec m a e s t r i a , Atlantic
City e s t en
f a i t un t h r i l l e r A m e r i c a i n digne de l a grande epoque, aux a b o r d s de W.R.
B u r n e t t et de N e l s o n A l g r e n , m a i s vu d'un o e i l u n a n i m i s t e , p a r m o m e n t
a l t m a n i e n " ("Atlantic C i t y " 69).
For late t w e n t i e t h - c e n t u r y
F r e n c h i n t e l l e c t u a l s , t h i s d i l u t i o n of
F r e n c h c i n e m a w i t h A m e r i c a n t h e m e s , m o d e l s , and p r o d u c t i o n
methods
i s p e r c e i v e d as p a r t of a l a r g e r p r o b l e m . A s w e s a w i n the Le Monde
articles
c i t e d e a r l i e r , European unity i s being urged as a p o s i t i v e
antidote
to
economic
and c u l t u r a l
submission
to U . S . / J a p a n e s e
hegemony. Even the t i t l e s of s o m e of t h e s e t h i n k p i e c e s a r e r e f l e c t i v e
of o l d G a l l i c t h i n k i n g being poured i n t o n e w u n i o n i s t m o l d s . C o n s i d e r
the
following
controlent
h e a d l i n e f o r i n s t a n c e : " L e s deux c e n t s s o c i e t e s qui
le monde" (16). C l e a r l y , in this context
societes" (multinational
" l e s deux
c o r p o r a t i o n s ) have e f f e c t i v e l y
cents
replaced " l e s
deux c e n t s f a m i l l e s " - t h e w e a l t h y a r i s t o c r a t i c and haut bourgeois c l a n s
w h o w e r e once s a i d to c o n t r o l
the
200 families
supplanted
1 9 t h c e n t u r y F r a n c e - a s e f f e c t i v e l y as
the shadowy
union
of F r e e m a s o n s ,
287
P r o t e s t a n t s , and J e w s who c o m p r i s e d the " u n h o l y " c o n t r o l l i n g
trinity
m o s t d r e a d e d by c o n s e r v a t i v e F r e n c h C a t h o l i c s f r o m the r i s e of M a r t i n
L u t h e r to the f a l l of M a r s h a l P h i l i p p e P e t a i n . F r o m the a c c o m p a n y i n g
charts
we
learn
that
62
of
these
globe-spanning
companies
c o n t r o l l e d by the J a p a n e s e and 5 5 by the A m e r i c a n s . If w e look
closely, however,
we
discover that
6 5 of
the
world's
are
more
wealthiest
c o r p o r a t i o n s are o w n e d and o p e r a t e d by EEC m e m b e r s , w h i l e
another
nine are o w n e d by n o n - a l i g n e d W e s t e r n E u r o p e a n s . In o t h e r w o r d s , a
unified
Europe w o u l d r e p r e s e n t
a more potent economic f o r c e
than
e i t h e r the U n i t e d S t a t e s or the Land of the R i s i n g Sun. If Europe i s e v e r
to r e g a i n i t s ( d o m i n a n t )
p l a c e in w o r l d a f f a i r s , the n e w
Atlanticists
b e l i e v e , i t can only be as a c o n t i n e n t , not as an a s s e m b l a g e of m i d d l e ranking powers. France, therefore,
g r e a t n e s s o n l y as an i n t e g r a l
hopes
to
play
the
most
can r e a s o n a b l y e x p e c t to
attain
p a r t of a l a r g e r c o l l e c t i v e in w h i c h
important
cultural
and the
second
i m p o r t a n t e c o n o m i c r o l e . T o w a r d s t h i s e n d , c e r t a i n s i g n s of
it
most
national
d i s t i n c t n e s s (the f r a n c ; a g r i c u l t u r a l p o l i c i e s ) m u s t be m o d i f i e d o r done
away
w i t h altogether.
French thinkers
are p a i n f u l l y
aware
of
the
damage done to European c u l t u r e as a r e s u l t of the l a c k of g o v e r n m e n t a l
protection accorded i t s constituent parts. As J e a n - P a u l Bourget w r o t e
in a s p e c i a l i s s u e of Cahiers de Cinema d e v o t e d to European c i n e m a , " A
quelques nuances pres, il
y a r a c c o r d s u r le c o n s t a t : H o l l y w o o d a
t o u j o u r s su ' c a n n a b a l i s e r ' non s e u l e m e n t l e s t a l e n t s , m a i s a u s s i l e s s
innovations
europeen"
(Bourget
81).
What
Bourget
says
A m e r i c a n s i s p r e c i s e l y w h a t the A m e r i c a n s s a y of t h e
although
the
latter
charge
is
made
with
far
less
of
the
Japanese-
justice.
Such
hardheaded t h i n k i n g w o u l d do c r e d i t to a M e t t e r n i c h or a T a l l e y r a n d .
288
A s w e have s e e n f r o m our e a r l i e r r e a d i n g s of B a u d r i l l a r d and
B u t o r , h o w e v e r , t h i s Realpolitik
French
writers,
r e s p o n s e i s a n y t h i n g but u n i v e r s a l .
intellectuals,
A m e r i c a n i z a t i o n of the w o r l d
and
filmmakers
with everything
from
approach
the
a c c e p t a n c e to
h a t r e d , f r o m e x c i t e m e n t to f e a r . Of c o u r s e , w i t h the p o s t - w a r r i s e of
A s i a n e c o n o m i c g i a n t s , i t c o u l d f a i r l y be s a i d t h a t g l o b a l i z a t i o n and
Americanization
have c e a s e d to
be r e a s o n a b l y s p e c i f i c s y n o n y m s .
J a p a n , a f t e r a l l , b o a s t s s e v e n m o r e Top 2 0 0 m u l t i n a t i o n a l s t h a n d o e s
the U n i t e d S t a t e s , c o r p o r a t i o n s t h a t are even m o r e t i g h t l y
controlled
than t h e i r A m e r i c a n c o u n t e r p a r t s , a s w e p r e v i o u s l y s a w in F r e d e r i c
C l a i r m o n t ' s Old T e s t a m e n t w a r n i n g of the g r o w i n g p o w e r of t h a t f i v e fingered corporate giant, Mitsubishi.
In l i t e r a t u r e , t h i s b l u r r i n g of n a t i o n a l d i s t i n c t i o n s can s o m e t i m e s
c r e a t e s o m e odd e f f e c t s . When r e a d i n g Le Vieil
homme et le loup, f o r
e x a m p l e , J u l i a K r i s t e v a ' s s e c o n d n o v e l , the r e a d e r i s apt to a s s u m e at
first
t h a t the
fictitious
r e p u b l i c in an a l t e r n a t e
nation
of
Santa Barbara is a Californian
u n i v e r s e w h e r e the R o m a n E m p i r e ' s p o w e r
s t r e t c h e d to the New W o r l d ; a l i t t l e l a t e r on, he o r she i s l i k e l y
to
g u e s s t h a t the a c t i o n i s s e t in s o m e i m a g i n a r y " b a n a n a r e p u b l i c " i n
C e n t r a l A m e r i c a . In f a c t , one has to plunge q u i t e d e e p l y i n t o the book
before d i s c o v e r i n g that Santa Barbara's real l i f e model is
B u l g a r i a , the p e o p l e ' s r e p u b l i c f r o m
w h i c h the a u t h o r
actually
permanently
e m i g r a t e d in the m i d - 1 9 6 0 s . A s the n a r r a t o r v e r y p r o p e r l y c o m p l a i n s ,
" S a n t a B a r b a r a ne m'a pas l i v r e s e s s e c r e t s " (Le V i e l homme et le IOUD
2 6 8 ) . A n d , even more a p t l y , " S a n t a B a r b a r a e s t p a r t o u t "
homme et l e loup 2 6 8 ) .
(Le
Vieil
289
I r o n i c a l l y , i t i s in the f i e l d of c u l t u r a l c r i t i c i s m and p h i l o s o p h y ,
one of the f e w a r e a s of modern l i f e in w h i c h the F r e n c h s t i l l h o l d the
u p p e r h a n d , t h a t the G a l l i c r e s p o n s e i s m o r e e m o t i o n a l t h a n l o g i c a l ,
more paranoid than p r a c t i c a l . For North A m e r i c a n s , these
o f t e n make f o r c o m i c a l reading. A case in point i s the
disputes
epistolary
d i s p u t e t h a t broke out b e t w e e n " D e r r i d i a n s " and " a n t i - D e r r i d i a n s "
the
p a g e s of
The
New
York Review
of
Books
several
years
in
ago.
D e c o n s t r u c t i o n i s t s defended t h e i r b e l i e f s w i t h a p r o t e c t i v e f e r v o r t h a t
s u g g e s t e d dogma r a t h e r than i d e o l o g y ; t h e i r opponents (if s u c h they can
be p r o p e r l y
called) responded w i t h a sort
Despite its
double-sided secular nature,
strongly
r e s e m b l e d an a r g u m e n t
of a m a z e d
this
bemusement.
intellectual
dispute
b e t w e e n a c o l y t e s and
freethinkers,
b e t w e e n b e l i e v e r s in the t r u t h and c o n f u s e d f o l l o w e r s
of B a a l . T h e
unintentional
c o m e d y of
the
situation
stemmed
directly
from
the
p a r t i c i p a n t s ' i n a b i l i t y to r e c o g n i z e a t e m p e s t in a t e a c u p w h i l e s a i l i n g
t h r o u g h one.
D i d i e r E r i b o n ' s d e f e n s e of M i c h e l F o u c a u l t f r o m h i s A n g l o - S a x o n
critics
w a s , if
a n y t h i n g , even more
passionate. Eribon, Foucault's
F r e n c h b i o g r a p h e r , c o m p l a i n e d e q u a l l y of the s a l a c i o u s a t t e m p t s
of
J a m e s M i l l e r , F o u c a u l t ' s A m e r i c a n b i o g r a p h e r , to drum up i n t e r e s t
in
his
book
by d r a w i n g
undue
attention
to
s e x u a l i t y , and of h i s s u b s e q u e n t f a i l u r e
his
subject's
"perverse"
to d e l i v e r on t h i s
p r o m i s e b e c a u s e not enough h a r d i n f o r m a t i o n
tawdry
w a s a v a i l a b l e . F o r the
F r e n c h s c h o l a r , h i s A m e r i c a n c o u n t e r p a r t w a s n o t h i n g but a s h a m e f u l
r e d u c t i o n i s t , a l a z y , sex-maddened puritan who, through ignorance or
n e g l e c t , f a i l e d to e x p l o r e the m o r e r e l e v a n t
s o u r c e s of
Foucault's
p h i l o s o p h i c a l i n s p i r a t i o n . To E r i b o n , M i l l e r i s a c o m r a d e - i n - a r m s
of
290
b o t h C a m i l l e P a g l i a and T o n y J u d t , the a u t h o r of the f i e r c e l y
anti-
C o m m u n i s t p o l e m i c , Past Imperfect: French Intellectuals,
1956.
He
writes:
rnouvement
"D'autres
phenomenes
de r e a c t i o n
attestent
anti-francaise.
la
1944 -
profondeur
On p o u v a i t
voir
de
dans
ce
les
l i b r a i r i e s , i l n'y a pas s i l o n g t e m p s , des p i l e s du l i v r e s de C a m i l l e
P a g l i a , qui s ' e n p r e n d a v e c une v i o l e n c e inoui'e a F o u c a u l t , D e r r i d a ,
L a c a n , e t c " ( E r i b o n 70). F o r h i m , the " a t t a c k s " a g a i n s t J a c q u e s D e r r i d a
in the pages of The New York Review
of Books are no j o k e , s i n c e t h e y
were
includes
launched
by
a cabal
which
c o n s e r v a t e u r s et de l a d r o i t e
"a
la
fois
des
neo-
r e a g a n i e n n e , m a i s a u s s i de l a g a u c h e
t r a d i t i o n e l l e " ( E r i b o n 71 - 7 2 ) . T h i s New W o r l d h o s t i l i t y , i t s e e m s , i s
not u n m i x e d w i t h c o n t e m p t : " M e m e s i e l l e n ' e s t pas t o u j o u r s
formulee
en t e r m e s a u s s i e x t r e m i s t e s que ceux de C a m i l l e P a g l i a ou de J a m e s
M i l l e r , on r e n c o n t r e f r e q u e m m e n t
l ' i d e e qu'au fond l e s F r a n c a i s s o n t
des gens un peu b i z a r r e " (Eribon 72).
To be s u r e t h e r e i s much a n t i - F r e n c h s e n t i m e n t in c o n t e m p o r a r y
A m e r i c a n l i f e , but
it
i s the l a c k of c o n t e x t
which makes Eribon's
c o m p l a i n t s sound s o m e w h a t s i l l y and even f a n t a s t i c . F r a n c e ' s s t u b b o r n
refusal
to
submit
completely
to
American tastes
in the
m a t t e r s of p o p u l a r m u s i c and m o v i e s - a b o u t a t h i r d of t h o s e
cultural
markets
are s t i l l " h o m e - g r o w n " - h a s a r o u s e d the i r e of W a s h i n g t o n , H o l l y w o o d ,
and W a l l S t r e e t ; i t r e m a i n s a p e r e n n i a l bone of c o n t e n t i o n in a l l G A T T
t a l k s . T h e r e i s a l s o , on a l e s s e l e v a t e d l e v e l , a k n o w - n o t h i n g ,
knee-jerk
r e s p o n s e a g a i n s t a n a t i o n t h a t i s s e e n as p o m p o u s , o v e r - i n t e l l e c t u a l ,
and m i l i t a r i l y
ineffective.
Queenan's The Unkindest
The " b o t t o m
line" film
Cut: How a Hatchet flan Critic
$7,000 Movie and Put it All
t e a c h e r in J o e
Made His Own
on His Credit Card i s f a i r l y t y p i c a l w h e n he
291
r e a s s u r e s a E u r o c e n t r i c s t u d e n t w i t h the w o r d s , " R i g h t n o w , e v e r y o n e
in
this
room
is
better
than
80
percent
of
f i l m m a k e r s . . . O w r c r a p i s t w e n t y t i m e s betterthtm
those
French
t h e i r c r a p " (Queenan
4 5 ) . What i s " t y p i c a l " about t h i s c h a u v i n i s t r e p l y i s i t s
assumptions:
"Of
course,
we're
better.
froggy
Who
needs
self-evident
proof?
Or
c o m p a r a t i v e d a t a ? Don't b o t h e r me w i t h the f a c t s ; my m i n d ' s made up."
It i s p r e c i s e l y t h i s s o r t of u n c r i t i c a l c o m p l a c e n c y t h a t has a l l o w e d
A m e r i c a n s o c i a l s e r v i c e s to s i n k u n i m p e d e d to the b o t t o m r u n g s of the
a d v a n c e d d e m o c r a c i e s ; the u n w i l l i n g n e s s to c o m p a r e , the c e r t a i n t y
of
p e r f e c t i o n , a c t s d e c i s i v e l y a g a i n s t the p o s s i b i l i t y of c r o s s - r e f e r e n t i a l
i m p r o v e m e n t . What E r i b o n s e e m i n g l y f a i l s to u n d e r s t a n d i s t h a t
this
a t t i t u d e e n c o m p a s s e s not j u s t F r a n c o - A m e r i c a n c u l t u r a l r e l a t i o n s , but
e v e r y a s p e c t of m a t e r i a l l i f e ; i t i s not an e x c e p t i o n or a b e r r a t i o n , but a
universal American g i v e n - l i k e gravity.
One s h o u l d a l s o b e a r in m i n d t h a t A m e r i c a n s , l i k e E n g l i s h m e n and
C a n a d i a n s , are s t i l l v a g u e l y i r k e d by the f a c t t h a t F r e n c h c i t i z e n s s e e m
to f e e l no g r a t i t u d e f o r t h e i r l i b e r a t i o n f r o m G e r m a n o c c u p a t i o n d u r i n g
the S e c o n d W o r l d War. Even a w r i t e r as E u r o p e a n i z e d as Gore V i d a l i s
c a p a b l e of w r i t i n g
in h i s m e m o i r s " w e h a d - a l l of u s - w o n the
great
i m p e r i a l w a r , and t h a n k s to u s , the w h o l e w o r l d w a s b r i e f l y A m e r i c a n "
( V i d a l 101).
H y p o c r i s y i s a v i c e o f t e n a t t r i b u t e d by A m e r i c a n s to the F r e n c h .
Their ability
to r a i l a g a i n s t the " m o t e " of A m e r i c a n r a c i s m
while
r e m a i n i n g s m u g l y b l i n d to the " b e a m " in t h e i r o w n s o c i a l a t t i t u d e s
often
is
r e m a r k e d upon by s c h o l a r s and t r a v e l l e r s : " T h e F r e n c h a r e
e n t i r e l y f r a n k in e x p r e s s i n g t h e i r r a c i s m . I w o n d e r e d w h e t h e r t h i s l a c k
of d e l i c a c y , i n d e e d s t u p i d i t y , w a s an a b s e n c e or i n h i b i t i o n o r s i m p l y
292
arrogance.
Their
public
offensiveness
ranged
from
smoking
in
r e s t a u r a n t s to t e s t i n g n u c l e a r b o m b s i n t h e P a c i f i c . P e r h a p s t h e y d i d
not k n o w t h a t the w o r l d had moved o n , o r p e r h a p s they d i d not c a r e ; o r ,
m o r e l i k e l y , they d e l i g h t e d i n being o b n o x i o u s " (Theroux 9 1 ) .
It w a s not P a u l T h e r o u x w h o w a s t h e p r i n c i p a l o b j e c t of D i d i e r
E r i b o n ' s w r a t h , h o w e v e r , but C a m i l l e P a g l i a . " F r e n c h t h e o r y " h a s been
d e s c r i b e d by t h a t w o u l d - b e i c o n o c l a s t as an " e p i d e m i c " ( P a g l i a 1 0 1 ) ,
while
J a c q u e s L a c a n h a s been w r i t t e n
off
as " b o r i n g ,
pompous,
i m p r e c i s e , and a h i s t o r i c a l " ( P a g l i a 2 3 2 ) . Of a l l p e r f i d i o u s
t h i n k e r s , t h o u g h , h e r bete noire
French
is unquestionably "Foucault, a glib
g a m e - p l a y e r w h o took v e r y l i t t l e r e s e a r c h a v e r y l o n g w a y , [and] w a s
e s p e c i a l l y a t t r a c t i v e to l i t e r a r y a c a d e m i c s in s e a r c h of a s h o r t c u t to
understanding
world
history,
anthropology
and p o l i t i c a l
economy"
( P a g l i a 9 9 ) . I n s t e a d of f o l l o w i n g t h e s e f a l s e f o r e i g n s a g e s , " O u r g u i d e
s h o u l d be n o t t h e f r i g i d ,
head-tripping
n e r d M i c h e l F o u c a u l t , but
p r o p h e t i c A l l e n G i n s b e r g , w h o f u s e d H i n d u i s m w i t h W a l t W h i t m a n to
give
us a r a d i c a l
vision
of
energy,
passion
and s e n s u a l i t y - o f
h o m o s e x u a l i t y grounded i n the a m o r a l r h y t h m s of n a t u r e " ( P a g l i a 1 0 5 ) .
In A m e r i c a n t e r m s , t h e r e f o r e , C a m i l l e P a g l i a c a n be s e e n as
s o m e o n e w h o w a n t s to r e t u r n to the f o r e s t , s o m e o n e w h o w a n t s to
e s c a p e f r o m the ( e x c e s s i v e l y E u r o p e a n i z e d ) p r o b l e m s of the c i t y . She i s
a n a t i v i s t i n e a r l y 1 9 t h c e n t u r y t e r m s , not a c u l t u r a l
of t h e J a c k V a l e n t i v a r i e t y . S h e , t o o , i s a f f l i c t e d
imperialist
with
perceptual
p r o b l e m s of s c a l e , f a i l i n g to s e e h o w l i t t l e i m p a c t the F r e n c h a c o l y t e s
she d e t e s t s have had on any p a r t of h e r c o u n t r y outside
This
difficulty
h a s been e x a c e r b a t e d both
the academy.
by t h e g e n e r a l
l a c k of
s u c c e s s and r e c o g n i t i o n w h i c h the a u t h o r has been a c c o r d e d w i t h i n t h e
293
c o n f i n e s of the u n i v e r s i t y , and by the o p e n - a r m e d e m b r a c e she has
r e c e i v e d f r o m the m a s s m e d i a w h i c h , f o r a t i m e , c o u l d not get enough
of h e r b y t e - s i z e d p r o n o u n c e m e n t s
i m p o t e n c e of the i n t e l l e c t u a l
on the f r i v o l i t y , m e n d a c i t y ,
and
world.
A l t h o u g h i t l a c k e d the e r u d i t i o n of E r i b o n ' s j e r e m i a d , the open
l e t t e r s e n t by the d e s c e n d a n t s of V i c t o r Hugo to the P a r i s i a n d a i l y
Liberation
d e a l t w i t h a f a r m o r e s e r i o u s c u l t u r a l p r o b l e m . W r i t t e n in
r e s p o n s e to The Hunchback
of Notre Dame, the a n i m a t e d t r a v e s t y
of
t h e i r a n c e s t o r ' s novel w h i c h D i s n e y S t u d i o s had c u l l e d f r o m Notre Dame
de Paris,
t h e s e l a t t e r day Hugos p r o t e s t e d a g a i n s t the e x p r o p r i a t i o n of
a r t by m a s s m e d i a and a d v e r t i s i n g , m a k i n g a c a s e f o r R a v e l ' s Bolero and
V e r m e e r ' s La Laitiere
as w e l l as the Saga of Q u a s i m o d o , C l a u d e F r o l l o ,
P i e r r e G r i n g o i r e , and E s m e r a l d a . R h e t o r i c a l l y they a s k e d , " L e s a u t o r i t e s
culturelles
de n o t r e p a y s ne d e v r a i e n t - e l l e s
pas r e a g i r
devant
p i l l a g e c o m m e r c i a l de p a t r i m o i n e et r a p p e l e r que l ' u n i v e r s a l i t e
ce
d'une
g e n i e e s t d'une a u t r e n a t u r e que c e t t e ' m o n d i a l i s a t i o n ' v u l g a i r e
des
m a r c h a n d s s a n s s c r u p l e s ? " ( " H a l t du p i l l a g e D i s n e y " 8).
The f a c t
that
the
preceding
editorial's
headline
included
an
a n g l i c i s m ( " H a l t " ) adds to the poignancy of the s i t u a t i o n . A s w e have
a l r e a d y s e e n , H o l l y w o o d has s t r i p m i n e d F r e n c h c i n e m a in s e a r c h of ( r e m a k e ) i n s p i r a t i o n , e v e n as i t
systematically
shut
out
the
original
p r o d u c t f r o m i t s home s h o r e s . T h e H u g o s ' " u n i v e r s a l i s m " i s f a r l e s s
c h a u v i n i s t i c a l l y F r e n c h than i s A l a i n F i n k i e l k r a u t ' s
appropriation
of the t e r m . It i s a ch
1789-dependent
de coeur w h i c h
enjoys
equal
r e s o n a n c e in a l l but a f e w c u l t u r a l l y p r i v i l e g e d e n c l a v e s in A s i a ( C h i n a ;
I n d i a ; Hong Kong) w h e r e the m a s s m e d i a has not y e t
infected
by A m e r i c a n c u l t u r a l
b i a s e s nor d o m i n a t e d
been
by
fatally
American
294
e c o n o m i c i n t e r e s t s . If not f o r the a s - y e t u n d e t e r m i n e d f i n a l i m p a c t of
Japan's massive contribution
word
to the p r o c e s s , the n e o - l i b e r a l
" g l o b a l i z a t i o n " w o u l d be a v i r t u a l
catch-
s y n o n y m f o r the f a r
more
ominous " A m e r i c a n i z a t i o n " .
I t a l y , n e e d l e s s to s a y , i s not among the happy g l o b a l e x c e p t i o n s to
cultural
domination
c i t e d a b o v e . A s w e s a w in C h a p t e r T h r e e ,
the
n a t i o n ' s unique c o n t r i b u t i o n s to the h i s t o r y of a r t - n o o t h e r c o u n t r y has
contributed
so m u c h f o r
so l o n g i n so many
different
p a r a d o x i c a l l y not r e s u l t e d in a s e l f - s u f f i c i e n t
ways-have
popular c u l t u r e . The
i n h e r i t o r s of Rome and the R e n a i s s a n c e c o n t i n u e to be net i m p o r t e r s of
Top 4 0 m u s i c , m u r d e r m y s t e r i e s , T V s e r i a l s , and m o t i o n p i c t u r e s . Even
the " d a m a g e c o n t r o l " t h a t r e h a b i l i t a t e d the c o m m e r c i a l f i l m
i n the
industry
1 9 5 0 s , ' 6 0 s , and e a r l y ' 7 0 s has been l a r g e l y undone by m a r k e t
and o t h e r f o r c e s . C u l t u r a l l y s p e a k i n g , I t a l y h a s , i n many w a y s , r e v e r t e d
to the ground z e r o w a s t e l a n d of w h i c h G r a m s c i so b i t t e r l y c o m p l a i n e d .
Once a g a i n , I t a l i a n c o h e s i o n has s e e m i n g l y been r e d u c e d to the unique
n a t u r e of i t s i n s o l u b l e p r o b l e m s .
S t i l l , d e s p i t e t h i s r e t u r n to w h a t w o u l d s e e m to be a p a r t i c u l a r l y
d e p r e s s i n g f o r m of " n o r m a l i t y " ,
Italian attitudes
t o w a r d s the U n i t e d
S t a t e s have not r e g a i n e d t h e i r f a s c i s t - e r a r o s y g l o w . W h i l e one
still
does not e n c o u n t e r the u n i f i e d , w e l l - r e a s o n e d r e s e n t m e n t of the F r e n c h
i n t e l l i g e n t s i a , c r i t i c i s m s of the U n i t e d S t a t e s are f r e q u e n t , e v e n i f
they l a c k i d e o l o g i c a l f e r v o r .
E v e r s i n c e M i c h e l a n g e l o s e t the tone 2 7 years ago w i t h
Point,
I t a l i a n movies made i n the
Zabriskie
United S t a t e s are anything
but
a d m i r i n g portraits of (Henry) F o r d i a n Utopias. F o r one t h i n g , most of
them deal w i t h c r i m e - n o t a l l of i t of the I t a l o - A m e r i c a n variety (a
295
c r i t i c i s m o f t e n l e v e l l e d a g a i n s t Once Upon a Time in America,
L e o n e ' s e p i c s t u d y of Jewish
m o b s t e r s d u r i n g the P r o h i b i t i o n e r a ) . In
a d d i t i o n to F r a n c e s c o R o s i ' s A proposito
Palermo
w a s shot from
Lucky Luciano
and To
Forget
an E n g l i s h l a n g u a g e s c r i p t
by G o r e
V i d a l ) , t h i s u n f l a t t e r i n g l i s t i n c l u d e s M a r c o F e r r e r i ' s Tales of
Ordinary
Madness
(which
Sergio
and Ciao
Monkey,
as w e l l
as G i u l i a n o M o n t a l d o ' s Sacco
e
Vanzetti.
The s o c i a l c r i t i c i s m i m p l i c i t in P a o l o and V i t t o r i o T a v i a n i ' s Good
Morning,
follows
Babylonia
i s more s u b t l e than most. T h i s
the a d v e n t u r e s of t w o
Southern California from
their
1987 mock epic
stonemason brothers
native
who t r a v e l
to
I t a l y i n s e a r c h of f a m e
and
f o r t u n e i m m e d i a t e l y b e f o r e the outbreak of W o r l d W a r One. S c i o n s of
a very t r a d i t i o n a l
family-their
a n c e s t o r s e a r n e d t h e i r d a i l y b r e a d by
b u i l d i n g and r e s t o r i n g c h u r c h e s f o r as long as anyone c o u l d r e r n e m b e r t h e s e Old W o r l d i m m i g r a n t s
find t h e i r new " m a e s t r o " - t h e i r
former
m a s t e r h a v i n g been an e x c e p t i o n a l l y d o m i n e e r i n g f a t h e r - i n the f o r m of
D.W. G r i f f i t h ,
the
singlehandedly
commercial
immensely
invented
motion
or
talented
revised
American
most
of
the
p i c t u r e . A t the t i m e , G r i f f i t h
h i m s e l f by m a k i n g Intolerance
filmmaker
"laws"
was
who
of
the
bankrupting
( 1 9 1 6 ) , h i s m o s t g r a n d i o s e p r o j e c t , and
h i s n e w I t a l i a n c o l l a b o r a t o r s are c o n s e q u e n t l y a s k e d to c o n t r i b u t e
t h i s a r t i s t i c e x c e s s / e c o n o m i c f o l l y by s c u l p t i n g a b r a c e of
to
dancing
e l e p h a n t s w h i c h w i l l be used to d e c o r a t e B e l s h a z a a r ' s p a l a c e d u r i n g the
film's
ruinously
exact
Fall
of
Babylon sequence. Eventually,
they
s u c c e e d , i n the p r o c e s s a d d i n g to the g r a n d e u r not o n l y of the d o o m e d
B a b y l o n i a n e m p e r o r , but to h i s e q u a l l y v u l n e r a b l e r e - a n i m a t o r as w e l l .
296
E a r l y on i n t h e f i l m , w e c a t c h G r i f f i t h s c o p i n g e x c e r p t s f r o m t h e
e a r l y I t a l i a n e p i c s Quo Vadis and Cabiria,
d e r i v i n g i n s p i r a t i o n f r o m the
w o r l d ' s f i r s t f e a t u r e f i l m s . His d i s c o v e r y , i n o t h e r w o r d s , i s r e a l l y an
Italian
d i s c o v e r y , j u s t as the h u s h e d , s h a r e d s e n s e of a w e p r o d u c e d by
the m o t i o n - p i c t u r e v i e w i n g e x p e r i e n c e i s a d i r e c t echo of s i l e n t p r a y e r
in v a s t c o n t i n e n t a l
c a t h e d r a l s . When s p e a k i n g to t h e I t a l i a n
boys'
s u s p i c i o u s p a t r i a r c h , G r i f f i t h c o m e s p e r i l o u s l y c l o s e to s a y i n g so i n a s
many w o r d s . Movies are a m u t a t i o n
of R o m a n C a t h o l i c i s m , j u s t a s
A m e r i c a n popular culture i s built w i t h E u r o p e a n - o r perhaps we should
say
Italian-bricks.
F e d e r i c o F e l l i n i a t t e m p t e d an even m o r e o b l i q u e c r i t i q u e of t h e
U.S. i n Intervista
(1989).
favourite
filmmaker,
foreign
In h i s p e n u l t i m a t e
feature,
the European d i r e c t o r
Hollywood's
who won more
O s c a r s than any o t h e r , r e s o r t e d to a t r i c k he f i r s t t r i e d in 8 / / 2 ( 1 9 6 3 ) .
In t h i s , h i s s e c o n d a t t e m p t at m a k i n g a f e a t u r e on t h e s u b j e c t of h i s
c h r o n i c i n a b i l i t y to b r i n g s u c h a p r o j e c t to c o m p l e t i o n , t h e a m b i e n c e of
the n e v e r to be s t a r t e d f i l m - w i t h - a - f i l m
i s not s c i e n c e f i c t i o n a l but
K a f k a e s q u e . A s F r a n k B u r k e put i t
i n Fellini's
I ntervi
the
sta's
citation
of Amerika,
Films,
"Through
postmodern/postcolonial
p e r m u t a t i o n s b e c o m e e l a b o r a t e and q u i t e c o m i c a l : a C z e c h J e w w r i t e s
about A m e r i c a i n G e r m a n and has h i s w o r k a d a p t e d by an I t a l i a n w h o
s t a g e s i t as p a r t of an i n t e r v i e w f o r the J a p a n e s e " (Burke 2 8 1 ) .
P e r h a p s b e c a u s e he w a s t r e a t e d so w e l l i n A m e r i c a - h i s
films
s o m e t i m e s a c c o m p l i s h e d t h e r a r e m i r a c l e of m a k i n g money i n t h e N e w
W o r l d , even a s they g a r n e r e d the u s u a l c r i t i c a l h o n o u r s - F e l l i n i ' s s a t i r e
w a s m o r e t h a n a l i t t l e s h o r t on f e r o c i t y . M a r c o F e r r e r i , a f i r s t
rate
I t a l i a n f i l m m a k e r w h o w a s not so f e t e d , d i d not s u f f e r f r o m t h e s a m e
297
r e s t r a i n t s . W h i l e h i s m o v i e s tend not to deal w i t h A m e r i c a
they
are ever w a t c h f u l
of the a l l - b u t - i n v i s i b l e
social
directly,
subversions
u s h e r e d in by the ongoing p r o c e s s of g l o b a l i z a t i o n . In i n t e r v i e w s , he i s
f a r m o r e e x p l i c i t than he i s o n s c r e e n , c o m p l a i n i n g t h a t " E n I t a l i e , l e s
intellectuels
l'Amerique"
sont
presque
("Entretien
intellectuels
tous
lies
a une
avec Marco F e r r e r i "
europeens
n'aiment
pas
le
vision
fascinee
de
3 5 ) . Even w o r s e , " L e s
cinema
europeen,
il
ne
c o n s i d e r a i t pas l e u r c i n e m a . Ils s o n t v o i r l e s f i l m s a m e r i c a i n s p a r c e
que
c'est
l'Amerique,
l'idee
du v o y a g e . . . . " ( " E n t r e t i e n
avec
Marco
F e r r e r i " 3 5 ) . H o l l y w o o d ' s " n o - b r a i n e r " p o l i c i e s have r e s u l t e d i n f i s c a l
s u c c e s s a l l o v e r the globe: " A p a r t le c i n e m a a m e r i c a i n , t o u s l e s a u t r e s
c i n e m a s sont e l i t a i r e s , comme l ' e t a i t le t h e a t r e "
("Entretien
avec
M a r c o F e r r e r i " 3 5 ) . The tone of c i n e m a t i c d e b a t e , he c o n t i n u e s , has
been r e l e n t l e s s l y debased by m a n a g e r i a l p r e s s u r e : " C ' e s t ce que j e d i s a
c e r t a i n s c r i t i q u e s i t a l i e n s : vous p a r l e z de nos f i l m s , m a i s v o s p a t r o n s ,
l e s d i r e c t e u r s des j o u r n a u x , vous i m p o s e n t d ' e c r i r e s u r S h a r o n S t o n e "
("Entretien
a v e c M a r c o F e r r e r i " 3 6 ) . S a d d e s t of a l l , "11 f a u t d i r e a u s s i
que l e p u b l i c
qui va v o i r l e s f i l m s
americains deteste
le
cinema"
( " E n t r e t i e n avec Marco F e r r e r i " 3 6 ) .
