Chapter 32 twenty nine second tears

Dear Andre: Do you know the city of Mostar?You may not know it, but you are 7 years old when the name of this Bosnian city is in the international media every day because of the outbreak of the Bosnian war.The war lasted for 3 years, and 100,000 people died; the war is over, but the wounds in the soul are torn open, and it is the most difficult to suture.The usual neighbors who had heard about each other suddenly turned into burning, killing, looting and rapists, digging up mass graves in the wild smoke and weeds, and finding the bones of one's relatives in the mass graves.I remember that what people were most surprised at that time was, how could this kind of hatred belonging to primitive tribes that killed each other due to ethnic groups happen in the present, which is about to enter the 21st century, and how could it happen in Europe, which is the most proud of civilization and culture?

My feeling is that after 12 years of Nazism and 10 years of "Cultural Revolution" in the 20th century, the two major civilizational regressions, the persecution of ethnic groups in Bosnia can no longer surprise me.I just wondered how the same people would have to live on the same land after the war was over and the ordinary sun would rise—how their adults raised their eyes to look at each other again, and how their children Attending classes, singing, and playing games in a school? My question was "revealed" later. In 1995, when you were 10 years old, a peace agreement was signed, but the city of Mosta was split in two.The original minority of the Sewells were driven away, the Catholic Croaisians lived in the west of the city, and the Muslim Bosnians lived in the east of the city, separated by a square.People of different ethnic groups go to different markets to buy vegetables in the morning, send their children to segregated schools, meet each other avoiding roads, and sit at home watching their own TV channels at night.A square separates the two worlds, ready to never hear each other again.

So I was really surprised when I saw the following news: People of Mostar unveiled a statue of Bruce Lee in their central square.How could Bosnia have anything to do with Bruce Lee? It turned out that there was a local writer who was thinking hard about how to break the deadlock, let people in the east and west of the square start a dialogue again, and let the city regain its normal life.His idea was this: Find a figure whom Catholics and Muslims alike love and respect, and have the artist in Mosta make a bronze statue of him and place it in the center of the square.The collective memories and emotions evoked by this character can make people in the east and west of the city soft and moved, and gradually willing to shake hands.This character is Bruce Lee.It turns out that during the growth of one or two generations of Bosnians, whether they were Catholics or Muslims, Bruce Lee was tied to his childhood memories, and in the minds of Bosnians, he represented "loyalty, friendship, justice" and other beautiful values.At the unveiling, the artists said that they hoped that the Bosnians would reconcile because of their common love for Bruce Lee, and that they would not immediately think of the terrible massacres and mass graves when others mentioned the name of Mosta. , but would think: their square stands the world's first statue of Bruce Lee.

It's a piece of public art, a gold-plated statue of Bruce Lee, in the heart of the city.Andre, have you ever questioned whether a wooden angel hanging on the wall is art or Kitsch (generally translated as "bad quality")?So let me ask you, this statue of Mosta, is it art or Kitsch? Xianle flutters and smells everywhere Then I thought of another experience that collided with art.Do you remember we went to the Sound of Music musical together last year?It was translated as "Xianle Piao Piao Piao everywhere" in Hong Kong, and "Truth, Goodness and Beauty" in Taiwan. After it became popular all over the world, it captivated the whole of Asia. The tune of "Do-Re-Mi" is catchy to everyone, and the song of "Little White Flower" (Edelweiss) can be hummed by everyone.Do you know how popular it is in the UK?It is said that during the Cold War, the British government's emergency wartime measures manual even stated that in the event of a nuclear war, the BBC would broadcast Sound of Music music to "calm people's minds."

I always thought it was popular "all over the world", but I found out after arriving in Europe that people in the German-speaking world don't know much about this musical or movie set in Austria and with German history as the background. Most people haven't heard of it. I’ve said it before; everyone thinks it’s the classic Austrian folk song “Little White Flower”, but Austrians haven’t heard it, it’s a Broadway song written purely for a play.Ha, what I think of as "the whole world" is just the "English-speaking world". Saw the movie version 30 years ago, and now the stage version has come to Hong Kong, yes, I'd love to see it, to see if my eyes will still like it 30 years later, and, I'm even more curious: you and Philip German teenager, plus Austrian university student Johan who is visiting our house - how will you react to this Broadway play?

