h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: The Brecht/Ives Syndrome, a Manifesto - A48280241
Author: dmitrigheorgheni - U1590784

The art of the essay may be truly dead...

Especially after this.

I entirely agree that art should be for enjoyment though, obviously, what one person enjoys another person loathes.


There seems to be a snobbish view in the literary world, that only works which are too difficult for everyone except an educated elite are any good. And nobody wants to admit that they don't understand these works, because that would mean that they're stupid.

I love the piece about Mrs Flanagan. I can just picture her puzzling over your 500 word long, ten sentence book report!

Thanks, MVP.

And, after writing that, of course, I spent the evening watching 'The Magic Flute', which I'd just got for a birthday present.

This is a beautiful film, by the way, even if you tend to think opera is elitist and boring.

Hint: Kenneth Branagh directed it, the guy who thinks the ploughboy should get as much out of Shakespeare as the folks in the castle...

Oh, and the Queen of the Night shows up in a REALLY big tank...

I managed to go through 13 years of school without ever reading Brecht.

I did read some Schiller, though, but was spared from having to read Goethe. I was lucky, I got the better Schiller peices - poor son #1 had to read Wilhelm Tell - absolutely incomprehensible.

He should read Max Frisch's book on William Tell. It's more fun.

As for Schiller......I liked 'The Robbers'.

We have to be nice about Schiller, he's sort of responsible for the European anthem, right?

What idiot translated the first line as 'Joy, beautiful sparkle of the gods'???

Sparkle...

European anthem? I only now the tune they play for Eurovision films. I had no idea there was a text to go with it.

But we're heading towards a severe topic drift.

Definitely. Let it drift, say I... (Nobody else is gonna read this, anyhow.)

Shame on you folks. You have the ONLY beautiful anthem in history.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrexhus-8kw

Lyrics:

http://www.raptusassociation.org/ode1785.html

Keep the dream alive...come to think of it, this is NOT topic drift.

It is the cure for Brecht/Ives Syndrome.

Oh, *that* one. I thought you meant this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GsoWotPFUfY

(And even that is better than the Iver's whotsit you posted the link to.)

That is much better than Ives and all his whatsits...

But that's EuroVISION.

The people who give us that wonderful song contest...

That one reminds me of the music all Americans immediately associate with Alistair Cooke:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZQG-DZy7uY

We are not drifting...we are headed straight for the heart of the matter...

Culture for Everybody!!!

Oooh, lovely.

And I said 'Eurovision' tune. Which isn't reduced to the song contest, but played for all shows which are broadcast in several European countries.

I know.

Don't we appreciate the good work, too?

Eurovision made me think of this, although it might be a sort of precursor to Eurovision:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QG0ZfQ7tKBY

I loved that series.

Anyway, er, ahem, back to Brecht.

Or Ives.

Just not to Mrs Flanagen.

Oooh, that's a blast from the past.

I absolutely loved the series, and I really loved the tune. I think my briother once gave me a recording of it - on an mc cassette-

Your Mrs Flanagen was called Mr Skierra in my school. He taught chemistry.

Ah. Chemistry. The mystery of mysteries...

Because nobody bothers to teach it.

I'm not into natural sciences, but maybe you are right, and it's how they are taught?

I had a brilliant maths teacher, and although whether I did or didn't understand maths was related to the subject (I was a complete failure at everything to do with geometry), I liked maths enough to choose it as my subject for my 'A levels'*.


*For lack of a better translation.

>>Some of you readers may consider the term 'grumpy German' to be a tautology.<<

More of a teutology, surely?

And while we're busy posting videos...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQ8f2C8wgxQ

(lyrics: http://lyricwiki.org/Wise_Guys:Meine_Deutschlehrerin )

For those who do not speak German:

This guy iz singin uh luerve song ter hiz Chermun teecher, cos she teached him uh LOT so he wudn't graw up ter be iggerant.

In addition, she broke his heart by running away with the maths teacher, whom he hates, 110%, so there.



Thst is a lovely song, Mala.

I thought it rather fitting...

Good summary, too