Culture and Life

by Rob Gowland

Another sign of capitalism in crisis

In the 1941 Universal Pictures musical It Started With Eve, millionaire 
Charles Laughton tells aspiring singer Deanna Durbin how influential he is 
in music circles: "I support the Opera." Wealthy socialites have always 
regarded the high arts as their special domain, their private cultural 
fiefdom by virtue of their buying the most expensive seats, attending the 
appropriate charity benefits and otherwise providing that "support" that 
Laughton boasted about.

And yet, while the number of capitalists has increased, the financial state 
of opera, ballet and even symphony orchestras in capitalist countries is in 
real trouble. Look at opera: leading companies like Deutsche Oper Berlin, 
the English National Opera, the San Francisco Opera and our own Opera 
Australia simply can't afford to stage the operas that their artistic and 
musical directors want to put on.

This is not because the selected operas are wildly extravagant with a cast 
of thousands. It's simply because capitalism is not interested in providing 
adequate resources for the production of cultural works.

It's funny, really. Capitalism, claimed by its ideologues to be the 
ultimate achievement of the human race, cannot even afford to maintain a 
reasonably sized full-time orchestra for the Australian Opera, for example. 
The San Francisco Opera, which has an annual operating budget of US$60 
million, ended the last financial year almost US$8 million in the red.

Where is the "support" and what are the priorities of the wealthy 
capitalists now?

Even the poorest socialist country was able to maintain a national opera 
company, a state ballet company, a national symphony orchestra — along 
with folk dance ensembles, national choirs and other orchestras.

The governments of those socialist countries had incomes from state 
enterprises, foreign trade, etc, that allowed them to provide and maintain 
opera houses, orchestras, training schools, etc, etc, and at the same time 
to provide free universal health care!

Capitalism is not interested in providing adequate support for cultural 
activities nor for the adequate provision of health care.

The recently dumped music director of the Australian Opera, Simone Young, 
refused to compromise on the size of the orchestra and chorus. If the size 
of either is too small, the resultant sound will be thin and inadequate. It 
will not do justice to either the composer's intentions or the audience's 
justifiable expectations.

But Young was able to achieve the number of musicians she wanted ("12 first 
violins for most repertoire") only by using casuals. The Opera board would 
not increase the number of full-time musicians.

It's a situation repeated in lots of other workplaces these days: casuals 
hired when needed, instead of permanent jobs being provided. And it has the 
same result. The casuals are not familiar with the workplace or the job (in 
the Opera's case, with "the repertoire or stylistic issues") and more 
training (rehearsal) time is needed.

The members of the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra overwhelmingly 
supported Young, but the board of Opera Australia voted not to renew her 
contract anyway.

Simone Young is not extravagant; she merely insists on doing the job right. 
Opera Australia just could not afford to do things right — they're too 
poor being insufficiently supported by the state and rich patrons.

As I indicated before, they are not alone in this. Capitalism worldwide is 
in such a crisis it now cannot even sustain its own chosen cultural 
pursuits.

As the Sydney Morning Herald noted on October 12, regarding opera 
internationally, "the unaffordable dreams of the creative visionaries are 
the most visible casualties in the commerce versus art battle . as 
beleaguered companies attempt to balance fiscal responsibility and artistic 
ambition, and managements in Europe and the United States seek to stave off 
collapse".

Expectations are that Opera Australia will trim its sails next season and 
go for small, intimate, inexpensive operas. But whatever it presents, you 
can be sure that the capitalist class and their hangers-on will still lay 
claim to the best seats, maintaining stoutly, if asked, "I support the 
Opera!"

* * *

US gun culture and consequences

As if George Bush being in the White House wasn't reason enough to be 
scared, the citizens of Washington are in the justifiable grip of fear 
caused by a gun nut going quietly and systematically amok with a telescopic 
rifle.

Serial killers are a common occurrence in the US. US TV is positively awash 
with them.

I do not have cable TV, but my sons do. A couple of weeks ago I was able to 
watch five programs (including among those on free-to-air) in which women 
were trussed up, gagged and helpless at the mercy of sadistic serial 
killers.

In two of these pieces of "entertainment", the killer made the helpless 
women watch while he killed other people (a friend in one case, a female 
cop in the other) in front of them.

Is it any wonder people run amok with guns in the US? With the government 
in the hands of the demonstrably crazed and demented, and the nation 
encouraged to accept the concept of solving complex social problems by 
"blowing the bad guys away", either with a rifle or a cruise missile, it's 
only surprising that they don't have more mass killings.

Guns are readily available anywhere in the US. Washington's serial sniper 
uses a .223 high velocity rifle, a very accurate weapon even up to half a 
kilometre away. A former FBI profiler told the Los Angeles Times "it's a 
macho, civilian version of the military M-16. It appeals to the gun nuts 
and the paramilitary types."

The M-16 is an assault rifle; why does any country want "civilian types" of 
assault rifles available for private ownership?

How decadent and sick does a society have to get before common sense forces 
people to put an end to the right-wing fantasies of the gun lobby and take 
guns off the streets?

In the heartland of capitalism, apparently, a lot more decadence is yet to 
come.