Salad and satire / Salade et satire

Many ingredients were necessary to make the first novel in the history of literature. First, it was a reflection of Roman life, in particular that of Emperor Nero and his entourage. The author Petronius, being the authority in terms of taste (arbiter elegantiae), represented a great variety of situations, be they erotic, adventurous, humorous, poetic or topical. Then, the style had to be ad hoc : a direct formal image of its content, manner appropriating matter it was based upon. Hence, the title, Satyricon, a word coming from the culinary world. Satyra means indeed salad, melange or mixture in Latin. The (unachieved) novel is a succession of narrative, poetic, descriptive passages where odes, criticisms and essays are jumbled up in the diegetic space in a very unusual and remarkable (for its time) way. Two slaves (Encolpius and Ascyltus) and their favourite mignon, called Giton are the main characters : we follow their picaresque whereabouts. The best-known episode of this lewd and scandalous work is "Trimalchio's feast". The whole book can be encapsulated in this moment : like it, it is a feast of words and genres. Trimalchio, this emancipated and now wealthy slave, takes on the aura of a Greek hero (scenes from epics such as The Iliad are on the villa's walls) by organizing an extravagant and excessive banquet in which Petronius gives us a magnificent piece of prose, a superb tapestry of words : a purple patch par excellence.

Bien des ingrédients ont été nécessaires pour fabriquer le premier roman de l'histoire de la littérature. Tout d'abord, il fut un reflet de la vie romaine, en particulier celle de l'empereur Néron et de son entourage. L'auteur, Pétrone, étant l'autorité en termes de goût (arbiter elegantiae) représenta une grande variété de situations, qu'elles fussent érotiques, aventureuses, poétiques ou sociales. Puis, le style se devait d'être ad hoc ; une image formelle directe du contenu : la forme s'appropriant le fond en quelque sorte. De là le titre, Le Satyricon, mot provenant du monde culinaire. Satyra signifie en effet salade, mélange ou mixture en latin. Ce roman (inachevé) est une succession de passages narratifs, poétiques, descriptifs où les odes, les passages critiques et les essais se disputent l'espace de la diégèse de facon très inhabituelle et remarquable pour son époque. Deux esclaves, Encolpe et Ascylte, ainsi que leur mignon Giton, sont les personnages principaux : nous suivons leurs allées et venues picaresques. L'épisode le plus fameux de cette oeuvre licencieuse et scandaleuse en est le festin de Trimalcion, l'affranchi devenu riche qui organise un banquet somptueux, extravagant et excessif. Le livre est un festin de mots et de genres différents, à l'image de ce repas dont le maître se réclame des heros grecs (des scènes de L'Iliade sont représentées sur les murs de sa villa). Pétrone nous offre là un superbe échantillon de prose, un magnifique creuset de mots : un morceau de bravoure par excellence.

The obsession with the Templars / L'obsession des Templiers

First, a quick comparison between the two languages : the preposition "with" indicates that the Knights Templar are the object of someone's obsession whereas in French there is ambiguity. Indeed, the preposition "de" (to which is added the article "les") either makes the Templars the subject or the object of the obsession. Therefore, the title either means "the obsession with the Templars" or "the Templars' obsession" (objective or subjective genitive).
To start with, the Templars' obsessions were the identity of Christ and the keeping of the treasure supposedly found under Solomon's temple in Jerusalem. Hence their amazing wealth and the mystery surrounding their Pope-protected order. It was founded in order to protect the Holy City : their status was intriguing as they were both monks and soldiers. Even after the dissolution of their order, a secret society emerged, with Grand Masters, with rites of passage and traditions that paved the way for the Free-Masons.
Now, the fascination for the Knights Templar is reaching new heights : a long declension of films, documentaries, books (essays and novels) and television dramas can be set up. National Treasure, the inevitable Da Vinci Code and the current French series The Cursed Kings are the most obvious. This superproduction is drawn from the seven-volume novel written in the 1950's by the traditionalist French Academicien Maurice Druon about the history of the Capetian Kings as from Philip IV the Fair in the fourteenth century. Modern warfare pushed him to require more money : he asked the Knights Templar, who refused ; they were subsequently arrested, charged with heresy and a decade later their Grand Master, Jacques de Molay, burning at the stake, uttered the eponymous omen : "Cursed, you are all cursed, for thirteen generations!" ("Maudits, vous etes tous maudits, jusqu'a la treizieme generation!"). A prophecy which, when looking at the genealogy and the fates of the Capetians, rings true.

