Comments on: Italian food—for thought http://neoneocon.com/2008/04/17/italian-food-for-thought/ Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:12:46 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.1 By: DuMaurier-Smith http://neoneocon.com/2008/04/17/italian-food-for-thought/#comment-64404 DuMaurier-Smith Thu, 17 Apr 2008 19:15:22 +0000 http://neoneocon.com/2008/04/17/italian-food-for-thought/#comment-64404 Re: West Side Story. Ah, my era -- the JD's. I watched the video with a bit of a mental sneer, thinking of Laurentis, the lib's lib. Neo is right-on. It is a typical liberal/post -- modern deconstruction of criminal behavior. But it also struck me that to make it work, "Officer Krupke" had to carry a heavy load of irony; the lyrics and the tenor of the music had been virtually make fun of the idea that was being advanced. I. A. Richards wrote that poetry must contain its own irony or be exposed to it. But perhaps the irony also works to prop up the questionable thesis that these are not sick, bad kids, but just misunderstood kids -- which creates the poignancy of the tragic dénouement. Perhaps such stories of youth couldn't be other than tragic in our culture. Dying young is virtually an archetype of tragedy, and is certainly the heart and soul of Juvie stories -- for example, The Amboy Dukes. Even Nelson Algren's naturalistic "A Bottle of Milk for Mother" moves towards its end with the inevitability of tragic drama. But this is no character of flawed greatness; just a criminal kid. The idea that there is no such thing as a bad kid is undergone revision. In retrospect, the Juvie's of the 50s with their street -- struts and rumbles over turf look rather angelic compared to today's gangs. I wonder what the modern version of "Officer Krupke" would look and sound like. We'd have to have an ensemble of heavy metal/punk screamers to do it justice. Re: West Side Story. Ah, my era — the JD’s. I watched the video with a bit of a mental sneer, thinking of Laurentis, the lib’s lib. Neo is right-on. It is a typical liberal/post — modern deconstruction of criminal behavior. But it also struck me that to make it work, “Officer Krupke” had to carry a heavy load of irony; the lyrics and the tenor of the music had been virtually make fun of the idea that was being advanced. I. A. Richards wrote that poetry must contain its own irony or be exposed to it. But perhaps the irony also works to prop up the questionable thesis that these are not sick, bad kids, but just misunderstood kids — which creates the poignancy of the tragic dénouement.

Perhaps such stories of youth couldn’t be other than tragic in our culture. Dying young is virtually an archetype of tragedy, and is certainly the heart and soul of Juvie stories — for example, The Amboy Dukes. Even Nelson Algren’s naturalistic “A Bottle of Milk for Mother” moves towards its end with the inevitability of tragic drama. But this is no character of flawed greatness; just a criminal kid.

The idea that there is no such thing as a bad kid is undergone revision. In retrospect, the Juvie’s of the 50s with their street — struts and rumbles over turf look rather angelic compared to today’s gangs. I wonder what the modern version of “Officer Krupke” would look and sound like. We’d have to have an ensemble of heavy metal/punk screamers to do it justice.

]]> By: DuMaurier-Smith http://neoneocon.com/2008/04/17/italian-food-for-thought/#comment-64407 DuMaurier-Smith Thu, 17 Apr 2008 19:20:15 +0000 http://neoneocon.com/2008/04/17/italian-food-for-thought/#comment-64407 "music had been virtually make fun of the idea that was being advanced" Sorry. My speech recognition software slipped a cog. Or maybe it was my dog's snoring. Should have read: "the music had to virtually make fun of of . . . . '' “music had been virtually make fun of the idea that was being advanced”

Sorry. My speech recognition software slipped a cog. Or maybe it was my dog’s snoring. Should have read: “the music had to virtually make fun of of . . . . ”

]]> By: Zhombre http://neoneocon.com/2008/04/17/italian-food-for-thought/#comment-64419 Zhombre Thu, 17 Apr 2008 22:54:55 +0000 http://neoneocon.com/2008/04/17/italian-food-for-thought/#comment-64419 Oh bella Italia! Berlusconi may be a corrupt and chauvinistic Milanese but considering the fragmentation of Italian politics and the fact his main opponents Prodi and now Veltroni have been gutless wonders of the Euro-left, men who barely cast shadows at midday, he's probably the best bet the Italians have. Oh bella Italia! Berlusconi may be a corrupt and chauvinistic Milanese but considering the fragmentation of Italian politics and the fact his main opponents Prodi and now Veltroni have been gutless wonders of the Euro-left, men who barely cast shadows at midday, he’s probably the best bet the Italians have.

