Methought - February 2024
Monthly wrap-up: Wilde's early works, East of Eden, Wings of Desire, Paradise Lost, Reflections on TikTok, a word on Harold Bloom, the beauty of Poor Things and Vampire Weekend is back
scroll down to read the English version
Linda and I were very much preoccupied with sin, and our great hero was Oscar Wilde.
“The Pursuit of Love” - Nancy Mitford
Caros Leitores,
Quando eu digo que nunca tive uma experiência original na vida, não é exagero. Esses dias me lembrei dessa frase que resume meu estado de espírito, pois, tal qual Linda e Fanny, eu também tenho me preocupado com o pecado (não num sentido estritamente religioso, mas moral), e minha lenta leitura das obras completas de Wilde só confirma a posição dele no meu altar. Acredito que ele acharia minha situação divertida e compreensível.
Esse mês eu pensei bastante sobre minha relação com as redes sociais e sobre como eu quero lidar com essa newsletter e com o bookgram daqui para frente. Gosto tanto de escrever aqui que eu queria poder fazer só isso, mas para que isso seja uma possibilidade, preciso tomar certas iniciativas e fazer concessões comigo mesma. Existem tantos artistas e criadores de conteúdo online que é difícil não se sentir supérflua, o que gerou várias reflexões sobre imagem, auto representação, e meu “papel” na internet. Talvez eu escreva sobre isso depois.
Fevereiro foi bom principalmente porque li East of Eden junto com Leaves of Grass, uma experiência literária peculiarmente fantástica, já que os livros se complementam muito bem em tom e sabedoria. Por coincidência, assisti dois filmes esse mês que falam sobre a beleza de estar vivo, mas de formas bem distintas. Dito isso, acho que por causa de todas essas obras positivamente poéticas aparecendo na minha vida ao mesmo tempo, terminei o mês 10% menos pessimista.
Livros &tc.
East of Eden - John Steinbeck (1952)
Passei mais de um mês lendo esse livro e agora vai ser difícil desapegar dele, é uma das melhores coisas que já li. East of Eden é um romance geracional acompanhando as famílias Hamilton e Trask, e nessa história (que é uma reimaginação do mito de Caim e Abel) Steinbeck explora o conceito de bem e mal, livre arbítrio, destino, egoísmo e generosidade, e principalmente como o passado nos define - ou não.
Me apeguei demais aos personagens, com destaque para Samuel, Lee e Cal. É impressionante a capacidade do autor de criar personagens convincentes e profundos, e de nos fazer entender o mundo através de pessoas tão moralmente complexas. Os grandes temas morais que Steinbeck aborda me fizeram repensar muita coisa, e de fato mudaram minha perspectiva; é um livro cheio de sabedoria mas é preciso estar disponível para ouvir de verdade. Eu ainda vou escrever uma resenha mais completa mas saibam que, para mim, esse é um dos livros que todo mundo devia ler pelo menos uma vez na vida.
We have only one story. All novels, all poetry, are built on the never-ending contest in ourselves of good and evil. And it occurs to me that evil must constantly respawn, while good, while virtue, is immortal. Vice has always a new fresh young face, while virtue is venerable as nothing else in the world is.
Notei várias intercessões entre East of Eden e Leaves of Grass — a grande coleção de poemas de Walt Whitman que ainda não acabei de ler — principalmente quanto à filosofia moral de liberdade autoafirmativa do indivíduo.
The Duchess of Padua - Oscar Wilde (1883)
Mais uma peça esquisita de Wilde, dessa vez uma revenge tragedy que mistura explicitamente cenas e tropes de Hamlet, Romeu e Julieta e Macbeth. Apesar do intenso melodrama e trama sem sentido, achei a peça cativante e fiquei curiosa para saber como ia terminar. Em resumo, essa é a história do romance que termina em vingança entre Beatrice e Guido, vulgo a Duquesa de Pádua e um cavalheiro de origem nobre mas que teve sua posição usurpada. Wilde juntou todos os clássicos: identidade trocada, conspiração, assassinato de maridos e reis (nesse caso o Duque), filho vingando a morte do pai, suicídio(s), traição, adagas ensanguentadas, romances tórridos e até courtroom drama. Apesar de toda a bagunça teatral, essa peça já mostra vislumbres do humor e comentário social que Wilde desenvolverá nos anos seguintes.