F r o m the l a t e 1 9 7 0 s o n w a r d s , the I t a l i a n f i l m i n d u s t r y has c o m e
to o c c u p y an i n c r e a s i n g l y m a r g i n a l i z e d p o s i t i o n i n the c i n e m a t i c
food
c h a i n . The d e a t h of a g e n e r a t i o n of g e n i u s ( R o b e r t o R o s s e l l i n i ; L u c h i n o
V i s c o n t i ; P i e r P a o l o P a s o l i n i ; V i t t o r i o de S i c a ; F e d e r i c o F e l l i n i ) has not
been e a s i l y r e p l a c e d , d e s p i t e the b e s t e f f o r t s of Nanni M o r e t t i
and
Gianni
the
Amelio.
Similarly,
international popularity
the
only
recent
actor
to
rival
of S o p h i a L o r e n , M a r c e l l o M a s t r o i a n n i , G i n a
L o l l o b r i g i d a , and A n n a Magnani i s the m a d c a p c o m i c R o b e r t o B e n i g n i .
298
W h a t ' s m o r e , the c o l o n i z a t i o n of I t a l y by c a b l e T V had a d e l e t e r i o u s
e f f e c t on the q u a l i t y of the n a t i o n a l f i l m i n d u s t r y . Even m o r e t h a n i n
m o s t p a r t s of the w o r l d , i t tended to dumb t h i n g s d o w n .
Even s o , i n c r e a s i n g l y t h e r e are s i g n s t h a t I t a l i a n s w i l l no l o n g e r
s u f f e r t h e s e i n d i g n i t i e s in s i l e n c e . A r e c e n t a r t i c l e i n Corriere
della
Sera, f o r e x a m p l e , f u l m i n a t e d a g a i n s t A m e r i c a n c r i t i c R i c h a r d C o r l i s s ' s
c o n c l u s i o n t h a t a m e a n i n g f u l I t a l i a n c i n e m a no l o n g e r e x i s t e d : "11 f a t t o
e che da un po' di t e m p o c i r c o l a a l i v e l l o i n t e r n a z i o n a l e , s o s t e n u t a da
una q u i n t a c o l o n n a di a u t o l e s i o n i s t i n o s t r a m i , un i n s i s t e n t e c a m p a g n a
denigratoria
contro
il
cinema italiano, accusato d'esser caduto
grande a l t e z z e a grado z e r o . T a l e v a l u t a z i o n e non ha f o n d a m e n t o
r e a l i t a . S a p p i a m o bene che in t u t t i i c a m p i d e l l a c r e a t i v i t a
da
nella
(cinema,
l e t t e r a t u r a , p i t t u r a e m u s i c a ) non s t i a m o v i v e n d o un m o m e n t o m a g i c o
c o m e i l v e n t e n n i o s e g u i t o a l i a f i n e d e l l a g u e r r a , ma c o s e buone ed
o t t i m e c o n t i n u a n o ad e s s e r c i ed anche a r t i s t i
veteran! o giovani
di
t u t t o r i s p e t t o . Chi a f f e r m a i l c o n t r a r i o e s c i o c c a m e n t e p r e v e n u t o , o
c o m e i l c r i t i c o di Time, poco i n f o r m a t o " ( K e z i c h 2 0 ) . One f i n d s s i m i l a r
disenchantment
p u b l i s h e d in
in
a February
La Repubblica.
12,
1997
article
which
was
first
In t h i s c a s e , the v i l l a i n of the p i e c e i s not
k n o w - n o t h i n g A m e r i c a n c r i t i c s at C a n n e s , but k n o w - n o t h i n g
American
v o t e r s c h a r g e d w i t h the r e s p o n s i b i l i t y of c h o o s i n g 1 9 9 7 ' s A c a d e m y
A w a r d s . S i l v i a B i z i o s e e m s to t a k e
it
as a p e r s o n a l
M a d o n n a , of s e l f - c o n s c i o u s l y I t a l o - A m e r i c a n
affront
that
d e s c e n t , w a s not
even
n o m i n a t e d i n the B e s t A c t r e s s c a t e g o r y . In s i m i l a r v e i n , she
attributes
M i n a S o r v i n o ' s n o m i n a t i o n as B e s t S u p p o r t i n g A c t r e s s to the f a c t t h a t
the p e r f o r m e r w a s then engaged to A c a d e m y p r e s i d e n t , A r t h u r
Most
galling
of
a l l , " I n f i n e , una s o l a p r e s e n z a i t a l i a n a , i l
Hiller.
corto
299
m e t r a g g i o Senza Parole
di A n t o n e l l a de L e o , p r o d o t t o d e l l a F i l m T r u s t
I t a l i a e g i a u s c i t o s u g l i s c h e r m i i t a l i a n i ; del r e s t o , e r a p a r s o c h i a r o a
t u t t i che l a s c e l t a i t a l i a n a d e l l a Mia
Generazione
come m i g l i o r
film
s t r a n i e r o e r a f a l 1 i t a in p a r t e n z a " ( " L ' O s c a r v e r s o L o n d r a " 3 9 ) .
R e m a r k a b l y , d e s p i t e i t s s e e m i n g l y e n d l e s s s e r i e s of s e t b a c k s , no
major
I t a l i a n d i r e c t o r has y e t s e t up p e r m a n e n t shop i n t h e
United
S t a t e s of A m e r i c a . To be s u r e , B e r n a r d o B e r t o l u c c i w o r k e d
almost
e x c l u s i v e l y f o r New W o r l d c o m p a n i e s b e t w e e n 1981 and 1 9 9 5 , but even
he has m o v e d back to I t a l y . W h a t ' s m o r e , the m o v i e s t h a t he d i d m a k e i n
E n g l i s h f o r A n g l o - A m e r i c a n s t u d i o s (The Last Emperor, The
Sky; Little
Sheltering
Buddha) w e r e r e s p e c t i v e l y s e t in C h i n a , N o r t h A f r i c a , and
( a n c i e n t and m o d e r n ) India. T h e one A m e r i c a n p r o j e c t he had r e a l l y s e t
h i s h e a r t on (a s c r e e n v e r s i o n of Red Harvest, the m o s t e x p l i c i t l y
capitalist
of
Dashiell
Hammett's
hardboiled
novels)
was
g r e e n l i g h t e d by any H o l l y w o o d s t u d i o . B e r t o l u c c i m i g h t have
antinever
"flirted"
w i t h A m e r i c a , but a r t i s t i c n u p t i a l s w e r e n e v e r f i n a l i z e d .
I n t e r e s t i n g l y e n o u g h , the H o l l y w o o d
incursion which
Italians
s e e m to r e s e n t the least i s the m a d e - i n - U S A M a f i a m o v i e . A s w e r e a d
i n The
Godfather
Legacy,
the o f f i c i a l
production
diary
which
was
p u b l i s h e d to c e l e b r a t e the 2 5 t h a n n i v e r s a r y of the r e l e a s e of the f i r s t
part
of
F r a n c i s Ford Coppola's Cosa Nostra t r i l o g y , " W h i l e
Americans
Godfather,
recipient
of
I t a l i a n d e s c e n t may
have h e l d g r u d g e s
some
against
The
I t a l i a n s in I t a l y did not. In J u l y 1 9 7 3 , A l Ruddy w a s n a m e d
of
the
1973 David Donatello
award
as the
best
foreign
p r o d u c e r of the year... P a c i n o a l s o w o n the D o n a t e l l o a w a r d f o r
p e r f o r m a n c e " (Lebo 29).
his
300
In I t a l i a n n e w s p a p e r s , much of the c o m m e n t a r y on the d o i n g s of
A m e r i c a n s - m o r e s p e c i f i c a l l y , on the doings of A m e r i c a n
n e i t h e r s y c o p h a n t i c nor m a l i c i o u s , but p l a y f u l l y
celebrities-is
lubricious.
Corriere
della Sera w a s c h e e r f u l l y c h a r t i n g the c o u r s e of Mia F a r r o w ' s a l l e g e d
a f f a i r w i t h V a c l a v Havel at a t i m e w h e n m o s t A m e r i c a n g o s s i p s h e e t s
w e r e u n a w a r e t h a t the a c t r e s s had g o t t e n i n v o l v e d w i t h , n e v e r
separated
from,
journalistically
Philip
Roth. P e r c e i v e d
American
mind
puritanism
is
pursued w i t h s p e c i a l enthusiasm. Thus, A l e s s a n d r a
Farkas solemnly
informs
h e r r e a d e r s t h a t U.S. porno
u s e r s on
the
I n t e r n e t m i g h t soon be in f o r a rude c o m e - u p p a n c e : " C o n l a nuova l e g g e ,
i n v e c e , chiunque t r a f f i c h i v i a I n t e r n e t con i m m a g i n i o p a r o l e ' i n d e c e n t i '
r i s c h i a 2 anni di p r i g i o n e e 2 5 0 m i l a d o l l a r i
I n t e r n e t , U s a in g u e r r a "
identical
tone
of
problems
of the l a t e s t
di m u l t a " ( " C e n s u r a su
10). S c a r c e l y a m o n t h e a r l i e r , in an a l m o s t
v o i c e , S i l v i a B i z i o had e x p l a i n e d
s c r e e n v e r s i o n of Lolita,
the
censorship
pointing
out
that
" M o l t o probabilmente saranno gli europei, e forse proprio gli i t a l i a n i , i
p r i m i a v e d e r e i l c o n t r o v e r s o quanto a t t e s o f i l m di A d r i a n L y n e ,
(Bizio
39).
department,
book/film
Not
to
be
outdone
in
the
Lolita"
America-the-straitlaced
Ennio C a r e t t e , i n h i s c o v e r a g e of R o b e r t H u g h e s ' s
s e r i e s on the
evolution
of
American
art,
new
p l a y e d up
its
" b l u e n o s e d " a s p e c t s to the h i l t : " L a t e s i e p r o v o c a n t e : p e r c o l p a d e l l e
sue p r o f o n d e r a d i c i p u r i t a n e , l ' A m e r i c a non ha m a i e s p r e s s o un grande
p i t t o r e del n u d o " ( C a r e t t e 20). T h i s i s b e c a u s e s e x u a l r e p r e s s i o n i s at
the h e a r t
of A m e r i c a n e v i l : " Q u e s t a s a r e b b e anche l a m a t r i c e
della
v i o l e n z a nel 1 a s o c i e t a U S A " ( C a r e t e 20).
More r a r e l y , I t a l i a n j o u r n a l i s t s poke fun at A m e r i c a n p o l i t i c s and
p o l i t i c i a n s . T h i s tendency i s p a r t i c u l a r l y pronounced in a r t i c l e s s u c h as
301
' " V o g l i a m o J o h n Wayne p r e s i d e n t e ' " , a Corriere
think-pieces
that
first
a p p e a r e d on A u g u s t
della
21,
Sera s u i t e
of
1996. A l e s s a n d r a
F a r k a s ' s a p p r o a c h w a s the m o s t t o n g u e - i n - c h e e k , d e s c r i b i n g the " D u k e "
as the " m u s a di R i c h a r d N i x o n , eroe di R o n a l d Reagan e i n s p i r a t o r e
di
N e w t G i n g r i c h e Bob D o l e " ( " ' V o g l i a m o J o h n Wayne p r e s i d e n t e ' " 9). F o r
M a r c e l l o V e n e z i a n o , on the o t h e r hand, the r u g g e d - l o o k i n g c o w b o y a c t o r
is a more
almost
s e r i o u s phenomenon, radiating
strength
and r e a c t i o n
in
e q u a l m e a s u r e : "'11 m i t o di J o h n W a y n e ? ' L a d e s t r a U s a lo
alimenta
perche
e il
coagulo
di
tutte
le
culture
conservatrici
a m e r i c a n e . S i c o n t r a p p o n e al m i t o p r o g r e s s i s t a d e l l ' e m a n c i p a z i o n e
rappresentato
da
Martin
Luther
King'"
("Intervista
a
Marcello
V e n e z i a n i " 9). On the o t h e r hand, r e a c t i o n a r y though i t i s , t h i s
right-
w i n g m y t h m i g h t a c t u a l l y be of s o m e use to I t a l y : ' " N o n a b b i a m o n u l l a
del
genere. La morte
della patria, prima
di
diventare
materia
di
d i b a t t i t o c u l t u r a l e e p o l i t i c o , era g i a n e l l ' i m m a g i n a r i o c o l l e t i v o . Non a
c a s o i l n o s t r o c i n e m a non ha p r o d o t t o
grandi eroi p o s i t i v i
alia John
W a y n e ' " ( " I n t e r v i s t a a M a r c e l l o V e n e z i a n i " 9). In p l a c e of the
multi-
f a c e t e d A m e r i c a n m y t h of the opening of the f r o n t i e r , of the t a m i n g of
the W e s t , I t a l i a n r e a d e r s and v i e w e r s m u s t c o n t e n t t h e m s e l v e s w i t h
the l e s s c o n c l u s i v e , more d i v i s i v e m y t h
of the R i s o r g i m e n t o : ' " L a
n o s t r a f o n d a z i o n e ha a v u t o una s o l a grande r a p p r e n t a z i o n e l e t t e r a r i a e
cinematografica,
// Gattopardo,
che pero e l ' e s a t t o
contrario
e p i c a , p e r c h e e l ' e s a l t a z i o n e del d i s i n c a n t o nei c o n f r o n t i
di u n '
del n e o n a t o
s t a t o u n i t a r i o ' " ( " I n t e r v i s t a a M a r c e l l o V e n e z i a n i " 9).
W h a t the p r e v i o u s q u o t a t i o n s s u g g e s t i s a v e r y s l i g h t s h i f t
in
e m p h a s i s . W h i l e I t a l y s t i l l f e e l s in s o m e w a y s i n f e r i o r to the U n i t e d
S t a t e s in i t s c a p a c i t y as an i n t e g r a l n a t i o n - s t a t e , i t s s o c i o l o g y in s o m e
302
w a y s n o w a p p e a r s s u p e r i o r . To t a k e j u s t one e x a m p l e , r e s p e c t
culture
i s c l e a r l y g r e a t e r in M i l a n t h a n i t
i s i n C h i c a g o . In
for
racial
m a t t e r s , I t a l i a n s l i k e w i s e s e e t h e m s e l v e s as m o r e t o l e r a n t t h a n t h e i r
U.S. c o u n t e r p a r t s .
W h i l e the p r e v i o u s s t a t e m e n t i s only p a r t i a l l y t r u e , i t i s , in any
event, far
cultural
truer
t h a n the
nearly
identical
c l a i m s m a d e by F r e n c h
c o m m e n t a t o r s . D e s p i t e the a r t i s t i c a l l y
negritude,
liberating spirit
of
and d e s p i t e the p r o m i n e n t p o s i t i o n s of p o w e r a t t a i n e d by a
t i n y h a n d f u l of n o n - w h i t e f r a n c o p h o n e c o l o n i a l s , the s i t u a t i o n of the
a v e r a g e d a r k - s k i n n e d F r e n c h c i t i z e n i s now p r o b a b l y w o r s e than t h a t of
the a v e r a g e A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n . A s w e s a w in C h a p t e r T h r e e , even m o s t
fascist
I t a l i a n s d i d e v e r y t h i n g i n t h e i r p o w e r to s a v e t h e i r J e w i s h
f e l l o w c i t i z e n s f r o m the d e a t h - c a m p s of the N a z i s ; w e a l s o s a w how
the p e o p l e v o t e d e n t h u s i a s t i c a l l y f o r " M i s s N e r a , " the D o m i n i c a n - b o r n
M i s s I t a l y , even i f a n u m b e r of p r o m i n e n t j o u r n a l i s t s w e r e d i s p l e a s e d
by
the
fact
that
a non-Tuscan, non-Sicilian, was
symbolically
r e p r e s e n t i n g the c o u n t r y in i n t e r n a t i o n a l beauty p a g e a n t s . J o u r n a l i s t i c
a m e n d s , h a p p i l y , w e r e s o o n made: "11 c o n c e t t o che i c i t t a d i n i
di uno
s t a t o debbano e s s e r e n e c e s s a r i a m e n t e m e m b r i di uno s t a t o s t i r p e , di un
e t n i a , non e
a p p l i c a b i l e ad uno s t a t o m o d e r n o . " ( " L a m i s s di c o l o r e "
12).
N e v e r t h e l e s s , d e s p i t e the " h a p p y e n d i n g " to the Denny M e n d e z
s t o r y , o f f i c i a l I t a l y ' s i n i t i a l r e a c t i o n to her beauty queen c l e a r l y l e f t a
s c a r i n the n a t i o n a l c o n s c i o u s n e s s . It i s a v i r t u a l
a r t i c l e of f a i t h i n
I t a l y t h a t i n d i g e n o u s h a t r e d s are r e g i o n a l , not i n t e r n a t i o n a l (hence the
d e s i r e of La Lega del Nord to r e p l a c e T u s c a n I t a l i a n w i t h a b e w i l d e r i n g
v a r i e t y of l o c a l d i a l e c t s - i n c l u d i n g b r e s c i a n o , u d i n e s e , e t c . - e m p l o y i n g
303
f o r e i g n t o n g u e s s u c h as E n g l i s h f o r i n t e r n a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n s
between
p r o v i n c e s and c i t i e s ) . A t t e m p t s to s a l v e the p o p u l a r c o n s c i e n c e have
c o m e in a n u m b e r of w a y s , m o s t c o m m o n l y in the p h r a s i n g of
interview
q u e s t i o n s . If not f o r the " M i s s N e r a " i n c i d e n t , f o r e x a m p l e , i t s e e m s
m o s t u n l i k e l y t h a t the A f r i c a n s u p e r m o d e l Iman w o u l d have been c o a x e d
to p r o v i d e the f o l l o w i n g a n s w e r s . When A l e s s a n d r a F a r k a s a s k e d the
world-famous
mannequin
S t a t e s , she p r o m p t l y
if
she e x p e r i e n c e d r a c i s m
in the
United
r e p l i e d " Q u o t i d i a n a m e n t e , " p r i o r to p r o v i d i n g a
l o n g l i s t of e v e r y d a y e x a m p l e s ( " I m a n : 'Io e B o w i e p r o n t i a c a m b i a r e
v i t a p e r un f i g l i o ' " 2 2 ) . When, h o w e v e r , she w a s a s k e d about m o d e l l i n g
o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r n o n - w h i t e s in I t a l y , Iman e n t h u s e d : ' " G l i i t a l i a n i sono
s e m p r e s t a t i a l l ' a v a n g u a r d i a n e l l ' a p p r e z z a r e le donne n e r e . In n e s s u n
a l t r o P a e s e o c c i d e n t a l e c o s i t a n t e m o d e l l e di c o l o r e f i n i s c o n o s u l l a
c o p e r t i n a del 1 e r i v i s t e . P e r i v o s t r i u o m i n i l a b e l l e z z a non ha c o l o r e ' "
( " I m a n : 'Io e B o w i e p r o n t i a c a m b i a r e v i t a p e r un f i g l i o ' " 2 2 ) .
A l l t h i s s h o u l d not, of c o u r s e , delude the r e a d e r i n t o t h i n k i n g t h a t
I t a l y i s an e n t i r e l y
classless, colour-blind
society. As we saw
in
C h a p t e r T h r e e , the s o c i a l s t r i c t u r e s k e e p i n g p e o p l e i n t h e i r p l a c e are
firmly
f i x e d , even if
the
same s t r i c t u r e s
are r a r e l y
imposed
on
f o r e i g n e r s . T h e i r f r e e d o m f r o m the p r e s s u r e to c o n f o r m , h o w e v e r , i s
a c c o m p a n i e d by an u n a v o i d a b l e s o c i a l p r i c e t a g . P a u l T h e r o u x made t h i s
d i s c o v e r y i n I t a l y , h i s f a v o u r i t e c o u n t r y in E u r o p e , a f t e r v i s i t i n g
the
v i l l a g e w h e r e C a r l o L e v i had been i m p r i s o n e d under M u s s o l i n i . T h e r o u x
w a s s h o c k e d to d i s c o v e r t h a t many v i l l a g e r s did not c o n s i d e r the a u t h o r
of Cristo
si e fermato
a Eboli to be I t a l i a n : " T h e man who had s u f f e r e d
e x i l e and made A l i a n o f a m o u s in t h i s w o n d e r f u l book w a s not an I t a l i a n ,
a f t e r a l l , but j u s t a J e w . . . T h e s e t w o men w e r e not a n t i - s e m i t e s . T h e y
304
w e r e v i l l a g e r s . E v e r y o n e who v i s i t e d w a s m e a s u r e d by the s t a n d a r d s of
the v i l l a g e , and w h e n i t c a m e to n a t i o n a l i t y the s t a n d a r d s had s t r i c t
l i m i t s " ( T h e r o u x 199). M i s s N e r a m i g h t be M i s s I t a l y , i n o t h e r w o r d s ,
but at s o m e l e v e l she i s s t i l l M i s s Nera.
In f i l m and j o u r n a l i s m , t h e r e f o r e , w e can c l e a r l y s e e n e w
Italian
t r e n d s d e v e l o p i n g in r e g a r d to A m e r i c a , t r e n d s t h a t are much c l o s e r to
contemporary
French parabolas
than
were
their
p r e d e c e s s o r s . In
l i t e r a t u r e , h o w e v e r , the p e r s p e c t i v e i s q u i t e d i f f e r e n t . In the books and
e s s a y s of U m b e r t o Eco and I t a l o C a l v i n o one no l o n g e r e n c o u n t e r s , i n
s y m b o l i c f o r m , r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s of a c h a o t i c y o u n g e r r e p u b l i c p a y i n g
tribute
to
a larger, more
s u c c e s s f u l d e m o c r a c y , in the
hopes
of
d i s c o v e r i n g s o m e t h i n g l o c a l l y u s e f u l , but, r a t h e r , a s c h o o l of w i s e and
w o r l d l y " G r e e k s " a t t e m p t i n g to e x p l a i n the w o r l d to a r i s i n g r a c e of
young " R o m a n s " w h o s e s u r f e i t of b r a w n i s m a t c h e d o n l y by t h e i r l a c k
of
tact
and
sophistication.
If
this
description
sounds
a
tad
c o n d e s c e n d i n g , the r e a d e r s h o u l d b e a r in m i n d t h a t , 2 , 0 0 0 y e a r s a g o ,
I t a l y w a s i t s e l f the rude s u p e r p o w e r i n need of i n s t r u c t i o n f r o m a m o r e
cultivated
but l e s s p o t e n t
civilization. Thus, contemporary
i n t e l l e c t u a l s are p a r t i c u l a r l y s e n s i t i v e to the n u a n c e s of p o w e r ,
w a y s in w h i c h a c o u n t r y can s h i f t f r o m one r o l e to
these
latterday
inevitably
"Greeks"
are w r i t i n g
at
the
end of
Italian
to the
the o t h e r . T h a t
a
millennium
adds e x t r a f u e l to t h e i r p r o g n o s t i c a t i o n s . T h e c o u r s e of
W e s t e r n h i s t o r y (the r i s e and f a l l of G r e e c e and R o m e ; the a s c e n s i o n of
C h r i s t i a n i t y ) endows their texts w i t h a certain authority
t h a t i s as
m u c h c i r c u m s t a n t i a l as i t i s d i e g e t i c .
U m b e r t o E c o ' s Dalla perifera
delllmpero
these rather mournful, w o r l d - w e a r y
w a s one of the f i r s t of
m e d i t a t i o n s . T h i s mock Roman
305
" h i s t o r y " i n c l u d e s the L a t i n d e d i c a t i o n , " A d G e r a l d u m F o r d u m B a l b u l u m
F o e d e r a t e r u m I n d i a g r u m ad O c c a s u m V e r g e n t i u m C i v i t a t e m P r i n c i p e m "
( D a l l a o e r i f e r a d e l l ' I m o e r o 107).
T h e e m p i r e the a u t h o r s u r v e y s i s
a l r e a d y i n a s e v e r e s t a t e of d e c l i n e , s l i d i n g f r o m i m p e r i a l g r a n d e u r to
m e d i e v a l decay: " D ' a l t r a p a r t e l a grande c i t t a , che oggi non e i n v a s a da
b a r b a r i b e l l i g e r a n t i e d e v a s t a t a da i n c e n d i , s o f f r e di s c a r s i t a di a c q u a ,
c r i s i d e l T e n e r g i a e l e t t r i c a d i s p o n i b i l e , p a r a l i s i del t r a f f i c o "
(Dalla
o e r i f e r a d e l l ' Imoero 199). F o r E c o , A m e r i c a i s no l o n g e r the n u t s and
b o l t s , n o - n o n s e n s e l a n d of Henry F o r d , but a r a t h e r e f f e t e r e f u g e
langorous fantasy: " G l i europei
colti
e gli
americani
p e n s a n o a g l i S t a t i U n i t i c o m e a l i a p a t r i a dei g r a t t a c i e l i
of
europeizzati
di v e s t r i e
a c c l a i o , e d e l l ' e s p r e s s i o n i s m o a s t r a t t o . Ma g l i S t a t i U n i t i sono anche l a
p a t r i a di S u p e r m a n . . . . " ( D a l l a o e r i f e r a d e l l ' l m p e r o
America
primarily
as a land
of
m u s e u m s , of
14). Eco t h i n k s
which
of
Superman's
i m a g i n a r y F o r t r e s s of S o l i t u d e - w h i c h i n c l u d e s , a m o n g o t h e r
things,
r e l i c s and m o d e l s of h i s l o s t home w o r l d , K r y p t o n - a s the m o s t
perfect
e x a m p l e of t h i s phenomenon. E c o ' s tone i s l i g h t , f u n n y , t h o u g h t f u l , and
d e t a c h e d t h r o u g h o u t . He i s a c o m p l e t e s t r a n g e r to the s e l f - c o n s c i o u s
b r i l l i a n c e and c o m p l a c e n t d e s p a i r of, s a y , J e a n B a u d r i l l a r d . He s p e a k s
w i t h the v o i c e of a p e o p l e t h a t l o s t c o n t r o l of the r u d d e r of the
so l o n g a g o , i t
now e x i s t s s o l e l y as a v a g u e , v e s t i g i a l
world
m e m o r y . He
t h i n k s l i k e a T h i r d - C e n t u r y A t h e n i a n in the Rome of C o n s t a n t i n e .
When w r i t i n g about A m e r i c a , E c o , good p o s t m o d e r n i s t t h a t he i s ,
m a k e s a p o i n t of t r e a t i n g e v e r y t h i n g w i t h the s a m e d e g r e e of m i r t h and
s e r i o u s n e s s . T h u s , the e m o t i o n a l
Peanuts
interdynamics
of the c o m i c
a r e t r e a t e d w i t h the s a m e c l e a r - e y e d s o b r i e t y w i t h
international
strip
which
p o l i t i c s are d i s s e c t e d : " L a t r a g e d i a e che C h a r l i e B r o w n
306
non e i n f e r i o r e .
Peggio: e assolutamente
normale.
E come
tutti"
( A p o c a l i t t i c i e integrati 269).
L i k e E c o , h i s n e a r - c o n t e m p o r a r y , I t a l o C a l v i n o t e n d e d to l o o k at
the U n i t e d S t a t e s not so m u c h as a n e w , but as a p r e m a t u r e l y
aged,
w o r l d . In the p u b l i s h e d t e x t of the s i x N o r t o n l e c t u r e s he d e l i v e r e d i n
t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s , one f i n d s p r e c i o u s f e w
writers
and l i t e r a t u r e .
Although
r e f e r e n c e s to
he w a s t e c h n i c a l l y
American
born i n
Cuba,
C a l v i n o ' s e d u c a t i o n and thought p r o c e s s e s w e r e i n t e n s e l y E u r o c e n t r i c .
W h a t he l i k e s m o s t
thoroughgoing
in A n g l o - S a x o n w r i t i n g i s w h a t r e m i n d s
avant-guardist
that
he i s - m o s t
of
his
him-
continent's
c l a s s i c a l p a s t : " C o m ' e p r o v a t o p r o p r i o dai due g r a n d i a u t o r i del n o s t r o
s e c o l o che p i u s i r i c h i a m a n o al M e d i o e v o , T . S . E l i o t e J a m e s J o y c e ,
e n t r a m b i con una f o r t e c o n s a p e v o l e z z a t e o l o g i c a ( s i a pur con d i v e r s e
i n t e n z i o n i ) " ( L e z i o n e A m e r i c a n e 1 13).
Unlike
Cesare
Pavese
and A n t o n i o
Gramsci,
Eco and
Calvino
a c t u a l l y got to v i s i t the U n i t e d S t a t e s . T h e i r d e s i r e and need to do s o ,
h o w e v e r , w e r e n o w h e r e n e a r as g r e a t . T h e i r a t t i t u d e s t o w a r d s the New
W o r l d w e r e i n s p i r e d not by hopes and d r e a m s , but by d i r e c t o b s e r v a t i o n .
Even s o , the v a n i s h e d A m e r i c a of P a v e s e , C e c c h i , and V i t t o r i n i i s
s t i l l s o m e t i m e s invoked for ironic effect. For example, this
c h e e k n o s t a l g i a i s the n a r r a t i v e
engine p r o p e l l i n g
tongue-in-
"Henry Ford," a
f i c t i t i o u s i n t e r v i e w w i t h the g r e a t A m e r i c a n a u t o m o b i l e
manufacturer,
w h i c h a p p e a r e d in a p o s t h u m o u s l y - p u b l i s h e d c o l l e c t i o n of C a l v i n o ' s
short
s t o r i e s and n o v e l l a s . When the Y a n k e e p r a g m a t i s t ' s
unnamed
i n t e r l o c u t o r a s k s , " C h i piu di Henry F o r d ha dato f o r m a al n o s t r o modo
di v i v e r e ? " ( R o m a n z i e r a c c o n t i
1 9 8 ) , F o r d r u d e l y a n n o u n c e s t h a t he
w o u l d p r e f e r to speak about n o t h i n g but b i r d s . Even a f t e r the
inventor
307
f i n a l l y g e t s the b e t t e r of h i s o w n p e r v e r s i t y , he c o n t i n u e s to s p e a k to
h i s I t a l i a n v i s i t o r as i f the g u l f b e t w e e n Old W o r l d and New w e r e of
inter-planetary
d i m e n s i o n s - w h i c h , i n a s e n s e , t h e y a r e . One c o u l d
h a r d l y i m a g i n e an I t a l i a n f r a m i n g the f o l l o w i n g s e n t e n c e : " L a m o d a e
una del 1 e f o r m e di s p r e c o che io d e t e s t o " ( R o m a n z i e r a c c o n t i
E l s e w h e r e , Ford trumpets
the
dated
cliches which
201).
once s t r u c k
a
r e s p o n s i v e c o r d in T u s c a n s and S i c i l i a n s of a l l p o l i t i c a l p e r s u a s i o n s :
" L a gente che f a c e v a l a coda al n o s t r o u f f i c i o d e l l e a s s u n z i o n i e r a una
f o l i a di i t a l i a n i , di g r e c i , di p o l a c c h i , di u c r a i n i , e m i g r a n t i da t u t t e l e
province
dell'
impero
russo
e dell'
impero
austro-ungarico,
che
parlavano lingue e d i a l e t t i i n c o m p r e n s i b i l i " (Romanzi e racconti 203).
T o each of t h e s e w r e t c h e d and h o m e l e s s w a n d e r e r s , a s l i c e of " A m e r i c a
p i e " w a s served: "Ho f a t t o i m p a r a r e loro l ' i n g l e s e e i v a l o r i
nostra
morale...
f amiglie...."
Sono d i v e n t a t i
(Romanzi e racconti
cittadini
americani,
2 0 3 ) . S o m e of the
loro
della
e
loro
"crackerbarrel
p h i l o s o p h e r ' s " h o m e s p u n h o m i l i e s are t r a n s l a t e d l i t e r a l l y
for
comic
e f f e c t : "11 t e m p o e d e n a r o " ( R o m a n z i e r a c c o n t i 2 0 7 ) . Indeed,
m a k e s t h i s s a t i r i c a l p i e c e so w i c k e d l y funny i s i t s b r i l l i a n t
what
conflation
of F o r d ' s s e l f - e v a l u a t i o n w i t h the e n v i o u s I t a l i a n a p p r a i s a l s of
the
1930s. Calvino's imaginary
six
transcript
wittily
s p a n s at
least
d e c a d e s of m u t a t i n g i d e a s .
Younger I t a l i a n w r i t e r s , c o n v e r s e l y , tend to t r e a t A m e r i c a m o r e
m a t t e r - o f - f a c t l y . The n a r r a t o r of Treno di panna, f o r i n s t a n c e ,
does not f l y to A m e r i c a to pay homage at the g r a v e s i d e s of E d g a r A l l a n
P o e , H e r m a n M e l v i l l e , and W i l l i a m F a u l k n e r . L i k e young p e o p l e on b o t h
s i d e s of the A t l a n t i c n o w a d a y s , he i s s o m e w h a t d e r a c i n a t e d , a b i t of a
d r i f t e r . He o b s e r v e s the q u o t i d i a n m i n u t i a e of C a l i f o r n i a n l i f e w i t h the
308
a f f e c t l e s s c a l m of a s u r v e i l l a n c e c a m e r a : Guardavo T r a c y n e l l a l u c e di
neon: l a s u a f a c c i a m a r c a t a
di r a g a z z a c a l i f o r n i a n a ,
i tratti
cosi
e s p l i c i t i del 1 e s o p r a c c i g l i a e del n a s o ; g l i o c c h i r a p i d i " (De C a r l o 5).