]]> By: camojack http://neoneocon.com/2008/04/17/italian-food-for-thought/#comment-64453 camojack Fri, 18 Apr 2008 07:55:15 +0000 http://neoneocon.com/2008/04/17/italian-food-for-thought/#comment-64453 <i>"Is the Italian election a portent of things to come in our own? The Obamalike candidate defeated by a 71-year-old on the right?"</i> One can always have the audacity <b>to</b> hope... “Is the Italian election a portent of things to come in our own? The Obamalike candidate defeated by a 71-year-old on the right?”

One can always have the audacity to hope…

]]> By: Bookworm Room » What my friends are saying — Part 2 http://neoneocon.com/2008/04/17/italian-food-for-thought/#comment-64629 Bookworm Room » What my friends are saying — Part 2 Sat, 19 Apr 2008 22:23:21 +0000 http://neoneocon.com/2008/04/17/italian-food-for-thought/#comment-64629 [...] Neo gives a trenchant little analysis about Berlusconi’s many virtues, and what it means that the Italians voted for him, while scorning the Commies entirely for the first time evah since WWII.  So, let me think about this:  Germany = Conservative leadership; Italy = Conservative leadership; France = Conservative leadership.  Given that, why is the media so certain that Europe, if it could vote, would choose the far Left, appeasement oriented Obama, or the middle-Left, who knows what her orientation is, Hillary, over the middle-ish of the road McCain, whose politics are consistent with their own leaders of choice? Share With Others: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...] […] Neo gives a trenchant little analysis about Berlusconi’s many virtues, and what it means that the Italians voted for him, while scorning the Commies entirely for the first time evah since WWII.  So, let me think about this:  Germany = Conservative leadership; Italy = Conservative leadership; France = Conservative leadership.  Given that, why is the media so certain that Europe, if it could vote, would choose the far Left, appeasement oriented Obama, or the middle-Left, who knows what her orientation is, Hillary, over the middle-ish of the road McCain, whose politics are consistent with their own leaders of choice? Share With Others: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. […]

]]> By: Webloggin - Blog Archive » What my friends are saying — Part 2 http://neoneocon.com/2008/04/17/italian-food-for-thought/#comment-64800 Webloggin - Blog Archive » What my friends are saying — Part 2 Mon, 21 Apr 2008 15:01:36 +0000 http://neoneocon.com/2008/04/17/italian-food-for-thought/#comment-64800 [...] Neo gives a trenchant little analysis about Berlusconi’s many virtues, and what it means that the Italians voted for him, while scorning the Commies entirely for the first time evah since WWII. So, let me think about this: Germany = Conservative leadership; Italy = Conservative leadership; France = Conservative leadership. Given that, why is the media so certain that Europe, if it could vote, would choose the far Left, appeasement oriented Obama, or the middle-Left, who knows what her orientation is, Hillary, over the middle-ish of the road McCain, whose politics are consistent with their own leaders of choice? [...] […] Neo gives a trenchant little analysis about Berlusconi’s many virtues, and what it means that the Italians voted for him, while scorning the Commies entirely for the first time evah since WWII. So, let me think about this: Germany = Conservative leadership; Italy = Conservative leadership; France = Conservative leadership. Given that, why is the media so certain that Europe, if it could vote, would choose the far Left, appeasement oriented Obama, or the middle-Left, who knows what her orientation is, Hillary, over the middle-ish of the road McCain, whose politics are consistent with their own leaders of choice? […]

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