Paradise Lost (books I-III) - John Milton (1667)
De Fevereiro a Maio estarei lendo Paradise Lost em grupo como parte de um projeto promovido por doutorandos de Harvard. Isso tem sido uma das experiências mais empolgantes que já tive — as quartas-feiras se tornaram o melhor dia da semana. Lemos um livro de PL semanalmente e discutimos ele com o grupo, focando bastante no texto em si (o “método” promovido é o close reading) e nas possíveis interpretações que se pode extrair. O que Milton criou é quase inacreditável para mim, como disse Samuel Johnson, “To display the motives and actions of beings thus superior [God], so far as human reason can examine them, or human imagination represent them, is the task which this mighty poet has undertaken and performed.”
Esse é certamente o livro mais difícil que eu já li, pois apesar do tema grandioso e famosíssimo, o texto em si é o objeto mais relevante e não os acontecimentos, afinal, eles estão disponíveis na Bíblia e são (ou eram para ser) de conhecimento geral. Como o projeto vai durar mais 2 meses esperem comentários sobre PL nas próximas newsletters! (e no bookgram estou postando diários de leitura semanais).
The Beast in the Jungle - Henry James
Um ótimo conto de mistério sobre John Marcher e seu terrível segredo. Ele é um homem assombrado pela certeza de uma desgraça futura, e passamos o tempo todo numa agonia para saber que desgraça é essa. O que tem de tão especial e místico na vida de Marcher para que ele seja cercado de maus presságios e coincidências? Nunca tinha lido um conto de James antes e achei esse muito bom.
Artigos & Ensaios
Against Chivalry - Paul Cantor (2016)
Cervantes and Shakespeare saw that chivalry was one area of life where they, as authors, could make a difference — because chivalry was a literary ideal, formulated and propagated in books. An ideal that grows out of books can be defeated in books. Medieval chivalry is perhaps the greatest example in history of life imitating art, with predictably disturbing results.
Nesse ensaio sensacional, Paul explora como Cervantes e Shakespeare contribuíram para desmembrar os ideais medievais de cavalaria através da literatura, e consequentemente modernizaram as culturas de seus respectivos países. Ele aborda, por exemplo, os subtextos colonialistas presentes em Don Quixote, e como ambos autores defendem a mesma ideia de que política misturada com religião é sempre uma má ideia. Paul é um grande crítico e professor, e recomendo muito que vocês olhem o blog dele! (link no título).
The myopia of youth - Solitary Daughter’s substack (2023)
Mais um ensaio sobre a obsessão da internet com “girl-culture” e suas repercussões comerciais e sociais. Gostei muito da miscelânea de fontes compiladas por Raquel, principalmente por mostrar que essa questão tem precedentes e é mais complexa do que uma mera tag no TikTok.
A tool of the Panopticon, The Young-Girl offers ultimate proof of capitalism’s chokehold on our lives, and yet we want to become her anyway. We choose complicity, becoming active participants in our own surveillance and punishment.
Everyone is a sellout now - Rebecca Jennings (2024)
Under the tyranny of algorithmic media distribution, artists, authors — anyone whose work concerns itself with what it means to be human — now have to be entrepreneurs, too.
Esse artigo meio apocalíptico agravou uma reflexão que eu já estava tendo há um tempo sobre a possibilidade de criar um tiktok para compartilhar trechos do que eu posto aqui (descobri recentemente que existe ArticleTok), reviews curtas de livros, e é claro, vídeos “aesthetic”.
Contudo, eu realmente não gosto do TikTok, por mil motivos, inclusive éticos. Mas como não tem nada que eu adore mais do que escrever para essa newsletter, e cada texto demanda pesquisas imensas e demoradas que vocês não acreditariam (eu escrevo no trabalho, não contem pra minha chefe) acho que preciso buscar um alcance maior. Entre o luxo de ter princípios e a recompensa que pode vir com a rendição ao algoritmo, acabei criando uma conta lá há alguns dias. Vamos ver no que vai dar.
The Philosophy of Dress - Oscar Wilde (1885)
The French milliners consider that women are created specially for them by Providence, in order to display their elaborate and expensive wares. I hold that dress is made for the service of Humanity. They think that Beauty is a matter of frills and furbelows. I care nothing at all for frills, and I don’t know what furbelows are, but I care a great deal for the wonder and grace of the human Form, and I hold that the very first canon of art is that Beauty is always organic, and comes from within, and not from without, comes from the perfection of its own being and not from any added prettiness. And that consequently the beauty of a dress depends entirely and absolutely on the loveliness it shields, and on the freedom and motion that it does not impede.