Initially, his friends
are m a i n l y
Italian,
and t h e n t h e y a r e not. T h e
n a r r a t o r s e e m i n g l y has v e r y l i t t l e t o l e r a n c e f o r e m i g r e E u r o p e a n s w h o
fail
to a d a p t to c h a n g e d s u r r o u n d i n g s : " P a r l a v a i n g l e s e m o l t o
s e n z a r i u s c i r e ad a r t i c o l a r e i s u o n i g i u s t i "
male,
(De C a r l o 4 7 ) . So f a r as
c u l t u r e i s c o n c e r n e d , he i s as blank as the m o s t b l i s s e d - o u t s u r f e r boy:
" U n m i n u t o dopo m i ha c h i e s t o ' C o m e m a i s e i venuto a L o s A n g e l e s ? '
Non s a p e v o c o s a r i s p o n d e r e ; ero i m b a r r a z a t o e s t a n c e Ho d e t t o ' P e r i l
s u c c e s s o ' . L e i mi guardava di l a t a , con a r i a p e r p l e s s a . Mi ha c h i e s t o " M a
s u c c e s s o in c o s a ? ' S e m b r a v o in q u a l c h e modo a n s i o s a . Ho d e t t o 'Non lo
s o ' " (De C a r l o 7 2 ) .
Up u n t i l n o w , w e have m a i n l y c o n s i d e r e d the c r i t i c a l r e a c t i o n s of
F r e n c h and I t a l i a n i n t e l l e c t u a l s to le defi americain.
A s the r e a d e r has
been f o r e w a r n e d s e v e r a l t i m e s a l r e a d y t h r o u g h o u t the c o u r s e of
this
d e b a t e , w e have r e a c h e d the p o i n t i n o u r d i s c o u r s e w h e n a f o u r t h
c u l t u r a l a c t o r m u s t be p e r m i t t e d to a s c e n d the t h e o r e t i c a l
stage. For
r e a s o n s of b a l a n c e and p e r s p e c t i v e , we m u s t now s h i f t our a t t e n t i o n to
a g e o g r a p h i c a l " b r i d g e " w h i c h w a s once p a r t of the F r e n c h E m p i r e and
which
is
currently
one
of
"Uncle
Sam's"
closest
geographical
n e i g h b o u r s . I am r e f e r r i n g , of c o u r s e , to the p r o v i n c e of Q u e b e c , the
f o r m e r F r e n c h c o l o n y w h i c h w a s a n n e x e d by the B r i t i s h i n
t e r m s of l a t e t w e n t i e t h - c e n t u r y
region tends
common
to
to r e f l e c t
the
struggle
most
for
1 7 6 1 . In
globalization, Canada's most
of the
s t r e s s e s and s t r a i n s
cultural
identity
at
the
distinct
that
end
of
are
the
m i l l e n n i u m . W h i l e , as w e have s e e n , a n a t i o n s u c h as I t a l y m i g h t no
309
l o n g e r be a g l o b a l p l a y e r w h e n i t c o m e s to s h a p i n g u n i v e r s a l
attitudes
and t h o u g h t s , in many w a y s i t r e m a i n s s t r o n g enough to p r o t e c t i t s o w n
i n t e g r a l b o r d e r s . So much cannot be s a i d f o r m o s t s m a l l e r n a t i o n s and
e t h n i c e n c l a v e s . A l l too o f t e n , they f i n d t h e m s e l v e s b l o w n to and f r o by
cultural
winds
over which
they
exercise little
c o n t r o l . Even
more
g a l l i n g to t h o s e i n v o l v e d , they are f r e q u e n t l y not even n o t i c e d by the
larger
political
entities
which
see l i t t l e
besides their
principal
o p p o n e n t s i n the s t r u g g l e f o r g l o b a l p o w e r . To c a l c u l a t e the m o r e
ranging i m p l i c a t i o n s
intellectuals
for
of the l o n g - t e r m
cultural
struggle
h e g e m o n y , the
far-
of F r a n c o - A m e r i c a n
history
of
the
Quebecois
p r o v i d e s an a l m o s t p e r f e c t p a r a d i g m . ( W h a t ' s m o r e , s i n c e Q u e b e c o i s
c o m m e n t a t o r s on F r a n c o - A m e r i c a n r e l a t i o n s have been m a k i n g c a m e o
a p p e a r a n c e s s i n c e the
Barbarians,"
this
early
shift
p a g e s of
in
" A m o n g the
emphasis
should
not
(More
Avanced)
prove
unduly
disorienting).
A s w e s a w i n C h a p t e r One, the B o u r b o n m o n a r c h y a c c e p t e d the
l o s s of m o s t of New F r a n c e as a m i n o r s e t b a c k o c c u r r i n g w i t h i n the
g l o b a l c o n t e x t of the Seven Y e a r s ' War. P e r h a p s i n f l u e n c e d by V o l t a i r e ' s
f a m o u s d i s m i s s a l of h i s n a t i o n ' s n o r t h e r n m o s t
d i d v e r y l i t t l e to p r o t e c t
i t s arpents
possession, Versailles
de neiges.
W h i l e Quebec w a s
m i l i t a r i l y c o n q u e r e d by the a r m i e s of the B r i t i s h E m p i r e , y e a r s of
F r e n c h n e g l e c t w e r e p r i m a r i l y r e s p o n s i b l e f o r the c o l o n y ' s d e f e a t . New
F r a n c e had e f f e c t i v e l y been abandoned by one European s u p e r - p o w e r a
c e n t u r y b e f o r e i t w a s a b s o r b e d by another.
F o r our p u r p o s e s , t h i s has r e s u l t e d in a v e r y i n t e r e s t i n g
As
we
saw
experienced
earlier,
strong
French
pangs
of
readers
of
nostalgia
the
when
early
situation.
19th
reading
century
about
the
310
territories
they
had so r e c e n t l y
Chateaubriand's popularity
lost.
It
w a s no c o i n c i d e n c e
that
p e a k e d a r o u n d the t i m e of the L o u i s i a n a
P u r c h a s e , the r e a l e s t a t e deal t h a t p e r m a n e n t l y cut the u m b i l i c a l c o r d
b e t w e e n F r a n c e and the New W o r l d . W i t h the r i s e of the U n i t e d S t a t e s
as
a major
e c o n o m i c p l a y e r and p o t e n t i a l
military
giant,
Gallic
a t t i t u d e s changed once a g a i n . By r e v o l t i n g a g a i n s t the B r i t i s h C r o w n ,
the n e w n a t i o n of A m e r i c a had b e c o m e s o m e t h i n g n e w and u n s e t t l i n g ,
an e n t i t y made up e q u a l l y of hope f o r the f u t u r e and i m p l i c i t t h r e a t to
E u r o p e a n h e g e m o n y ; at one and the s a m e t i m e , i t
was a welcoming
enemy and a d i s q u i e t i n g f r i e n d .
B e c a u s e the v e r y e x i s t e n c e of the young r e p u b l i c t h r e a t e n e d
u n d e r m i n e the f o u n d a t i o n s of F r e n c h amour propre,
it
to
understandably
d r e w the l i o n ' s s h a r e of c r i t i c a l a t t e n t i o n . F r o m A l e x i s de T o c q u e v i l l e
to S i m o n e de B e a u v o i r , the p r o v i n c e of Quebec f i g u r e d m a i n l y as a s a d
footnote
to
the
g r a n d e u r of
France's imperial
p a s t , as a d o o m e d
a n o m a l y w i t h i n the anglophone v a s t n e s s of the U.S. I m p e r i u m .
In many c a s e s , i t f u n c t i o n e d p r i m a r i l y as a g i a n t B e r l i t z s c h o o l , a
p l a c e f o r f r a n c o p h o n e w r i t e r s to p e r f e c t t h e i r E n g l i s h w h i l e c o n t i n u i n g
to o r d e r t a x i r i d e s and d i n n e r s en francais.
G e o r g e s S i m e n o n began h i s
t e n - y e a r s o j o u r n in N o r t h A m e r i c a in p r e c i s e l y t h i s f a s h i o n , p r e p a r i n g
f o r h i s j o u r n e y s o u t h i n f r a n c o p h o n e M o n t r e a l . O r i g i n a l l y , he had m e r e l y
been a s k e d to e s t a b l i s h c o n t a c t s w i t h Q u e b e c o i s p u b l i s h e r s : " ' Q u e
diriez-vous
d'une
mission
aupres
des
editeurs
anglo-saxons
et
c a n a d i e n s ? . . . L e s C a n a d i e n s s o n t i m p o r t a n t s , c a r on p a r l e f r a n g a i s au
Quebec'"
(Memoires
intimes
125). A f t e r a f e w m o n t h s i n la
belle
province,
the B e l g i a n c r i m e n o v e l i s t s e t up s t a k e s i n t h e A m e r i c a n
h e a r t l a n d f o r a s o l i d d e c a d e . D e s p i t e the e a s e of c o m m u n i c a t i o n ,
it
31 1
w o u l d s e e m t h a t Quebec did not r e a l l y speak to the w e l l s p r i n g s of h i s
creative imagination.
• n e r e a s o n f o r t h i s w a s , p e r h a p s , h i s i n a b i l i t y to s e e beyond the
d i s t o r t i n g m i r r o r of Maria Chapdelaine.
by
French
globe-trotter
Louis
That early 20th century novel,
Hemon,
had
created
Quebecois
s t e r e o t y p e s as c l o y i n g l y i n d e l i b l e as H a r r i e t B e e c h e r S t o w e ' s A f r i c a n A m e r i c a n s l a v e s . W h i l e to s o m e e x t e n t H e m o n ' s n a r r a t i v e
p e r i o d f a c t - s o , f o r t h a t m a t t e r , d i d Uncle
unfortunate
effect
of t u r n i n g
shifting
Tom's
reflected
Cabin\-it
social mores into
had the
permanent
a r c h e t y p e s . In H e m o n ' s u n i v e r s e , F r e n c h C a n a d i a n s w e r e s o n s of the s o i l
the w a y t h a t r o b i n s w e r e b i r d s of the t r e e s ; they
w e r e r u r a l p a t r i a r c h s who took o r d e r s f r o m t h e i r w i v e s in p r i v a t e , and
l i v e d in t e r r o r of the p a r i s h p r i e s t . A b o v e a l l , they w e r e k e e p e r s of the
flame, traditional
p e o p l e w h o w o u l d i g n o r e the
English-dominated
c i t i e s and p r o t e c t t h e i r f a r m s .
A t one p o i n t in Maria
Chapdelaine,
the e p o n y m o u s h e r o i n e
is
t e m p t e d to move s o u t h . W h i l e l i s t e n i n g to a s w e e t - t a l k i n g U . S . - b a s e d
suitor,
Maria's
mind
wanders,
"en
songeant
aux
grandes
cites
a m e r i c a i n e s " (Hemon 191). T h e n she h e a r s a n o t h e r i n n e r v o i c e " [ q u i ]
s ' e l e v a c o m m e un r e p o n s e . L a - b a s s ' e t a i t
autre
race parlant
d'autre
T e t r a n g e r : des gens d'une
c h o s e dans une a u t r e
langue,
chantant
d ' a u t r e s c h a n s o n s . . . . " (Hemon 191). T h i s s i r e n song c a r r i e s g r e a t w e i g h t
w i t h M a r i a C h a p d e l a i n e : " [ e l l e ] s o r t i t de son r e v e et s o n g e a : ' A l o r s j e
v a i s r e s t e r i c i ...de m e m e " (Hemon 195). F o r a l l t h e i r r u s t i c
charm,
H e m o n ' s paisans are t h o r o u g h - g o i n g xenophobes: " L o r s q u e l e s C a n a d i e n s
f r a n c a i s parlent d'eux-memes, i l s disent toujours Canadien, sans plus;
et a t o u t e s l e s a u t r e s r a c e s qui ont d e r r i e r e eux peuple l e p a y s j u s q u ' a u
312
P a c i f i q u e , i l s ont garde pour p a r l e r d ' e l l e s l e u r s a p p e l l a t i o n s d ' o r i g i n e :
A n g l a i s , I r l a n d a i s , P o l o n a i s , ou R u s s e , s a n s a d m e t t r e un s e u l
instant
que l e u r s f i l s , m e m e nes dans l e p a y s , p u i s s e n t p r e t e n d r e a u s s i au nom
de C a n a d i e n s " (Hemon 71 - 7 2 ) .
S t i l l , even i f L o u i s H e m o n ' s o u t s i d e o b s e r v a t i o n s did e v e n t u a l l y
o s s i f y i n t o a c o l l e c t i o n of c l i c h e s , at l e a s t he t o o k t h e t r o u b l e
to
i n t e r e s t h i m s e l f in the l i v e s of the Q u e b e c o i s . T h i s i s s o m e t h i n g t h a t
F r e n c h i n t e l l e c t u a l s have t r a d i t i o n a l l y f a i l e d to do. On the o t h e r h a n d ,
the m y t h of M a r i a C h a p d e l a i n e u n q u e s t i o n a b l y had a p a r a l y z i n g e f f e c t
on Q u e b e c o i s c u l t u r e u n t i l w e l l i n t o the 1 9 5 0 s . T h e r u r a l v a l u e s of the
nineteenth-century
c o n t i n u e d to be p i o u s l y p r e a c h e d l o n g a f t e r
the
m a j o r i t y of F r e n c h C a n a d i a n s had b e c o m e urban d w e l l e r s . T h i s f o r m u l a
a l l o w e d f o r l i t t l e beyond h e r o i c b a t t l e s b e t w e e n the e a r l y s e t t l e r s and
les affreux
sauvages
and s t o i c t a l e s of s i m p l e f a r m e r s who r e m a i n e d
r o o t e d to the s o i l and t h e i r old w a y s no m a t t e r w h a t . M o s t of the e a r l y
Quebecois motion
p i c t u r e s - t h a n k s to o b d u r a t e o p p o s i t i o n f r o m
Roman C a t h o l i c C h u r c h , Quebec's f i r s t true f i c t i o n
released until
feature was
the
not
1 9 4 3 - a n d r a d i o r o m a n s w e r e f i r m l y r o o t e d in t h i s e t h o s .
W h i l e a n u m b e r of p o e t s , s u c h as the h a l f - I r i s h
E m i l e N e l l i g a n , did
manage to e s c a p e f r o m t h i s s t u l t i f y i n g r e l i g i o - c u l t u r a l e m b r a c e , m o s t
narrative
fiction
was inertly
i m m u r e d i n i t . Up u n t i l
1960,
c h a n g e d m o r e s l o w l y i n Quebec t h a n t h e y d i d i n t h e r e s t of
things
North
A m e r i c a . A f t e r t h a t d a t e , they changed w i t h s u c h b l i n d i n g s p e e d t h a t
i n t e r e s t e d p a r t i e s are s t i l l s t r u g g l i n g to c a t c h up. The Q u i e t and t h e n
the Not So Q u i e t R e v o l u t i o n s e a r n e d b i g d i v i d e n d s i n t e r m s of n o v e l s ,
m o v i e s , and p l a y s t h a t l o o k e d at l o c a l l i f e i n n e w and
ways.
U n s u r p r i s i n g l y , many
of
these
works
were
invigorating
concerned
with
313
s i t u a t i n g t h e Q u e b e c o i s i n a l a r g e r w o r l d w h e r e they d i d n o t , a s a r u l e ,
f e e l at home.
T h e f i r s t and m o s t b a s i c c u l t u r a l change c a m e w i t h t h e d e c i s i o n
to w o r k i n joual. B e g i n n i n g w i t h M i c h e l T r e m b l a y ' s e a r l y p l a y s , s u c h a s
Les Belles
soeurs,
and t h e u n s c r i p t e d NFB F r e n c h u n i t d o c u m e n t a r i e s
s h o t i n the e a r l y ' 6 0 s s t y l e k n o w n a s cinema direct,
t h e language of t h e
p e o p l e began to r e p l a c e f o r m a l P a r i s i a n F r e n c h i n a r t i s t i c d i s c o u r s e . Un
joualanais,
sa joualanie,
an e a r l y M a r i e - C l a i r e B l a i s n o v e l , d e a l t w i t h
t w i n s o l i t u d e s o t h e r than t h e i n f a m o u s ones b e t w e e n E n g l i s h - and
F r e n c h - s p e a k i n g Q u e b e c e r s . I n s t e a d , s h e c h o s e to f o c u s on t h e r i f t
b e t w e e n s p e a k e r s of " e d u c a t e d " and " u n e d u c a t e d " F r e n c h .
A s w e s a w in C h a p t e r One, t h i s c o n f l i c t i s m o r e c o m p l i c a t e d than
at f i r s t i t m i g h t a p p e a r . Q u e b e c e r s v i s i b l y p r e e n w h e n e v e r P a r i s i a n s
c o m p l i m e n t t h e m on t h e i r s p o k e n F r e n c h , nodding t h e i r heads e a g e r l y
w h e n t h e i r d i s t a n t European r e l a t i o n s n o s t a l g i c a l l y s i g h t h a t here at
l e a s t , a p u r e , p r e - R e v o l u t i o n a r y F r e n c h c o n t i n u e s to be e m p l o y e d l o n g
a f t e r i t h a s d i e d out on t h e m a i n l a n d . On t h e o t h e r h a n d , i t i s by no
means c e r t a i n that the d i a l e c t spoken i n , s a y , a G i l l e s C a r l e or Andre
F o r c i e r m o v i e i s i d e n t i c a l to t h e F r e n c h t h a t w a s s p o k e n on t h e P l a i n s
of A b r a h a m i n 1 7 5 9 ; n e i t h e r i s i t c e r t a i n t h a t i t i s t h e s a m e t o n g u e
t h a t m o v e d A l e x i s de T o c q u e v i l l e to e p i s t o l a r y a d m i r a t i o n 7 0 y e a r s
l a t e r . Indeed, i t w o u l d p r o b a b l y be f a i r to s a y t h a t the o r d i n a r y F r a n c o Quebecois l i n g u i s t i c
admiration
society
e x c h a n g e i s t h e e x a c t o p p o s i t e of t h e m u t u a l
which
the printed
record s u g g e s t s . A s Edmond
W i l s o n put i t , " T h e French Canadians...have s o m e t h i n g
against
F r a n c e ; a n d , on t h e i r
snobbish in matters
s i d e , the French are
of l a n g u a g e
of a g r u d g e
imperturbably
and s p e e c h . E v e n t h e s c r i p t s
of
314
Canadian documentary
films
have s o m e t i m e s been put i n t o P a r i s i a n
F r e n c h b e f o r e they c a n be s h o w n i n F r a n c e , and a young C a n a d i a n t o l d
me t h a t on one o c c a s i o n - t h o u g h he w a s w o r k i n g on t h e E n c y c l o p e d i e
L a r o u s s e - a F r e n c h m a n he had m e t i n P a r i s s u g g e s t e d t h a t t h e y
might
b e t t e r speak i n E n g l i s h , s i n c e the P a r i s i a n w o u l d no doubt not be able to
u n d e r s t a n d t h e C a n a d i a n ' s F r e n c h " ( W i l s o n 172 - 1 7 3 ) . C o m p l a i n t s of
t h i s v a r i e t y are v e r y c o m m o n . Due to i t s c l o s e p r o x i m i t y to both E n g l i s h
Canada and t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s , joual i n e v i t a b l y i n c l u d e s a l a r g e r n u m b e r
of a n g l i c i s m s than does francais
in v i r t u a l
isolation from
actuel. W h a t ' s m o r e , joual
developed
mainland French f o r several c e n t u r i e s , a
c i r c u m s t a n c e r e s u l t i n g i n a l a r g e n u m b e r of l o c a l " p e c u l i a r i t i e s " . T o
complicate
things
still
f u r t h e r , joual
itself
i s not a homogeneous
tongue. W h i l e s o m e f o r m s of u n d e r - p r i v i l e g e d w o r k i n g - c l a s s s p e e c h c a n
b e s t be d e s c r i b e d a s patois,
in la Gaspesie
many p e o p l e s t i l l s p e a k a
F r e n c h pure and a n t i q u e enough to a w e even the m o s t d e m a n d i n g G a l l i c
intellectual.
Politically,
scarcely
relations
less contentious
between
these l i n g u i s t i c
than are t h e i r
linguistic
r e l a t i v e s are
differences.
If
m o d e r n - d a y s e p a r a t i s t s , p o s t - C h a r l e s de G a u l l e , r e l y on t h e F r e n c h
nation
to supply
the putative
nation
of Quebec w i t h
international
l e g i t i m a c y , t h e i r p a r e n t s w e r e e d u c a t e d by t e a c h e r s w h o s a w P a r i s a s
B a b y l o n and F r a n c e a s t h e f o n t of a l l e v i l . U n t o u c h e d by t h e s o c i a l
l i b e r a l i z a t i o n and i n t e r n a t i o n a l i s m of t h e F r e n c h R e v o l u t i o n , i n w a r d l o o k i n g Quebec m a i n t a i n e d the p i o u s t r a d i t i o n s of s e v e n t e e n t h
p e a s a n t s . N e w F r a n c e ' s r u l i n g c l a s s had t r a d i t i o n a l l y
mainland,
returning
home
after
their
tour
century
come f r o m the
was through-a
major
d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n i t and the T h i r t e e n C o l o n i e s w h i c h w o u l d l a t e r f o r m
315
the U n i t e d S t a t e s - s o Quebec w a s l e f t v i r t u a l l y
leaderless
following
t h e i r p e r m a n e n t d e p a r t u r e i n the 1 7 6 0 s . Indigenous p o l i t i c a l
such
as it
was, resided primarily
in the p r i e s t h o o d ,
power,
in the f e w
s u r v i v i n g s e i g n e u r i a l f a m i l i e s , and in the s m a l l urban c l a s s of c o l l e g e educated p r o f e s s i o n a l s . Economic l i f e w a s l e f t almost e x c l u s i v e l y in
a n g l o p h o n e hands. I n e v i t a b l y ,
affairs
the c u l t u r e e n s u i n g f r o m t h i s s t a t e of
w a s r e v a n c h i s t , b a c k w a r d - l o o k i n g , p r i e s t - r i d d e n , and a n t i -
m o d e r n i n tone and i n t e n t . If, on the p l u s s i d e , t h e s e a t t i t u d e s
French culture
guaranteed
allowed
to s u r v i v e i n N o r t h A m e r i c a , on t h e d o w n s i d e , t h e y
the i m p o v e r i s h m e n t
and p o w e r l e s s n e s s of m o s t
of
its
m e m b e r s . D e s p i t e t h e r a d i c a l c h a n g e s w h i c h have o v e r t a k e n Quebec
d u r i n g t h e p a s t t h i r t y - f i v e y e a r s , t h e s e p r o b l e m s a r e by no m e a n s
resolved.
One of t h e f i r s t t h i n g s t h a t s t r i k e s o u t s i d e r e a d e r s of Q u e b e c o i s
f i c t i o n and v i e w e r s of Q u e b e c o i s f i l m s i s the a l m o s t t o t a l a b s e n c e of
non-pure
laine
c h a r a c t e r s . S t i l l , if the " o t h e r "
is often
physically
a b s e n t f r o m t h e s e w o r k s , h i s o f f - s t a g e p r e s e n c e m o s t d e f i n i t e l y i s not.
Margaret Atwood's contention
that Canadian l i t e r a t u r e
is
primarily
about s u r v i v a l a p p l i e s w i t h d o u b l e , i f not t r i p l e , f o r c e i n t h e c a s e of
Quebec.
In the Q u e b e c o i s i m a g i n a t i o n , the " R e s t of C a n a d a " i s s e e m i n g l y
an O n t a r i o t h a t n e v e r ends. One s e e s t h i s i n p o p u l a r c o m e d i e s s u c h as
D e n i s H e r o u x ' s J'ai
mon voyage ( 1 9 7 4 ) , a f a r c e " q u i r a c o n t e T o d y s e e
d un couple...et s e s e n f a n t s , de M o n t r e a l a V a n c o u v e r , ou i l s s o n t de p u r s
J
etrangers"
( C o l o m b e and J e a n 4 7 7 ) . T h e huge s i g h of r e l i e f
these
t r a v e l l e r s c o l l e c t i v e l y heave upon r e t u r n i n g to la belle province
after
t h e i r p r o l o n g e d s o j o u r n among l e s tetes carries
w a s o f t e n e c h o e d by
316
the a u d i e n c e . A l l the q u i r k s and e c c e n t r i c i t i e s t h a t d i f f e r e n t i a t e
Cape
Bretoners
from
from
Albertans,
British
Columbian
naturopaths
S a s k a t c h e w a n w h e a t f a r m e r s , w e r e n o t a b l y l a c k i n g i n t h i s f i l m . What
w e s a w in e s s e n c e w a s Upper Canada w r i t l a r g e , an Orange O n t a r i o t h a t
occupied
every
contemporary
square
inch
of
land
where
French Canadian thought,
at
Quebec
least
in
was
the
not.
In
camp
of
c o n v i n c e d n a t i o n a l i s t s , Canada i s s t i l l a n a t i o n of t w o , not f o u r
and
c e r t a i n l y not t e n n a t i o n s ; the d e m o g r a p h i c c h a n g e s of the p a s t
150
y e a r s are e i t h e r i g n o r e d or e x p l a i n e d a w a y as i r r e l e v a n t . If to o u t s i d e r s
t h i s looks l i k e w i l l f u l b l i n d n e s s - t h e l e s s tolerant might say m a d n e s s to p a t r i o t i c i n s i d e r s i t l o o k s l i k e an i n d i s p e n s a b l e s u r v i v a l t o o l .
In Q u e b e c o i s f i c t i o n , A m e r i c a i s a l s o a f a i r l y h o m o g e n e o u s p l a c e .
M o n t r e a l - b a s e d i n t e l l e c t u a l s do not s h a r e t h e i r P a r i s i a n c o u n t e r p a r t s '
m a n i a f o r s e e i n g as much of the U n i t e d S t a t e s as h u m a n l y p o s s i b l e .
I n s t e a d , t h e y t e n d to f o c u s on the p l a c e s w h e r e the Q u e b e c o i s have
traditionally
gone i n s e a r c h of w o r k - s o m e t i m e s
voluntarily,
more
o f t e n i n v o l u n t a r i l y - s u c h as New H a m p s h i r e and L o u i s i a n a , o r the p l a c e s
w h e r e t h e y have m o r e r e c e n t l y gone to p l a y , s u c h as M i a m i B e a c h or
C a l i f o r n i a . S o m e w h a t s u r p r i s i n g l y , the U n i t e d S t a t e s i s s e l d o m t r e a t e d
l i k e the G r e a t S a t a n . A n d r e F o r c i e r ' s i m m e n s e l y p o p u l a r T V m i n i - s e r i e s
Les
Tisserands
between
century
du pouvoir
Quebecois mill
might
workers
N e w E n g l a n d , but i t
have d e a l t
with
and Y a n k e e m i l l
class
struggles
owners
w a s e x c e p t i o n a l in t h i s
in
19th
r e s p e c t . More
c o m m o n l y , A m e r i c a n s are d e p i c t e d as f a i r l y b e n i g n and r e m a r k a b l y
s p a r s e i n a l a n d t h a t s e e m s to c o n s i s t of l i t t l e b e s i d e s Q u e b e c o i s
t o u r i s t s and e m i g r e s . A n g l o p h o n e Q u e b e c e r s a r e , i f a n y t h i n g , even m o r e
r a r e , but t h e y are n o w h e r e n e a r as o b l i g i n g . A b j e c t v i l l a i n y
is
the
317
attribute
most
commonly
demonstrated
during
their
brief
cameo
appearances.
A l l of t h e s e p r e s u p p o s i t i o n s are p r e s e n t in V i c t o r L e v y - B e a u l i e u ' s
p o s t m o d e r n i s t n o v e l , Oh Miami Miami Miami ( 1 9 7 3 ) - w i t h one e x c e p t i o n .
B e a u l i e u ' s A m e r i c a n s are a t a d n a s t i e r t h a n u s u a l . He
deliberately
e x o t i c i z e s F l o r i d a , m a k i n g i t s e e m l i k e some f r i g h t e n i n g o u t c r o p p i n g of
Hollywood
jungle,
Canadian dramatis
even
as he
deromanticizes
his
mainly
French
p e r s o n a e . T h u s , " M i a m i e s t une a c c o u t u m a n c e , un
f a b u l e u x voyage dont on ne r e v i e n n e n t j a m a i s " (Oh M i a m i M i a m i M i a m i
173).
In t h i s
favourite
Quebecois t o u r i s t ' s
port-of-call,
"Tous
le
t e r r i t o i r e de l a F l o r i d e g r o u i l l e de c r o c o d i l e s aux d e n t s l u i s a n t e s , de
s e r p e n t s a s o n n e t t e s dont l e s f i n e s l a n g u e s e m p o i s o n e e s s o n t c o m m e le
deroulement
de p e t i t s
t a p i s r o u g e s . . . . " (Qh M i a m i M i a m i M i a m i
132).
A l t h o u g h they don't a c t u a l l y meet many A m e r i c a n s , p r e f e r r i n g to spend
most
of t h e i r t i m e i n bed w i t h e a c h o t h e r o r e l s e g u z z l i n g b e e r i n
F l o r i d a b a r s , B e a u l i e u ' s c h a r a c t e r s d o n ' t have much good to s a y about
t h e i r h o s t s . The p o l i c e in p a r t i c u l a r c o m e in f o r a s e v e r e s h e l l a c k i n g :
" ' D a n s c ' t e p a y s , s i tu f a i s pas a t t e n t i o n a t e s a f f a i r e s , t ' e s un h o m m e
m o r t . La p o l i c e , s o i s - t u c o m m e n t e l l e e s t a M i a m i ? E l l e te t r o u v e dans
une r u e l l e a v e c un p o i g n a r d dans le dos et e l l e t ' a c c u s e de p o r t d ' a r m e
i l l e g a l ' " (Qh M i a m i M i a m i M i a m i 2 2 4 ) . A n g l o s w i t h the name " P h i l " are
particularly
a b h o r r e n t . " L e v i e u x P h i l F l a n a g a n de S h a w i n i g a n "
(who
c o u l d , i t m u s t be a d m i t t e d , be f r a n c o p h o n e , d e s p i t e h i s n a m e , a l t h o u g h
o b v i o u s l y not pure laine)
t a k e s s e x u a l a d v a n t a g e of a d r u n k e n
male
e m p l o y e e d u r i n g the b o o k ' s f i r s t f i f t y p a g e s , w h i l e " l e v i e u x P h i l de
C h i c a g o " made a not e n t i r e l y
h o n o u r a b l e f o r t u n e out of an " I n v e n t i o n
dument p a t e n t e e s u r l a p e n i c i l l i n e " (Qh M i a m i M i a m i M i a m i
180).
318
On the p l u s s i d e / F l o r i d a did s e r v e as the l a s t r e f u g e f o r the m o s t
c e l e b r a t e d of a l l Q u e b e c o i s w r i t e r s - i n - e x i l e :
" E s t - c e que tu ne r e n d s
pas c o m p t e que j a m a i s j e ne s e r a i s venu i c i s i j e n ' a v a i s pas
Tidiote
i d e e d ' e c r i r e ce l i v r e s u r J a c k K e r o u a c . . . " (Oh M i a m i M i a m i M i a m i 2 8 5 ) .
T h e , in t h i s
i n s t a n c e at l e a s t , i m p l i c i t l y
autobiographical
narrator
( B e a u l i e u d i d i n d e e d p u b l i s h a book about h i s a d m i r a t i o n f o r the
man
who w r o t e On the Road), goes to v i s i t " l e j o l i b u n g a l o w des K e r o u a c ou
rn'attendaient
M e m e r e , et N i n , et S t e l l a , et l e s s c r a p b o o k s p l e i n e des
p h o t o s j a u n i e s , de s o u v e n i r s et de m a u v a i s e s n o u v e l l e s " (Oh
Miami Miami 286). Beaulieu eventually
c o m e s to s e e the e n t i r e
W o r l d as a m a g i c a l Q u e b e c o i s / N a t i v e A m e r i c a n c o n s t r u c t :
n'etait
qu'une
vaste
toile
Miami
d'araignee...
Indien
sans
New
"L'Amerique
doute,
Indien
s u r e m e n t , m a i s s i peu Q u e b e c o i s a l o r s q u ' i l s a u r a i e n t du e t r e l e s deux
en m e m e t e m p s e t , l ' e t a n t , beaucoup p l u s que S a u v a g e et Q u e b e c o i s " (Oh
M i a m i M i a m i M i a m i 323.) T h i s v i s i o n l e a d s to the f o l l o w i n g c o n c l u s i o n :
"Quel grand reve
que c e l u i de c e t t e
A m e r i q u e f r a n c a i s e ! De
cette
A m e r i q u e m e t i s s e l . . . Momo, M i a m i ce n ' e s t qu'une b a n l i e u e de M o n t r e a l "
(Oh M i a m i M i a m i M i a m i 3 2 5 ) . 5
A l t h o u g h l e s s a r t i s t i c a l l y a m b i t i o u s than B e a u l i e u ' s s t y l i s t i c a l l y
c o m p l e x n o v e l , the S o u t h e r n U.S. s t a t e of G e o r g e M i h a l k a ' s
Quebecois
America.
c o m e d y , La Florida
Inspired
"snowbirds"-
by s l u r s
(1993)
i n the
Canadian t o u r i s t s
populist
i s no l e s s a d r e a m of
local
p r e s s about
who p o l l u t e d
the
French
so-called
Florida beaches
with
T h i s d e s c r i p t i o n i s l e s s pi xi 11 a t e d than i t a p p e a r s . A s J o e l G a r r e a u p o i n t e d out in The
Nine Nations of North America, an i n n o v a t i v e look at New W o r l d r e g i o n a l i s m , " A t i t s
h e i g h t . . . t h e F r e n c h E m p i r e in ' A m e r i q u e ' c o v e r e d a l m o s t a l l the c o n t i n e n t w i t h the
e x c e p t i o n of F l o r i d a and M e x i c o , w h i c h w e r e o c c u p i e d by the S p a n i s h . A s f o r the E n g l i s h ,
they hugged only the A t l a n t i c c o a s t south of the Gaspe P e n i n s u l a . " (Garreau 3 6 7 - 3 6 8 )
5
319
their
incomprehensible
language, obscene s w i m s u i t s
d i s p l a y e d p o t b e l l i e s - L a Florida
and
brazenly
d e s c r i b e s the a d v e n t u r e s of a f a m i l y of
w o r k i n g c l a s s Q u e b e c o i s who abandon the s n o w s of M o n t r e a l in f a v o u r
of the s a n d s of the C a r i b b e a n . To pay f o r t h e i r e n d l e s s h o l i d a y ,
open a r e s o r t h o t e l t h a t c a t e r s a l m o s t e x c l u s i v e l y to f e l l o w
they
French
C a n a d i a n s . Even the t w o A m e r i c a n c i t i z e n s who t r y to c a u s e t r o u b l e
these ex-Montrealers
t u r n out
to have Q u e b e c o i s r o o t s .