Adam and Eve and the T-Rex / Adam et Eve et le T-Rex

This picture of a state-of-the-art building in an idyllic setting shows the soon to open first creation museum of the United States. Built in Kentucky, the idea of its designers is that the Bible is a scientific book whose every sentence needs to be taken literally.
Therefore, visitors will be able to enjoy never-before-seen scenes: such as giraffes and dinosaurs prancing around Adam and Eve. Or vegetarian dinosaurs (such as T-Rex [sic]) peacefully cohabitating with the first two humans. Indeed, man as well as animals were made on the sixth day of creation. Creationism sweeps aside more than a century of scientitic research, starting with Darwin's theory of evolution, according to which genes adapt to their surroundings and change, hence the polymorphous genes of the species and the slow gradual metamorphosis from ape to man. As the great epistemologist Karl Popper paradoxically put it in Conjectures and Refutations (1963), "A theory which is not refutable by any conceivable event is non-scientific. Irrefutability is not a virtue of a theory (as people think) but a vice." This is the main difference between science and extreme religious thinking, which does not accept criticism.

Cette image montre un bâtiment dernier cri sis dans un cadre idyllique: le futur musée de la création, premier dans son genre aux Etats-Unis. Construit au Kentucky, l'idée des concepteurs est que la Bible est un livre scientifique dont chaque phrase doit être prise littéralement.
Ainsi, les visiteurs pourront apprécier des scènes jamais vues auparavant, telles que des girafes et des dinosaures gambadant autour d'Adam et Eve. Ou bien des dinosaures végétariens (comme le T-Rex [sic]) cohabitant en paix avec les premiers humains. En effet, l'homme comme les animaux a été créé le sixième jour de la création. Le créationnisme balaie plus d'un siècle de recherche scientifique, à commencer par la théorie de l'évolution de Darwin, selon laquelle les gênes s'adaptent à leur environnement et changent, de là les gènes polymorphes des espèces et la lente et progressive métamorphose du singe en homme. Comme le grand épistémologue Karl Popper l'a paradoxalement exprimé dans Conjectures et Réfutations (1963), "Une théorie qui n'est pas réfutable par quelque événement concevable est non-scientifique. L'irréfutabilité n'est pas une vertu (comme d'aucuns le croient) mais un vice." Là est la grande différence entre la science et la pensée religieuse extrême, qui n'accepte pas la critique.

Hate - La Haine

Hate is in the suburban streets of Paris. Dialogue seems to have vanished, only replaced by the pungent smell of burning tyres and torched cars.
Hate is Mathieu Kassovitz's film following 24 hours in the lives of three friends from a Paris estate: a Christian, a Jew and a Muslim. Shot in black and white, it is a powerful parable on violence and its roots, an illuminating insight in the minds of idle and bored youths, in the behaviour of society in general, and the police force in particular. Its impressive strength comes from its non-critical strategy: Kassovitz, like a good novelist, shows and tells events that are drawn towards a tragic end. Released in 1995, it is ever so relevant at the moment.

La haine est dans les rues des banlieues de Paris. Le dialogue semble avoir disparu, laissant la place a la puanteur des pneus brules et des voitures incendiees.
La Haine est un film de Mathieu Kassovitz qui suit 24 heures de la vie de trois amis de la banlieue parisienne : un chretien, un juif et un musulman. Tourne en noir et blanc, c'est une parabole puissante sur la violence et ses racines, un apercu eclairant de l'esprit de jeunes desoeuvres et qui s'ennuient, du comportement de la societe en general et des forces de police en particulier. Sa force impressionnante provient de sa strategie non-critique: en bon romancier, Kassovitz montre et raconte des evenements s'enchainant vers une fin tragique. Sorti en 1995, il est toujours aussi actuel en ce moment.