Publicado no The New-York Tribune em 1885, esse é um dos primeiros textos jornalísticos longos de Wilde, pois até então ele só havia escrito reviews curtas em periódicos. Nesse texto, Wilde explora a relação sociológica (e até psicológica) entre beleza, moda, arte e as pessoas que as ditam ou contrariam. No tom tipicamente espirituoso e humorístico, ele fornece uma crítica desconfortavelmente atual sobre como tendências são mais um desserviço à sociedade do que qualquer coisa. Interessante que o que Wilde chamou de “fashion” é o equivalente a “trend” de hoje:
Fashion rests upon folly. Art rests upon law. Fashion is ephemeral. Art is eternal. Indeed what is a fashion really? A fashion is merely a form of ugliness so absolutely unbearable that we have to alter it every six months!
Morro de curiosidade pensando no que Wilde faria se ele fosse vivo hoje, que tipo de roupas ele poderia criar, que tipo de livros escreveria? Será que ele seria ator também? O difícil é imaginar algo que ele fosse incapaz de fazer.
Filmes & Séries
Past Lives - Celine Song (2023)
Um dos filmes mais lindos que eu já vi e que me fez chorar tal qual Atonement (2007) ou As Pontes de Madison (1995). De um jeito estranho, eu me vi muito nesse filme e em Nora, mesmo não tendo nenhuma experiência similar. Acho que é o sentimento. Não sei, só sei que ele me emocionou de um jeito que há tempos não acontecia. A história é sobre amigos de infância que se reencontram em diferentes momentos da vida, e desenvolvem uma conexão profunda mesmo a uma distância enorme. Celine Song explora o destino, e os grandes "e se" da vida, de um jeito sensível e poético.
Quatre Aventures de Reinette et Mirabelle - Eric Rohmer (1987)
Acho que é o filme mais engraçado de Rohmer dentre os que eu já vi. Não gostei muito mas os visuais são imbatíveis. Quatre Aventures conta a história de duas garotas que se conhecem por acaso no interior da França, viram amigas e depois dividem um apartamento em Paris. As duas são muito diferentes entre si, e o filme narra justamente quatro situações comicamente mundanas que exploram as disparidades morais entre elas.
Agora só faltam mais dois filmes para que eu complete a série das Comédies et Proverbes. Já assisti todos os Six Contes Moraux e Les Contes des quatre saisons, e depois de todos esses 14 filmes belíssimos posso afirmar que Rohmer é meu diretor favorito. Se você nunca assistiu nada dele, assista por favor! Os que eu mais gosto são Le genou de Claire, Conte d'été, L’Ami de mon amie e Le rayon vert.
Poor Creatures - Yorgos Lanthimos (2023)
Os filmes de Lanthimos são normalmente um sucesso ou fracasso para mim: detestei The Lobster e adorei The Favourite — e felizmente, adorei este também. Uma obra tão bonita e original, muito mais divertida e esperançosa do que eu esperava; me surpreendeu principalmente pela forma de contos-de-fadas às avessas que é usada para abordar uma questão que sempre me intrigou: como o ser humano se comportaria sem as limitações da vergonha e das construções sociais? (não que eu seja uma anarquista dos bons modos, pelo contrário, é só que a repressão humana é fascinante pra mim, escrevi um pouco sobre aqui e aqui). A “resposta” dada através de Bella Baxter é simples: as pessoas no fundo são movidas pelo prazer, nada mais nada menos. Amei a personagem e seus paralelos com Frankenstein e a estética meio steampunk.
Wings of Desire - Wim Wenders (1987)
Eu não sei como falar direito sobre esse filme, pelo menos não de forma sucinta e coesa, porque ele despertou em mim dezenas de sentimentos e perguntas. O filme faz conexões com a poesia épica e isso dá mais uma possibilidade interpretativa — Só saibam que um dos personagens se chama Homero e ele invoca as musas, e observei alguns paralelos com Paraíso Perdido.
Wings of Desire (adoro esse título, mais do que o original “O céu sobre Berlim”) é construído por uma série de episódios mundanos na vida de uma Berlim dividida, pela perspectiva dos anjos Cassiel e Damiel, que observam os humanos e podem escutar seus pensamentos. Nessa perspectiva única (em preto e branco), vemos algo curioso: mesmo com idade e experiência infinitas, mesmo sabendo de toda a desgraça e miséria interna e externa do mundo, os anjos parecem ter inveja dos humanos. Pelos olhos deles, pequenas idiossincrasias ou banalidades são fascinantes, e Wenders tem o dom de mostrar a beleza delas (e consequentemente a beleza de estar vivo) sem ser piegas ou didático — ele é apenas honesto, e consegue dizer a verdade (inclusive com cenas reais de Berlim devastada pós-guerra) sem deprimir.