In
for
Suzette
C o u t u r e and P i e r r e S a r r a z i n ' s s c r i p t , t h e r e are even f e w e r a n g l o p h o n e s
than in Oh Miami Miami.
T h i n g s are m u c h the s a m e in Vves B e a u c h e m i n ' s b e s t s e l l i n g n o v e l ,
Le Matou ( 1 9 8 3 ) . A t one p o i n t d u r i n g the n o v e l , F l o r e n t B o i s s o n n e a u l t ,
the b o o k ' s H o r a t i o A l g e r - l i k e h e r o , v a c a t i o n s in F l o r i d a to e s c a p e f r o m
p e r s e c u t i o n at the hands of the m y s t e r i o u s - a n d i n e f f a b l y
foreign-Egon
R a t a b l a v a s k y . A s u s u a l the Q u e b e c o i s v i s i t o r s t e n d to hang out
with
l o n g - e s t a b l i s h e d " s n o w b i r d s " ; F l o r e n t c o n s i d e r s s t a y i n g t h e r e as w e l l .
In t h i s t e x t , A m e r i c a n s e x i s t p r i m a r i l y
as f r i e n d l y
background noise.
T h e y are f o r e v e r s a y i n g c h e e r y t h i n g s s u c h a s , "Good evening,
Looking
for
something?"
folks?
( B e a u c h e m i n 2 6 2 ) . I n e v i t a b l y , of c o u r s e , one
f i n d s a d a r k e r s i d e to t h i s g e n i a l i t y . A t one p o i n t , a B l a c k
Floridian
announces " / keep away from smart guys like hell and always
deal with
French Canadians... They're sweet like corn syrup..."
(Beauchemin 2 7 4 -
2 7 5 ) . When F l o r e n t r e s p o n d s to t h i s a d m i s s i o n w i t h a g l a c i a l g l a r e , h i s
American acquaintance immediately
tries
don't
le
get
angry
for
that,
protesta
to m a k e a m e n d s :
Noir,
/
was
only
"--Now
kidding"
( B e a u c h e m i n 2 7 5 ) . The p r o b l e m i s he w a s n ' t , and e v e r y b o d y k n o w s it.
The idea that a l l anglophones regard a l l French C a n a d i a n s as
inferior
i n s o m e w a y i s a n o t i o n t h a t runs r i g h t t h r o u g h
Le
Matou.
320
P o p u l i s t to the c o r e , the novel w o r k s on the a s s u m p t i o n t h a t les
et
les etrangers
enjoy
unspecified historical
autres
advantages over the
Quebecois hero, Florent Boissonneault. This perception
occasionally
erupts into outright b i g o t r y - e s p e c i a l l y against the J e w s . A t t i m e s , it
even
manages
to
conflate
its
prejudices,
as i t
does
when
the
p r e s u m a b l y J e w i s h anglophone v i l l a i n
L e o n a r d S l i p s k i n m a r r i e s an
attractive
church. Such a l i g n m e n t s are
Quebecoise in a P r o t e s t a n t
s u s p i c i o u s l y s i m i l a r to the J e w i s h / P r o t e s t a n t / F r e e m a s o n t r i n i t y of
e v i l that has a n i m a t e d u l t r a m o n t a n e
French C a t h o l i c i s m f o r the past
2 0 0 y e a r s . It i s a l s o a c u r i o u s l y a n t i q u e f o r m of r a c i s m t h a t p r e - d a t e s
the m o d e r n w o r l d . L i k e so many of the deep s t r u c t u r e s of Q u e b e c o i s
society,
both
good
and b a d , t o
outsiders
it
seems
curiously
a n a c h r o n i s t i c . It i s a l s o r e m i n i s c e n t of the a t t i t u d e s d e s c r i b e d by L o u i s
Hemon.
A s o m e w h a t d i f f e r e n t m e l a n g e of p a s t and p r e s e n t a t t i t u d e s may
be found i n Pelagie-la-Charette.
The w i n n e r of the 1 9 7 9 P r i x G o n c o u r t ,
A n t o n i n e riai 1 l e t ' s novel i s n o t a b l e f o r a n u m b e r of r e a s o n s . F o r one
thing, s t r i c t l y
descendant
s p e a k i n g M a i l l e t i s not a Q u e b e c o i s e but an A c a d i a n , a
of t h e Nova S c o t i a and N e w B r u n s w i c k - b a s e d
French
c o m m u n i t y w h i c h w a s f o r c i b l y t r a n s p o r t e d to the A m e r i c a n S o u t h i n
the m i d d l e of the 1 8 t h c e n t u r y . T o d a y , t h a t c o m m u n i t y i s d i v i d e d m o r e or-less
equally
between
1'Acadie
in the M a r i t i m e s
and t h e C a j u n
c o m m u n i t i e s of L o u i s i a n a . W h i l e l i p s e r v i c e i s s o m e t i m e s p a i d t o t h e i r
misfortunes
by Q u e b e c o i s i n t e l l e c t u a l s , Q u e b e c o i s p o l i t i c i a n s
have
done, and c o n t i n u e to do, v e r y l i t t l e on t h e i r b e h a l f . A c a d i a ' s s u r v i v a l ,
t h e r e f o r e , i s f a r more m i r a c u l o u s than Q u e b e c ' s .
321
P e r h a p s f o r t h i s r e a s o n , Pelagie-la-Charette
wonder
tale. The book's eponymous
heroine
often reads like a
i s an A c a d i a n
Harriet
T u b m a n w h o l e a d s h e r p e o p l e on a t e n - y e a r t r e k a c r o s s t h e U n i t e d
S t a t e s back to t h e i r a n c e s t r a l h o m e s i n A t l a n t i c C a n a d a . P r o g r e s s i s
s l o w and o f t e n b i t t e r , but t h e c a r a v a n n e v e r f u l l y s t o p s : " L ' A c a d i e
a v a n c a i t au pas des b o e u f s " (Mai 11 et 2 0 1 ) . When t h e y ' r e n o t i c e d at a l l ,
the
b i r t h pangs of the United
distorting
S t a t e s are seen through
a
distant
m i r r o r : " D e p l u s , i l f a l l a i t c o m p t e r a v e c l a g u e r r e qui en
e t a i t a s o n p l u s f o r t en c e t t e f i n 1 7 7 5 " (Mai 11 et 2 0 4 ) . No m a t t e r
what
happens, a t t e n t i o n i s a l w a y s i n w a r d l y f o c u s s e d . The others a r e , w e l l ,
other. "...Des E s p a g n o l s , des P o r t u g a i s , des C a t a l a n s . . . B a l t i m o r e e t a i t l e
c a r r e f o u r du m o n d e " (Mai 11 et 168). M o r a l e i s m a i n t a i n e d w i t h a s e r i e s
of s e l f - r e - a f f i r m i n g ,
enemy-mocking
toasts:
"'Pelagie-la-Charrette
v i v r a t o u j o u r s . Et m e r d e au r o i d ' A n g l e t e r r e ! ' " ( M a i n e t
149) Wherever
p o s s i b l e , a n a l o g i e s a r e made b e t w e e n B l a c k s l a v e s and A c a d i a n e x i l e s .
T h u s , P e l a g i e ' s c o m p a n i o n s " [ s o n t ] d e p o r t e s s u r l e Black Face" (Mai 11 et
4 5 ) , a s h i p w h o s e name b e t r a y s i t s u s u a l p u r p o s e . Upon
completing
t h e i r j o u r n e y h o m e w a r d s , the n e w " I s r a e l i t e s " d i s c o v e r t h a t e v e r y t h i n g
has been r e - n a m e d : " S u r l e s r i v e s de l a b a i e F r a n p a i s e , d i t e s Fundy...."
(Maillet
320).
6
A s i d e f r o m i t s i n t r i n s i c v a l u e as f i r s t - r a t e h i s t o r i c a l
Mail l e t ' s
w r i t i n g i s of i n t e r e s t
literature,
f o r w h a t i t h a s to s a y a b o u t
North
A m e r i c a ' s other F r e n c h f a c t . B e c a u s e of t h e i r r e v e r e n c e f o r t h e p a s t ,
Acadians would
s e e m to have an e v e n s t r o n g e r
p r o v i n c i a l m o t t o , "je me souviens,"
claim
than do the Q u e b e c o i s t h e m s e l v e s .
IHere M a i l l e t ' s n o v e l i s r e m i n i s c e n t of B r i a n F r i e T s Translations,
a n g l i c i z a t i o n of G a e l i c place names in 19th century Ireland.
6
to Q u e b e c ' s
a p l a y about t h e
322
As
chanteuse
collection
of
Edith
Butler
mainly
wrote
traditional
in
L'Acadie
sans
frontieres,
songs, "J'appartiens
a
Tancienne
A c a d i e et a T A c a d i e moderne. J e veux v i v r e l e s deux a l a f o i s . "
15) Many of the chansons
a
i n c l u d e d in t h i s a n t h o l o g y r e f l e c t
(Butler
the s a m e
e v e n t s t h a t i n s p i r e d A n t o n i n e M a i l l e t : " C o n d a m n e s a v i v r e , / C o m m e des
juifs
errants/lls
revenir,/Dans
ont
marches
longtemps,/Qu'ils
( B u t l e r 7 6 ) . Les
ont
fini
par
Anglais,
in s o m e of
t h e s e l y r i c s , are even m o r e f a c e l e s s than t h e y w e r e i n
Pelagie-la-
Charette:
le p a y s d ' a v a n t "
si
" R e v e i l l e r e v e i l l e c ' e s t l e s g o d d a m s qui v i e n n e n t , / B r u 1 e r
recolte/Reveille
reveille
hommes a c a d i e n s / P o u r s a u v e r le
la
village"
( B u t l e r 78).
Ironically,
d e s p i t e the f a c t t h a t the A c a d i a n s w e r e t r e a t e d
far
m o r e b r u t a l l y by the B r i t i s h E m p i r e than w e r e t h e i r Q u e b e c o i s c o u s i n s ,
the d e s c e n d a n t s of t h e s e o p p r e s s e d e x i l e s are f a r m o r e c o m m i t t e d
to
the
is
idea
of
a unified
Canada.
Even more
surprisingly,
there
c o n s i d e r a b l e e n m i t y b e t w e e n t h e s e t w o m a j o r b r a n c h e s of F r e n c h N o r t h
A m e r i c a . In 1 9 6 3 , Edmund W i l s o n w r o t e , " A n A c a d i a n , I w a s t o l d , w o u l d
not w o r k f o r a Q u e b e c o i s F r e n c h f a m i l y " ( W i l s o n 4 3 ) . Even i f one t a k e s
t h a t c l a i m w i t h a g r a i n of s a l t , i n g r a i n e d h o s t i l i t i e s b e t w e e n t h e s e t w o
francophone communities unquestionably
exist.
W h i l e many of Edmond W i l s o n ' s p r o n o u n c e m e n t s
y e a r s ago are s t i l l
of
thirty-four
v e r y c u r r e n t , one at l e a s t has been s u p e r s e d e d .
7
In 0 Canada! An American's
Notes on Canadian Culture ( 1 9 6 3 ) , many of the a u t h o r ' s
o b s e r v a t i o n s are a l m o s t f r i g h t e n i n g l y u p - t o - d a t e . One r e a d s , f o r i n s t a n c e , t h a t " C a n a d i a n
p u b l i s h e r s have the s e r i o u s g r i e v a n c e t h a t by b r i n g i n g out s p e c i a l Canadian e d i t i o n s , s u c h
p e r i o d i c a l s a s Time and The Reader's Digest d i v e r t f r o m the C a n a d i a n m a g a z i n e s a good
p a r t of the n a t i o n a l a d v e r t i s i n g , w i t h o u t w h i c h i t i s i m p o s s i b l e f o r t h e m to get along...."
( W i l s o n 6 2 ) E l s e w h e r e , the A m e r i c a n c r i t i c r e f l e c t s , " o n e even f i n d s F r a n c o p h i l e E n g l i s h
C a n a d i a n s who adore the French of F r a n c e - - p a i n t i n g , l i t e r a t u r e , c h a t e a u x , c u i s i n e and a l l
7
323
T h i s d a t e d c l a i m r e a d s as f o l l o w s : " F r e n c h C a n a d i a n s have not yet been
a b l e to i m p o s e on a w i d e r a u d i e n c e - a s the A m e r i c a n s have to s o m e
extent d o n e - a literary
Scots-flavoured
language of t h e i r o w n . " ( W i l s o n 173) Now t h a t
translations
of M i c h e l T r e m b l a y ' s
;'owa/-drenched
d r a m a s p l a y r e g u l a r l y to c a p a c i t y h o u s e s in G l a s g o w and E d i n b u r g h , i t
is probably
s a f e to s a y t h a t Quebec has c r e a t e d a l i t e r a r y
w h i c h , under o p t i m u m
c o n d i t i o n s , can p r o f i t a b l y
language
be a d a p t e d to
p o l i t i c a l s i t u a t i o n s and a r g o t - h e a v y m o t h e r t o n g u e s .
other
8
In C a n a d i a n w r i t e r s , h o w e v e r , i t s e e m s t h a t w h a t Edmund W i l s o n
sought
was
not
so m u c h
c o n n e c t i o n to the d o m i n a n t
a new
language
as i t
was
an
idiomatic
s t y l e of the 2 0 t h c e n t u r y . T h u s , the
authors
he s i n g l e d out f o r s p e c i a l p r a i s e w e r e
Toronto
native
whose stripped-down
Morley
two
Callaghan-a
s t y l e had d e v e l o p e d
alongside
t h o s e of F. S c o t t F i t z g e r a l d and E r n e s t H e m i n g w a y in e m i g r e P a r i s - a n d
M a r i e - C l a i r e B l a i s , a r g u a b l y the l e a s t p r o v i n c i a l
w r i t e r this
country
has e v e r p r o d u c e d . C o n s i d e r i n g the c r i t i c ' s d e e p , p e r s o n a l t i e s to so
many of the f o u n d e r s of l i t e r a r y
surprise
modernism, this predilection
nobody. Even s o , W i l s o n s h o w e d r e m a r k a b l e
should
prescience
in
r e c o g n i z i n g B l a i s ' s t a l e n t so e a r l y in h e r c a r e e r . When the n o v e l i s t w a s
barely
i n t o h e r 2 0 s , the doyen of A m e r i c a n c r i t i c s , w h o w a s
then
the r e s t - - b u t are c o n t e m p t u o u s of the F r e n c h of F r e n c h C a n a d a , a c o u n t r y t h e y s e e m
h a r d l y to have v i s i t e d " ( W i l s o n 2 0 8 ) .
F o r a l l h i s s y m p a t h y f o r and u n d e r s t a n d i n g of C a n a d i a n c u l t u r e , i t s e e m s m o s t u n l i k e l y
t h a t the great A m e r i c a n c r i t i c w o u l d have been i m p r e s s e d by the once v i b r a n t , now f a d i n g
joual r e v o l u t i o n . H i s s y m p a t h y f o r Q u e b e c o i s l i t e r a t u r e w a s i n s e p a r a b l e f r o m h i s
f r a n c o p h i l i a , a union w h i c h h i s s u m m a t i o n of the a r t i s t i c value of E m i l e N e l l i g a n tends to
u n d e r s c o r e : " T h i s poet i s at once the R i m b a u d and the G e r a r d de N e r v a l of F r e n c h C a n a d a ,
and he s e e m s to me to be the only r e a l l y f i r s t - r a t e Canadian poet, F r e n c h or E n g l i s h , t h a t
I have y e t r e a d . " ( W i l s o n 9 7 )
8
324
n o t o r i o u s f o r h i s d i s l i k e of new t a l e n t , e n t h u s e d , " M i l e . B l a i s i s a t r u e
p h e n o m e n o n ; she may p o s s i b l y be a g e n i u s " ( W i l s o n 148).
Phenomenal M a r i e - C l a i r e B l a i s certainly
most
recent
novel
and the w i n n e r
of
the
w a s - a n d i s . Soifs,
1995
her
Governor-General's
A w a r d f o r F r e n c h - l a n g u a g e f i c t i o n , i s u n a s h a m e d l y m o d e r n i s t in s t y l e ,
f i l l e d w i t h s e n t e n c e s t h a t run on f o r t w e l v e pages or m o r e , c h a n g i n g
narrators
w i t h o u t w a r n i n g in a s t r e a m - o f - c o n s c i o u s n e s s c a t a r a c t
imagined
sensibilities.
B e c a u s e she has l i v e d so m u c h of h e r
abroad, B l a i s is a consummate literary
Soifs,
of
life
c o s m o p o l i t a n . The s e t t i n g
of
f o r e x a m p l e , i s a C a r i b b e a n i s l a n d w h e r e people f r o m a l l o v e r the
world
try
and
fail
to
shut
the
modern
world-with
its
Bosnian
m a s s a c r e s and s e x u a l e p i d e m i c s - o u t of s i g h t and out of m i n d . C e r t a i n
motifs
keep r e c u r r i n g . The f o l l o w i n g
i s p r o b a b l y the m o s t o b s e s s i v e .
W h i l e s o a k i n g up the s u n , a p r i v i l e g e d m i d d l e - c l a s s w o m a n c a n ' t
herself
from thinking
about " l ' e x e c u t i o n
stop
d'un n o i r i n c o n n u dans une
p r i s o n du T e x a s , l a m o r t p a r i n j e c t i o n l e t a l e , une m o r t v i o l e e , d i s c r e t e
c a r e l l e ne f a i s a i t
aucun b r u i t , une m o r t l i q u i d e i n t r a v e i n e u s e ,
d'une
e f f i c a c i t e e x e m p l a i r e p u i s q u e le condamne p o u v a i t se l ' i n f l i g e r a l u i m e m e dans l e s p r e m i e r s r a y o n s de l'aube...." ( S o i f s 13 - 14). H i s t o r i c a l
v i c t i m s of r a c i a l o p p r e s s i o n are c i t e d w i t h the s a m e c a d e n c e d f l a t n e s s
with which
Michel Butor introduced
m e s s i a h s in Mobile:
a s u c c e s s i o n of d o o m e d
Indian
" N i n a Mae M c K i n n e y , p r e m i e r e a c t r i c e n o i r e dans
l e s t h e a t r e s du New Vork, d ' l d a G r a y , p r e m i e r e f e m m e c h i r u g i e n d e n t a l e
noire a Cincinnati...." ( S o i f s
l'abolition
1 5 0 ) ; " M a r y M c l e o d B e t h u n e , nee a p r e s
de l ' e s c l a v a g e . . . f o n d a i t l a p r e m i e r e
n o i r e en F l o r i d e . . . . " ( S o i f s 2 4 8 ) .
ecole pour l e s
filles
325
In h e r m e m o i r Parcours
n o v e l Un liaison
literary
parisienne,
d'un ecrivain:
Notes americaines
and h e r
B l a i s p r o v e s to be e q u a l l y at home in the
m i l i e u s of New England and F r a n c e . In the f i r s t of t h e s e
b o o k s ( w h i c h w a s not p u b l i s h e d u n t i l 1 9 9 3 , a l t h o u g h the f i r s t
entry
is
dated
thirty
years
earlier),
the
author
two
journal
describes
her
a p p r e n t i c e s h i p y e a r s as an a u t h o r in A m e r i c a . Edmund W i l s o n h i m s e l f
a p p e a r s i n t h i s t e x t , s i t t i n g on a park b e n c h , s p e a k i n g " a v e c T e t e n d u e
de s a v a s t e c u l t u r e , i l me t r a c e un p o r t r a i t d e t a i l l e de V i r g i n i a W o o l f ,
de s a v i e , de son o e u v r e " ( N o t e s
americaines
18). W i l s o n , i t
a p p e a r , w a s u n c o m m o n l y s y m p a t h e t i c to w o m e n w r i t e r s
would
f o r a man of
h i s g e n e r a t i o n , but even so M a r i e - C l a i r e B l a i s w a s c l e a r l y not
content
to s i t at h i s f e e t in the c a p a c i t y of b l i s s f u l a c o l y t e : " E t d e v a n t t a n t
d ' e r u d i t i o n , moi qui ne s u i s pas un e s p r i t c u l t i v e , dans l a v i e l i t t e r a i r e
n'en qu'a s e s d e b u t s , j e d o i s me t a i r e . M a i s j ' a i d e j a e p r o u v e l a m e m e
i r r i t a t i o n ou l a m e m e gene en l i s a n t des b i o g r a p h e s de S i m o n e W e i l
e c r i t e p a r des h o m m e s , j e n'ai j a m a i s a i m e ce ton de p r o p r i e t e r i g i d e et
c o n f i n e qui e s t le t o n , dans l e s annees s o i x a n t e , des c r i t i q u e ou des
b i o g r a p h i e s l o r s q u ' i l p r e s e n t e n t ou e t u d i e n t l e s o e u v r e s e c r i t e s p a r des
f e m m e s " ( N o t e s a m e r i c a i n e s 19). A s i d e f r o m W i l s o n , B l a i s made the
a c q u a i n t a n c e of R o b e r t L o w e l l , Mary M c C a r t h y , E l i z a b e t h
Hardwick,
J o h n H e r s e y , M a r g u e r i t e Y o u r c e n a r , and V l a d i m i r Nabokov d u r i n g
course
of
h e r N e w E n g l a n d s o j o u r n . She w a s , h o w e v e r ,
the
primarily
i n f l u e n c e d by the m o d e r n i s m e m b o d i e d in the n o v e l s of V i r g i n i a W o o l f
and the p o e m s of E l i z a b e t h B i s h o p and M a r i a n n e M o o r e , as w e l l as the
A f r i c a n - A m e r i c a n w r i t e r s who w e r e b e g i n n i n g to c o m e i n t o t h e i r o w n :
"Pendant
cet
ete-la...je
lis James Baldwin, Richard Wright,
Ralph
326
E l l i s o n , et j e p r e n d s c o n s c i e n c e de l a p l u s h o n t e u s e r e p r e s s i o n de
T h i s t o i r e " (Notes a m e r i c a i n e s 1 4 - 1 5 ) .
This identification
already
been
w i t h the A m e r i c a n s of the n o n - w h i t e s
commented
on
in
connection
with
French
has
literary
t r a v e l l e r s . F o r a v a r i e t y of r e a s o n s , t h e i r Q u e b e c o i s c o m p a t r i o t s
push
t h i s l i n e of thought s t i l l f u r t h e r . F o r t h e m , A m e r i c a n r a c i s m i s not j u s t
a convenient
c u d g e l w i t h w h i c h to b l u d g e o n the the h e a d s of
their
b o o r i s h h o s t s ; i t i s , r a t h e r , e m b l e m a t i c of t h e i r o w n s o c i a l w o u n d s . In
t h e i r s t r u g g l e s w i t h w h a t are s o m e t i m e s s e e n as o m n i p o t e n t
Quebecois a r t i s t s
identify strongly
anglos,
w i t h the w r e t c h e d of the
earth:
w i t h B l a c k s , N a t i v e A m e r i c a n s - s o m e t i m e s even P a l e s t i n i a n s . It i s not
coincidental
Negres blancs
t h a t the b e s t k n o w n s e p a r a t i s t
de l'Amerique.
text was entitled
Les
In the s a m e v e i n , the m o s t h a t e d A n g l o
taunt w a s a l w a y s "Speak White!"
N e e d l e s s to s a y , B l a i s i s too s o p h i s t i c a t e d and w o r l d l y an a r t i s t
to f a l l i n t o one of t h e s e m o n o c h r o m a t i c p o l i t i c a l p o s i t i o n s . A l s o , h e r
e x p e r i e n c e of the U n i t e d S t a t e s i n c l u d e s as many p l e a s a n t
personal
m e m o r i e s as i t does i d e o l o g i c a l r e s e r v a t i o n s . N e i t h e r a h a g i o g r a p h e r
nor a d e m o n o l o g i s t , h e r v i s i o n i s a l w a y s a d m i r a b l y b i n o c u l a r .
A l t h o u g h i t ' s w i t t i e r , d r i e r , and m o r e p l a y f u l , B l a i s ' s s k e w e r i n g
of
French literary
pretensions
is
actually
more
d e f l a t i o n of A m e r i c a n c u l t u r a l b a l l o o n s . Une liaison
deadly
parisienne
than
her
(1975)
d e s c r i b e s the a d v e n t u r e s of a Q u e b e c o i s w h o t r a v e l s to F r a n c e on a
Canada C o u n c i l g r a n t , hoping to make a name f o r h i m s e l f in the C i t y of
L i g h t . Once t h e r e , he d i s c o v e r s t h a t the l i t e r a r y s a l o n s and j o u r n a l i s t i c
p o l i t i c s w h i c h B a l z a c s a t i r i z e d so p i t i l e s s l y in Illusions
perdus
still
delights
very
much in f o r c e . The haughty
Madame A r g e n t i
are
in
327
p u t t i n g M a t h i e u L e l i e v r e in h i s p r o v i n c i a l p l a c e : " ' Q u i e t e s - v o u s , dans
nos L e t t r e s F r a n c a i s e s ? Un s i m p l e e t r a n g e r , un a d o l e s c e n t . . . . " (Une
liaison
parisienne
135).
Parisian critics
prove
to
be
equally
c o n d e s c e n d i n g : ' " Q u i e s t ce f a u x C a n d i d e , c e t t e ame p r o u s t i e n n e en
v i s i t e a P a r i s . . . . " (Une l i a i s o n p a r i s i e n n e 143). The L u c i e n de R u b e m p r e s
of the t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y , i t w o u l d s e e m , no l o n g e r c o m e j u s t f r o m the
French provinces.
The hero of J e a n - P i e r r e L e f e b v r e ' s 1 9 7 7 f e a t u r e , Le Vieux pays ou
Rimbaud
"Abel
est
mort, had a s o m e w h a t d i f f e r e n t e x p e r i e n c e : In t h i s
( w h o had e a r l i e r w i s t f u l l y
film
w i s h e d ' t o be a b l e to c h a n g e the
c o u r s e of e v e n t s ' ) r e t u r n s to the land of h i s a n c e s t o r s only to d i s c o v e r
t h a t the F r a n c e in w h i c h he had been taught to b e l i e v e no l o n g e r e x i s t s that it
e x i s t s (as J a n D a w s o n w r o t e ) ' o n l y in m u s e u m s and i n
his
i m a g i n a t i o n ' . . . . " ( M o r r i s 31 1). O t h e r f i l m m a k e r s a p p r o a c h e d the s e m i l e g e n d a r y e n c l a v e of t h e i r f o n d e s t hopes and the home of t h e i r
loved
betrayers
documentarist
with
almost
Richard Lavoie, for
ethnographic
best-
objectivity.
example, went
to B r i t t a n y ,
NFB
the
F r e n c h p r o v i n c e f r o m w h i c h m o s t p r o t o - Q u e b e c o i s e m i g r a t e d , to s h o o t
Voyage en Bretagne
interieure
( 1 9 7 8 ) , " o u i l s ' i n t e r e s s e aux m o e u r s et
c o u t u m e s de c e t t e r e g i o n " ( C o l o m b e and J e a n 3 2 2 ) .
One of the more i n t r i g u i n g r e c e n t f i l m s on the s u b j e c t of Q u e b e c ' s
relationship
to
documentary,
writer/director
f e a t u r e Alias
the
Le Sort
outside
de
world
l'Amerique.
is
Jacques
This is material
which
1996
the
has m i n e d many t i m e s b e f o r e . In h i s 1 9 8 9 n o n - f i c t i o n
Will James,
Godbout c h r o n i c l e d the c a r e e r of the
d e r a c i n a t e d Q u e b e c o i s c e l e b r i t y of them a l l , a habitant
himself
Godbout's
most
who r e - i n v e n t e d
as a n a t i v e - b o r n T e x a s r a n c h hand p r i o r to c a r v i n g out a
328
successful
histoire
career for
americaine,
himself
as a c o w b o y
writer/artist.
a novel p u b l i s h e d in 1 9 8 5 , the a u t h o r
In
Une
recounted
the a d v e n t u r e s of a m i d d l e - a g e d Q u e b e c o i s p r o f e s s o r who s p e n d s a y e a r
in
Southern
California,
encountering
many
of
the
same
cultural
b o o n d o g g l e s d e s c r i b e d by M i c h e l B u t o r , A n d r e a De C a r l o , and
writers
from Europe's " l a t i n quarter".
meditation
straight
on n a t i o n a l
to
l'Amerique
the
heart
identity,
of
In h i s m o s t r e c e n t
however,
Quebec's
Godbout
ongoing
other
cinematic
decided
dilemma.
Le
to
go
Sort
de
a p p r o a c h e s the t r a u m a of 1 7 5 9 f r o m a v e r t i g i n o u s
variety
of a n g l e s . A l t h o u g h , s t r i c t l y s p e a k i n g , the f i l m m u s t be c l a s s i f i e d as a
documentary,
objective
it
i s not w i t h o u t i t s
reporter
fictional
e l e m e n t s . Godbout
shares screen time w i t h playwright
the
Rene-Daniel
D u b o i s , a Q u e b e c o i s p l a y w r i g h t who has been c o m m i s s i o n e d to w r i t e an
i m a g i n a t i v e s c e n a r i o on the e v e n t s t h a t l e d up to the c l i m a c t i c
on
battle
the P l a i n s of A b r a h a m . He has been a s k e d to do so by a H o l l y w o o d
s t u d i o : " J ' e c r i s un f i l m pour l e s A m e r i c a i n s s u r ce que s i g n i f i e
pour
nous l a j o u r n e e l a p l u s i m p o r t a n t e de l ' h i s t o i r e a nous...." A s he t a l k s to
Godbout, his friend
and de f a c t o
collaborator,
Dubois a s s u m e s
the
p e r i o d d r e s s of the h i s t o r i c a l c h a r a c t e r s he i m p e r s o n a t e s , at one p o i n t
conducting a lively conversation w i t h himself
in the d o u b l e g u i s e of
V o l t a i r e and L o u i s X V - a p e r f e c t m e t a p h o r f o r the s c h i z o p h r e n i c n a t u r e
of t h i s d e b a t e . E l s e w h e r e , the f i l m m a k e r s
visit
the d e s c e n d a n t s
of
G e n e r a l s W o l f e and M o n t c a l m , the s l a i n m i l i t a r y l e a d e r s w h o s e a r m i e s
d e c i d e d the
f a t e of
filmmakers
track
French North
down
bilingual, left-leaning
spare
time.
In
the
General
A m e r i c a in
Wolfe's
BBC j o u r n a l i s t
1 7 5 9 . In L o n d o n ,
descendant,
a
the
fluently
w h o f r o n t s a b l u e s band i n h i s
French countryside,
meanwhile,
the
Baron
de
329
M o n t c a l m t u r n s out to be an u n r e c o n s t r u c t e d l e g i t i m i s t w h o s e s o l e goal
in l i f e
i s to c o m p l e t e l y
rebuild
the r u i n e d f a m i l y
a p o l o g y , he e x p l a i n s , " M o n f a m i l i e
a toujours
castle.
Without
servis les Bourbons."
R e t u r n i n g to Quebec to p u r s u e t h e i r r e s e a r c h e s , Godbout and D u b o i s
d i s c o v e r m o r e t h r e a d s t h a t l e a d n o w h e r e . F i n d i n g the p r o p e r r e c o r d s
p r o v e s to be a K a f k a e s q u e n i g h t m a r e
as the men w a n d e r
fruitlessly
f r o m a r c h i v e to a r c h i v e . Even w o r s e , the h i s t o r i c a l r e c o r d i s c o n s t a n t l y
b e i n g o v e r s h a d o w e d by f o l k m e m o r y . T h e d i r e c t o r r e c a l l s h i s
father
s a y i n g , " N ' o u b l i e p a s , J a c q u e s , que l e s A n g l a i s ont b r u l e s nos m a i s o n s . "
E l s e w h e r e , p o l i t i c a l pundit L a u r i e r L a p i e r r e o p i n e s , " N o u s a v o n s deux
e n n e m i s aux P l a i n e s d ' A b r a h a m . Ils s o n t l e s A n g l a i s et l e s F r a n c a i s . " It
i s a l s o s u g g e s t e d t h a t the u l t i m a t e b e n e f i c i a r i e s of t h i s b a t t l e
the
A m e r i c a n s , the m a s t e r s of the
world
who
have
were
commissioned
Dubois to r e c o n s t r u c t h i s t r a u m a f o r t h e i r c o m m e r c i a l p l e a s u r e .
In both h i s l i t e r a r y and h i s f i l m w o r k , J a c q u e s Godbout m a n a g e s
to e n c o m p a s s t w o d i c h o t o m o u s t r e n d s in Q u e b e c ' s c u l t u r a l
make-up,
two centrifugal
f o r c e s t h a t c e a s e l e s s l y t h r e a t e n to u p s e t i t s
equilibrium.