The performing arts center was packed.You won't notice what I've noticed: A lot of people are like me - middle-aged parents who bring their teenage children to this show.I guess there must be an unspoken hope hidden in their hearts; middle-aged parents hope that their children can understand themselves, even a little bit.When teenage children know what kind of movies their parents are moved by and what kind of old songs they are fascinated by, there may be a little more consideration and tolerance between the two generations.Before entering the arena, the middle-aged parents couldn't help humming the familiar tune. The moment the curtain rose, they were strangely quiet again. The teenagers turned their heads strangely, as if they discovered for the first time that their parents were once teenagers.Whether it's BeeGees and Brothers Four's concerts, or the stage play of "Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai", I can always see the emotional codes between generations, floating secretly, like the fragrance of flowers that cannot be seen in the alleys.

I sit behind the three of you and look through the heads of the three of you to the stage.When the curtain rose, there was thunderous applause, and you didn't move, like three sacks of flour.The singing rang out, people excitedly sang "Youaresixteen, goingonseventeen", and the flour sacks collapsed a little. When 7 cute children of different heights appeared on the stage, the Hong Kong audience responded wildly with applause. You put your heads on your palms and your whole body tilted.When the seven children started to walk according to the password, you seemed to have a "headache" and couldn't support it at all.When the Broadway-style Austrian "folk song" starts, I can hear you groaning, Philip or John, saying, "Oh, My God!"

At halftime, everyone filed out.Before I even asked you what was going on, you took the lead and said, "We don't want to watch the second half!" I didn't let you go, and asked, "Why? Did the script have Nazis as the background, and you didn't feel comfortable?" "Nope," you all say in unison, and then you say, "Mom, don't you think? It's a matter of taste. The whole show is too sweet. Can't stand Kitsch, can you stand art like this?" John from Austria nodded his head.Philip said, "Come on, let's go!" So we left the theater.Hey, what an expensive ticket, I thought.

two tears come out quickly So what I want to ask you is this, Andrea: In your mind, what is a Kitsch?Are those wooden Marias and angels that hung on the walls of your father's Germans art or Kitsch?Your artist friend photographs utility poles and sewers and technically manipulates them. Art or Kitsch?If the statue of Bruce Lee is placed on the stall of a tourist shop in Hong Kong, piled up with a T-shirt with a dragon drawing, it may be regarded as a typical Kitsch, but when his gilded statue stands on a square in post-war Bosnia, Is the same statue still Kitsch when given local historical significance and memory of national scars?Or, because of the embedding of meaning, Kitsch has a brand-new connotation, and thus has the strength of art?

The reaction of you three little guys to Sound of Music surprised me and made me understand why American musical theater has never been popular in Europe. In your words, it puts too much "sugar" , too "sweet".But I'm thinking, maybe too "sweet" is only one of the reasons, and is there a counterproductive effect of cultural "simplification" on a deeper level?For example, being an Oriental, I've never been able to really like Puccini's Princess Turandot or Madame Butterfly.It's not a question of "too sweet", but that it inevitably completely "simplifies" Eastern culture. For people living in Eastern culture, this "simplification" is uncomfortable.

A student of Habermass, Adorno of the Frankfurt School, once said that Kitsch is to hold on to a false feeling and dilute the real feeling.Kundera's statement is even more extreme: Kitsch made two tears appear quickly.The first tear said: The child is running on the grass, so touched!The second tear said, the feeling of being touched by the child running on the grass is really great, and it is especially great to be touched with all human beings! What makes Kitsch Kitsch is that second tear. (“Unbearable Lightness”) I love watching children run across the grass, their loose hair glinting in the sun.When you and Philip were young, I used to look up from my desk and look out of the window, seeing you two planting cucumbers on the grass in the garden, catching crickets, listening to your childish voices, tears would well up for no reason.I am simply the incarnation of Kitsch. Fortunately, Kundera said, the first tear is not, the second is Kitsch. MM