A cena que mais me emocionou foi a de um idoso procurando em um terreno baldio, próximo ao muro de Berlim, uma praça e um café que ele frequentava na juventude. Ele não consegue encontrar fica extremamente perturbado por isso. Ele repete sem parar “tell me muse”, como na abertura dos poemas épicos, suplicando: “Tell me, muse, of the storyteller who has been thrust to the edge of the world, both an infant and an ancient, and through him reveal everyman. With time, those who listened to me became my readers. They no longer sit in a circle, bur rather sit apart. And one doesn't know anything about the other.”
Interessante que mesmo que a história seja na perspectiva dos anjos, não é um filme religioso nem moralista, mas muito filosófico. Damiel fica cada vez mais inquieto porque ele começa a ter desejos e anseios: ele tem o intelecto e a sabedoria que todos nós sonharíamos em ter, mas não consegue ter sensações físicas; ele não entende porque uma mulher fechou o guarda-chuva e decidiu se molhar; ele não consegue sentir a música nem o toque das coisas, das mãos humanas, nem frio nem calor. O desespero dos anjos pela capacidade de sentir nos mostra a benção que é ser humano. O filme diz isso com uma perfeição que eu nunca tinha visto; Wenders simplesmente entende; ele expressa tudo sobre o que é estar vivo, com todos os desejos e angústias, medos e nostalgias, anseios e extases e como nós estamos fadados a esquecer a beleza de tudo isso.
Música & Podcasts
The Anxiety of Influence - Podcast de Benjamin McEvoy
Nesse episódio, Ben comenta e explica The Anxiety of Influence, a obra mais famosa (e talvez a mais difícil) de Harold Bloom. São duas horas de podcast mas para mim valeu a pena pelas reflexões, e me deu mais vontade ainda de ler tudo que Bloom escreveu.
Diante da fama negativa que Bloom possui, principalmente hoje em dia, eu quis falar sobre ele aqui. Acho que o primeiro erro de algumas pessoas está na abordagem: não vejo Harold Bloom como um “cientista” das humanidades (se é que isso existe) nem como detentor dos fatos, porque ele é distintamente parcial e subjetivo, e nunca escondeu isso. Seus livros expõem suas visões pessoais e até emocionais sobre a literatura, concordar com elas ou não fica a critério de cada um. Certamente ele é polêmico, principalmente por cunhar o termo “escola do ressentimento” (já adianto que não gosto do termo e discordo da ideia), mas ele tem tanto a oferecer que eu acho uma pena descartá-lo totalmente por causa de uma parte de sua crítica.
Eu tendo a gostar de críticos culturais que oferecem uma visão mais “controversa” como ele e Camille Paglia, mas nunca encarei o que eles dizem como A Verdade, é apenas mais uma perspectiva que acho interessante. Tudo sempre volta para a necessidade de ter nuance e não esperar de alguém como Bloom opiniões completamente imparciais ou divergentes de uma tradição eurocêntrica-clássica; hoje existem diversos acadêmicos e ensaístas com as mais diversas perspectivas para além do “cânone-ocidental”, e que bom. Ainda assim, Bloom é um dos poucos que entendem como eu sinto sobre Shakespeare, Austen, e o valor da literatura em si, que nos dá uma razão de ser e transcende escolas de pensamento. Ele era um dos poucos que fugiam da tendência pós-moderna de “desconstruir” (cansei disso quero reconstruir o místico na arte) e ele sabia apreciar um livro com uma intensidade e seriedade que eu me identifico. Se você nunca leu nada dele, dê uma chance! Sugiro começar por “Como e Porque Ler”.
Noemi Jaffe: A Leitura Precisa Pertuba o Leitor - Podcast Ilustríssima Conversa
Eu acho que as redes sociais tão fazendo com que as expectativas sejam muito rasas, com que tudo que explore um pouco mais a fundo, que provoque estranhamento, choque, ou subversão seja mal recebido como algo “denso demais”, “profundo demais”, “cabeçudo demais”, “a vida já é tão difícil - a arte serve só para entreter”; então tem muito esse pensamento de que a arte deve distrair. E eu acho o contrário, acho que a arte precisa contrair, deixar a pessoa perturbada… grande parte boa literatura é sobre coisas difíceis de enfrentar, e a capacidade das pessoas de enfrentar coisas difíceis ta cada vez menor. Todo mundo quer que tudo seja fácil… a arte não deve confirmar aquilo que você já pensa, e essa é a literatura que mais vende, a que confirma.