Philippe
finalement
In
Gajan's words,
"L'art
fragile
de G o d b o u t ,
de r e p o s e r l e s q u e s t i o n s t o u t en e v a c u a n t l e s f a u x
c'est
pistes
(Qui e s t l e t r a i t r e ? ) et l e s f a u s s e s c e r t i t u d e s (Qui e s t l e v a i n q u e u r de
l a b a t a i l l e ? p a r e x e m p l e " ( G a j a n 8 4 ) . On the one hand, the p r o v i n c e i s
p o s s i b l y the m o s t c o s m o p o l i t a n p l a c e on the c o n t i n e n t , e v i n c i n g t a s t e s
t h a t d i f f e r m a r k e d l y f r o m the N o r t h A m e r i c a n n o r m . On the o t h e r hand,
i t i s one of the m o s t i n s u l a r , n o u r i s h i n g an a l m o s t p a r a n o i d f e a r of
n a t i o n a l i m m o l a t i o n in the s u r g i n g s e a of a n g l o p h o n e s t h a t s u r r o u n d it.
To a c e r t a i n e x t e n t
this reflects
the d i f f e r e n c e
between town
and
330
c o u n t r y . If M o n t r e a l i s N o r t h A m e r i c a ' s P a r i s , then r u r a l Quebec i s i t s
Gal w a y .
T h i s t e n s i o n r e s u l t s in an a m b i v a l e n t a t t i t u d e t o w a r d s Q u e b e c o i s
w h o have made good a b r o a d . W h i l e o v e r s e a s r e c o g n i t i o n
i s seen as
g e n e r a l l y good, i t i s also fraught w i t h p e r i l . M a r i e - C l a i r e B l a i s , f o r
example, obviously f e l t some e l u s i v e , i l l - d e f i n e d uneasiness when she
m e t a f e m a l e p r o f e s s o r of F r e n c h l i t e r a t u r e w h o e n t h u s e d , " a H a r v a r d ,
nous c o n n a i s s o n s A n n e H e b e r t , A n t o n i n e
Mail let,
Michel
Tremblay,
R e j e a n Ducharme...que de t e m p s , nous a i m e r o n s de p l u s en p l u s de v o s
a u t e u r s i c i . . . . " ( N o t e s a m e r i c a i n e s 2 4 ) . It s h o u l d be e m p h a s i z e d here
t h a t t h e u n c e r t a i n t y i n q u e s t i o n w a s f e l t by the m o s t c o s m o p o l i t a n of
Quebecois
writers,
a peripatetic
literary
pilgrim.
F o r the Vves
B e a u c h e m i n s of Q u e b e c , t h e s i t u a t i o n s e e m s m o r e s i n i s t e r s t i l l . F o r
t h e m , anyone w h o m o v e s a w a y t h r e a t e n s to b e c o m e a W i l l J a m e s .
• ne of t h e v e r y f e w e x c e p t i o n s to t h i s
rule i s Jack Kerouac.
A l t h o u g h he w a s born i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s and s p e n t p r e c i o u s
t i m e i n la belle province,
little
s i n c e the e a r l y 1 9 7 0 s t h e B e a t n o v e l i s t h a s
been a Q u e b e c o i s i c o n , h i s p o s i t i o n c a n o n i z e d by n o v e l i s t / s c r e e n w r i t e r
V i c t o r - L e v y Beaulieu who c e a s e l e s s l y r e i t e r a t e d " c e t t e passion f o l l e
pour K e r o u a c . "
9
In 1 9 8 9 , R e g i n a l d M a r t e l and Yves B o i s v e r t p u b l i s h e d a
s l i m v o l u m e c a l l e d Quebec Kerouac
Blues,
a c e l e b r a t i o n i n p r o s e and
v e r s e of t h e m a n f r o m " L o w e l l ! V i l l e de m e s a n c e t r e s ! C a n a d i e n f r a n c a i s ! " ( M a r t e l and B o i s v e r t 2 1 ) .
It i s i n t e r e s t i n g to note that B e a u l i e u , l i k e so many French and I t a l i a n w r i t e r s , both past
and p r e s e n t , i s a l s o a g r e a t a d m i r e r of H e r m a n M e l v i l l e . He w r o t e , " c e que M e l v i l l e a
e t e , c ' e s t c e que j e v o u d r a i s e t r e . " ( M o n s i e u r M e l v i l l e 1 2 3 ) F o r h i m , t h e A m e r i c a n
n o v e l i s t i s one of V i c t o r Hugo's s p i r i t u a l b r o t h e r s : " L ' u n a v a i t e c r i t Moby Dick e t T a u t r e
Les Travailleurs
de la mer, l e s deux grands l i v r e s du XIXe s i e c l e s u r l e o c e a n ! " ( M o n s i e u r
Melville 1 30)
9
331
Of c o u r s e , J a c k K e r o u a c c o n t r i b u t e d to t h i s t r i b u t e by h i s r e f u s a l
to d i s p a r a g e h i s Q u e b e c o i s r o o t s . P a u l T h e r o u x ' s f a t h e r , f o r i n s t a n c e ,
w a s of F r a n c o - A m e r i c a n s t o c k , b u t , a s w e have a l r e a d y
novelist/travel
ancestors
writer's
are almost
indifference
comments
universally
to t h e u n i q u e l y
on t h e n a t u r e
hostile. Thanks
seen, the
of h i s
distant
to h i s s i n g u l a r
" C a n u c k " a s p e c t s of h i s N e w E n g l a n d
c h i l d h o o d - a s i n of o m i s s i o n w h i c h m u s t be added to t h e i d e o l o g i c a l
b o n f i r e of h i s o u t s p o k e n f r a n c o p h o b i a - t h e odds of P a u l T h e r o u x e v e r
b e i n g a d o p t e d by M o n t r e a l ' s l i t e r a r y j o u r n a l i s t s a s a long l o s t fils
pays
are v i r t u a l l y
n i l . In Satori
in Paris,
du
conversely, Jack/Jacques
audibly r e j o i c e d in h i s c u l t u r a l heritage. F a r from being d e f e n s i v e in
F r a n c e , he p r a c t i c e d a f o r m of a g g r e s s i v e f r a n c o p h i l i s m , a t a c t i c w h i c h
e m p h a s i z e d the i m m e m o r i a l
F r e n c h n e s s of le peuple
Quebecois:
"A
m a r v e l l o u s m a n , and J e w i s h , and w e have o u r c o n v e r s a t i o n i n F r e n c h ,
and I even t e l l h i m t h a t I r o l l my ' r ' s ' on my tongue and not i n my t h r o a t
b e c a u s e I c o m e f r o m M e d i e v a l F r e n c h Q u e b e c - v i a - B r i t t a n y s t o c k , and he
agrees, admitting
t h a t m o d e r n P a r i s i a n F r e n c h , tho dandy, has r e a l l y
been c h a n g e d by t h e i n f l u x of G e r m a n s , J e w s and A r a b s f o r a l l t h e s e
t w o c e n t u r i e s and not to m e n t i o n the i n f l u e n c e of the f o p s i n t h e c o u r t
of L o u i s the F o u r t e e n t h w h i c h r e a l l y s t a r t e d i t , and I a l s o r e m i n d e d h i m
t h a t F r a n c o i s V i l l o n ' s r e a l name w a s p r o n o u n c e d ' V i l l e O n ' and n o t
' V i y o n ' ( w h i c h i s a c o r r u p t i o n ) and t h a t in t h o s e days you s a i d not ' t o i '
o r ' m o i ' but l i k e ' t o u e ' o r ' m o u e ' (as w e s t i l l do i n Quebec and i n t w o
days I heard i t i n B r i t t a n y ) . . . . " ( K e r o u a c 4 5 - 4 6 ) .
It i s i n s t r u c t i v e to n o t e , in the p r e c e d i n g p a r a g r a p h , h o w many of
the
articles
of
the
Quebecois
catechism
survived
Kerouac's
M a s s a c h u s s e t t s u p b r i n g i n g . One f i n d s both the i n s i s t e n c e t h a t joual i s
332
the
true
French,
conversationalist
the
authentic
who
accepts
French,
this
view.
and
the
One a l s o
French
finds
coclear
d i s t i n c t i o n s b e t w e e n " u s " and " t h e m " , the " r e a l " F r e n c h m e n and the
J e w i s h , G e r m a n , and A r a b i m m i g r a n t s who have so s a d l y c o r r u p t e d the
tongue
of
R a b e l a i s and V i l l o n . F a r f r o m b e i n g a s s i m i l a t e d by
A m e r i c a n D r e a m , i n the K e r o u a c - o r p e r h a p s I s h o u l d s a y
h o u s e h o l d , the Q u e b e c o i s Zeitgeist
survived virtually
the
Kerouac-
intact.
A f t e r the " Q u i e t R e v o l u t i o n " of the 1 9 6 0 s and e a r l y 1 9 7 0 s , the
s o c i a l m o v e m e n t t h a t d i d so m u c h to d i s p e l the s t r i c t u r e s of Q u e b e c ' s
p a r o c h i a l p u r i t a n i s m , F r e n c h c h a r a c t e r s w e r e o c c a s i o n a l l y s h o w n in a
better
l i g h t . No l o n g e r w e r e
inheritors
of
1 7 8 9 o r the
they
simply
obliging
the
tourists
sinful
who
and
atheistic
p r a i s e d joual
as
e f f u s i v e l y i n f i c t i o n as they d i s p a r a g e d i t in r e a l l i f e . Now they c o u l d
sometimes function
as a c o u n t e r w e i g h t
to A n g l o - A m e r i c a n
cultural
d o m i n a t i o n , as a m o r e c o n g e n i a l s o u r c e of m o d e r n i s m and savoir
T h u s , the G a l l i c cook i n Le flatou
novelist
Vves B e a u c h e m i n than
i s treated f a r more favourably
any of
the
quasi-Satanic
" a n g l o s " . L i k e w i s e , i n P i e r r e G a n g ' s f i r s t f e a t u r e Sous-sol
sexual coming-of-age
story
faire.
set mainly
in the l a t e
by
Montreal
(1996), a
1 9 6 0 s , a young
F r e n c h t o u r i s t i s p r e s e n t e d as a l i b e r a t i n g w i n d w h i c h h e l p s to
blow
a w a y the l i n g e r i n g c l o u d s of C h u r c h - g e n e r a t e d s e x u a l r e p r e s s i o n .
A n o t h e r change u s h e r e d in by the
1990s w a s a new
cinematic
a w a r e n e s s of M o n t r e a l ' s s o - c a l l e d " a l l o p h o n e " c o m m u n i t i e s .
Latin
A m e r i c a n p o l i t i c a l r e f u g e e s began to f i g u r e p r o m i n e n t l y in f i l m s s u c h
as M i c h e l B r a u l t ' s Les Noces de papier ( 1 9 8 9 ) . A r o u n d the s a m e t i m e ,
f r o m w i t h i n the h e a r t of M o n t r e a l ' s I t a l i a n c o m m u n i t y , a l o c a l boy
began to e s t a b l i s h h i s r e p u t a t i o n
as one of the p r o v i n c e ' s
foremost
333
filmmakers.
Paul Tana's medium-length
1 0
"[raconta] l'itineraire
Caffe
Italia
Montreal
de t r o i s g e n e r a t i o n s peu h a b i t u e e au p h e n o m e n e
de T i m m i g r a t i o n en m a s s e " ( C o l o m b e and J e a n 5 0 8 - 5 0 9 ) He f o l l o w e d
t h i s up w i t h La Sarrasine
( 1 9 9 1 ) , a s t u d y of e t h n i c c o n f l i c t
between
I t a l i a n i m m i g r a n t s and Q u e b e c o i s urban d w e l l e r s at the t u r n of
this
c e n t u r y . I n t r i g u i n g l y , the f i l m ' s e p o n y m o u s S a r a c e n r e f e r s to a s t r i n g borne f i g u r e in an I t a l i a n m a r i o n e t t e s h o w . T h i s d a r k - s k i n n e d puppet
s e r v e s the s a m e n a r r a t i v e
R o s s e l l i n i ' s Paisa,
subject
to
f u n c t i o n as the w o o d e n M o o r i n R o b e r t o
a d e t a i l w h i c h s u g g e s t s t h a t I t a l o - Q u e b e c e r s are as
motherland
influence
as
are
their
French-speaking
neighbours.
In the i n t e r e s t s of f a i r n e s s , i t s h o u l d p r o b a b l y be p o i n t e d out t h a t
French i n t e l l e c t u a l s
backwater.
no l o n g e r l o o k at Quebec p u r e l y as a
B o t h F e l i x L e c l e r c and R o b e r t
Charlebois
cultural
rejuvenated
p o p u l a r F r e n c h m u s i c in the 1 9 6 0 s , and P a r i s i a n c r i t i c s w e r e p r o p e r l y
appreciative.
truly
1
1
A t t i m e s , i t c o u l d f a i r l y be s a i d , they w e r e more than
appreciative-on
conciliatory-attempting
behalf
of
their
to be m o r e
fellow
countrymen,
almost
Q u e b e c o i s t h a n the Q u e b e c o i s
themselves.
M o n t r e a l e r s of I t a l i a n d e s c e n t are a l m o s t c e r t a i n l y the a l l o p h o n e c o m m u n i t y w h i c h i s
m o s t a s s i d u o u s l y c o u r t e d by Q u e b e c ' s f e d e r a l i s t and n a t i o n a l i s t c a m p s . A s n o n - n a t i v e
E n g l i s h s p e a k e r s t h e y w e r e , p r i o r to the p a r t i Q u e b e c o i s ' s f i r s t e l e c t o r a l v i c t o r y i n
1 9 7 6 , l a r g e l y a s s i m i l a t e d i n t o M o n t r e a l ' s anglophone c o m m u n i t y , d e s p i t e t h e i r C a t h o l i c
f a i t h . F o l l o w i n g changes to the p r o v i n c e ' s e d u c a t i o n a l l a w s , m o s t of t h e i r c h i l d r e n w e r e
s u b s e q u e n t l y c h a n n e l l e d i n t o M o n t r e a l ' s F r e n c h l a n g u a g e s c h o o l s y s t e m , but t h i s
s e e m i n g l y had l i t t l e e f f e c t on t h e i r p o l i t i c a l l o y a l t i e s . G e n e r a l l y popular in both l i n g u i s t i c
c a m p s , they tend to s l i d e b e t w e e n M o n t r e a l ' s e t h n i c c o m m u n i t i e s w i t h g r e a t e r ease than
m o s t . T h e c u l t u r a l u n i q u e n e s s w h i c h has a l w a y s p r e v e n t e d m u c h - c o n q u e r e d I t a l y f r o m
b e i n g r e - m a d e i n a n o t h e r c o u n t r y ' s i m a g e s e e m s to h o l d t r u e i n Q u e b e c ' s I t a l i a n
neighbourhoods as w e l l .
1 0
1 1
One of L e c l e r c ' s s o n g s p l a y s a p i v o t a l r o l e in F r a n c o i s T r u f f a u t ' s
Tirez sur le pianists.
1960 m a s t e r p i e c e ,
334
J a c q u e s B e r t i n ' s Felix Leclerc:
To
underscore
his
subject's
Le Roi heureux i s a c a s e i n p o i n t .
importance,
this
rather
sycophantic
b i o g r a p h e r w r i t e r s , "11 e s t le s e u l C a n a d i e n - o u i , le s e u l - d o n t le nom
s o i t connu p a r t o u s - t o u s - l e s F r a n c a i s " ( B e r t i n 7). C o n t i n u i n g on in the
same francocentric
Canada.
Du
vieux
v e i n , B e r t i n m a r v e l s t h a t "11 v i e n t
Canada
francais:
pas
de
de l o i n : du
litterature,
pas
d ' i n t e l l i g e n t z i a , pas de t r a d i t i o n s c u l t u r e l l e s , pas de C a f e de F l o r e , p a s
de M o n t p a r n a s s e . . . p a s de r e v u e s , pas de t h e a t r e , pas d ' e r u d i t i o n , pas des
s p e c t a t e u r s e c l a i r e s " ( B e r t i n 8 - 9). B e h i n d t h i s d e p r i v e d
lumberjack
w o r l d , of c o u r s e , o u t s i d e f o r c e s l u r k e d - a l l of t h e m s p e a k i n g E n g l i s h :
" ' A u x a n g l a i s l ' a r g e n t , l e s a f f a i r e s . A n o u s , l e s a m e s . Et l a m i s e r e ' "
( B e r t i n 2 9 ) . T h e n , t o o , t h e r e w a s the C h u r c h . A c c o r d i n g to B e r t i n , in
1 8 9 9 , Q u e b e c ' s 2 0 0 c i v i l s e r v a n t s had to engage in unequal c o m b a t w i t h
no f e w e r than 1 0 , 0 0 0 p a r i s h p r i e s t s . W h a t ' s m o r e , the
layman/priest
r a t i o of 5 7 6 - 1 w a s the m o s t V a t i c a n - f r i e n d l y in the w o r l d : " P o u r un
p r e t r e , l e Quebec de 1 9 0 0 p e u t , en e f f e t , r e s s e m b l e r a un p a r a d i s
t e r r e s t r e : t o u t y e s t dans l a m a i n de l ' e g l i s e " ( B e r t i n 4 9 ) . A s L e c l e r c
himself
r e c a l l e d , ' " C ' e s t g r a c e aux p r e t r e s que nous p a r l o n s
francais. Mais helas! il
faut bien dire
encore
t o u t e l a v e r i t e . Le c l e r g e a
c o n t r i b u e a nous m a i n t e n i r dans une c e r t a i n e n u i t de l ' e s p r i t ' "
(Bertin
5 3 ) . When he t a l k s about the r o l e of a n g l o p h o n e s i n Q u e b e c , the a u t h o r
assumes
the
xenophobic
tones
of
L o u i s H e m o n ' s habitants.
When
c o n s i d e r i n g p o p u l a t i o n s h i f t s in Quebec C i t y , f o r i n s t a n c e , he w r i t e s ,
" E n 1 8 6 1 , i l y ' a a v a i t q u a r a n t e pour c e n t d ' a n g l o p h o n e s dans l a v i l l e . Et
pas t o u s des r i c h e s . Des I r l a n d a i s , c a t h o l i q u e s c o m m e l e s c a n a d i e n s
f r a n c a i s m a i s . . . a n g l o p h o n e s avant t o u t " ( B e r t i n 7 0 ) . When s p e a k i n g of
Quebec's somewhat
ambivalent
relationship
to F r a n c e , c o n v e r s e l y ,
335
B e r t i n ' s e m p h a s i s s h i f t s e v e r so s l i g h t l y f r o m P e q u i s t e o r t h o d o x y
P a r i s i a n snobbery:
to
" P a r l e r f r a n p a i s - e t un f r a n c a i s ' a n c i e n ' , p r e s q u e
d e n a t u r e - p a f a i t h a b i t a n t . II y ' a d'un c o t e l a F r a n c e , t e r r e des a r t s , des
a r m e s et des l o i s qui f a s c i n e et qui f a i t peur, le pays de l a c u l t u r e et du
p e c h e . E t , de l ' a u t r e ,
les Anglais, les patrons,
m e i l l e u r s " (Bertin 8 8 ) .
1 2
les
gagneurs,
les
A c c o r d i n g to B e r t i n , F e l i x L e c l e r c s u f f e r e d
a b o m i n a b l y w h e n he m o v e d f r o m Quebec C i t y to M o n t r e a l : " L e c e n t r e v i l l e de Quebec e s t europeen... M o n t r e a l e s t une c i t e a m e r i c a i n e
(Bertin
111).
1 5
Modifying his i n i t i a l
somewhat contradictorily,
"
sneer somewhat, Bertin a d d s -
one m i g h t s a y , under the c i r c u m s t a n c e s -
t h a t "11 n'y a que dans le c e n t r e , v e r s l a p l a c e d ' a r m e s et 1 ' H o t e l de
V i l l e que s u b s i s t e n t q u e l q u e s v e s t i g e s du r e g i m e f r a n p a i s , m i l e s aux
c o n s t r u c t i o n s v a n i t e u s e s du c a p i t a l i s m e a n g l o - a m e r i c a i n , p o i n t
toutes
l a i d e s d ' a i l l e u r s " ( B e r t i n 1 12). U s i n g M o n t r e a l and E n g l i s h Canada as a
p r e t e x t , J a c q u e s B e r t i n f i n d s the p e r f e c t o p p o r t u n i t y
sixty-year-old
to r e p r i s e
s l u r s of G e o r g e s D u h a m e l i n a n e w c o n t e x t ; i n
the
this
r e s p e c t , at l e a s t , one c o u l d say t h a t n o t h i n g at a l l had c h a n g e d i n the
French l i t e r a r y t r a v e l l e r ' s psyche.
What i s d i f f e r e n t
i s the d e t e r m i n a t i o n
Quebec i n an e q u a l l y good l i g h t . T h i s s l i g h t
to c a s t both F r a n c e and
change in
journalistic
a t t i t u d e i s p r o b a b l y not u n c o n n e c t e d to s h i f t s in F r e n c h f o r e i g n p o l i c y
since
the
end of
the
Second World
War. W i t h
its
defeat
in
1940
T h e n o n - Q u e b e c o i s w o r d in t h i s G a l l i c s u m m a t i o n of Q u e b e c ' s t a k e on F r a n c e and the
A n g l o S a x o n w o r l d i s of c o u r s e " a r m e s " . In the s c o r e s of Q u e b e c o i s f i l m s w h i c h I have
s e e n , and the h u n d r e d s of Q u e b e c o i s b o o k s and m a g a z i n e s w h i c h I have r e a d , I c a n n o t
r e c a l l a s i n g l e o c c a s i o n in w h i c h a Quebecois poet, n o v e l i s t , j o u r n a l i s t , or f i l m m a k e r
e x p r e s s e d the s l i g h t e s t a w e o r a d m i r a t i o n f o r F r e n c h m i l i t a r y p r o w e s s . T h i s i s one
d i r e c t i o n , i t w o u l d s e e m , in w h i c h ethnic s e l f - i d e n t i f i c a t i o n cannot be pushed.
1 2
I w o n d e r how many o t h e r A m e r i c a n c i t i e s can b o a s t of so m u c h a u t h e n t i c l a t e
c e n t u r y and e a r l y 18th c e n t u r y F r e n c h a r c h i t e c t u r e ?
1 3
17th
336
c o m p o u n d e d by the l o s s of i t s A f r i c a n and A s i a n c o l o n i e s , F r a n c e ' s
c l a i m to b e i n g c o n s i d e r e d a g r e a t m i l i t a r y and p o l i t i c a l p o w e r s e e m e d
less
credible
all
prestige, efforts
the
t i m e . To c o m p e n s a t e f o r
this
lack
of
global
w e r e made in the E l y s e e P a l a c e to e s t a b l i s h
the
n a t i o n as the c e n t r e of a w o r l d w i d e f r a n c o p h o n e c o m m u n i t y w h i c h w a s
f i v e o r s i x t i m e s as l a r g e as F r a n c e i t s e l f . P a r a l l e l to t h i s p o l i c y ran
the g o v e r n m e n t ' s a l r e a d y d i s c u s s e d a t t e m p t s to a s s u m e one of the key
roles
in a United Europe s t r o n g
enough to c o m p e t e
w i t h both
the
A m e r i c a n s and the J a p a n e s e on t h e i r o w n t e r m s . S t e e p e d as a l w a y s in
the t e n e t s of Realpolitik,
gloire
F r e n c h p o l i t i c i a n s s a w q u i t e c l e a r l y t h a t i f Ja
w a s e v e r to r e t u r n to the banks of the S e i n e i t w o u l d c o m e in the
f o r m of a c o n f e d e r a t e d , not a n a t i o n a l , package.
In t e r m s of w a l k i n g t h i s n e w double l i n e , J a c q u e s B e r t i n i s a
c o n s u m m a t e m a s t e r . When he w r i t e s ,
for instance, "Parlons Joual!
V o i l a l a r e p o n s e au f a m e u x ' s p e a k w h i t e ! ' " ( B e r t i n 2 5 9 ) he m a k e s a c a s e
f o r the l o c a l d i a l e c t w i t h o u t i n any w a y i m p u g n i n g the p u r i t y of
Parisian
i d e a l . Joual
exists
exclusively
thanks
E n g l i s h . T h u s , the F r a n c o - Q u e b e c o i s l i n g u i s t i c
to
the
the
oppressive
confrontation
is
left
e n t i r e l y out of the loop. L e o n a r d C o h e n , on the o t h e r hand, M o n t r e a l ' s
best-known
anglophone p o e t / s o n g w r i t e r - a n d
p o p u l a r i n P a r i s , by the w a y - i s
not l e t
off
one w h o i s
extremely
so e a s i l y : "11 p a r l e
en
f r a n c a i s . B o n , i l a un a c c e n t qui le t r a h i r a i t s ' i l l u i f a i s a i t c o n f i a n c e et
parlait
l e dos t o u r n e . M a i s i l p a r l e l e n t e m e n t ,
L'accent
ajoute
mollification
of
au
charme"
that
final
(Bertin
289).
sentence,
the
sans elever la
Despite
French
of
the
voix.
partial
Montreal's
anglophone c o m m u n i t y i s c l e a r l y not g r a n t e d the s a m e i m m u n i t y
which
B e r t i n a c c o r d s to h i s pure laine f r i e n d s . It i s no e x a g g e r a t i o n to s t a t e
337
t h a t at t i m e s the b i o g r a p h e r ' s w i l l i n g n e s s to c u r r y Q u e b e c o i s f a v o u r
f r e q u e n t l y b o r d e r s on the r i d i c u l o u s . C o n s i d e r the f o l l o w i n g
summary
of the f i r s t FLQ m a n i f e s t o : " L e t e x t e p r e s e n t e un m e r i t e p l u t o t r a r e . II
s e m b l e a v o i r ete e c r i t
p a r un v r a i l i t t e r a t e u r .
II o b t i e n d r a un v r a i
s u c c e s p o p u l a i r e " ( B e r t i n 2 6 0 ) . Only once does the a u t h o r a d m i t
what
h e ' s r e a l l y up to: " J " e c r i r a i une s o r t e de r o m a n h i s t o r i q u e s u r l a n a t i o n
quebecoise" (Bertin
313). That
what
B e r t i n has w r i t t e n i s
r a t h e r than h i s t o r y i s a f a i r l y generous i n t e r p r e t a t i o n
fiction
of t h i s
book;
t h o s e l e s s w e l l - d i s p o s e d t o w a r d s the a u t h o r m i g h t argue i n s t e a d t h a t
w h a t he has w h i p p e d up i s l i t t l e b e t t e r than s e c o n d - h a n d n a t i o n a l i s t
p r o p a g a n d a , a b o r r o w e d p o l i c y p o s i t i o n w h i c h l a c k s the
emotional
v a l i d a t i o n of p e r s o n a l g r i e v a n c e .
Happily,
afflicted
not
all
French t r a v e l l e r s
w i t h nostalgie
des
colonies
in
Quebec are
as
fatally
as i s F e l i x L e c l e r c ' s F r e n c h
b i o g r a p h e r . W h i l e f i l m m a k e r M i c h e l M o r e a u , in h i s
autobiographical
documentary
the
Le Pays
reve
(1996),
does
make
occasional
B e r t i n e s q u e a s i d e - " M o n t r e a l a t t r a p e le v i r u s des E t a t s - U n i s " b e i n g
p e r h a p s the m o s t a s t r i n g e n t - i n g e n e r a l h i s c o m m e n t s are f a r m o r e l o w
key. D e s p i t e h i s f o n d n e s s f o r C h a r l e s T r e n e t s o n g s and the w r i t i n g s
of
C o l e t t e , w h o w a s b o r n , he a n n o u n c e s p r o u d l y " 3 0 k i l o m e t r e s de c h e z
n o u s , " he w o u l d w i n d up in 7a belle province
in 1 9 6 0 at l e a s t
partially
as a r e s u l t of h i s d i s g u s t o v e r the c o l o n i a l w a r w h i c h F r a n c e w a s then
w a g i n g in A l g e r i a . Many of the e i g h t y n o n - f i c t i o n f i l m s he s u b s e q u e n t l y
made d e a l t
with
the
problems
of
immigrants
adjusting
e n v i r o n m e n t . A b o u t Quebec i t s e l f he s a y s r e l a t i v e l y
to
a new
little/expressing
g r a t i t u d e f o r the good t h i n g s w h i c h F r e n c h N o r t h A m e r i c a b r o u g h t
to
338
h i s l i f e , but w i t h o u t e v e r r e s o r t i n g to a r r o g a n t o v e r - s i m p l i f i c a t i o n s of
the J a c q u e s B e r t i n v a r i e t y .
Somewhat
surprisingly,
at
least
one
American
has
j o u r n a l i s t i c a l l y bashed the U S A f r o m a p u t a t i v e Q u e b e c o i s p e r s p e c t i v e .
A V i e t n a m War vintage
draft-dodger,
Robert Dole a c q u i r e d
foreign
l a n g u a g e s in Europe p r i o r to a s s u m i n g a c a d e m i c r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s at the
U n i v e r s i t e du Quebec a T r o i s R i v i e r e s . Le Cauchemar
pamphletaire
actuelle
sur
les
vestiges
du puhtanisme
americain:
dans
la
Essai
mentalite
i s the a u t h o r ' s r e s p o n s e to a n a t i o n a l h e r i t a g e w h i c h c a u s e s
h i m c o n s i d e r a b l e u n e a s e . The book i s d e d i c a t e d to Mark F r e c h e t t e , an
A m e r i c a n a c t o r of Q u e b e c o i s d e s c e n t who s t a r r e d in Zabriskie
Point,
M i c h e l a n g e l o A n t o n i o n i ' s l a t e ' 6 0 s ode to r a d i c a l A m e r i c a , p r i o r
becoming a revolutionary
to
in h i s o w n r i g h t , and d y i n g i n p r i s o n u n d e r
m y s t e r i o u s c i r c u m s t a n c e s . Dole w r i t e s , " V o i c i mon h y p o t h e s e : A T i n s u
des
A m e r i c a i n s , il
existe
un c a r a c t e r e
a m e r i c a i n e , un c o m p o r t e m e n t
a m e r i c a i n , une
a m e r i c a i n qui s o n t
propre
mentalite
au p e u p l e
a m e r i c a i n et qui le d i s t i n g u e n t d ' a u t r e s n a t i o n a l i t e s " (Dole 12). L i k e Le
Monde's f r o n t - p a g e e d i t o r i a l i s t s , he b e l i e v e s t h a t " D e p u i s l a c h u t e du
s o c i a l i s m e en Europe et a i l l e u r s , p l u s r i e n n'empeche
l'americanisation
de l a p l a n e t e " (Dole 13). S e e k i n g to e x p l a i n h i s m o t i v a t i o n s m o r e
fully,
the a u t h o r c o n f e s s e s , " L a t r i p l e p e r s p e c t i v e a m e r i c a i n e - e u r o p e e n e q u e b e c o i s e va donner a mes r e f l e x i o n s des t o u r n u r e s o r i g i n a l e s , p a r f o i s
peut-etre
Corriere
e x c e n t r i q u e s " (Dole 16). L i k e the c u l t u r a l
of
della Sera, Dole a t t r i b u t e s the i l l s of A m e r i c a n - s t y l e p o l i t i c a l
c o r r e c t n e s s to the l i n g e r i n g
century
page w r i t e r s
effects
puritanism: " S i l'individu
deprivation
dans
sa vie
of d e t e r m i n i s t i c
faisait
personnelle,
seventeenth-
p r e u v e de f a i b l e s s e ou de
ses voisins
sauraient
qu'il
339
n'appartenait
pas au groupe des e l u s " (Dole 2 4 ) . A s r e a d e r s of C h a p t e r
T h r e e w i l l r e m e m b e r , t h i s i s p r e c i s e l y the s o r t of New W o r l d m i n d s e t
w h i c h A n t o n i o G r a m s c i w i s h e d on h i s f e l l o w I t a l i a n s as an i n t e r i m p r e s o c i a l i s t m e a s u r e . C l a i m s are made in Le Cauchemar
one c a n o n l y
americain
hope a r e e x a g g e r a t e d : " L e s A m e r i c a i n s
which
construisent
a c t u e l l e m e n t p l u s de p r i s o n s que d ' e c o l e s " (Dole 4 2 ) . The Land of the
( U n ) f r e e , a l a s , i s s e e m i n g l y not c o n t e n t w i t h t u r n i n g i t s o w n
terrain
into a m a s s i v e prison yard: " C ' e s t precisement la c o n v i c t i o n q u ' i l s sont
le peuple e l u de Dieu qui p r o c u r e aux A m e r i c a i n s le s e n t i m e n t de d e v o i r
j o u e r le r o l e de gendarme r n o n d i a l e " (Dole 47). S i m i l a r l y - a l t h o u g h , Dole
would
contend, with
feministe
americaine
greater
justice
a introduit
on i t s
encore
une
side-"Le
autre
mouvement
vision
de
la
p r e d e s t i n a t i o n : e l u e s s o n t l e s f e m m e s et l e s n o n - e l u s , l e s h o m m e s "
(Dole 5 5 ) . L i k e D.H. L a w r e n c e , R o b e r t Dole s e e s c r u e l t y as an i n t e g r a l
p a r t of the A m e r i c a n c h a r a c t e r : " L e l i e u t e n a n t G a l l e y d e v i n t un h e r o s
a m e r i c a i n " (Dole 6 8 ) . L i k e S i m o n e de B e a u v o i r , the a u t h o r b e l i e v e s t h a t
B l a c k s have a much g r e a t e r u n d e r s t a n d i n g of W h i t e s than W h i t e s do of
t h e m s e l v e s : " S e l o n B a l d w i n , l a s o u r c e du p o u v o i r des N o i r s d o i t
etre
l e u r c o n n a i s s a n c e des B l a n c s , qui e s t s u p e r i e u r e a c e t t e que l e s B l a n c s
ont
d'eux
memes"
(Dole
111).
