Hitting the cover

Citind in ultima vreme despre procesul rescrierii unei opere literare, prin care ea trece in cursul unei adaptari scenice, de exemplu, daca vorbim despre o piesa de teatru sau de un roman, unei ecranizari sau doar unei traduceri, mi-a venit in minte si ‘cover’-ul muzical. Cand aud noi versiuni ale unor hituri mai vechi, imi zic in minte “Bine ca ceva original n-au putut scoate!”, mai ales ca, in general, adaptarea lor este facuta in ideea unei comercializari intense. Noul produs ar trebui sa-l revitalizeze pe cel vechi, dar sa se si ridice la inaltimea acestuia, nu sa-l trivializeze ca sa intre cat mai bine pe piata. Numai ca uit de faptul ca perspectiva mea (si nu numai) asupra hiturilor vechi este influentata de doze de melancolie si ca hitul in sine este o melodie care a avut parte de succes, deci de aprecierea publicului larg, drept urmare (de cele mai multe ori indreptatita), valoarea sa ca produs artistic este foarte mica. Originalul reflecta gusturile si tendintele epocii de care apartine, asadar si remake-ul, conform teoriei, trebuie sa fie incadrat in noul peisaj, in noul context social, cultural, pentru a fi perceput si inteles de spectatorii sau ascultatorii contemporani. Nu mai imi amintesc ce piesa a celor de la Roxette a fost de curand ‘refacuta’ si am strambat din nas cand am auzit-o, la fel cum resping hiturile date la Radio 21 si altele. Presupun ca si-au atins scopul si rezultatul poate fi considerat unul de succes. Cred ca ar fi indicata o lectura completa a cartii “Apocaliptici si integrati” a lui Umberto Eco, scrie ceva si despre slagare, dar inca n-am ajuns acolo.

Un exemplu de cover (exprimat ca un tribut la adresa artistului original) care cred ca reuseste sa schimbe tonalitatea fara sa-i stirbeasca din expresivitate este cel facut de Anthony Hegarty (din trupa Anthony and the Johnsons) piesei “If it be your will” a lui Leonard Cohen; inregistrare din documentarul “I’m Your Man”.

Q&A

O leapsa mica de la Tallica:

1. Care e singurul lucru pe care nu ai vrea să-l schimbi niciodată la tine?
Visatul cu ochii deschisi. When things really suck, imi revin imediat alcatuind un scenariu posibil, nu neaparat ideal, dar pur si simplu mult mai atragator decat prezentul. Aproape ca ma transpun in scenariul respectiv cu totul, de am impresia mai apoi ca l-am trait cu adevarat. Asta se intampla si cand imi este bine si imaginatia mea vrea sa se joace. Schizo-what?

2. Primul film care îţi vine în minte acum?
In the name of the father – de cand cu festivalul One World.

3. Ce ai desenat ultima oară (pe hartie, nu în paint)?
A ‘rolling on the floor’ smiley

4. De câte ori ai spus “te urăsc” până acum?
Niciodata. Nu am simtit niciodata sentimente negative atat de puternice. Au mers cel mult pana acolo.

5. Cu ce personaj din literatură te identifici?
Acum vreo 2-3 ani as fi spus Mrs Dalloway (cea din romanul The Hours, mai degraba). Acum nu mai stiu.

6. Cât de bine te înţelegi cu tine?
Ne mai suparam, ne mai felicitam… viata e ca o scara, te ridica si te coboara… )

7. Daca ar fi sa scrii o carte… ce titlu ar avea?
The Romanian Dream

8. Descrie în trei cuvinte o persoană pe care încă nu ai cunoscut-o.
copilul meu drag

9. Continuă propoziţia:
Azi, încă adormit(ă), m-am trezit visând la… eee… wouldn’t you like to know?

One World Romania – Human Rights Documentaries

One World Romania is a festival which presents 6 days of documentaries on the theme of Human Rights. As the organizers have rightly put it, “political imprisonment, life under the terror installed by totalitarian regimes or the daily experience of racism and intolerance are not only the problems of those actually living them. They’re also ours. Especially in a country that surpassed the experience of a long period of political oppression, the question of human rights, their understanding and defense should be permanently a present one.” (oneworld.ro)
But I don’t know if the totalitarian regime has made Romanians truly sensitive to the matter, given the fact that part of them are ignorant (the wealthy, the gold hunters), another part of them are interested more in the spectacularity, in the sensational elements, rather than in the actual problem (the mediocrity, the people with poor education). The ones that actually care and even get involved in human rights-related issues are mostly young people, who have not lived under the Ceausescu regime or if they have, they were too young to be aware of and affected by it. I believe this is an interesting social phenomenon, which hasn’t been explored. Instead of using the experience they had in communism, they choose to turn their backs and mind their own lives, ignoring the problems people around them are confronting. Another important matter that would make a difference is the fact that many people are not aware of their rights. Ignorance will always take lives.
In this direction, I salute the One World Romania festival. I’ve seen five documentaries so far, and I will present in a few words three of them. “Letter to Anna”, the story of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya who was murdered after having written for years disturbing articles about the social and political scene in Russia, more precisely, about the infringements of human rights by then-president Putin. The documentary has some footage with Anna herself, taken during an earlier project of the director Eric Bergkraut on Chechnya, Anna being deeply involved in the matter. Very interesting and challenging to see her commitment, although she was fully aware of the danger she had got herself into.
“Blind Loves” was the kind of documentary that insists too much on an already known and sympathized issue: blindness. There is a fine line between exaggeration and moderation, especially when you deal with such a theme, and the director Juraj Lehotsky (Slovakia) didn’t know how to estimate the quantity of “blindness” in his characters. They were no longer human beings with many other qualities, they were just blind people who – wow! – fall in love and have relationships. It was so in your face that you get the feeling that the one dehumanizing blind people is the director himself. Disturbing.
“Blood Trail” can be seen today, at 16h30, at Eforie Cinema, therefore I won’t give too much away. It was the best I’ve seen so far, because of its innocence in dealing with war journalism. Robert King’s trail in succeeding with his war photographs, as a free lancer, is so much our own in whatever path we choose. The initial enthusiasm and idealism and what comes next, when you’re in the front line, change you and make you see life and death with different eyes. The dilemma of war journalists is also discussed between the lines, based on questions such as the following: Why am I risking my life taking some photos nobody wants to see?

You can find the festival’s program here
.