Godot and / et Hopper

These idle people in Greenwich Village are waiting for Godot, one might surmise. It is the year 1942, although the war is in its full swing in Europe and in the Pacific, it is fascinating to watch this apparent apathy and idleness. Yet these characters have become icons in the art world : Hitchcock liked the painter Edward Hopper so much he decided to draw his decors from his paintings, such as here with Nighthawks. Lifelessness is pervasive, inside and outside. Human beings are part of the furniture: they are reified. It is impossible not to summon Sartre and his existentialist thought, best expressed in his plays : "Hell is other people", or "The other reifies me". In this sense, Hopper was a pictural precursor to Sartre's philosophy.

Ces gens desoeuvres de Greenwich Village attendent Godot, pourrait-on suggerer. Nous sommes en 1942, bien que l'on soit en pleine guerre en Europe et dans le Pacifique, il est fascinant de regarder cette apathie et cette oisivete apparentes. Cependant, ces personnages sont devenus des icones dans le monde de l'art: Hitchcock aimait tant Edward Hopper qu'il a decide d'inspirer ses decors de ses tableaux, comme ici avec Noctambules. L'absence de vie est omnipresente, dedans comme dehors. Les etres humains font partie dss meubles: ils sont reifies. Il est impossible de ne pas convoquer Sartre et sa pensee existentialiste, mieux exprimee dans ses pieces de theatre: "L'enfer, c'est les autres", ou "L'autre me chosifie". En ce sens, Hopper etait un precurseur pictural de la philosophie de Sartre.

Paris with a view / Paris avec vue

Everyone has seen, or at least heard of Amelie, Jean-Pierre Jeunet's feel-good film about a young waitress living in Montmartre, who decides to help people and make them happy or happier. It is contagious, needless to say. Yann Tiersen's score makes the experience more unforgettable and indissociable with Montmartre and Paris in general. Indeed, images were touched up, graffiti on walls were digitally deleted to give the impression of Paris as a timeless city. One might wonder whether it was needed.
It is the image one keeps of the French capital and its suburbs, far from the ones the world is showing at the moment: torched cars, burning warehouses and rioting. A different view, full of the shock of reality. A very depressing one. It is reminiscent of the rising of the "banlieues" in Lyon back in the 1980s and has already been compared to May 68, mutatis mutandis of course, the actors and the location being entirely antagonistic : on the one hand, poor youngsters in derelict highly-unemployed estates, on the other hand, middle-classe students in France's most prestigious university, the Sorbonne. In both cases, there is at stake the rejection of a model and the refusal to bow to a certain form of authority and order.

Chacun a vu ou entendu parler du Fabuleux destin d'Amelie Poulain, le film de la joie de vivre de Jeunet situe dans Montmartre autour d'une jeune serveuse qui tente d'apporter du bonheur (ou plus de bonheur) aux gens. La partition de Tiersen rend Paris et le film indissociables et inoubliables. En effet, les images furent retouchees, les graffitis sur les murs effaces, ceci pour donner une intemporalite au Paris de cartes postales - si besoin etait. C'est l'image que l'on garde de la capitale francaise et de ses environs, aux antipodes de celle que les medias montrent en ce moment: les voitures incendiees, les entrepots en flammes et les emeutes. Une vue differente, pleine du choc de la realite. Deprimante. Elle rappelle la revolte des banlieues de Lyon dans les annees 1980 et a deja ete comparee a Mai 68, mutatis mutandis bien entendu, les acteurs et les lieux etant antagonistes: d'un cote, les jeunes desargentes des zones delabrees ou le chomage prospere, de l'autre, les etudiants des classes aisees dans l'universite francaise la plus prestigieuse, la Sorbonne. Dans les deux cas, le meme rejet d'un modele et le refus de se plier a une certaine forme d'autorite et d'ordre.

Emperors and the Bible / Empereurs et la Bible

It is impossible not to mention the documentary of the year, set in Antarctica, and made by a team of French cameramen and ornithologists who spent a whole year following the whereabouts of a peculiar animal, which has the constant habit of walking: the emperor penguin. March of the Penguins is a revelatory experience: one wonders how animals with such physical hindrances - they cannot fly, can only walk slowly, but are amazing swimmers - manage to survive, i-e to reproduce, especially in hostile weather. Males and females both keep the egg, then the young baby for three months, in a pocket at the bottom of their bellies. They don't eat during this time, waiting for the other half to come back.
It seems rather far-fetched to claim that the director's objective is essentially an illustration of the Bible. Such has been the case with certain groups in the United States, where the film has been very successful. As the director Luc Jacquet said, the aim was to "tell a story", fascinating at that, and full of sound and fury, one might add. Last but not least, it is full of love, at its strongest since it is kept intact, frozen in its purest shape in the ice desert.