Being i n c o r r i g i b l y
A m e r i c a n p e o p l e are i n c a p a b l e of r e s o r t i n g
capitalist,
the
to the one s y s t e m
that
m i g h t s a v e t h e m : s o c i a l i s m . In D o l e ' s w o r d s , " L e peuple a m e r i c a i n e s t
v r a i m e n t m a l h e u r e u x , m a i s 1 ' i d e e de b l a m e le s y s t e m e s o c i o e c o n o m i q u e
du p a y s p o u r ce m a l h e u r e s t i n c o n c e v a b l e " (Dole 101). More b l u n t l y , he
w r i t e s " L ' e x p e r i e n c e a m e r i c a i n e s t un e c h e c " (Dole 128). C o n s e q u e n t l y ,
the
author's
"participation
a l a l u t t e p o u r un Q u e b e c
independent
c o n s t i t u e un r e a c t i o n a l a m e n a c e d ' h o m o g e n e i s a t i o n a l ' a m e r i c a i n e de
340
n o t r e p e t i t e p l a n e t e " (Dole 120). Of l i t e r a r y c r i t i c s of A m e r i c a , Dole
s o m e w h a t too s i m p l i s t i c a l l y c l a i m s t h a t " L e s a u t e u r s qui a n a l y s e l a
mentalite
a m e r i c a i n e se d i v i s e n t f a c i l e m e n t
en deux g r o u p e s : c e u x
d ' a v a n t l e XXe s i e c l e et ceux de XXe s i e c l e . Chez ceux du p r e m i e r g r o u p e ,
Toptimisme
et
Tadmiration
a l'endroit
du p e u p l e a m e r i c a i n
sont
p r e s q u e u n a n i m e s . Ceux du d e u x i e m e groupe, p a r c o n t r e , e x p r i m e n t a peu
p r e s un c e r t a i n d e s e n c h a n t e m e n t (Dole 1 2 0 ) . "
A b o v e a l l e l s e , Le Cauchemar
americain
1 4
i s an i n t e r e s t i n g e x a m p l e
of c o n s t r u c t e d i d e n t i t y . D e s p i t e the a u t h o r ' s a i l - A m e r i c a n o r i g i n s - a t
the v e r y end of t h i s ch
is
one
of
passionately
those
de coeur, Dole r u e f u l l y a d m i t s t h a t he h i m s e l f
fierce,
warning
his
inward-looking
readers
puritans
against-his
he
social
has
been
situation-
e m b a t t l e d s o c i a l i s t ; Q u e b e c o i s n a t i o n a l i s t ; f r a n c o p h o n e a u t h o r ; enemy
of p o l i t i c a l c o r r e c t n e s s ; d i s b e l i e v e r in P e n t a g o n / W a l l S t r e e t
myths-
m a k e s h i m r a t h e r m o r e than j u s t a c o m r a d e - i n - a r m s of Le
Monde's
g l o b a l e c o n o m i s t s , Corhere
della
Sera's
p o p u l a r c u l t u r e p u n d i t s , and
Jacques B e r t i n - s t y l e Quebecois wanna-bes. Because his v i e w s coincide
so e x a c t l y w i t h t h o s e of h i s n a t u r a l a l l i e s , h i s b r o a d s i d e s are of
m o r e v a l u e t h a n t h o s e of
Quebecois i n t e l l e c t u a l s
cultural
a mere insider. For French,
a f r a i d of d r o w n i n g
influence, Dole's testimony
Italian,
far
and
i n a v u l g a r s e a of U.S.
i s as i d e o l o g i c a l l y v a l u a b l e as
a n t i - Z i o n i s t p r o n o u n c e m e n t s f r o m Orthodox r a b b i s w o u l d be i n r a d i c a l
A s w e s a w i n C h a p t e r T h r e e , the I t a l i a n c u l t u r a l a n a l y s t s of the 1 9 3 0 s w e r e f a r m o r e
s y m p a t h e t i c t o w a r d s the United S t a t e s of A m e r i c a than w e r e A l e x i s de T o c q u e v i l l e and J .
H e c t o r S t . J o h n de C r e v e c o u r t , the t w o b e s t - i n t e n t i o n e d F r e n c h l i t e r a r y t r a v e l l e r s of the
19th c e n t u r y . D o l e ' s g e n e r a l i z a t i o n i s f u r t h e r h u r t by i t s f a i l u r e to e x p l a i n the e x i s t e n c e
of p o s t w a r F r e n c h A t l a n t i c i s t s , and by i t s de f a c t o e l i m i n a t i o n of E n g l i s h t r a v e l w r i t e r s ,
m o t h e r l a n d s c r i b e s w h o w e r e g e n e r a l l y k i n d e r to the r e v o l t e d " 1 3 c o l o n i e s " i n t h i s
c e n t u r y than they w e r e in the l a s t .
1 4
341
P a l e s t i n i a n c i r c l e s . In both c a s e s , u n i v e r s a l l e g i t i m a c y i s b r o u g h t
to
r e g i o n a l c o n c e r n s v i a the t e s t i m o n y of h i g h - p r o f i l e " a p o s t a t e s " .
Of c o u r s e , in the f i n a l d e c a d e s of the 2 0 t h c e n t u r y , an i n c r e a s i n g
n u m b e r of E u r o p e a n i n t e l l e c t u a l s are t a k i n g U.S. h e g e m o n y
more-or-
l e s s f o r g r a n t e d . We have a l r e a d y s e e n how U m b e r t o Eco w r i t e s
from
the
America's
p e r s p e c t i v e of
rise
both
Rome but
the
conquest
from
and
t h a t of
not
Athens, seeing
transmission
of
the
in
old
" H e l l e n i s m " w h i c h he r e p r e s e n t s .
I r o n i c a l l y , one of the m o s t b r i l l i a n t
style
i s not
Arcand's
an Old W o r l d m a s t e r but
1986 feature
Roman f r o n t i e r
Le Declin
i n h e r i t o r s of t h i s a s s u m e d
a New W o r l d u p s t a r t .
de 1'Empire americain
Denys
i s s e t on a
t h a t i n c l u d e s M o n t r e a l and G e o r g e v i l l e , Q u e b e c .
Its
d r a m a t i s p e r s o n a e c o n s i s t a l m o s t e x c l u s i v e l y of l i b i d i n a l l y - o b s e s s e d
history
p r o f e s s o r s w h o d e c i d e to s p e n d a w e e k e n d t o g e t h e r
in
the
c o u n t r y . W h i l e m o s t of t h e i r c o n v e r s a t i o n i s d e v o t e d to g a s t r o n o m y and
s e x , w h e n e v e r they do t u r n t h e i r t h o u g h t s t o w a r d s t h e i r m e t i e r ,
speak w i t h a b i t t e r s w e e t
they
r e s i g n a t i o n t h a t w o u l d not have s e e m e d out
of p l a c e i n the age of J u l i a n the A p o s t a t e .
Remy, for instance, believes that history is really a question
n u m b e r s : " Q a , pa v e u t d i r e p a r e x e m p l e que l e s N o i r s
finiront certainement
americains n'arriveront
of,
sud-africains
un j o u r p a r g a g n e r , a l o r s que l e s N o i r s n o r d j a m a i s a s ' e n s o r t i r . Ca v e u t d i r e a u s s i que
l ' h i s t o i r e n ' e s t pas une s c i e n c e m o r a l e . Le bon d r o i t , l a c o m p a s s i o n , l a
j u s t i c e s o n t des n o t i o n s e t r a n g e r e s a l ' h i s t o i r e " ( A r c a n d 1 1). A l t h o u g h
h e r p r i o r i t i e s are s l i g h t l y d i f f e r e n t , Diane i s v e r y m u c h in a c c o r d w i t h
R e m y : " V o y e z - v o u s on p o s s e d e p l u s de d o c u m e n t s s u r l e s E g y p t i e n s que
s u r l e s N u b i e n s , beaucoup p l u s de d o c u m e n t s s u r l e s E s p a g n o l s que s u r
342
l e s M a y a s , et b i e n s u r beaucoup p l u s de d o c u m e n t s s u r l e s h o m m e s que
sur
les
f e m m e s . Et
d'ailleurs
c'est
une
limite
tres
certaine
de
l ' h i s t o i r e . M a i s i l y a p e u t - e t r e un e l e m e n t p s y c h o l o g i q u e : c ' e s t qu'au
f o n d on a i m e beaucoup m i e u x e n t e n d r e p a r l e r des v a i n q u e u r s que des
v a i n c u s " ( A r c a n d 1 1 1). F o r D a n i e l l e , m e a n w h i l e , E u r o p e ' s c o l o n i z a t i o n
of
North
America-a
colonization
from
which
she
has
directly
b e n e f i t e d - " C ' e s t l a d e u x i e m e p l u s g r a n d e c a t a s t r o p h e de l ' h i s t o i r e
d'humanite,
vingtieme
apres la peste
siecle,
c'est
noire
au m o y e n - a g e . C o m p a r e a c a , l e
du b o n b o n ! " ( A r c a n d
138). P i e r r e
agrees:
" L ' h i s t o i r e de l ' h u m a n i t e , c ' e s t une h i s t o i r e d ' h o r r e u r " ( A r c a n d
139).
F o r D o m i n i q u e , the s t i g m a t a of d e c l i n e are e v e r y w h e r e and u n a v o i d a b l e :
"Les
s i g n e s du d e c l i n de l ' e m p i r e
sont
p a r t o u t . La p o p u l a t i o n
qui
m e p r i s e s e s p r o p r e s i n s t i t u t i o n s . La b a i s s e du taux de n a t a l i t e . Le r e f u s
des
hommes
de s e r v i r
dans
l'armee.
incontrolable... Avec l'ecroulement
La d e t t e
nationale
devenue
du r e v e m a r x i s t e - l e n i n i s t e , on ne
peut p l u s c i t e r aucune m o d e l e de s o c i e t e dont on p o u r r a i t
dire: voila
c o m m e n t nous a i m e r o n s v i v r e " ( A r c a n d 143). S t i l l , t h e r e are
certain
a d v a n t a g e s to b e i n g a l i v e i n s u c h an age: " L e d e c l i n d'une c i v i l i s a t i o n
e s t a u s s i i n e v i t a b l e que le v i e i l l i s s e m e n t des i n d i v i d u s . A u m i e u x , on
peut e s p e r e r r e t a r d e r un peu le p r o c e s s u s . . . R e m a r q u o n s que n o u s , i c i ,
nous a v o n s l a c h a n c e de v i v r e en b o r d u r e de l ' e m p i r e . L e s c h o c s s o n t
beaucoup m o i n s v i o l e n t s . II f a u t d i r e que l a p e r i o d e a c t u e l l e peut
etre
t r e s a g r e a b l e a v i v r e p a r c e r t a i n s c o t e s " ( A r c a n d 173). D e c l i n e i s not
the s a m e t h i n g as d e m i s e , h o w e v e r . T h u s , w h e n P i e r r e o p i n e s " M o i , j ' a i
l ' i m p r e s s i o n qu'on s a u r a j a m a i s v r a i m e n t le fond de l ' h i s t o i r e "
(Arcand
173), o p t i m i s m s t r u g g l e s w i t h f a t a l i s m . Under ordinary c i r c u m s t a n c e s ,
t h i n g s w o u l d be changed d r a m a t i c a l l y by the b a r b a r i a n s at the g a t e , by
343
the rude b r o o m f r o m the s t e p p e s t h a t s w e e p s the c u l t i v a t e d but
effete
dead w o o d of e s t a b l i s h e d c u l t u r e s i n t o the d u s t b i n of h i s t o r y . T h i s t i m e
a r o u n d , h o w e v e r , the
traditional
outriders
t a s k . T h e end r e s u l t
a r e too
weak
to
is a strange
accomplish
sort
of
their
stasis,
the
s e e m i n g l y e n d l e s s p r o l o n g a t i o n of a fin d'epoch w a i t i n g p e r i o d w h i c h i n
the p a s t w o u l d have l o n g s i n c e been t e r m i n a t e d
by e n t r o p i c
social
f o r c e s . By a l l the l a w s of H e g e l , M a r x , S p e n g l e r , and T o y n b e e , the
c i v i l i z a t i o n w e l i v e in s h o u l d have ended y e a r s ago, and yet i t has not.
I n s t e a d of c h a n g i n g , i t m u t a t e s . What the f u t u r e h o l d s f o r t h i s o l d / n e w
hybrid culture, this p o s t h i s t o r i c a l / a h i s t o r i c a l corporate c i v i l i z a t i o n ,
w i l l p r o b a b l y not be k n o w n u n t i l the next " m u t a t i o n " o c c u r s , s o m e t i m e
d u r i n g the c o m i n g m i l l e n n i u m .
344
CONCLUSION
The r e f r a i n
f r o m one of G i l l e s V i g n e a u l t ' s m o s t p o p u l a r s o n g s
r e a d s as f o l l o w s : " M o n p a y s ce n ' e s t pas un p a y s c ' e s t
l'hiver/Mon
j a r d i n ce n ' e s t pas un j a r d i n c ' e s t l a p l a i n e / M o n c h e m i n ce n ' e s t pas un
chemin c'est
(Vigneault
l a n e i g e / M o n p a y s ce n ' e s t pas un p a y s c ' e s t
159).
Although
to
outsiders
these
lines
Thiver"
might
sound
p l e a s a n t l y p a s t o r a l , to Quebec n a t i o n a l i s t s they are a r a l l y i n g c r y and
the u n o f f i c i a l
a n t h e m of the P a r t i Q u e b e c o i s . The g a r d e n s ,
winters,
p l a i n s , and s n o w r e f e r r e d to r e s i d e e x c l u s i v e l y w i t h i n the f r o n t i e r s
la belle province;
they have n o t h i n g at a l l to do w i t h the v e r y
of
similar
phenomena found in R u s s i a , S c a n d i n a v i a , the n o r t h e r n h a l f of the U n i t e d
S t a t e s , or even E n g l i s h - s p e a k i n g Canada. T h o s e in the k n o w w i l l get the
p o i n t ; as f o r t h o s e o u t s i d e the l o o p , t h e i r
l a c k of u n d e r s t a n d i n g
is
w e l c o m e d , not r e s e n t e d .
In o t h e r w o r d s , " M o n P a y s " i s the e x c l u s i v e p r o p e r t y of le
quebecois
in the s a m e w a y t h a t T h o m a s M o o r e ' s Irish Melodies
of E r i n ' s n a t i o n a l p a t r i m o n y .
surface effects
peuple
are p a r t
In both c a s e s , o u t s i d e r s m i g h t e n j o y
the
of t h e s e p o e m s , but t h e y w i l l n e v e r f u l l y g r a s p
the
s e l f - a b s o r b e d s u b t e x t s w h i c h speak to one a u d i e n c e and one a u d i e n c e
only. T h i s i s n a t i o n a l l i t e r a t u r e t h a t s t a y s n a t i o n a l l i t e r a t u r e ; i t does
not r e a l l y have an i n t e r n a t i o n a l
context.
If s u c h w o r k s are in s o m e w a y s at l e a s t i m p l i c i t l y
xenophobic,
t h e y do at l e a s t o f f e r a l a s t l i n e of d e f e n s e i n the c u r r e n t
struggle
a g a i n s t c u l t u r a l g l o b a l i z a t i o n . Though M i c k e y Mouse and Rambo speak
345
to e v e r y T o m , D i c k , and s u c k e r , l e s P l o u f f e and F i n n M c C o o l do
not.
1
T h e r e w i l l a l w a y s be some l o c a l t a s t e s w h i c h even the m o s t a s t u t e and
merciless multinational
w i l l be unable to s a t i s f y . U n f o r t u n a t e l y
for
p l u r a l i s m , however, these highly s p e c i a l i z e d hungers seem fated
to
o c c u p y an e v e r s m a l l e r p r o p o r t i o n of the c u l t u r a l pie.
F r a n c e , I t a l y , and Quebec have r e s p o n d e d to t h i s
challenge-a
c h a l l e n g e w h i c h , f o r a l l p r a c t i c a l p u r p o s e s , m i g h t as w e l l be c a l l e d
le
defi
to
americain-in
a variety
s u m m a r i z e them
of
different
w a y s . It
S t a t e s at
a pivotal
the
point in i t s
history.
potential
In the
t i m e w h e n the t h i n l y p o p u l a t e d
of
early
century,
during
Nouvelle
France w e r e f i r s t e s t a b l i s h e d , G a l l i c i n t e r e s t i n the
latitudes
time
briefly.
F r a n c e f i r s t b e c a m e a w a r e of the t r e m e n d o u s
United
i s now
the
16th
c o l o n i e s of
of the New W o r l d w a s m i n i m a l . A s i d e f r o m i t s
p r o v i d e the m a i n l a n d w i t h f u r s , the e c o n o m i c p o t e n t i a l
la
northern
ability
to
of New F r a n c e
w a s s e r i o u s l y u n d e r v a l u e d . What V e r s a i l l e s r e a l l y w a n t e d w a s a c c e s s
to
Indian and C a r i b b e a n s t o r e s of g o l d and s p i c e s , not
b e a v e r p e l t s . Quebec w a s u l t i m a t e l y
imperialist
frost-bitten
l o s t to E n g l a n d i n w h a t w a s , to
E u r o p e a n s , l i t t l e m o r e than a m i n o r t h e a t r e
of the S e v e n
Y e a r s ' War. It w a s only a f t e r the l o s s of Quebec t h a t F r e n c h w r i t e r s
r e a d e r s began to i n t e r e s t
and
themselves
in t h e i r l o n g - d e s p i s e d arpents de neiges. J o u r n a l i s t i c h i s t o r i e s , s u c h as
The Jesuit
Relations
b e c a m e p o p u l a r , as d i d , a l i t t l e l a t e r o n , t h o s e
L e s P l o u f f e w e r e a p o p u l a r Q u e b e c o i s T V f a m i l y of the 1 9 5 0 s , a m e t a m o r p h o s i s t h a t
f o l l o w e d t h e i r f i r s t a p p e a r a n c e in a novel by R o g e r L e m e l i n . G i l l e s C a r l e gave t h e m the
w i d e s c r e e n t r e a t m e n t in 1 9 8 1 . A s f o r Finn M c C o o l , he i s the m o s t p a r o c h i a l of e p i c I r i s h
h e r o e s , an u n g l a m o r o u s giant t o t a l l y l a c k i n g in the p r i m i t i v e a l l u r e of C u c h u l a i n n , Mdbh,
and Conchobar.
1
346
C a t h o l i c - f l a v o u r e d f o r e s t f a n t a s i e s of Rene de C h a t e a u b r i a n d . By the
early
19th century, when French a t t i t u d e s
t o w a r d s the r e s t of
the
w o r l d w e r e s t a r t i n g to change and the n a t i o n s of the N e a r and F a r E a s t which
until
that
i n a c c u r a t e but
time
morally
had
often
been
employed
admirable political
as
historically
models w i t h
c h a s t i z e the s o c i a l and i n t e l l e c t u a l s h o r t c o m i n g s of Vancien
which
to
regime-
were r e - i n v e n t e d as a s o r t of O r i e n t a l i s t t h e m e p a r k , a p p r e c i a t i o n of
the U n i t e d S t a t e s began in e a r n e s t . W h i l e n o s t a l g i a f o r the l o s t f o r e s t s
of
the
New World w a s r e l a t i v e l y
benign, interest
i n the
Thirteen
C o l o n i e s w a s v e r y g r e a t . The U n i t e d S t a t e s of A m e r i c a , a f t e r a l l , m i g h t
n e v e r have c o m e i n t o e x i s t e n c e i n i t s p r e s e n t f o r m i f F r e n c h n a v a l
a s s i s t a n c e had not t u r n e d the m i l i t a r y t i d e in f a v o u r of the c o l o n i a l
i n s u r r e c t i o n a r i e s . A f t e r 1 7 8 9 , A m e r i c a w a s s e e n as a f e l l o w r e p u b l i c ,
still
a relative
r a r i t y i n an age of a b s o l u t e m o n a r c h y . A l t h o u g h
it
p r e c e d e d t h e i r s , F r e n c h d e m o c r a t s g e n e r a l l y took p r i d e i n the s u c c e s s
of the A m e r i c a n R e v o l u t i o n . In 1 8 3 2 , the young V i c t o r Hugo w r o t e in h i s
d i a r y , a p r o p o s of the l e g i s l a t o r s of h i s day, " M e s s i e u r s , p a r l o n s un peu
m o i n s de R o b e s p i e r r e et un peu p l u s de W a s h i n g t o n " ( C h o s e s vues T o m e
1 1 2 0 ) . In t h a t s a m e d e c a d e , A l e x i s de T o c q u e v i l l e p u b l i s h e d De Ja
democratie
en Amerique,
a v o l u m e w h i c h i s s t i l l r e g a r d e d , e v e n by
A m e r i c a n s , as the m o s t i n s i g h t f u l e v a l u a t i o n of the A m e r i c a n c h a r a c t e r
e v e r c o m p i l e d . T h e c o n s t r u c t i o n of a s p e c i f i c a l l y F r e n c h " f a n t a s y "
A m e r i c a w a s already w e l l advanced.
N i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y G a l l i c v i e w s of the U n i t e d S t a t e s w e r e not a l l
so c h a r i t a b l e , h o w e v e r . S h o r t l y a f t e r the b a t t l e of W a t e r l o o , S t e n d h a l
worried
that
American economic power
might
soon dominate
the
d i s u n i t e d n a t i o n s of Europe. P r o t e c t e d by i t s u n i v e r s a l m i l i t i a s y s t e m -
347
a f o r m of s e l f - d e f e n c e w h i c h m o r e than made up f o r A m e r i c a ' s t h e n
negligible
intents
army-and
its
and p u r p o s e s
internal
affairs.
v a s t s p a c e s , the U n i t e d S t a t e s w a s to
impervious
Yankee w h a l e r s
to
European i n t e r v e n t i o n
and c l i p p e r
ships
made
in
all
its
British
a d m i r a l s f e a r f o r t h e i r c o n t i n u e d c o n t r o l of the s e v e n s e a s . A m e r i c a n
i n d u s t r y , though s t i l l p r i m i t i v e , a l r e a d y s h o w e d s i g n s of s u r p a s s i n g the
factories
of
Hamburg
and
Liverpool.
Everything
about
America
s u g g e s t e d the w a x i n g of p o w e r , j u s t as e v e r y t h i n g about Europe i m p l i e d
i t s wane.
There
w a s a l s o , of
course, a wide-spread
fear
of
American
v u l g a r i t y . Even A l e x i s de T o c q u e v i l l e , a p h i l o - A m e r i c a n i f e v e r t h e r e
w a s one, had a l o t to say on t h i s s c o r e . A m e r i c a n l i t e r a t u r e and a r t of
the
early
19th
counterparts.
century
Even
were
more
decidedly
worryingly,
inferior
the
to
engine
their
of
European
democratic
g o v e r n m e n t p a r a d o x i c a l l y s e e m e d to l e a d to a c o n s e n s u a l t h i n k i n g t h a t
ultimately
unknown
resulted
in a c o n f o r m i t y
in a b s o l u t i s t
of
opinion
E u r o p e . In m a t t e r s
of
the
that
was
entirely
mind, it
seemed,
d e m o c r a c y l e d to s l a v e r y , not f r e e d o m . T h i s paradox c a u s e d d i s c o m f o r t
all
a c r o s s the
political
spectrum, affecting
left-
and
right-wing
w r i t e r s w i t h equal f o r c e . If A m e r i c a had s o m e t h i n g to t e a c h Europe i n
t e r m s of e c o n o m i c s and p r a c t i c a l g o v e r n m e n t , the Old W o r l d had b e s t
be c a r e f u l
that it
d i d not b e c o m e i n f e c t e d
with American
artistic
m e d i o c r i t y and u n i f o r m i t y of o p i n i o n . F o r F r e n c h i n t e l l e c t u a l s , A m e r i c a
w a s not only a m o v e a b l e f e a s t , but a m o v e a b l e f a m i n e as w e l l .
F o r t h e s e r e a s o n s , the d i s t i n c t i o n b e t w e e n 19th and 2 0 t h c e n t u r y
French l i t e r a r y
travellers
in A m e r i c a i s n o w h e r e n e a r as s h a r p as
R o b e r t Dole w o u l d have us b e l i e v e . P r o and con f o r c e s s t r a d d l e d
not
348
only
c e n t u r i e s , but
Twentieth-century
individual
writers
as w e l l . G e o r g e s D u h a m e T s
complaints, for example, were predicated almost
e x c l u s i v e l y on n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y c u l t u r a l s t a n d a r d s . A l t h o u g h - d e s p i t e
h e r l e f t - w i n g l e a n i n g s - s h e s h a r e d s o m e of D u h a m e T s v i e w s , S i m o n e de
Beauvoir's
material
liking
for
the
United S t a t e s owed a great
d e a l to
the
w a n t and s o c i a l p a r a l y s i s she had r e c e n t l y e x p e r i e n c e d i n
P a r i s a f t e r l i v i n g through f o u r y e a r s of Nazi o c c u p a t i o n . R a y m o n d A r o n ,
m e a n w h i l e , p r a i s e d the U n i t e d S t a t e s p r i m a r i l y
because it
w a s an
i r r e p l a c e a b l e b u l w a r k a g a i n s t B o l s h e v i s m in the p o s t - 1 9 4 5 w o r l d . In
m o r e r e c e n t d e c a d e s , one m i g h t
also take into account both F r e n c h
w o r l d - w e a r i n e s s - t h e b e l i e f t h a t the Old W o r l d i s e x p e r i e n c i n g at l e a s t
a H e g e l i a n , i f not a S p e n g l e r i a n , end of t i m e - a n d F r e n c h c o r p o r a t i s m ,
the d e s i r e to a m a l g a m a t e the n a t i o n i n t o a u n i f i e d Europe w h i c h w o u l d
once a g a i n
be able to p l a y a m a j o r r o l e on the w o r l d s t a g e . T e m p o r a r y n e e d s ;
2
situational
h o p e s and f e a r s ; t i m e l e s s v a l u e s : a l l t h e s e t h i n g s
played a part
in d e t e r m i n i n g
French attitudes
towards
the
have
United
States.
In t h i s s t u d y , w e have c o n s i d e r e d t h e s e s h i f t s in e m p h a s i s f r o m a
v e r y l i m i t e d n u m b e r of p e r s p e c t i v e s , the m o s t i m p o r t a n t of w h i c h w e r e
F r e n c h t r a v e l w r i t i n g f r o m the l a t e 18th c e n t u r y to the p r e s e n t d a y ,
and the e v o l u t i o n of F r e n c h c r i m e f i c t i o n d u r i n g m o r e - o r - l e s s the s a m e
F r e n c h i n t e r e s t i n the doomed c i v i l i z a t i o n s of M e s o a m e r i c a has been a c o n s t a n t in t h i s
c e n t u r y , f r o m A n t o n i n A r t a u d on. A t t i m e s , i t s e e m s as i f the M a y a s , I n c a s , and A z t e c s
f u n c t i o n as a s o r t of phoenix i m a g e f o r G a l l i c t h i n k e r s , a p r o m i s e of r e s u r r e c t i o n as w e l l
as d e a t h , a r e m i n d e r t h a t u p s t a r t A m e r i c a i s b u i l t on v e r y o l d bones. T h i s s e n t i m e n t i s
p a r t i c u l a r l y s t r o n g i n J.M.G. Le C l e z i o ' s i n t e r e s t i n g book, Le reve Mexicain
(1988). The
a u t h o r w r i t e s , " L ' u n i v e r s e s t f a i t de m o r t " (Le C l e z i o 9 2 ) , and " T o r i g i n e de l a
c i v i l i s a t i o n e s t dans l a b a r b a r i e " (Le C l e z i o 112). S u c h s e n t i m e n t s are f a r m o r e r e l e v a n t
to the age of J e a n B a u d r i l l a r d than they are to the b e t w e e n - w a r heyday of A n d r e Gide.
2
349
p e r i o d . T h i s l a t t e r c a t e g o r y w a s meant to s h o w the i n t e r r e l a t e d n e s s of
F r a n c o - A m e r i c a n c u l t u r e , the w a y s in w h i c h the t w o s o c i e t i e s have
s e q u e n t i a l l y played off,
irritated,
and i m i t a t e d
each other.
It
also
p r o v i d e d o p p o r t u n i t i e s to b r a n c h off i n t o s u c h r e l a t e d f i e l d s as l i t e r a r y
a t t i t u d e s and the t r a n s - c u l t u r a l nature of f i l m p r o d u c t i o n .
W h i l e o c c a s i o n a l r e f e r e n c e s w e r e made to the e v o l u t i o n of
comic
strip
and the
popular song, all
such commentary
the
h a s been
d e l i b e r a t e l y r e l e g a t e d to the s t a t u s of i l l u s t r a t i v e a s i d e s . If one w e r e
to e x a m i n e all the c o n n e c t i o n s b e t w e e n F r e n c h and A m e r i c a n
c u l t u r e , a l l the w a y s in w h i c h F r e n c h i n t e l l e c t u a l s have r e c o n s t r u c t e d
a fantasy A m e r i c a f o r t h e i r own s p e c i f i c purposes,
t h i s book w o u l d , of n e c e s s i t y , be s e v e r a l t i m e s l o n g e r than i t i s . Though
t h o r o u g h n e s s i s a p r i m e a c a d e m i c v i r t u e , so i s b r e v i t y . In o t h e r w o r d s ,
I have t r i e d to c o n t a i n my a r g u m e n t s w i t h i n m a n a g e a b l e l i m i t s .
Unlike their French contemporaries, Italians
of the l a t e
18th
c e n t u r y w e r e not p r e d i s p o s e d to t a k e a n o s t a l g i c v i e w of the U n i t e d
States because, s t r i c t l y
s p e a k i n g , I t a l y did not t h e n e x i s t . L i k e the
G e r m a n y of t h o s e y e a r s , I t a l i a w a s not a n a t i o n but a g e o g r a p h i c a l
expression. Cobbled together
from
a c o l l e c t i o n of p e t t y
kingdoms,
f o r e i g n p r o t e c t o r a t e s , papal f i e f d o m s , and f a d e d c i t y s t a t e s , the n e w
c o u n t r y w a s not f u l l y u n i f i e d u n t i l w e l l i n t o the n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y . In
1 8 4 8 , G i u s e p p e M a z z i n i c o m p l a i n e d : ' " L ' l t a l i a del N o r d , l e t r e I t a l i e , le
c i n q u e I t a l i e sono b e s t e m m i e di s o f i s t i ' " ( B e l a r d e l l i 2 4 ) .
Even a f t e r
the R i s o r g i m e n t o w a s r e a l i z e d , r e g i o n a l d i f f e r e n c e s w e r e so e x t r e m e
they a s s u m e d a l m o s t i n t e r n a t i o n a l d i m e n s i o n s . L o m b a r d y d i f f e r e d
Sicily
about
as m u c h as S w i t z e r l a n d d i f f e r e d
from
from
Crete. Tuscan
I t a l i a n , a l t h o u g h the m o s t l i t e r a r y of the n a t i o n ' s many d i a l e c t s , w a s
350
s p o k e n by only a m i n o r i t y of the p o p u l a t i o n . N o r t h / S o u t h d i s c r e p a n c i e s
in w e a l t h w e r e e n o r m o u s . In I t a l y , t h e r e w a s no J u n k e r - s t y l e
ruling
c l a s s w i t h the i r o n d i s c i p l i n e needed to i m p o s e i t s w i l l on r e c a l c i t r a n t
p r o v i n c e s . T u s c a n y t r i e d , but i t s s u c c e s s w a s a l w a y s i n c o m p l e t e . E a r l y
a t t e m p t s at s o c i a l
e n g i n e e r i n g " a l m o d e l l o i n g l e s e del self-government"
were replaced, after
(Bellardelli
1 8 6 0 , w i t h an at t i m e s t y r a n n i c a l
state. S i c i l y was always turbulent,
while
today
24)
centralized
La L e g a del
Nord
t h r e a t e n s to s e c e d e f r o m the I t a l i a n u n i o n , a f a c t w h i c h ,
s o m e w h a t s u r p r i s i n g l y , has not r e s u l t e d in "un
contrario"
( R u s s o 2 4 ) in the S o u t h , b u t , r a t h e r , "con
responsibility
persino
separatismo
di
e di dignita
razzismo"
blasphemies,"
alia campagna
(Russo
regional
24).
differences
Far
in
incivile
from
Italy
[un]
uguale e
senso
di denigrazione
being
are
as
di
e
"sophistical
empirically
d e m o n s t r a b l e as the l a w s of t h e r m o d y n a m i c s . T h e y are as m u c h f a c t s
of l i f e as i l l n e s s o r death.
For
Italians,
therefore,
awareness
of
America
was
always
i n t i m a t e l y c o n n e c t e d to the n a t i o n ' s e n d l e s s s e a r c h f o r s o l u t i o n s to i t s
s e e m i n g l y i n s o l u b l e p r o b l e m s . I n t e r e s t in C h r i s t o p h e r C o l u m b u s , f o r
e x a m p l e , b e c a m e pronounced only a f t e r I t a l i a n s had begun to m i g r a t e to
the U n i t e d S t a t e s in l a r g e n u m b e r s . F o r new i m m i g r a n t s u n s u r e of t h e i r
E n g l i s h and t h e i r new s o c i a l s t a t u s , the k n o w l e d g e t h a t one of
their
c o u n t r y m e n had " d i s c o v e r e d " the New W o r l d w a s i m m e n s e l y r e a s s u r i n g .
Queen I s a b e l l a ' s f a v o u r i t e p i l o t s e r v e d as an i d e a l c o u n t e r w e i g h t to the
Black
Hand m o b s t e r s
with
whom
Italo-Americans
were
so
often
i d e n t i f i e d . He a l s o r e p r e s e n t e d the a m o r p h o u s I t a l i a n g e n i u s - e m b o d i e d
i n D a n t e , G u g l i e l m o M a r c o n i , G a l i l e o , the m a s t e r s of the R e n a i s s a n c e ,
351
e t c . - w h i c h had c o n t r i b u t e d so m u c h to w o r l d c u l t u r e w i t h o u t
i n any
w a y s t r e n g t h e n i n g t h e i r h o m e l a n d ' s s e n s e of n a t i o n a l i d e n t i t y . T h u s ,
f o r many I t a l i a n s , t h e i r
n a t i o n a l l e g a c y w a s not so much a found t r e a s u r e as i t w a s an i n h e r i t e d
curse.