Recomendado pela minha querida amiga Amanda, nesse podcast Noemi traz uma perspectiva educativa e cheia de sabedoria sobra diferentes tipos de escrita e o cenário literário brasileiro. Esse trecho que eu transcrevi fala por si só, e acho que ela desperta uma reflexão profunda numa conversa super descontraída.
The Trials of Oscar Wilde: Sex and Scandal - Podcast The Rest is History
Como o autor de 2024 é Oscar Wilde tenho ido atrás de mais informações sobre ele, e esse episódio discute em detalhes como Wilde foi parar naquele fatídico julgamento e porque tudo deu tão errado. É uma história mais complexa do que parece, principalmente na questão moral. Adoro podcasts históricos e The Rest is History é um novo favorito, esse mês também escutei episódios sobre a Revolta Camponesa de 1381 e Oliver Cromwell.
Transformer - Lou Reed (1972)
Tenho ouvido muito rock anos 60-70 ultimamente - Led Zeppelin, Leonard Cohen, Nick Drake, Donovan - mas o destaque do mês foi o ícone Lou Reed. Me dei conta de que nunca tinha ouvido esse álbum todo do início ao fim (um crime) mesmo adorando algumas músicas dele como Perfect Day e Vicious
Vampire Weekend voltou!!!!!
Os hipsters do Tumblr podem sorrir de novo porque Vampire Weekend está de volta. Eles lançaram dois singles (amei Capricorn, achei Gen-X Cops ok) e o novo álbum se chama Only God Was Above Us, previsto para 5 de Abril. Eles têm um som tão nostálgico, lembra tanto minha pré-adolescência, que eu não consigo não amar. Nostalgia é irresistível, e eles aparentemente sabem disso porque não inovaram muito nas músicas novas, apenas o suficiente para entregar mais daquilo que já gostamos. O vídeo de Capricorn tá lindo:
Linda and I were very much preoccupied with sin, and our great hero was Oscar Wilde.
“The Pursuit of Love” - Nancy Mitford
Dear Readers,
When I say that I've never had an original experience in my life, it's no exaggeration. The other day I recalled this quote, which sums up my state of mind, because, like Linda and Fanny, I too have been preoccupied with sin (not in a strictly religious sense, but morally), and my slow reading of Wilde's complete works only confirms his position on my shrine. I believe he would find my situation amusing and understandable.
This month I've been thinking a lot about my relationship with social media and how I want to deal with this newsletter and bookgram from now on. I enjoy writing here so much that I wish I could do just that, but to make it possible, I need to take certain initiatives and make concessions to myself. There are so many artists and content creators online that it's hard not to feel superfluous, which has led me to reflect on image, self-representation and my "role" on the internet. Maybe I'll write about that later.
February was good mainly because I read East of Eden alongside Leaves of Grass, a peculiarly fantastic literary experience, as the books complement each other very well in tone and wisdom. Incidentally, I watched two films this month that talk about the beauty of being alive, but in very different ways. That said, I believe that due to all these positively poetic works appearing in my life at the same time, I ended the month 10% less pessimistic.
Books &tc.
East of Eden - John Steinbeck (1952)
I spent over a month reading this book and now it's going to be hard to let go, it's one of the best things I've ever read. East of Eden is a generational novel following the Hamilton and Trask families, and in this story (which is a reimagining of the Cain and Abel myth) Steinbeck explores the concepts of good and evil, free will, destiny, selfishness and generosity, and especially how the past defines us - or not.
I got very attached to the characters, especially Samuel, Lee and Cal. The author's ability to create convincing and profound characters and to make us understand the world through such morally complex people is impressive. The great moral themes that Steinbeck addresses made me rethink a lot of things, and in fact, changed my perspective; it's a book full of wisdom but you have to be willing to really listen. I'm still going to write a fuller review, but know that, for me, this is one of the books that everyone should read at least once in their lives.
We have only one story. All novels, all poetry, are built on the never-ending contest in ourselves of good and evil. And it occurs to me that evil must constantly respawn, while good, while virtue, is immortal. Vice has always a new fresh young face, while virtue is venerable as nothing else in the world is.
I noticed many intersections between East of Eden and Leaves of Grass — the great collection of poems by Walt Whitman that I haven't finished reading yet — mainly in terms of the moral philosophy of the individual's self-affirming freedom.
