Theater of Cruelty: Art, Film, and the Shadows of War (New York Review Collections (Hardcover))

Winner of the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay. Ian Buruma is fascinated, he writes, “by what makes the human species behave atrociously.” In Theater of Cruelty the acclaimed author of The Wages of Guilt and Year Zero: A History of 1945 once again turns to World War II to explore that question—to the Nazi occupation of Paris, the Allied bombing of German cities, the international controversies over Anne Frank’s diaries, Japan’s militarist intellectuals and its kamikaze pilots. One way that people respond to power and cruelty, Buruma argues, is through art, and the art that most interests him reveals the dark impulses beneath the veneer of civilized behavior. This is what draws him to German and Japanese artists such as Max Beckmann, George Grosz, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Mishima Yukio, and Yokoo Tadanori, as well as to filmmakers such as Werner Herzog, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Kurosawa Kiyoshi, and Hans-Jürgen Syberberg. All were affected by fascism and its terrible consequences; all “looked into the abyss and made art of what they saw.” Whether he is writing in this wide-ranging collection about war, artists, or film—or about David Bowie’s music, R. Crumb’s drawings, the Palestinians of the West Bank, or Asian theme parks—Ian Buruma brings sympathetic historical insight and shrewd aesthetic judgment to understanding the diverse ways that people deal with violence and cruelty in life and in art. Theater of Cruelty includes eight pages of color and black & white images. Theater Of Cruelty Has Three Main Themes That Frequently Overlap: War, Film, And The Visual Arts. Many Of The Movies Discussed Are About War And Violence, Often Related To World War Ii, And More Specifically Deal With The Two Nations That Unleashed The War, Germany And Japan: Why They Did What They Did, And How They Came To Terms With It Afterward Or Didn't. Other Essays In The Collection, About The Diaries Of Harry Kessler And Anne Frank, The Bombing Of German Cities, Japan's Kamikaze Pilots Further Explore These Themes. Many Of The Artists Discussed By Buruma Were German Or Japanese, Including Max Beckmann, George Grosz, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, And Tsuguharu Foujita, As Were The Filmmakers Werner Herzog, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, And Hans-jürgen Syberberg, All Of Whom Were Affected In One Way Or Another By Fascism And Its Terrible Consequences. Theater Of Cruelty Is Less About War Itself Than The Way People Deal With Violence And Cruelty, In The Arts And In Life.--amazon.com. Introduction -- 1. The Joys And Perils Of Victimhood -- 2. Fascinating Narcissism: Leni Riefenstahl -- 3. Werner Herzog And His Heroes -- 4. The Genius Of Berlin: Rainer Werner Fassbinder -- 5. The Destruction Germany -- 6. There's No Place Like Heimat -- 7. The Afterlife Of Anne Frank -- 8. 0ccupied Paris: The Sweet And The Cruel -- 9. The Twisted Art Of Documentary -- 10. Ecstatic About Pearl Harbor -- 11. Suicide For The Empire -- 12. Eastwood's War -- 13. Robbed Of Dreams -- 14. The Catty Chronicler: Harry Kessler -- 15. The Believer -- 16. The Last Bengali Renaissance Man -- 17. The Way They Live Now: Mike Leigh -- 18. The Great Art Of Embarrassment -- 19. The Invention Of David Bowie -- 20. Dressing For Success -- 21. The Circus Of Max Beckmann -- 22. Degenerate Art -- 23. George Grosz's Amerika -- 24. Mr. Natural -- 25. Obsessions In Tokyo -- 26. A Japanese Tragedy -- 27. Virtual Violence -- 28. Asiaworld -- Sources Ian Buruma. Includes Bibliographical References (page 423). Ian Buruma is fascinated, he writes, by what makes the human species behave atrociously. In Theater of Cruelty the acclaimed author of The Wages of Guilt and Year Zero: A History of 1945 once again turns to World War II to explore that questionto the Nazi occupation of Paris, the Allied bombing of German cities, the international controversies over Anne Franks diaries, Japans militarist intellectuals and its kamikaze pilots. One way that people respond to power and cruelty, Buruma argues, is through art, and the art that most interests him reveals the dark impulses beneath the veneer of civilized behavior. This is what draws him to German and Japanese artists such as Max Beckmann, George Grosz, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Mishima Yukio, and Yokoo Tadanori, as well as to filmmakers such as Werner Herzog, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Kurosawa Kiyoshi, and Hans-Juergen Syberberg. All were affected by fascism and its terrible consequences; all looked into the abyss and made art of what they saw. Whether he is writing in this wide-ranging collection about war, artists, or filmor about David Bowies music, R. Crumbs drawings, the Palestinians of the West Bank, or Asian theme parksIan Buruma brings sympathetic historical insight and shrewd aesthetic judgment to understanding the diverse ways that people deal with violence and cruelty in life and in art. Theater of Cruelty includes eight pages of color and black & white images. Theater of Cruelty has three main themes that frequently overlap: war, film, and the visual arts. Many of the movies discussed are about war and violence, often related to World War II, and more specifically deal with the two nations that unleashed the war, Germany and Japan: why they did what they did, and how they came to terms with it afterward--or didn't. Other essays in the collection--about the diaries of Harry Kessler and Anne Frank, the bombing of German cities, Japan's kamikaze pilots--further explore these themes. Many of the artists discussed by Buruma were German or Japanese, including Max Beckmann, George Grosz, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, and Tsuguharu Foujita, as were the filmmakers Werner Herzog, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, and Hans-Jurgen Syberberg--all of whom were affected in one way or another by fascism and its terrible consequences. Theater of Cruelty is less about war itself than the way people deal with violence and cruelty, in the arts and in life