In the e a r l y d e c a d e s of the t w e n t i e t h - c e n t u r y ,
the s e a r c h f o r
A m e r i c a n - s t y l e a n s w e r s g r e w s t r o n g e r . If, as the v e n e r a b l e d i p l o m a t M.
de N o r p o i s c o n t e n d e d i n A la Recherche
du temps perdu, the m o t t o
the 19th c e n t u r y I t a l i a n n a t i o n a l i s t s had been '"L'ltalia
fara da se'"
of
(Le
C o t e de G u e r m a n t e s 6 9 0 ) , t h i s m i l i t a n t s e l f - r e l i a n c e w a s not s h a r e d by
their
descendants. Thus, e c o n o m i s t s sought
to
s o l v e the
nation's
e n d e m i c p o v e r t y by i m p o s i n g Henry F o r d ' s f a c t o r y s y s t e m on
Italy's
w o r k i n g and m a n a g e r i a l c l a s s e s . L e f t - w i n g i n t e l l e c t u a l s , m e a n w h i l e ,
opposed the b r a s h energy of the n e w A m e r i c a n l i t e r a t u r e to the s t u d i e d
d e a d n e s s of n e o c l a s s i c a l and f r a n k l y
f a s c i s t texts. Because
Italy's
u n i q u e n e s s w a s m o r e - o r - l e s s g u a r a n t e e d by the u n i q u e n e s s of
problems-the
nation
had, a f t e r
a l l , already
survived
its
countless
c e n t u r i e s of f o r e i g n o c c u p a t i o n - t h e r e w a s n e v e r any r e a l f e a r
that
Italy might become hopelessly A m e r i c a n i z e d . A l l that Antonio G r a m s c i
and o t h e r p r o g r e s s i v e t h i n k e r s r e a l l y w a n t e d w a s f o r I t a l y to b e c o m e a
l i t t l e more organized, a l i t t l e l e s s h e d o n i s t i c , a l i t t l e more modern,
p u r i t a n , and P r o t e s t a n t . A f t e r t h a t i t w o u l d f i n a l l y be f r e e to f o l l o w
its
own guiding star.
B e c a u s e of i t s unique s o c i a l d y s f u n c t i o n s , I t a l i a n c r i m e
fiction,
as w e s a w in C h a p t e r T w o , d i f f e r s m a r k e d l y f r o m both F r e n c h
and A m e r i c a n d e t e c t i v e s t o r i e s . D e s p i t e t h e i r
a p p r o a c h e s to the a r c h e t y p a l f i g u r e s of l a w m a n
somewhat
polars
different
352
and o u t l a w , A m e r i c a and F r a n c e are both s t r o n g , c e n t r a l i z e d s t a t e s i n
w h i c h the f e d e r a l g o v e r n m e n t , even w h e n d e t e s t e d , i s a f u n d a m e n t a l ,
inescapable
fact
of
life.
In
I t a l y , on t h e
other
hand, t h i s
oddly
c o m f o r t i n g i l l u s i o n has n e v e r r e a l l y t a k e n r o o t . B e h i n d the
p a r l i a m e n t t h a t s i t s in Rome are the c a b a l s t h a t r e a l l y run
informal
things,
a l l i a n c e s made up of h i g h - r a n k i n g M a f i o s i , c l e r i c s , p o l i c e
i n s p e c t o r s , a r m y g e n e r a l s , c a p i t a l i s t s , m e d i a m a g n a t e s , CIA a g e n t s ,
j u d g e s , and p o l i t i c i a n s f r o m a l l p o l i t i c a l
p a r t i e s w i t h the p o s s i b l e
e x c e p t i o n of the C o m m u n i s t . I t a l y has been c o n q u e r e d so many t i m e s
t h a t even d e m o c r a t i c a l l y e l e c t e d p a r l i a m e n t s are w i d e l y p e r c e i v e d as
j u s t the l a t e s t o c c u p y i n g p o w e r . It has been c a l c u l a t e d t h a t i f
every
I t a l i a n p a i d ]QO% of h i s o r h e r t a x e s , the s u m s u r r e n d e r e d w o u l d e x c e e d
the n a t i o n ' s g r o s s n a t i o n a l p r o d u c t . What t h i s m e a n s in p r a c t i c e i s t h a t
e v e r y I t a l i a n , in o r d e r to s u r v i v e , m u s t to a g r e a t e r o r l e s s e r d e g r e e ,
b r e a k the l a w . T h i s has r e s u l t e d in a s o c i e t y w h e r e the
religious
p o l a r i t i e s of good and e v i l , at l e a s t i n s o f a r as t h e y a p p e r t a i n to the
a c q u i s i t i o n of p r o p e r t y , on the d e e p e s t e m o t i o n a l l e v e l do not
really
a p p l y . In I t a l i a n c r i m e f i c t i o n , the l a w i s g e n e r a l l y so n e b u l o u s
it
t h r e a t e n s to d i s a p p e a r a l t o g e t h e r , w h i l e the o u t l a w i s a l m o s t a l w a y s
s y m p a t h e t i c , the v i c t i m of f o r c e s o u t s i d e h i s or her c o n t r o l . No w o n d e r
A m e r i c a n - s t y l e p u r i t a n i s m has n e v e r made i n r o a d s in I t a l y .
3
L i k e t h e i r F r e n c h c o e v a l s , young I t a l i a n s c u r r e n t l y t a k e A m e r i c a n
c u l t u r e m u c h more m a t t e r - o f - f a c t l y
than t h e i r f a t h e r s and
It c o u l d be argued t h a t p u r i t a n i s m has n e v e r t a k e n r o o t i n F r a n c e e i t h e r , but
c i r c u m s t a n c e s are s l i g h t l y d i f f e r e n t . T h e l i n g e r i n g a f t e r e f f e c t s of J a n s e n i s t
c o u p l e d t o t h e m o d e l of J e s u i t p r a c t i c a l i t y , h a s r e s u l t e d i n a s o r t of
" P r o t e s t a n t i s m , " a m e r c a n t i l e m i n d s e t w h e r e m o s t C a t h o l i c s think and a c t l i k e
Huguenots.
3
t h e r e the
theology,
de f a c t o
veritable
353
grandfathers
militantly
ever did. While p o s t w a r
Italy
never manifested
a n t i - A m e r i c a n sentiments that were common
intellectual
c o i n i n s o m e q u a r t e r s of p o s t w a r F r a n c e - a c u r i o u s s t a t e of
r e a l l y , s i n c e the
Italians
had f a r m o r e r e a s o n to t a k e
the
affairs,
umbrages-
A m e r i c a c e a s e d to be the o v e r r i d i n g o b s e s s i o n i t had once been. In the
1 9 4 0 s , ' 5 0 s , and ' 6 0 s , the I t a l i a n c i n e m a w a s e c o n o m i c a l l y h e a l t h y and
f a r m o r e c r e a t i v e than i t s H o l l y w o o d c o u n t e r p a r t . W h a t ' s m o r e , n e w
m e a n s of
industrial
production
began to s p r e a d w e a l t h
among
the
p e o p l e , p a r t i c u l a r l y in the n o r t h e r n and c e n t r a l r e g i o n s . I t a l i a n c l o t h e s ,
cars,
planes,
films-even
typewriters-set
new
standards
of
i n t e r n a t i o n a l s t y l e . C l e a r l y , the n a t i o n w a s no l o n g e r the s o c i o c u l t u r a l
b a c k w a t e r i t had once been. On the o t h e r hand, t h i s p r o g r e s s had been
a c h i e v e d w i t h o u t , m a d d e n i n g l y , a m e l i o r a t i n g any of the p r o b l e m s w h i c h
had p l a g u e d the p e n i n s u l a f o r c e n t u r i e s . R e g i o n a l d i s h a r m o n y e c h o e d
f r o m M i l a n to P a l e r m o ; p a r t i a l p r o s p e r i t y did n o t h i n g to s h r i n k the s i z e
of the n a t i o n ' s b l a c k m a r k e t , a c l a n d e s t i n e e c o n o m y w h i c h m i g h t
well
be l a r g e r than i t s o f f i c i a l c o u n t e r p a r t . I t a l y , in o t h e r w o r d s , w a s s t i l l
Italy.
F o r c o n t e m p o r a r y I t a l i a n s , the A m e r i c a n e n t e r t a i n m e n t
industry
w o u l d s e e m to be the one a r e a of New W o r l d e n t e r p r i s e w h i c h i s s t i l l
f o l l o w e d w i t h o b s e s s i v e i n t e r e s t . The a d v e n t u r e s and
p e c c a d i l l o e s of Madonna and Woody A l l e n , of J u l i a R o b e r t s and R o b e r t
De N i r o , are s e e m i n g l y i r r e s i s t i b l e to e v e r y o n e f r o m c u l t u r a l
A s w e s a w i n C h a p t e r T h r e e , the U.S. S t a t e D e p a r t m e n t and the C I A i n t e r f e r e d m o r e
v i g o r o u s l y i n I t a l i a n p o l i t i c s than they did in the i n t e r n a l a f f a i r s of any o t h e r W e s t e r n
nation.
4
354
journalists
to
Commissario Ambrosio, from
cafe
idlers
to
Nanni
M o r e t t i . F r e q u e n t l y , i n q u i r i e s i n t o the l i v e s of t h e s e U.S. c e l e b r i t i e s are
p u r s u e d w i t h a l a c k of d e c o r u m w h i c h w o u l d not be t o l e r a t e d in N o r t h
A m e r i c a n n e w s p a p e r s . In the s a m e v e i n , Roman and M i l a n e s e n e w s p a p e r
regularly
s p e c u l a t e about the m o t i v e s b e h i n d A m e r i c a ' s b i - c o a s t a l
"rapper war"
Anything
w i t h a candour that is utterly
touching
on A m e r i c a n h y p o c r i s y
u n k n o w n i n the U . S .
or s e x u a l r e p r e s s i o n
5
is
d i s c u s s e d w i t h p a r t i c u l a r r e l i s h . D e s p i t e G r a m s c i ' s a r g u m e n t s to the
c o n t r a r y , in t o d a y ' s I t a l y the p o s i t i v e u s e s of p u r i t a n i s m are b e l i e v e d
to be f e w and f a r b e t w e e n .
A s we s a w in C h a p t e r Four, Italian
intellectual
leaders
a s s u m e an a l m o s t A t h e n i a n p e r s o n a w h e n g e n t l y a d m o n i s h i n g
now
their
s t r o n g e r , m o r e v i t a l , but l e s s c u l t i v a t e d A m e r i c a n " c h i l d r e n " . T h i s
m a n t l e i s w o r n l i g h t l y , w i t h o u t a r r o g a n c e , as b e f i t s a c u l t u r e t h a t w a s
once c o n t e m p o r a n e o u s w i t h t h a t of the E t r u s c a n s . A n a t t r a c t i v e note of
s e l f - m o c k e r y u n d e r s c o r e s m o s t of t h e s e e s s a y s - p a r t i c u l a r l y the ones
w r i t t e n by U m b e r t o Eco.
O c c a s i o n a l l y , of c o u r s e , I t a l i a n a r t i s t s s t i l l do s e e k i n s p i r a t i o n
f r o m t h e i r w o r k in A m e r i c a n f i l m s . When F r a n c e s c o R o s i
w a s a d a p t i n g one of P r i m o L e v i ' s H o l o c a u s t m e m o i r s f o r the s c r e e n , f o r
i n s t a n c e , he t h o u g h t
'"Chariot
soldato
i n c e s s e n t l y of C h a r l e y C h a p l i n ' s s i l e n t
classic
n e l l a g u e r r a ' 1 5 - 18, in cui c ' e r a l a d r a m m a t i c i t a di
t u t t i i f i l m di g u e r r a , ma l a l e v i t a , l a l e g g e r e z z a , l ' i r o n i a , i l g r o t t e s c o
di C h a p l i n f i n i v a p e r e s s e r e una c r i t i c a p r e z i o s a e c o s t a n t e a q u a n t o
accadevo interno a l u i ' " (Fusco 41). For Italians, therefore, A m e r i c a i s
s t i l l a s o u r c e of i n s p i r a t i o n , but f o r now i t i s j u s t one of many.
5
A b o u t t h e i r o w n " s c a n d a l s " , h o w e v e r , they are c o n s i d e r a b l y m o r e coy.
355
Q u e b e c o i s m e d i t a t i o n s on the n a t u r e of l a t e 2 0 t h c e n t u r y e m p i r e
are, conversely, generally fraught
w i t h s l i g h t l y dated f i n - d e - s i e c l e
a n g s t . N a t i o n a l i s t - m i n d e d M o n t r e a l - b a s e d i n t e l l e c t u a l s have m o r e i n
c o m m o n w i t h Giuseppe M a z z i n i than they
do w i t h
sleight-of-hand
p o s t m o d e r n i s t s of the I t a l o C a l v i n o v a r i e t y . T h a n k s no doubt to
the
t e m p o r a l p a r a l y s i s t h a t t y p i c a l l y a c c o m p a n i e s the f o r c i b l e i n c l u s i o n of
a conquered polity
into a m u l t i - n a t i o n a l
e m p i r e , la belle
province's
p o l i t i c a l m i n d s e t o w e s more to 1 7 6 3 and 1 8 3 7 than i t does to
1997.
6
Its a p p r e h e n s i o n of N o r t h A m e r i c a e n c o m p a s s e s L o w e r C a n a d a , U p p e r
C a n a d a , and the U n i t e d S t a t e s . So f a r as the c o n t i n e n t ' s n o r t h e r n h a l f i s
concerned, it
i s more or l e s s evenly divided b e t w e e n t w o
founding
"nations": Catholic, French-speaking
Quebec and P r o t e s t a n t , anglophone O n t a r i o . S u c h l a t e r d e v e l o p m e n t s as
C a n a d a ' s W e s t e r n and A t l a n t i c p r o v i n c e s are e i t h e r c o n f l a t e d w i t h the
p r o v i n c e ' s i n c r e a s i n g l y m e g a l i t h i c p e r c e p t i o n of O n t a r i o or
e l s e i g n o r e d a l t o g e t h e r . When s p e a k i n g of les Anglais
et
les
autres,
Quebec n a t i o n a l i s t s are r e f e r r i n g to e i t h e r A n g l o Q u e b e c e r s , E n g l i s h
C a n a d i a n s , o r c i t i z e n s of the U n i t e d S t a t e s .
discourse, these words f u l f i l l
Anglo-Saxons
a function
7
In c o n t e m p o r a r y Q u e b e c o i s
a n a l o g o u s to t h a t of
les
in 2 0 t h c e n t u r y F r e n c h c o m m e n t a r y . T h e y are l a c e d w i t h
From Rwanda to Russia, from Bosnia to Afghanistan, from India to Belgium, this is a
process w h i c h is c u r r e n t l y being repeated a l l over the w o r l d . At a t i m e when
international c o n f l i c t s number n i l , internecine feuds are counted by the dozen. Every
single separated member of the former Soviet bloc, for instance, seems to be resuming
independent political l i f e from the exact point where it left off decades or centuries ago.
If the lessons of the late 20th century have taught us anything, it is surely that empires
act primarily as freezing agents, entombing their constituent parts like insects in amber
until such time as a political thaw permits them to resume their interrupted journey.
Of n e c e s s i t y , in years past, these w i d e - r a n g i n g terms also embraced the United
Kingdom, although, in the wake of the B r i t i s h Empire's effective dissolution, the spectre
of rule by a foreign crown has long since receded from the forefront of n a t i o n a l i s t
discontents.
6
7
356
the b i t t e r n e s s t h a t i n e v i t a b l y f o l l o w s i n the w a k e of nine c e n t u r i e s '
w o r t h of o v e r t
and c o v e r t
language groups. Sadly, it
warfare
between two mutually
seems most
unlikely
that
they
jealous
will
be
" d e f a n g e d " i n the i m m e d i a t e f u t u r e .
A s w e s a w i n C h a p t e r F o u r , the s o - c a l l e d R e s t of Canada p l a y s a
very
minor
role
in the Quebecois f i c t i o n a l
u n i v e r s e . On t h e
rare
o c c a s i o n s w h e n they do a p p e a r , the p r i n c i p a l d r a m a t u r g i c a l f u n c t i o n of
the
country's
a n g l o p h o n e p r o v i n c e s i s to r e m i n d
French Canadian
v i e w e r s / r e a d e r s of the l o s s of a u t h e n t i c i t y t h a t a u t o m a t i c a l l y e n s u e s
w h e n one i s c u t o f f f r o m o n e ' s s o c i a l and e t h n i c r o o t s . T h e o v e r a l l
e f f e c t i s a k i n to t h a t of e x a m i n g a s e v e n t e e n t h - c e n t u r y s u r v e y map of
of c e n t r a l A f r i c a . In both c a s e s , m o s t of the t e r r a i n w o u l d have to be
marked " T e r r a Incognita".
America,
on t h e o t h e r
hand, i s s l i g h t l y
more
present
and
variegated. F l o r i d a , being a f a v o u r i t e Quebecois v a c a t i o n spot, appears
f a i r l y o f t e n , even i f n a t i v e F l o r i d i a n s do not. F r e n c h C a n a d i a n w r i t e r s
and f i l m m a k e r s a r e a l s o s t a r t i n g to e v i n c e t h e s a m e
half-horrified,
h a l f - e c s t a t i c f a s c i n a t i o n w i t h S o u t h e r n C a l i f o r n i a t h a t F r e n c h and
I t a l i a n i n t e l l e c t u a l s have been r e f l e c t i n g f o r the p a s t - q u a r t e r c e n t u r y .
New E n g l a n d , on the o t h e r h a n d , i s the l o c a t i o n of t h e d a r k , S a t a n i c
mills
which
claimed
so many
unemployed
habitants
in the late
n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y ; i t i s a l s o the a n c e s t r a l home of one of la
province's
belle
very f e w U.S.-born l o c a l h e r o e s , J a c k K e r o u a c .
F o r o b v i o u s r e a s o n s , F r a n c e i s s o m e w h a t m o r e of a c o n c r e t e
p r e s e n c e in the Quebecois i m a g i n a t i o n
t h a n i s any m e m b e r of t h e
A n g l o - S a x o n " c o n f e d e r a t i o n . " D e s p i t e t h e f e e l i n g s of b e t r a y a l and
a b a n d o n m e n t w h i c h the B o u r b o n w i t h d r a w a l
of t h e 1 7 6 0 s
inevitably
357
e n g e n d e r e d , on a deep e m o t i o n a l l e v e l Quebec s t i l l
clearly wants
m a k e a f a v o u r a b l e i m p r e s s i o n on i t s d e l i n q u e n t " p a r e n t " .
to
Obviously,
t h i s i s w h a t l i e s behind so much of the n e v e r - e n d i n g d e b a t e o v e r w h i c h
country
s p e a k s the
true,
the
original
F r e n c h . By the
same
token,
o v e r s e a s s u c c e s s in F r a n c e i s r e g a r d e d w i t h a s o m e w h a t w a r y
eye.
W h i l e n a t i o n a l p r i d e i s v i s i b l y t a k e n in the a c c l a i m w h i c h F e l i x L e c l e r c
and R o b e r t C h a r l e b o i s r e c e i v e d in le vieux pays ou Rimabaud
est mort (to quote the t i t l e of J e a n - P i e r r e L e f e b v r e ' s m e m o r a b l e m o v i e
about a habitant
on p i l g r i m a g e in the land of h i s a n c e s t o r s )
the dubbing of ; ' o w s / - l a c e d f i l m s i n t o " s t a n d a r d " F r e n c h s t i l l
raises
nationalist hackles.
On the o t h e r hand, when t a l k i n g about F r a n c e and the F r e n c h , s o m e
Q u e b e c o i s c o m m e n t a t o r s , d e s p i t e t h e i r unhappy h i s t o r i c a l h e r i t a g e , are
u n c o m m o n l y a b l e , u n b i a s e d and a s t u t e . P a r i s - b a s e d La
Presse
c o r r e s p o n d e n t L o u i s - B e r t r a n d R o b i t a i l l e i s a p r i m e e x a m p l e of
t h i s c o s m o p o l i t a n type. In Et Dieu crea les Francais,
a c o l l e c t i o n of h i s
a r t i c l e s p u b l i s h e d in 1 9 9 5 , the a u t h o r pronounced f a i r l y and k n o w i n g l y
on e v e r y t h i n g f r o m E u r o - D i s n e y to P h i l i p p e D j i a n ' s a w k w a r d p o s i t i o n i n
the s o m e t i m e s s t u f f y
world
of P a r i s i a n l e t t e r s . On the s u b j e c t
of
A n g l o - F r e n c h r e l a t i o n s , he s h r e w d l y w r o t e , "11 n ' e s t pas i m p o s s i b l e que
l e s F r a n g a i s et l e s A n g l a i s - e t e r n e l l e m e n t
et p a r f o i s
mechamment
r i v a u x - a i e n t en c o m m u n ce qu'on p o u r r a i t a p p e l e r b a n a l e m e n t un g r o s
c o m p l e x e de s u p e r i o r i t e ,
qui se r e v e l e de m o i n s en m o i n s f o n d e a
m e s u r e que s ' e l o i g n e n t l e s s o u v e n i r s g l o r i e u x du G r a n d S i e c l e ou de
l'Empire"
(Robitaille).
One
can
see
how
Robitaille's
Quebecois
background, w i t h i t s _/owa//anglais r i v a l r i e s - a p e r f e c t w o r k i n g
model
of the " 9 0 0 Y e a r s W a r " w r i t s m a l l - i d e a l l y f i t t e d h i m to make s u c h an
358
o b s e r v a t i o n . The a u t h o r s e e m s to a p p r o a c h h i s a n c e s t r a l h o m e l a n d w i t h
n e i t h e r f e a r nor f a v o u r : " L e f a i t d ' e t r e Q u e b e c o i s n ' e s t p l u s ni un a t o u t
ni
un o b s t a c l e . . . e t
l e s Q u e b e c o i s qui
debarquent
aujourd'hui
sont
s i m p l e m e n t c o n f r o n t e s , c o m m e t o u s l e s a u t r e s , venus de p r o v i n c e ou
de S u i s s e , a un s y s t e m e c o m m e r c i a l qui a e t e n d u son e m p i r e s u r l a
t o t a l i t e des v a r i e t e s . . . . " ( R o b i t a i l l e 2 7 9 - 2 8 0 ) . Fond as he i s of h i s
n e w l o c a l e , the a u t h o r in no w a y t h i n k s of i t as " h o m e " : " . . . l a F r a n c e
n ' e s t pas s e u l e m e n t d i f f e r e n t e
du Quebec ou de l ' A m e r i q u e du N o r d -
c ' e s t une a u t r e p l a n e t e . Q u i , dans l e s d o m a i n e s l e s p l u s i m p o r t a n t s de
la vie quotidienne...fonctionne sur les c r i t e r e s completement
etrange.
N o t e z que s o u v e n t l e s F r a n c a i s pensent que c ' e s t l ' A m e r i q u e
qui n ' e s t pas n o r m a l e " ( R o b i t a i l l e 6 0 - 6 1 ) . W h i l e he m i g h t not w r i t e as
e l e g a n t l y about f o r e i g n l a n d s as do h i s n e a r - c o n t e m p o r a r i e s U m b e r t o
Eco and J e a n B a u d r i l l a r d , L o u i s - B e r t r a n d R o b i t a i l l e i s at l e a s t as c l e a r eyed as t h e y . O f f h a n d , i t i s hard to t h i n k of a l i t e r a r y
traveller
who
s e e s t h i n g s l e s s " f a n t a s t i c a l l y " than he.
N e v e r t h e l e s s , d e s p i t e R o b i t a i l l e ' s s p l e n d i d e x a m p l e , i t m u s t be
admitted
that
filmmaking
the
is s t i l l
overwhelming
bulk
of
Quebecois f i c t i o n
intensely introspective, its
creators intent
and
on
e x p l o r i n g l o c a l t h e m e s in l o c a l w a y s . F a r m o r e than the 19th c e n t u r y
I t a l i a n n a t i o n a l i s t s who f i r s t f r a m e d the i d e a , they are t r u l y i n t e n t on
doing t h i n g s t h e m s e l v e s .
In many w a y s , " f a n t a s y A m e r i c a " i s b e c o m i n g a t h i n g of the p a s t .
A s the w o r l d g r o w s e v e r m o r e c o l o n i z e d by H o l l y w o o d , T i n P a n A l l e y ,
and W a l l S t r e e t , the d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n S e l f and " O t h e r " b e c o m e s
i n c r e a s i n g l y tenuous. Marlon Brando h i g h l i g h t e d t h i s f a c t in a r e c e n t
i n t e r v i e w he gave to Studio m a g a z i n e : " J ' a d o r e l a F r a n c e p a r c e que pour
359
m o i c ' e t a i t un b a s t i o n de l i b e r t e a p r e s l a g u e r r e - T o u t c e l a a change
m a i n t e n a n t . C ' e s t a m u s a n t p a r c e que l e s F r a n c a i s ont l o n g t e m p s t a q u i n e
l e s A m e r i c a i n s en d i s a n t que nous v i v i o n s
d a n s une s o c i e t e de t r u e s
e t de g a d g e t s . A u j o u r d ' h u i , c e s o n t l e s
F r a n c a i s qui v i v e n t de t r u e s et de gadgets...." ( D ' Y v o i r e 104).
How t r u e . Of w h a t use i s the p a r a d i g m of a " f a n t a s y A m e r i c a " i n a
Europe w h e r e
antique
the t a l l e s t
architecture
s k y s c r a p e r in France emerges f r o m the
of M o n t p a r n a s s e , w h e r e
young p e o p l e
prefer
M i c h a e l J a c k s o n to E d i t h P i a f , w h e r e h o u s i n g e s t a t e s s u r r o u n d e v e r y
m a j o r c i t y , w h e r e A m e r i c a n T V d o m i n a t e s e v e r y European n e t w o r k and
H o l l y w o o d m e g a - p r o d u c t i o n s have f i r s t d i b s on e v e r y European s c r e e n ,
where
Asia's
rising
economic giants
are i n c r e a s i n g l y
s e e n to be
r e p l a c i n g the U.S. c o n g l o m e r a t e s of y o r e , w h e r e even the s i z e of c a r s no
l o n g e r s e r v e s to m e a n i n g f u l l y d i f f e r e n t i a t e
Old?
the New World f r o m the
It i s a d e r a c i n a t e d , c o s m o p o l i t a n w o r l d
w h e r e i n an E n g l i s h -
language P o l i s h w r i t e r l i k e J e r z y K o s i n s k i can p l a y a p r a c t i c a l j o k e (in
the f o r m of a naughty c a m e o - a - c l e f i n Blind
Date) on a f r a n c o p h o n e
poet s u c h a s " P r e s i d e n t L e o p o l d S e d a r [Senghor] of S e n e g a l , w h o a l s o
h a p p e n e d t o be K o s i n s k i ' s t r a n s l a t o r
in that c o u n t r y "
(Sloan 177).
T h a n k s to s u p e r s o n i c j e t t r a v e l , t h e f a x m a c h i n e , and t h e I n t e r n e t ,
l i t e r a r y t r a v e l l e r s c a n move a b r o a d a l m o s t i n s t a n t l y . Of w h a t u s e a r e
s u c h o l d - f a s h i o n e d c o m m o d i t i e s as n a t i o n a l i d e n t i t y i n an a h i s t o r i c a l ,
t r a n s - n a t i o n a l u n i v e r s e ? Why not g i v e up t h e f i g h t i m m e d i a t e l y and
a c c e p t the f a c t t h a t no c o u n t r y can r e a l i s t i c a l l y e x p e c t to be m o r e than
a wholly
o w n e d s u b s i d i a r y of D i s n e y / T i m e / W a r n e r / M i t s u b i s h i ? A n d
how can a p l a c e o r r e g i o n
360
be c o n s i d e r e d r e a l o r f a n t a s t i c a l w h e n 99% of the t h i n g s a r e v i r t u a l
r a t h e r than a c t u a l ?
T h e r e are no e a s y a n s w e r s to t h e s e q u e s t i o n s . A s E r i c H o b s b a w n
w r o t e i n the l a s t p a r a g r a p h of h i s h i s t o r y of the " s h o r t ' "
twentieth-
c e n t u r y , " W e do not k n o w w h e r e w e are g o i n g " ( H o b s b a w m 5 8 5 ) .
The
C o l d W a r i s o v e r , l e a v i n g only one m i l i t a r y s u p e r - p o w e r on the f i e l d ,
but
a host
of
economic
competitors.
Politically,
the
world
is
f r a c t u r i n g , even as h u m a n i t y ' s t r u e c e n t r e s
of p o w e r d e v o l v e f r o m n a t i o n s t a t e s to m u l t i n a t i o n a l
corporations.
A r m e d c o n f l i c t i s now w a g e d a l m o s t e x c l u s i v e l y b e t w e e n r i v a l c i t i e s ,
t r i b e s and p r o v i n c e s , p r i m a r i l y b e c a u s e the very c o n c e p t of c o u n t r y has
begun
to
seem irrelevant
on a p l a n e t
where
clan
loyalties
are
burgeoning everywhere.
N e v e r t h e l e s s , as w e s a w e a r l i e r , c e r t a i n f o r m s of s e n t i m e n t and
h u m o u r r e m a i n i n d e s t r u c t i b l y n a t i o n a l , so they w o u l d a p p e a r to p r o v i d e
m o s t of the b e d r o c k f o r de f a c t o l o c a l r e s i s t a n c e to the
interlinked
trends
" m a r r i a g e " , it
of
must
globalization
be a d m i t t e d ,
and
xenophobia
s i n c e the
curiously
(a
combination
bizarre
strongly
i m p l i e s an unholy union b e t w e e n H e r d e r ' s c o n c e p t of a n c e s t r a l c u l t u r e
and
Finkielkraut's
belief
in
universal
Enlightenment
truths;
the
c o n t r a d i c t i o n s of the m o d e r n w o r l d have r e s u l t e d in s o m e v e r y s t r a n g e
b e d f e l l o w s ) . T h e r e a r e , h o w e v e r , m o r e s u b t l e s i g n s of
international
n o n - c o m p l i a n c e . In a 1997 a r t i c l e e n t i t l e d " D i x ans en c h i f f r e s " ,
Studio
m a g a z i n e u n d e r l i n e d s o m e of t h e s e d i f f e r e n c e s : " C i n q c o n t r e c i n q l e
b o x - o f f i c e d e p u i s 1 9 8 7 , r e n v o i e dos a dos f i l m s f r a n c a i s et a m e r i c a i n s .
M a i s , a y r e g a r d e r de p l u s p r e s , l e s g o u t s
s ' a c c o r d e n t pas v r a i m e n t
du p u b l i c
francais
ne
361
a v e c ceux du p u b l i c a m e r i c a i n . Dans ce Top 10 F r a n c e , on ne
que deux
films
presents
dans l e T o p
retrouve
10 E t a t s - U n i s s u r l a
meme
periode...." ( 1 1 9 ) .
In o t h e r
w o r d s , even A m e r i c a n i z e d F r e n c h v i e w e r s
prefer
to
c o n s t r u c t an i m a g i n a r y A m e r i c a t h a t i s r a d i c a l l y d i f f e r e n t f r o m the one
a c c e p t e d by t h e i r
U.S. c o n t e m p o r a r i e s .
What's more, it
is
entirely
p o s s i b l e t h a t U.S. c u l t u r a l i n f l u e n c e has a l r e a d y p e a k e d , and w i l l soon
be c h a l l e n g e d on an i n c r e a s i n g n u m b e r of f r o n t s f o r c u l t u r a l
When a l l t h e s e f a c t o r s
are borne i n m i n d , i t
seems
supremacy.
overwhelmingly
l i k e l y t h a t the A m e r i c a b e l i e v e d in by the a v e r a g e F r e n c h m a n ,
Italian,
and Q u e b e c o i s w i l l r e m a i n " f a n t a s t i c a l " , no m a t t e r how much a c c u r a t e
d a t a i s o b t a i n e d , and no m a t t e r
how m u c h the t r a d i t i o n a l
paradigms
m i g h t change. It i s , a f t e r a l l , h i g h l y l i k e l y t h a t m o s t A m e r i c a n s l i v e i n
a F a n t a s y A m e r i c a , j u s t as m o s t F r e n c h m e n o c c u p y a F a n t a s y F r a n c e ,
m o s t I t a l i a n s a F a n t a s y I t a l y , and m o s t Q u e b e c o i s a F a n t a s y
France.
History
In s p i t e of e v e r y t h i n g , F r a n c i s F u k u y a m a i s e m p i r i c a l l y
will
p r o g r e s s , and s i n c e the
etymology
of
the
Nouvelle
wrong.
world
also
i m p l i e s s t o r y , i t w i l l be i m a g i n a t i v e . F a n t a s y A m e r i c a - l i k e
Fantasy
E g y p t , F a n t a s y G r e c e , and F a n t a s y R o m e - w i l l a l m o s t c e r t a i n l y
survive
long a f t e r the n a t i o n i t s e l f has c e a s e d to be.
362
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Appendix
One:
Who's A f r a i d of J e r r y
Not
us! Not
By B e r e n i c e
Lewis?
us!