The Duchess of Padua - Oscar Wilde (1883)
Another weird Wilde play, this time a revenge tragedy that explicitly mixes scenes and tropes from Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth. Despite the intense melodrama and nonsensical plot, I found the play captivating and was curious to see how it would end. In a nutshell, this is the story of the romance that ends in vengeance between Beatrice and Guido, aka the Duchess of Padua and a gentleman of noble origin who has had his position usurped. Wilde brought together all the classics: mistaken identities, conspiracy, the murder of husbands and kings (in this case the Duke), a son avenging his father's death, suicide(s), betrayal, bloody daggers, torrid romances and even courtroom drama. Despite all the theatrical mess, this play already shows glimpses of the humour and social commentary that Wilde would develop in later years.
Paradise Lost (books I-III) - John Milton (1667)
From February to May I'll be reading Paradise Lost in a group as part of a project promoted by Harvard doctoral students. This has been one of the most exciting experiences I've ever had - Wednesdays have become the best day of the week. We read a PL book (chapter) every week and discuss it with the group, focusing a lot on the text itself (the "method" promoted is close reading) and the possible interpretations that can be extracted. What Milton created is almost unbelievable to me, as Samuel Johnson said, "To display the motives and actions of beings thus superior [God], so far as human reason can examine them, or human imagination represent them, is the task which this mighty poet has undertaken and performed."
This is certainly the most difficult book I've ever read, because despite the grand and famous theme, the text itself is the crucial object and not the events, after all, they are available in the Bible and are (or were supposed to be) common knowledge. As the project will last another two months, expect comments on PL in the next newsletters (and on bookgram, I'm posting weekly reading diaries).
The Beast in the Jungle - Henry James
A great tale of mystery about John Marcher and his terrible secret. He is a man haunted by the certainty of future doom, and we spend the whole time agonising to know what that doom is. What is so special and mystical about Marcher's life that he is surrounded by bad omens and coincidences? I've never read a short story by James before and I found this one very good.
Articles & Essays
Against Chivalry - Paul Cantor (2016)
Cervantes and Shakespeare saw that chivalry was one area of life where they, as authors, could make a difference — because chivalry was a literary ideal, formulated and propagated in books. An ideal that grows out of books can be defeated in books. Medieval chivalry is perhaps the greatest example in history of life imitating art, with predictably disturbing results.
In this outstanding essay, Paul explores how Cervantes and Shakespeare contributed to breaking down the medieval ideals of chivalry through literature, consequently modernising their respective countries' cultures. He addresses, for example, the colonialist subtexts present in Don Quixote, and how both authors defend the same idea that politics mixed with religion is always a bad idea. Paul is a great critic and teacher, and I highly recommend you check out his blog! (link in title).
The myopia of youth - Solitary Daughter’s substack (2023)
Another essay on the internet's obsession with "girl culture" and its commercial and social repercussions. I really liked the miscellany of sources compiled by Raquel, mainly because it shows that this issue has precedents and is more complex than a mere tag on TikTok.
A tool of the Panopticon, The Young-Girl offers ultimate proof of capitalism’s chokehold on our lives, and yet we want to become her anyway. We choose complicity, becoming active participants in our own surveillance and punishment.
Everyone is a sellout now - Rebecca Jennings (2024)
Under the tyranny of algorithmic media distribution, artists, authors — anyone whose work concerns itself with what it means to be human — now have to be entrepreneurs, too.
This slightly apocalyptic article has aggravated a thought I've been having for a while about the possibility of creating a TikTok to share extracts from what I post here (I recently discovered that ArticleTok exists), short book reviews and, of course, "aesthetic" videos.
However, I really don't like TikTok, for a thousand reasons, including ethical ones. But since there's nothing I love more than writing for this newsletter, and each text requires immense and time-consuming research that you wouldn't believe (I write at work, don't tell my boss) I think I need to seek a wider reach. Between the luxury of having principles and the reward that can come with surrendering to the algorithm, I ended up creating an account there a few days ago. Let's see how it goes.
The Philosophy of Dress - Oscar Wilde (1885)
The French milliners consider that women are created specially for them by Providence, in order to display their elaborate and expensive wares. I hold that dress is made for the service of Humanity. They think that Beauty is a matter of frills and furbelows. I care nothing at all for frills, and I don’t know what furbelows are, but I care a great deal for the wonder and grace of the human Form, and I hold that the very first canon of art is that Beauty is always organic, and comes from within, and not from without, comes from the perfection of its own being and not from any added prettiness. And that consequently the beauty of a dress depends entirely and absolutely on the loveliness it shields, and on the freedom and motion that it does not impede.