Il est impossible de ne pas mentionner le documentaire de l'annee, situe dans l'Antarctique, et realise par une equipe de cameramen et d'ornithologues francais qui passerent une annee entiere a suivre les deambulations d'un animal etrange dont l'habitude est de constamment marcher: le manchot empereur. La marche de l'empereur est une experience revelatoire: l'on se demande comment des animaux avec de tels handicaps physiques - ils ne peuvent pas voler, ne peuvent marcher que lentement, mais sont d'incroyables nageurs - parviennent a survivre, i-e a se reproduire, surtout dans un climat hostile. Les males et les femelles gardent chacun a leur tour l'oeuf puis le jeune dans une poche sous leur estomac, et ce pendant trois mois. Ils jeunent, attendant le retour de leur partenaire.
Pretendre que l'objectif du realisateur est essentiellement d'illustrer la Bible semble tire par les cheveux. Ce fut le cas chez certains groupes aux Etats-Unis, ou le film a joui d'un grand succes. Comme l'a dit le realisateur Luc Jacquet, le but etait de "raconter une histoire", fascinante et pleine de bruit et de fureur, pourrait-on ajouter. Last but not least, elle est pleine d'amour, preserve tel quel dans sa forme la plus pure, dans ce desert de glace.

Weather - Illusion / Temps - Illusion (2)

This is not to be read before "Weather - Reality" (29 October) : it would be a bit like giving away the end of a film.
This picture represents the installation by Olafur Eliason at Tate Modern, London. In the gigantic Turbine Hall and for several months, people were able to enjoy the balmy climate created by The Weather Project.
The reality and the realism of it all suddenly became illusory when one decided to see what lay behind the sun: huge neons and monofrequency lamps. Mostly, the greatest surprise occured when, lying on the floor, one could see one's reflection in the ceilinged mirror...
The sun was therefore just a semi-circle and the whole show an illusion, like art in general.
The feeling was very much comparable to the one experienced towards the end of the film The Truman Show, whose ending will not be revealed here...

Ceci ne devrait pas etre lu avant "Temps - Realite" (29 octobre) : ce serait comme livrer la fin d'un film. Cette image represente l'installation d'Olafur Eliason. Dans le gigantesque Hall des turbines de la Tate Modern de Londres, et ce pour plusieurs mois, les gens pouvaient apprecier la douceur climatique creee par le Weather Project.
La realite et le realisme devinrent illusoires qund on decidait d'aller voir derriere le soleil; d'immenses neons et des lampes monofrequence. Surtout, la plus grande surprise venait de ce qu'une fois allonge, l'on voyait son image se refleter dans le miroir du plafond. Le soleil n'etait qu'un demi-cercle et tout le spectacle une illusion, comme l'art en general. Le sentiment etait bien comparable au sentiment eprouve vers la fin du film The Truman Show, dont la fin ne sera pas revelee ici...

Monteverdi and Paris

Just a year ago an American expat, Eugene Green, released a UFO in the cinematic world. A film celebrating the most famous Parisian pedestrian bridge in its title through a love story betwen two people who never meet. A student in French literature at the Sorbonne listens to a Baroque vocal piece composed by Monteverdi when his wife died ("Lamento della Ninfa") and falls in love with the soprano voice. A love letter to Paris, Le Pont des Arts is striking by its constant use of a very formal and high-flying French in the most quotidian situations and conversations.

Il y a tout juste un an un expatrie americain, Eugene Green, realisait un OVNI dans le monde du cinema. Un film fetant dans son titre le plus celebre des ponts de Paris au travers d'une histoire d'amour antre deux personnes qui jamais ne se rencontrent. Un etudiant de litterature en Sorbonne ecoute un morceau baroque compose par Monteverdi pour sa femme defunte et tombe amoureux de la voix. Lettre d'amour pour Paris, Le Pont des Arts frappe par son usage constant d'un francais chatie et soutenu dans les situations et les conversations les plus banales.