Reynaud
T r a n s l a t e d bu Mark
Harris
B a c k e d by the A m e r i c a n Museum of the Moving Image (AMMI), New
Vork f i l m p r o f e s s o r S c o t t B u k a t m a n f i n a l l y found the c o u r a g e to m o u n t
a Jerry Lewis retrospective
included
not
only
the
(November 1 1 - December 9, 1988)
films
about
b r o a d c a s t s , u n s e e n and u n s e e a b l e
s e e m e d the
perfect
troubling cultural
opportunity
to
and by J e r r y ,
s i n c e the
attempt
but
1940s
to
also
which
his
and ' 5 0 s .
resolve
TV
This
one of
the
e n i g m a s of our t i m e s . E v e r s i n c e I m o v e d to
the
U n i t e d S t a t e s , t h e r e ' s a l w a y s been someone to ask s m i r k i n g l y , " W h y do
the F r e n c h l o v e J e r r y L e w i s ? " I t h e r e f o r e i n v e r t e d
asked a c r o s s - s e c t i o n
of
viewers
the q u e s t i o n , and
and n o n - v i e w e r s ,
"What
makes
A m e r i c a n s t h i n k t h a t the F r e n c h do l o v e J e r r y L e w i s ? " The a n s w e r s ran
f r o m gags to p a r a n o i a , w i t h n e r v o u s a l l u s i o n s p a i d to the
"shameful
s e c r e t s " of the A m e r i c a n p s y c h e .
" T h e F r e n c h m u s t l o v e i m p o t e n t men. Or e l s e t h e y ' r e a t t r a c t e d by
h i s s e n s e of r h y t h m , h i s p h y s i c a l i t y . " (Filmmaker,
"The
French
are
crazy
about
Jerry
female)
Lewis
because
B a r d o t ' s c a t w a t c h e s h i s f i l m s at b r e a k f a s t . " (Conceptual
" B e c a u s e they l o v e Nana M o u s k o u r i . " (Archivist,
artist,
male)
Brigitte
male)
385
" O n t e l e v i s i o n one n i g h t , t h e r e
was this comic who did Jerry
L e w i s i m i t a t i o n s , s a y i n g 'In F r a n c e , I am a god.' T h a t ' s the f i r s t t i m e I
e v e r h e a r d t h a t . " (Viewer,
female)
" I n A m e r i c a , you g r o w
up k n o w i n g
L e w i s , but w h y ? It's an e n i g m a . " (Spectator,
"It's
that the French love
male)
b e c a u s e he does t h e s e c o m p l e t e l y loopy t h i n g s . T h e F r e n c h
have the s a m e n u t t y s e n s e of humour." (Projectionist,
"It's
Jerry
b e c a u s e he r e p r e s e n t s t h e l i t t l e f e l l o w
female)
i n a l l of u s , t h e
f e l l o w w h o s t r u g g l e s to s u r v i v e . H i s f i l m s are a l l about n i c e g u y s , not
b a s t a r d s . " (Aging groupie,
female)
" F o r m e , h e ' s a l w a y s been t h e K i n g of C o m e d y . He does
these
s t r a n g e t h i n g s , e v e r y o n e i s s h o c k e d , but w h e n you look
more
really
c l o s e l y you r e a l i z e t h a t h e ' s the one w h o ' s n o r m a l . " (Museum
guard,
male)
" N o A m e r i c a n o v e r the age of 14 c a n s t a n d a J e r r y L e w i s m o v i e .
When I w a s i n P a r i s , e v e r y o n e I m e t h a t e d h i s g u t s . " (Film
student,
male)
"I w a s r a i s e d by a f a t h e r w h o f o r b a d e us to w a t c h J e r r y L e w i s .
Vears l a t e r
I b r o k e up w i t h a p a l w h o w a n t e d
to s p e n d L a b o u r Day
w e e k e n d w a t c h i n g the J e r r y L e w i s T e l e t h o n . " (Anthropology
student,
female)
"He's
anti-culture,
intellectuals,
ugly
he p i c k s
on e a s y
targets
(professors,
people). His comedy i s a p e r v e r s i o n
of
genuine
s l a p s t i c k h u m o u r ( C h a p l i n , the Marx B r o t h e r s ) . Why do the F r e n c h l o v e
h i m ? I t ' s one of t h o s e F r e n c h e c c e n t r i c i t i e s . " (Children's
author, male)
386
"In F r a n c e , a l l J e r r y L e w i s m o v i e s are dubbed. T h e y d o n ' t r e s p o n d
to the s a m e f i l m s t h a t w e see here. P e r h a p s t h e y ' r e f u n n i e r . "
(Viewer,
male)
"I
r e a d i n a m a g a z i n e t h a t F r e n c h m e n p r e f e r t h e i r a c t o r s to be
f a i r l y ugly, w i t h crooked mouths (Gabin, Belmondo, Depardieu). Perhaps
they l i k e J e r r y L e w i s ' s f a c i a l e l a s t i c i t y . " (Translator,
"It's
male)
one of t h o s e t h i n g s t h a t make us q u e s t i o n the m e n t a l
of E u r o p e a n s . T h e n a t i o n
that invented
brioche
s e n s i b l e o p i n i o n of J e r r y L e w i s . " (Video artist,
health
should hold a more
male)
" A m e r i c a n s are c o n v i n c e d t h a t the F r e n c h l o v e of J e r r y L e w i s i s
nothing
but a m e a n s of a f f i r m i n g t h e i r
cultural
superiority,
m o c k i n g t h a t w h i c h i s m o s t s t u p i d in A m e r i c a n c u l t u r e . "
and of
(Spectator,
male)
"It
a l l o w s us not to t a k e the F r e n c h too s e r i o u s l y . T h e y
have
S a r t r e , e x i s t e n t i a l i s m , and a l l t h a t , BUT they a l s o l o v e J e r r y L e w i s and
C l i n t E a s t w o o d . T h a t b r i n g s t h e m d o w n to e a r t h . " (Organizer
retrospective,
of
the
male)
"Doubtless
it
has
something
to
do
with
American
sexual
r e p r e s s i o n . We b e l i e v e the F r e n c h to be more l i b e r a t e d in t h a t a r e a , and
t h i s p e r m i t s t h e m to see in J e r r y w h a t w e r e f u s e to s e e in o u r s e l v e s .
But i t ' s a l s o a j o k e : 'You see w h a t dumb a s s h o l e s the F r e n c h a r e ? T h e y
t h i n k t h e y ' r e so c u l t i v a t e d , and yet they l i k e J e r r y L e w i s ! ' T h i s i s m o r e
of a r e f l e c t i o n of w h a t w e t h i n k about the F r e n c h than of w h a t w e t h i n k
about J e r r y L e w i s . " (Publicist
"American tourists
for a symphony orchestra,
male)
are c o n v i n c e d t h a t E u r o p e a n s d e t e s t
them.
J e r r y L e w i s i s a k i n d of e x a g g e r a t e d v e r s i o n of the A m e r i c a n t o u r i s t ,
387
he i s g e n u i n e l y p e r c e i v e d in t h i s m a n n e r by E u r o p e a n s , o r at l e a s t t h i s
i s the w a y w e f e a r he i s p e r c e i v e d . " (Radio producer,
female)
" D u r i n g the 1 9 5 0 s , L e w i s t o y e d w i t h s o m e t h i n g t h a t A m e r i c a n s
w e r e not ready to r e c o g n i z e in t h e m s e l v e s . They did not u n d e r s t a n d why
the F r e n c h l o v e d J e r r y L e w i s , t h i s s y m b o l of t h e i r w e a k n e s s , of
their
i m m a t u r i t y . " (Film prof, male)
"I
Lewis.
don't find it p a r t i c u l a r l y
He's
our
onscreen
alter
s t r a n g e t h a t the F r e n c h l o v e J e r r y
ego,
and
he
manifests
certain
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s w h i c h w e h e s i t a t e to a c k n o w l e d g e in o u r s e l v e s . " (Video
artist,
female)
" Y e s , I f i n d i t r i d i c u l o u s t h a t the F r e n c h l o v e J e r r y L e w i s , but
t h a t i s n ' t n e c e s s a r i l y a c r i t i c i s m . In an e x a g g e r a t e d f a s h i o n , he c r e a t e s
p a i n f u l , e m b a r r a s s i n g s i t u a t i o n s , w h i c h he h a m m e r s i n h a r d e r
and
h a r d e r , to the p o i n t w h e r e a u d i e n c e s m u s t f i n a l l y i d e n t i f y w i t h t h e m . "
(Bookseller,
female)
"In the U n i t e d S t a t e s , i t i s the c h i l d r e n , not the a d u l t s , w h o l i k e
J e r r y L e w i s . In F r a n c e , he m u s t s e e m e x o t i c , and I i m a g i n e t h a t
sentimentality
in h i s f i l m s a p p e a r s l e s s s e l f - e v i d e n t and
the
mortifying
t h a n i t does here. T h a n k s to t h e i r c i n e m a t i c c u l t u r e , the F r e n c h s e e
L e w i s as the l e g i t i m a t e d e s c e n d a n t of K e a t o n and C h a p l i n . In the U.S.,
c o n v e r s e l y , T V has made L e w i s a n a c h r o n i s t i c . " (Film critic,
male)
" L e w i s and Frank T a s h l i n r e p r e s e n t the s u r v i v a l of s l a p s t i c k , of
p h y s i c a l c o m e d y , w h i c h i s a l s o a European t r a d i t i o n . T h e r e are
great
s i m i l a r i t i e s b e t w e e n J e r r y and J a c q u e s T a t i . " (Film prof, male)
"His
programs
unique
manner
and f i l m s
bien." (Writer,
male)
[The
of
o p e n i n g up a s c e n e i n h i s
Ladies'
television
Man] i n f l u e n c e d G o d a r d i n Tout
va
388
"Lewis
e m p l o y s e l e m e n t s of
popular culture
commercials
and c a r t o o n s , w h i c h
are
not
borrowed
from
r e c o g n i z e d as s u c h
in
A m e r i c a . If, f o r e x a m p l e , one f i n d s L e w i s gags in G o d a r d ' s m o v i e s , i t ' s
because
they
constitute
a sort
of
critique
of
c a p i t a l i s m , of
the
d e p a r t m e n t s t o r e . " (Film prof, female)
" I n i t i a l l y you have a hard t i m e a p p r e c i a t i n g J e r r y L e w i s . A t f i r s t
you m i g h t
s a y h e ' s OK but s t r i c t l y
f o r k i d s , l i k e P e e Wee H e r m a n .
W h a t ' s m o r e , he p l a y s the l i t t l e boy h i m s e l f . It's only a f t e r w e b e c o m e
f a m i l i a r w i t h his work that we s t a r t
to u n d e r s t a n d h i s a r t . A s f o r
m y s e l f , I l e a r n e d a l o t f r o m w a t c h i n g L e w i s i n Cinderf ella:
I could
u n d e r s t a n d b e t t e r w h a t w a s happening on the s c r e e n , g r a s p the L e w i s
t e c h n i q u e s w h i c h had e s c a p e d me w h e n I w a s younger. He c o m e s f r o m a
showbiz tradition
t h a t ' s v e r y c l o s e to m u s i c . He has a v e r y m u s i c a l
s e n s e of i m p r o v i s a t i o n w h i c h w i l l brook no c o n s t r a i n t s ; i f he can pump
a l i t t l e m o r e m a g i c i n t o the i n s p i r a t i o n of the m o m e n t , n o t h i n g on e a r t h
will
s t o p h i m . I've done a f a i r a m o u n t of T V , and o f t e n w o r k e d
with
S a m m y D a v i s , J r . , to w h o m he w a s v e r y c l o s e . He and S a m m y w e r e
i n t e r e s t e d i n e v e r y t h i n g , they w a n t e d to t r y
everything. They'd hire
people f o r a g i g , then t e l l t h e m w h a t to do. T h e i r i d e a s w e r e a l w a y s the
b e s t . To w o r k w i t h t h e m w a s a r e a l A m e r i c a n e d u c a t i o n . We w e r e too
r e a d y to do t h i n g s the u s u a l w a y , w h i c h c o s t us p l e n t y . Why do the
F r e n c h l o v e J e r r y L e w i s ? Beyond the c o n v e n t i o n s , you can s e e in h i s
work all these nuances w h i c h transcend language, all these w o n d e r f u l
l i t t l e t h i n g s . . . " (Musician,
from 1951 till
1963}
male,
member
of Count Basie's
orchestra
389
Appendix
Two:
P i t y f o r John Wayne
By B o r i s
Vian
T r a n s l a t e d by Mark
Harris
The t i m e has come to ask o u r s e l v e s i f c e r t a i n s t a r s
don't d e s e r v e
s t a t u e s ; i n any e v e n t , I w o u l d l i k e to see one r a i s e d to J o h n W a y n e , the
" J o a n of A r c " of H o l l y w o o d , t h a t e x p i a t o r y v i c t i m of
trans-Atlantic
" B i s h o p C a u c h o n s " , a b i t t e r hero p r e d e s t i n e d to i g n o m i n i o u s d e a t h by
a s p h y x i a t i o n i n the h o l d s of d i s e m b o w e l l e d s h i p s s p i t t e d on p o i n t e d
r o c k s at the b o t t o m of the sea...
Here are t w o f i l m s : Reap the Wild Wind and The Wake of the
Witch-the
s e c o n d b e i n g b e t t e r t h a n the f i r s t by v i r t u e of i t s
but-alas!-in
black-and-white.
Here a r e t w o
films
Red
script
(there must
be
t h o u s a n d s of o t h e r s ) w h e r e J o h n W a y n e , p a i n f u l l y s q u e e z e d f o r v a r i o u s
r e a s o n s i n t o an u n s a f e d i v i n g s u i t , s u c c u m b s to r u p t u r e d
a i r hoses
s e v e n t y f e e t b e l o w s e a l e v e l . In The Wild Wind, i t m u s t be a d m i t t e d , h i s
role is somewhat equivocal;
h e ' s a n i c e guy but a b i t of a b o u n d e r , so
you k n o w h e ' s going to die in a c c o r d a n c e w i t h the m o r a l i m p e r a t i v e s of
T i n s e l T o w n . In The
beginning
to
Wake, on the o t h e r hand, one r o o t s f o r h i m
e n d , but
he d i e s a n y w a y .
It's
very
from
suspicious. Let's
investigate further.
Bad t h i n g s a l w a y s happen to J o h n Wayne. F r o m the m o m e n t
he
a p p e a r s o n s c r e e n , w i t h t h a t t h i n - l i p p e d gob of h i s and t h o s e d o c k e r s i z e d d e l t o i d s , y o u r blood runs c o l d as you s a y , "It
isn't p o s s i b l e , he's
390
not g o i n g to make i t . " One hopes a l i t t l e , a g a i n s t a l l the o d d s , but make
i t he d o e s n ' t . T h i s i s r e a l l y , r e a l l y bad....
A b s o l u t e l y a n y t h i n g can happen to E r r o l F l y n n : E r r o l F l y n n
always wriggle
out of it. If he w e r e to play hayerling,
the
will
suicide
w o u l d be b o t c h e d s u r e as s h o o t i n g , and i f MGM a s s i g n e d h i m the p a r t of
the
Immortal
qualified
French M a i d - f o r
which
he's every
as t h a t h o r s e of a B e r g m a n - h e w o u l d
s q u a d r o n of
the
King's musketeers
while
bit
as
physically
be s w e p t
strolling
to
the
up by a
torture
c h a m b e r . B u t J o h n W a y n e ? In the s a m e r o l e , J o h n W a y n e w o u l d
be
burned at the s t a k e at D o m r e m y in f r o n t of e v e r y b o d y , d u r i n g the f i r s t
r e e l , on the charge of " b u t t e r y " . Or e l s e he w o u l d s t u m b l e i n t o the m o a t
at O r l e a n s , h i s d i v i n g s u i t r i d d l e d w i t h c r o s s b o w b o l t s . He w o u l d be
d e a d , s t r a n g l e d by an o c t o p u s in h i s b a t h , s c a l p e d by h i s b a r b e r , o r
p o i s o n e d by h i s 1 1 m o n t h old son... One t h i n g i s c e r t a i n : J o h n Wayne i s
doomed.
And f r o m here on out i t s e e m s i m p o s s i b l e to i m a g i n e a s c e n a r i o
from
w h i c h J o h n Wayne c o u l d e v e r e m e r g e u n s c a t h e d ; " t h e y "
will
a l w a y s get h i m . It d o e s n ' t m a t t e r i f J o h n W a y n e ' s i n t e n t i o n s are good
or bad. R e p l a c e B i n g C r o s b y w i t h J o h n Wayne in Going My Way, and y o u ' l l
f i n d the f a t h e r of one of h i s f l o c k , a n o t o r i o u s c o m m u n i s t , c u t t i n g
down w i t h a burst from his t y p e w r i t e r .
him
If J o h n Wayne p l a y e d N a p o l e o n ,
the b r i d g e at A r c o l e w o u l d c r u m b l e beneath h i s f e e t .
T h e m o s t t e r r i b l e t h i n g of a l l i s t h a t " t h e y " don't amount to v e r y
m u c h in the t r a g i c d e s t i n y of J o h n Wayne. In r e a l i t y , " t h e y " c a n ' t s a v e
h i m . I'm
sure that a gut-bustingly
funny
s c r i p t , c o n s i g n e d to J o h n
W a y n e , w o u l d by m e a n s of l e p r o u s , h u m i d , and a l t o g e t h e r s u s p e c t a u t o a l t e r a t i o n , transform i t s e l f into a sad, sordid, brutal story where John
391
W a y n e - i m m a c u l a t e a p o s t l e , c h a s t e , p u r e , i n n o c e n t and s u b l i m e - w o u l d
die in s p i t e of e v e r y t h i n g .
Does s u c h a t h i n g as the e v i l eye e x i s t , t h e n , in c i n e m a ?
J o h n Wayne has the e v i l b u l l s e y e .
392
Appendix Three:
Hypocrisy
American Style
By Luc Moulet
Translated bu Mark Harris
If I l i k e E.T., i t i s b e c a u s e S t e v e n S p i e l b e r g - w h o , at f i r s t g l a n c e ,
a p p e a r s to be s i t u a t i n g h i m s e l f w i t h i n the t r a d i t i o n
cinema-simultaneously, almost surreptitiously,
of
supernatural
o f f e r s us a r a r e and
m e t i c u l o u s g l i m p s e of o r d i n a r y A m e r i c a n l i f e w i t h the a i d of a f a m i l y
t h a t s e e m s a v e r a g e in e v e r y r e s p e c t , c l o s e r to F r e d e r i c k W i s e m a n o r
Raymond
Depardon
than
to
Issac
Asimov
or
Philip
K. D i c k .
a n t i c i p a t e s j u d g i n g the f i l m on the b a s i s of i t s r i c h n e s s of
One
invention,
i m a g i n a t i o n and play. And t h e n , as a bonus, w i t h o u t p a y i n g a d i m e e x t r a ,
one i s p r o v i d e d w i t h an i n f i n i t e l y more p r e c i o u s s l i c e of l i f e w h i c h one
c a n n o t even c r i t i c i z e , s i m p l y b e c a u s e one w a s n ' t e x p e c t i n g i t . One i s
caught
short,
d i s a r m e d ; one
is
left
with
the
feeling
of
d i s c o v e r e d s o m e t h i n g , of b e i n g o n e s e l f the f i l m ' s a u t h o r o r
and of a f i r s t c l a s s
and-disinterest
having
inventor-
n e o r e a l i s t f i l m to boot! One had e x p e c t e d one t h i n g ,
i n r o b o t i c s h e l p s h e r e - o n e got s o m e t h i n g t e n
times
b e t t e r . E.T. i s n o t h i n g but a red h e r r i n g o r c l u e . A m e r i c a n h y p o c r i s y i s
marvellous.
E.T. i s not n e c e s s a r i l y the i d e a l e x a m p l e : an A m e r i c a n who l i v e s
this
cinematic
intriguing
reality
on a d a i l y
basis might
than w o u l d a Frenchman. It's
well
also far from
Spielberg anticipated this reading from a distant observer.
find
it
less
certain
that
393
A f i l m s u c h as F r i t z L a n g ' s Beyond a Reasonable
r e s p e c t , much purer: we believe that w e ' r e
Doubt is, in t h i s
watching
an
argument
a g a i n s t c a p i t a l p u n i s h m e n t , and t h e n , at the v e r y end, w e f i n d out t h a t
i t ' s the o p p o s i t e , or, at the very l e a s t , s o m e t h i n g e l s e a g a i n .
T h e A m e r i c a n s are s p e c i a l i s t s in t h i s
A s e a r l y as 1 8 5 1 , Moby Dick
activity.
initially
presented i t s e l f
as a
f o r b i d d i n g t e c h n i c a l a c c o u n t of the p r o f e s s i o n of f i s h i n g as p r a c t i c e d
in v a r i o u s m a r i t i m e
c o u n t r i e s - a l o u s y c r i t i q u e and a dead w e i g h t
in
t e r m s of s a l e s . B u t t h i s h y p o c r i t i c a l a n c h o r a g e in the m o s t p h y s i c a l
form
of o b j e c t i v i t y
architecture.
l a i d the f o u n d a t i o n
for a refined
metaphysical
In s i m i l a r f a s h i o n , in C h a n d l e r ' s Lady in the Lake a n d
D a s h i e l l H a m m e t t ' s tough n e i g h b o u r h o o d s , the i n v e s t i g a t i o n ' s goal i s
not p r i m a r i l y
broad
canvas
to r e v e a l the k i l l e r ' s i d e n t i t y ,
of
America,
a portrait
b u t , r a t h e r , to p a i n t a
composed
of
the
various
p e r s o n a l i t i e s s t a n d i n g behind the doors upon w h i c h Spade and M a r l o w e
are o b l i g e d to knock.
Here i t
i s a q u e s t i o n of i n s i d i o u s c h a n g e s ( i n v i s i b l e
for
sure)
a l o n g the d o m i n a n t l i n e of i n t e r e s t . More a g g r e s s i v e , e a s i e r t o o , i s the
switch
i n g e n r e d u r i n g the c o u r s e of the f i l m : w i t h Madam
( D e M i l l e ) , History
is Made at Night ( B o r z a g e ) , and Made for
Satan
Each Other
( C r o m w e l l ) , w e move f r o m pure indoor c o m e d y - m a t i n e e and s o m e t i m e s
vaudeville-to
the
resulting
least
(at
disaster film
in
the
first
with
aerial
two
examples)
r e d o u b l i n g of i m p a c t , due in l a r g e p a r t
or m a r i t i m e
in
an
options,
unexpected
to the e l e m e n t of
surprise.
D o u b t l e s s i t ' s here t h a t we f i n d a s o m e w h a t dubious a e s t h e t i c , c r e a t e d
by p r o d u c e r s
who, believing
the
initial
comedy
to
be t o o
s h a m e l e s s l y added an e n t i r e l y new i n g r e d i e n t to the f o r m u l a .
slight,
394
In H o w a r d H a w k s ' s t w i n f l i c k s , Sergeant
Prefer
Blondes,
York and
Gentlemen
w e p a r t i c i p a t e i n an even m o r e p e r v e r s e d o u b l i n g up.
T h e s e t w o f i l m s t r i p s h a v e , at the s a m e t i m e , an e n t i r e l y c o n v e n t i o n a l
meaning,
plus
(a
little
like
pentimento
in
painting)
a
critical
s i g n i f i c a n c e that is totally contradictory.
I
recently
saw
Scorsese's
Color
of
Money,
featuring
two
s u p e r s t a r s who w e r e paid a b u n d l e , P a u l N e w m a n and T o m C r u i s e , t h e i r
n a m e s o c c u p y i n g the g r e a t e r p a r t of the p o s t e r . Okay, so t h e s e s t a r s ,
p a r t i c u l a r l y at the b e g i n n i n g of the p i c t u r e , do not s t a n d out f r o m the
r e s t of the c a s t : the e d i t i n g does not p r i v i l e g e t h e m . A t f i r s t w e s e e
the s u m t o t a l of s i t u a t i o n s and a c t o r s , m o s t of w h o m are l i t t l e - k n o w n .
We are l e f t w i t h the f e e l i n g t h a t w e are t a k i n g p a r t in a n e w s c a s t ,
w h i c h i n c r e a s e s our b e l i e f in the r e a l i t y of w h a t w e are s e e i n g . A n d the
contrary
fictional
weight
which
these two
sacred cows carry
is
s e e m i n g l y r u b b e d out by t h e i r d i s c r e e t i n t r u s i o n i n t o an a p p a r e n t l y
n o n - f i c t i o n a l u n i v e r s e . T h a t ' s the s a m e t r i c k e m p l o y e d by J o h n F o r d in
a n u m b e r of f i l m s (The Long Voyage Home), Raoul W a l s h (A Lion in
Streets,
Dark Command),
the
a n d , in g e n e r a l , by W a r n e r B r o t h e r s S t u d i o s
d u r i n g t h e i r heyday. An a s t o n i s h i n g double p l a y : the p u b l i c goes to the
f i l m s b e c a u s e of t h e i r s t a r s ; i t f i n d s t h e m , but o n l y w i t h
difficulty.
T h u s i t p a r t i c i p a t e s m o r e d i r e c t l y i n the f i l m . A n d the s t a r s g a i n a
s u p p l e m e n t a r y a d v a n t a g e . In
C i m i n o ' s Heaven's
Gate, not o n l y do w e
have a h a r d t i m e p i c k i n g out the s t a r s , p a r t i c u l a r l y d u r i n g the
final
b a t t l e , b u t - e v e n more a c u t e l y - w e don't c l e a r l y comprehend w h a t
is
going on o r w h a t the f i l m ' s deeper m e a n i n g m i g h t b e - a s s u m i n g t h e r e i s
one.
395
One c o u l d s a y m u c h the s a m e about Two-Lane
Blacktop
H e l l m a n ) o r - o n c e a g a i n w e r e t u r n to H a w k s - T r / e Big
(Monte
Sleep,
whose
i n c o m p r e h e n s i b l e s t o r y l i n e w a s w r i t t e n i n p a r t by W i l l i a m F a u l k n e r .
T h i s i s the s a m e F a u l k n e r w h o , d u r i n g the c o u r s e of h i s long c a r e e r as
n o v e l i s t , n e v e r d e s i s t e d f r o m s e t t i n g t r a p s in h i s t e x t s so t h a t
his
r e a d e r s w o u l d have a hard t i m e f i g u r i n g out w h a t w a s g o i n g o n , at a
time
w h e n e v e r y o n e e l s e w a s d o i n g the c o n t r a r y . T h e m o s t
e x a m p l e of t h i s i s the c o r n c o b rape in Sanctuary.
famous
To be s u r e one has
u n d e r s t o o d , i t i s n e c e s s a r y to read o v e r the l i n e s in q u e s t i o n s e v e r a l
t i m e s ( s o m e t h i n g w h i c h w a s not a l l o w e d in c i n e m a , at l e a s t not u n t i l
the m i r a c l e of v i d e o c a s s e t t e s ) .
T h i s t e c h n i q u e can p e r h a p s be e x p l a i n e d by the need to e s c a p e
f r o m the c e n s o r ' s t h u n d e r b o l t s ; but one f i n d s i t a g a i n in e a r l i e r n o v e l s
s u c h a s The Sound and the Fury and As I Lay Dying, w h i c h d i d not run the
same risk.
One can see h e r e , in a l l t h e s e h y p o c r i t i c a l t e c h n i q u e s , the m a r k of
a p u r i t a n c i v i l i z a t i o n . P u r i t a n i s m c r e a t e d a s y s t e m so r i g i d
sexually, aesthetically, economically: scriptural
codes,
Prohibition,
Hollywood,
etc.)
that
it
passages,
must
(morally,
diverse
inevitably
t r a n s g r e s s e d a g a i n s t , and t h i s t r a n s g r e s s i o n , of n e c e s s i t y , m u s t
be
be
s u b t e r r a n e a n . P r o t e s t a n t s found t h i s to be the c u l t m o s t a d a p t a b l e to
a r t i s t i c m a t t e r s . M o r e o v e r , m o s t s c r e e n w r i t e r s w i l l t e l l you t h a t the
e s s e n t i a l t h i n g i s to c r e a t e a d i f f e r e n c e : f o r e x a m p l e , the w r i t e r k n o w s
m o r e t h a n the v i e w e r who k n o w s more (or l e s s ) t h a n the
protagonist.
T h e i d e a l g e n r e t h u s b e c o m e s the c r i m e s t o r y , w h i c h , t h r o u g h o u t
the
h i s t o r y of the n o v e l , has long r e m a i n e d the p r i v a t e p r e s e r v e of p u r i t a n ,
Anglo-Saxon countries.
396
F a u l k n e r ' s i m p o r t a n c e i s s e l f - e x p l a n a t o r y : he w a s t h e f i r s t to
f u s e the t w o profound m e a n i n g s of t h i s a e s t h e t i c of e v a s i o n - t h a t i s to
s a y , i t s p u r i t a n i m p r e g n a t i o n ( w i t h the u s u a l p a n o p l y of s i n , r e m o r s e ,
c l a u s t r a t i o n and the tomb) and i t s e x i s t e n t i a l f r e i g h t - t h e c o m p l e x and
confusing facts
preventing
an o u t p o u r i n g
of s e n s u a l i t y . I t ' s
more
a n c i e n t t h a n m o d e r n . T h a t w h i c h i s hidden e m e r g e s f r o m c a l c u l a t i o n ,
w h i l e c a l c u l a t i o n e m e r g e s f r o m chaos.
It i s t h i s e x i s t e n t i a l e l e m e n t w h i c h i s d o m i n a n t i n the f i l m s of
H e l l m a n and C i m i n o , as i t i s in Mann's Man of the West, w i t h o u t e n t i r e l y
e x c l u d i n g , by the w a y , t h a t w h i c h i s w i l f u l l y h i d d e n , s i n c e t h e s e f i l m s
p r e t e n d to b e l o n g - q u i t e u n s u c c e s s f u l l y , as a m a t t e r of f a c t - t o a g e n r e ,
the w e s t e r n o r road m o v i e .
The s t r e n g t h of the A m e r i c a n c i n e m a i s t h e r e f o r e l i n k e d to t h i s
o m n i p r e s e n c e of t h e h i d d e n , w h i c h m a k e s t h e F r e n c h c i n e m a s e e m
m i s g u i d e d . Our f i l m m a k e r s don't hide behind a s y s t e m , w h i c h d o e s n ' t
e x i s t h e r e , o r behind a genre ( w i t h the e x c e p t i o n of Gance). T h e y w o r k
in the v a s t m o r a s s of p s y c h o l o g i c a l d r a m a . A l m o s t a l l of t h e m e s c h e w
b u r l e s q u e , s w a s h b u c k l i n g and a d v e n t u r e m o v i e s , p o r n o - e v e r y t h i n g , i n
f a c t , except the c r i m e story. They c l e a r l y delineate t h e i r
subject
m a t t e r , and do not d i v e r g e f r o m i t d u r i n g the c o u r s e of the f i l m . F r o m
the o u t s e t , they e m p h a s i z e the i m p o r t a n c e of t h e i r s t a r s . No d o u b l e play. A c i n e m a too s q u a r e , too obvious....
One does f i n d c e r t a i n b r i l l i a n t
Nuit
du carrefour,
or the f i l m s
e x c e p t i o n s , s u c h as R e n o i r ' s La
of J e a n - L u c
Godard ( h i m s e l f
of
P r o t e s t a n t o r i g i n ) , who play w i t h the p r o m i s e of t h e i r t i t l e s (Pierrot
le
fou, King Lear, Numero deux). T h e l a t e s t s u c h e x c e p t i o n i s c a l l e d
pas
sommeil.
J'ai
397
T h i s f i l m r e l i e s e n t i r e l y on the hidden. C l a i r e D e n i s s a y s as l i t t l e
as p o s s i b l e about the t a n g e n t of h e r i n t r i g u e , of the r e l a t i o n s b e t w e e n
c a u s e and e f f e c t . Even a l i t t l e l e s s than the s t r i c t m i n i m u m : she t h r o w s
h e r v i e w e r a b a i t e d hook. It's
up to h i m to b i t e o r n o t , to d e c e i v e
h i m s e l f e v e n t u a l l y , to w o r k in any c a s e . Out of t w e n t y e x a m p l e s , Til
t a k e t h i s one: t o w a r d s the end of the f i l m , the p r o t a g o n i s t , d r i v i n g in
h e r c a r , n o t i c e s a man at the s t e e r i n g w h e e l of a n o t h e r v e h i c l e . W i t h o u t
a p p a r e n t r e a s o n , w h e n the l i g h t t u r n s r e d , she d e l i b e r a t e l y s l a m s i n t o
him,
totally
wrecking
the
machine. The
man
refuses
to
lodge
a
c o m p l a i n t , p r e t e n d i n g - a g a i n s t the a d v i c e of o n l o o k e r s - t o be the one at
f a u l t . Is t h i s a doubly g r a t u i t o u s a c t ? Not v e r y l i k e l y . Revenge a g a i n s t
an u n k n o w n p e r s o n w h o s e p r e v i o u s m i s d e e d s w e r e c u t out d u r i n g the
editing
process?
A g a i n not
very
p r o b a b l e . Or of
the
man,
making
p r o p o s i t i o n s and f o l l o w i n g h e r d o w n the s t r e e t , as one of my f e m a l e
f r i e n d s s u g g e s t s ? Or, as I t h i n k w h e n r e f l e c t i n g upon the
moments
w h i c h f o l l o w t h i s s c e n e , of an e x - l o v e r i n t e r v i e w e d an h o u r e a r l i e r ,
who p r o m i s e d a job
to o u r h e r o i n e t h e n f a i l e d to s h o w u p ?
After
i n q u e s t and r e - v i s i o n ( t h i s i s a m o s t r e w a r d i n g t a c t i c ) , my i n t u i t i o n
s e e m s to have been c o n f i r m e d .
Any o l d hack c o u l d have a v o i d e d u n c e r t a i n t y by d e c k i n g out
the
e x - l o v e r i n a s u i t or a m e m o r a b l e a c c e s s o r y , or by m a k i n g h i m speak in
a h i g h l y d i s t i n c t i v e a c c e n t . B u t , he w o u l d t h e r e b y have d e s t r o y e d o u r
d i s q u i e t i n g p a r t i c i p a t i o n in the r h y t h m s of a w o n d e r f u l l y r i c h f i l m .