Published in The New York Tribune in 1885, this is one of Wilde's first long journalistic texts, as until then he had only written short reviews in periodicals. In this piece, Wilde explores the sociological (and even psychological) relationship between beauty, fashion, art and the people who dictate or contradict them. In his typically witty tone, he provides an uncomfortably fresh critique of how trends are more of a disservice to society than anything else. It's interesting that what Wilde called "fashion" is the equivalent of "trend" today:
Fashion rests upon folly. Art rests upon law. Fashion is ephemeral. Art is eternal. Indeed what is a fashion really? A fashion is merely a form of ugliness so absolutely unbearable that we have to alter it every six months!
I wonder what Wilde would do if he were alive today, what kind of clothes would he create, what kind of books would he write? Would he be an actor too? The hard part is imagining something he wouldn't be able to do.
Films & Series
Past Lives - Celine Song (2023)
One of the most beautiful films I've ever seen and one that made me cry just like Atonement (2007) or The Bridges of Madison (1995). In an odd way, I saw a lot of myself in this film and in Nora, even though I had no similar experience. I think it's the sentiment. I don't know, all I know is that it moved me in a way it hasn't done for a long time. The story is about childhood friends who reunite at different points in their lives and develop a deep connection even at a great distance. Celine Song explores fate, and the big "what ifs" of life, sensitively and poetically.
Quatre Aventures de Reinette et Mirabelle - Eric Rohmer (1987)
I think it's the funniest Rohmer film among those I've seen. I didn't like it very much, but the visuals are unmatched. Quatre Aventures tells the story of two girls who meet by chance in the French countryside, become friends and then share a flat in Paris. They are very different from each other, and the film narrates four comically mundane situations that explore the moral disparities between them.
Now there are only two more films to go before I complete the Comédies et Proverbes series. I've seen all of Six Contes Moraux and Les Contes des quatre saisons, and after all 14 of these beautiful films, I can say that Rohmer is my favourite director. If you've never seen anything by him, please do! My favourites are Le genou de Claire, Conte d'été, L'Ami de mon amie and Le rayon vert.
Poor Creatures - Yorgos Lanthimos (2023)
Lanthimos' films are usually a hit or miss for me: I hated The Lobster and loved The Favourite — and fortunately, I loved this one too. It's such a beautiful and original piece of work, much funnier and more hopeful than I expected; it surprised me mainly because of the fairy-tale-like way it's used to address a question that has always intrigued me: how would human beings behave without the constraints of shame and social constructs? (Not that I'm a good-manners-anarchist, on the contrary, it's just that I find human repression fascinating, I've written a bit about it here and here). The "answer" given by Bella Baxter is simple: people are driven by pleasure, nothing more, nothing less. I loved the character and her parallels with Frankenstein and the steampunk aesthetic.
Wings of Desire - Wim Wenders (1987)
I don't know how to talk about this film properly, at least not succinctly and cohesively, because it has aroused dozens of feelings and questions in me. The film connects with epic poetry, giving it another interpretative possibility — Just know that one of the characters is called Homer and he invokes the muses, and I've observed some parallels with Paradise Lost.
Wings of Desire (I love this title, more than the original "The Sky over Berlin") is built around a series of mundane episodes in the life of a divided Berlin, from the perspective of the angels Cassiel and Damiel, who observe humans and can hear their thoughts. In this unique perspective (in black and white), we see something curious: even with infinite age and experience, even knowing all the internal and external misfortune and misery of the world, the angels seem to be envious of humans. Through their eyes, small idiosyncrasies or trivialities are fascinating, and Wenders has the gift of showing their beauty (and consequently the beauty of being alive) without being cheesy or didactic - he's just honest and tells the truth (including real scenes of devastated post-war Berlin) without being depressing.
The scene that moved me the most was that of an elderly man looking in a vacant lot near the Berlin Wall for a square and a café that he used to frequent in his youth. He can't find it and is extremely upset by it. He keeps repeating "tell me muse", like at the opening of epic poems, pleading: "Tell me, muse, of the storyteller who has been thrust to the edge of the world, both an infant and an ancient, and through him reveal everyman. With time, those who listened to me became my readers. They no longer sit in a circle, but rather sit apart. And one doesn't know anything about the other."
