Thursday, October 25, 2012


The eastern & western view
I have a good Slovakian friend, Daniela. We have very different ways of seeing things. “Things” in this case being what’s considered good & bad behavior. Daniela likes “naughty” people best. That’s the word she uses, often applied to men. What she calls naughty I would usually consider plain egotistical. Throw in greedy if it’s someone bending rules for his gain – but there I guess Daniela would also draw the line. She has a doctor friend who took advantage of his status, to say the least, & griped when that got harder under democratic governments (more or less democratic in our eyes, but more than before). They quarreled & are not such good buds anymore.
Then there’s the movies. Often enough in western films, the individual who takes on the system triumphs in the end, but NEVER in Eastern European films. He/she is always crushed. More realistic than ours mainly, but western individuals win just often enough to keep feeding the film makers. I suppose that explains Daniela’s tendency to see films with tragic social themes & Danish film makers are good at churning those out. I just think they’re dreary & generally feel only a little sympathy with the suffering main character – just wishing he/she would get it together & quit blaming everybody else.
Under 40 years of commie repression, any little act of defiance was also a little light in the darkness. Hence Daniela’s preference for naughty people. She once told me they had a proverb in Slovakia: “If you don’t  steal from the government, you steal from your family.” So there it is – not selfish, rather your civic duty in the face of un-civil tyranny. A sign of strength even. To me – member of a privileged society – it’s a huge sign of weakness & lacking integrity. Causes some heated discussions. Also makes it very interesting to be friends. A privilege.

De østlige og vestlige synspunkter
Jeg har en god slovakisk veninde, Daniela. Vi ser ting meget forskelligt. ”Ting” i dette tilfælde betyder hvad der anses for god og dårlig opførsel. Daniela kan lide “uartige” mennesker. Uartig er ordet, hun bruger. Jeg ville sige slet og ret egoistiske. ...
Så er der biografen. Tit, i vestlige film, individet, der udfordrer systemet, sejrer. ALDRIG i østeuropæiske film. Han/hun bliver altid knust. Nok mere realistisk, men vestlige individer vinder nøjagtig tit nok til at fodre filmskaberne. Det forklarer måske Danielas hang til sociale tragedier såsom sidste års Submarino. Danske filmskabere er god til at forsyne markedet. Jeg synes bare de er trælse og har begrænset sympati med de lidende hovedpersoner – ønsker vedkommende ville tage sig sammen og holde op med at beskylde alle andre.
Under 40 års kommunistiske undertrykkelse var enhver lille oprør også et lille lys i mørket. Derfor foretrækker Daniela uartige mennesker. Hun fortalte mig en gang, at der var et slovakisk ordsprog der lød, “Hvis du ikke stjæler fra regeringen, stjæler du fra din familie.”  Så der var den – ikke selvisk, men egentlig ens borgerpligt i et borgerfjendtligt samfund. Tegn på styrke, såmænd. For mig – borger i et priviligeret samfund – er det tegn på svaghed og manglende troværdighed. Forårsager nogle heftige diskussioner. Også gør det interessant at være venner. Et privilegium.





























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