It's interesting that even though the story is from the angels’ perspective, it's not a religious or moralistic film, but a very philosophical one. Damiel becomes increasingly restless because he begins to have desires and longings: he has the intellect and wisdom that we would all dream of having, but he can't experience physical sensations; he doesn't understand why a woman closed her umbrella and decided to get wet; he can't feel music or the touch of things, of human hands, or cold or heat. The angels' desperation for the ability to feel shows us what a blessing it is to be human. The film says this with a perfection I've never seen before; Wenders simply understands; he expresses everything about what it is to be alive, with all the desires and anguish, fears and nostalgia, longings and ecstasies, and how we are fated to forget the beauty of it all.
Música & Podcasts
The Anxiety of Influence - Benjamin McEvoy’s Podcast
In this episode, Ben comments on and explains The Anxiety of Influence, Harold Bloom's most famous (and perhaps most difficult) work. It's a two-hour podcast, but I found it worthwhile for the reflections, and it made me want to read everything Bloom wrote even more.
Given Bloom's negative reputation, especially nowadays, I wanted to talk about him here. I think the first mistake some people make is in their approach: I don't see Harold Bloom as a "scientist" in the humanities (if there is such a thing) or as a bearer of facts, because he is distinctly biased and subjective, and he has never hidden that. His books set out his personal and even emotional views on literature, whether you agree with them or not is up to you. He's certainly controversial, especially for coining the term "school of resentment" (I don't like the term and disagree with the idea), but he has so much to offer that I think it's a shame to dismiss him completely because of part of his criticism.
I tend to like cultural critics who offer a more "controversial" view like him and Camille Paglia, but I've never seen what they say as The Truth, it's just another perspective that I find interesting. Everything always comes back to the need for nuance and not expecting someone like Bloom to have completely impartial opinions or to diverge from a Eurocentric-classical tradition; today there are many academics and essayists with the most diverse perspectives beyond the "Western canon", and thank goodness. Still, Bloom is one of the few who understand how I feel about Shakespeare, Austen, and the value of literature itself, which gives us a raison d'être and transcends schools of thought. He was one of the few who avoided the post-modern tendency to "deconstruct" (I'm tired of that, I want to reconstruct the mystique of art) and he knew how to appreciate a book with an intensity and seriousness that I can relate to. If you've never read anything by him, give it a go! I suggest starting with How to Read and Why.
Noemi Jaffe: Reading needs to disturb the reader - Podcast Ilustríssima Conversa
I think that social media is causing expectations to be very narrow, that anything that explores a little more deeply, that provokes strangeness, shock or subversion is not well received as something "too dense", "too deep", "too pointy-headed", "life is already so difficult - art is just for entertainment"; so there's a lot of this thinking that art should distract. And I think the opposite is true, I think art needs to constrict, to make people upset... a lot of good literature is about things that are difficult to face, and people's ability to face difficult things is diminishing. Everyone wants everything to be easy... art shouldn't confirm what you already think, and that's the literature that sells the most, the one that confirms. (translated by me from Portuguese)
Recommended by my dear friend Amanda, in this podcast Noemi brings an educational and wise perspective on different types of writing and the Brazilian literary scene. This extract I've transcribed speaks for itself, and I think it sparks deep reflection in a super easy-going conversation.
The Trials of Oscar Wilde: Sex and Scandal - Podcast The Rest is History
As the author of 2024 is Oscar Wilde, I've been looking for more information about him, and this episode discusses in detail how Wilde ended up in that fatal trial and why it all went so wrong. It's a more complex story than it seems, especially in terms of morality. I love historical podcasts and The Rest is History is a new favourite. This month I also listened to episodes about the Peasants' Revolt of 1381 and Oliver Cromwell.
Transformer - Lou Reed (1972)
I've been listening to lots of 60s-70s rock lately - Led Zeppelin, Leonard Cohen, Nick Drake, Donovan - but the highlight of the month was the icon Lou Reed. I realised I'd never listened to this entire album from start to finish (a crime) even though I love some of its songs like Perfect Day and Vicious.
Vampire Weekend is back!!!!!
Tumblr hipsters can smile again because Vampire Weekend is back. They've released two singles (I loved Capricorn, thought Gen-X Cops was okay) and their new album is called Only God Was Above Us, out on 5 April. They have such a nostalgic sound, so reminiscent of my pre-adolescence, that I can't help but love them. Nostalgia is irresistible, and they apparently know this because they haven't innovated much in the new songs, just enough to deliver more of what we already enjoy. The video for Capricorn is beautiful: