I received an (e-mail) from Cetinje and the topic is the Olympics and everything related to it. Actually, it is a comment on my FB review about the opening of the Games in Paris, a spectacle that caused great echoes, critical observations and polemics.
This answer goes with one, not really a performance, but a historical one tribute, a method not so far from the one at the opening of the Olympics. This time without controversies, sticking to the facts, still with a story, especially this picture that seems fantastic.
Namely, once upon a time, during the comprehensive progress of the Montenegrin state in the age of enlightenment, prince i of King Nikola mail went regularly. And on this route Ulcinj - Bar - Vir - Cetinje. Even with cars like this in the picture I'm attaching. Amazed and amazed by the progress, traditional Montenegrins named the first cars: "carriages without horses".
The driver in this picture is Baranin Đono Kirović. He is the father Fran Kirović, one with broad abilities, especially the artistic activism of the well-remembered Baranin, whom I remember well from his older years. Through Fran, the memory of Đon, the driver of that four-wheeled cart, somehow lasted in the city.
Delving into the topic of the opening of the Olympic Games, we moved from our province - as someone would call the reality here - directly to Paris, on the Seine.
A Jacques Prever wrote that "all beautiful things come from the provinces like the Seine to Paris".
Sticking to my personal impression of the artistically original opening of the Olympic Games that I presented in my Facebook post, I also fully appreciate the different view of the ceremony in Paris. Which was really not lonely. However, I'm sure we accept the Latin one There is no need to argue about tastes (from colors). That's why I have no doubts about a tolerant conversation, which is not the custom of the time and space in which we live.
Apparently, the French organizers decided to take our planet for a little ride through the Seine and Paris, but also through French history.
The French pretend that their "grandeur" is based, among other things, on the universality of their history. And really, historical values - enlightenment, revolutions, human rights, culture, etc. they reach much further than the land of France, so the navigation along the Seine also went a bit wider.
In other words, the original and imaginative scenario envisaged several artistic lines that touched the history and customs of France, but also of the world. And that's how - here I come to the narrower subject of the polemic - the sensitive matter of "saints" from universal history came about in the form of a performance. According to some, even up to the biblical "Last Supper", actually famous paintings Leonardo da Vinci which is located in Milan, in the church of Santa Maria della Grazia.
There arose a plot, controversies, harsh condemnations of the alleged "scandalous performance", sacrilege of a cult scene, in the extreme blasphemy that offends believers, especially Christians. This sharp reaction came from the circles of the West and the East, and during the great confrontations, in fact more of their political and military elites.
A little digression on that. The local poltroons must have been in agony - who in their work replaced the internal scene with the foreign one, seeing their chance in international matters and looking at the relationship of forces there, all for internal needs.
It seems that it was not easy for them to put themselves in a situation of confusing critical harmony on the occasion of the opening of the Olympics and the aforementioned scenes. And from several Western centers, from America, especially the right-wing and church ones, together with the Vatican, through the Iranian spiritual leader Ali Khamenei, all the way to the Kremlin and the spokeswoman Zakharov... But also many others. No one coordinated it, least of all commanded it, but it was about some form coalition of the willing, all of them mostly outraged by the "exploitation" of sacred things. Especially the scene from the Last Supper of Christ and the 12 apostles, before his martyrdom.
And whether that was the real theme of the performance, why there was a rush to judge, we will come back to that later, even with an official explanation from the organizers.
Let us first remind ourselves that the ballet on the banks of the Seine, the walk of the mysterious torch bearer on the roofs of Paris, his encounters in famous places and all other Parisian performances were also an invitation to the imagination.
And so there were many situations that were perceived differently, between delight and disgust, and as such caused polemics.
Let me remind you that imagination is one of the guiding principles of French culture.
Among others, the Surrealist movement which, as its name suggests, artistically escaped from reality - manifested in philosophy, painting, especially its literary expression with Breton, Elijah, Aragon was born in Paris, more precisely in its heart on Montparnasse.
One of the central slogans of the revolt in 1968 with its epicenter in Paris, which reached Belgrade that year - in addition to "It is forbidden to prohibit" read "Imagination au pouvoir!" ("Imagination in power!").
Imagination meant adventure, primarily the adventure of the spirit, and that is another idealized concept and action in a collective and individual sense. Jean Paul Sartre wrote very inspired about adventure, especially the "solitude of adventure" which was precious to him, actually decisive for his impressive philosophical, dramatic, literary work and overall, yet controversial, social engagement.
The adventure certainly entailed risks, for which one had to have a lot of courage.
And that's another key word - daring (boldness, audacity).
”Audacity, audacity, always audacity”, (boldness, boldness, always boldness) he said Danton from the French Revolution. The Great Revolution was normally given a high place at the opening of the Olympics, with a dominant image Eugène Delacroix. The ancient Romans had one Fortune favors the bold. ("Fortune helps the bold"). AND Njegos, the same thought, perhaps even more effectively communicated: "God gives waves to the apron".
From this France daring tradition, therefore boldness, we arrive at another, equally important fact for our conversation.
Namely, France is a country of revolutions, but also of churches. Primarily, Catholic.
Anyone who knows the history of the Catholic Church better knows that famous sentence from the Vatican with a high place in the history of the church. ”France, eldest daughter of the Catholic Church” ("France is the eldest daughter of the Catholic Church")
I will not explain how this sentence, which has never been corrected, was created in the Middle Ages, because this is how I made up for it. I am not sure that Đono, even though Baranina, would receive this mail for me because of the duty of written luggage.
Having said that France is a very Catholic country, I remind you that one of the greatest French statesmen was a cardinal, by name Richelieu, and that as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the era Luja XIII greatly raised the state and cultural power of France. This Christian-Catholic cardinal founded the Academy of Sciences, which, although expectedly plural in ideas, will be one of the pillars of French culture.
There was room in it for lay thinkers, who grew out of many French revolutions, but also for a great writer of the 20th century, an intellectual of high religious inspiration. Fransou Morijaka. Morijak was more advanced than many, even lay-left intellectuals, engaging against totalitarian regimes and very openly for the independence of Algeria when France was deeply and riskily divided over that then dramatic issue.
General admission Charles De Gaulle, one of the greatest statesmen of France and European history, was deeply and openly religious. In his memoirs, he left lofty sentences about his commitment to Christian values.
And when his advisers once informed him in the form of a proposal that Jean-Paul Sartre, with his tireless agitations among students at the Sorbonne and workers at the Reno factory, during the aforementioned 1968. exceeded every measure, and that with his "subversive" actions he directly contributed to the chaos in the country, and that is why he is ripe for arrest - De Gaulle reproachfully told his interlocutors "Don't arrest one Voltaire!".
For his part, Sartre, then and in the problem that he himself defined "how not to be a communist and an anti-communist at the same time", came close to atheism, but never to that primitive atheistic fundamentalism, saying that he was only a little angry with God "because he kept silent a lot".
And if I were to go back even further, and the French Pantheon is full of giants of thought, art, and science, I would have to mention Rene Descartes, the father of modern rationalism who established doubt as the initial basis of everything. Even with their own "I think (doubt), therefore I exist"
It's all France, there are many different souls in the past of French civilization. Diversity as wealth. A country that long ago, as a state, and even more importantly, its citizens, won freedom, political freedom, and even more - artistic freedom. That's why Paris got another name a long time ago and not by chance - "City of Light".
Finally, a country from which we could learn a lot, while never behaving inferior in the state sense.
Prince Nikola wrote a letter in this style, in beautiful French Napoleon III. I had the pleasure of reading it at the last meeting of the Francophonie assembly, which aroused additional interest of the Francophone delegates in our history and ruler, a French student.
Prince Nikola's correspondence with Napoleon III was from the first phase of the prince's reign and long before Đono Kirovoć drove this car through Montenegrin territory from Ulcinj, through Bar and Vir to Cetinje - and back.
By the way, he was the Montenegrin Minister of Posts in the Montenegrin Kingdom Pero Šoć, during the time of the refugee government, Minister of Justice and Foreign Affairs, author of notable books, among which Bibliography on Montenegro, in French and Italian - a person loyal to the king until the end of our sovereign's life.
I believe that we agree that everyone has the right to different impressions about the aesthetics of the opening of the Olympics, that one can be sensitive to various topics, and that now maybe it's time to include and hear the explanations of the organizers of the spectacle, the artistic director Tom Žolij. (We hope he's not related to the famous Moris Žoli autorom knjige “Dialogue in Hell between Montesquieu and Machiavelli” - A conversation in hell between Montesquieu and Machiavelli - which will be the basis for the plagiarism of a famous, poisonous, anti-Semitic book entitled "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion"). The president also spoke macro who stood behind the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, considering that it was a new victory for France that would continue to guarantee the freedom of art. The organizers explained a lot of things, including that the disputed performance is not about artistic renderings and associations of "The Last Supper" but "Feast of the Gods from Olympus". And that it is not a painting by Leonardo da Vinci, but an inspiration from the painting "Feast of the Gods" by a Dutch painter from the 17th century Jana van Bijlerta.
At that pagan celebration, Dionysus, the god of wine and merriment, appeared in the form of a famous French actor who was completely naked for the occasion, in a luxurious and cheerful setting, believing that "we should live as we were born, naked!", then asking and "would there be wars if we remained naked, and where would you hide the gun when you were naked...?" And in that style...
Shocking? Perhaps.
Poetic license? It is an old rule that the artist is allowed freedom of expression.
The dominant impression was Joli's idea to combine the gods from Olympus with the Paris Olympics, to connect them all with some artistic Olympism, as apparently all these words and concepts are semantically very related.
Perhaps I too would have certain difficulties to fully understand the attempt to bring the gods down from Olympus directly into some earthly cabaret, even if it had a cheerful composition and atmosphere, but the "wackiness" of everything may have not only played with the imagination of the viewers, but they liked it all the more. I liked the already seen clichés of the opening of the Games, which risk being boring if repeated.
After all, according to the first researches, the majority of the French declared that they liked the opening of the Olympics, including the performances next to the Seine, and even the one about the pagan festival of the gods from Olympus.
After all, there were indisputable artistic performances at the opening of the Games, all with some aesthetic treatment and messages. Let's say two iconic musical anthems. Lenonova Imagine as a hymn of peace, too Edith Piaf "Hymn of love" in an impressive performance Celine Dion. "Marseille" was sung by a black woman Aksel Sen Sirel, although we know that extreme right-wingers, some from Lepen, would have liked the national anthem to have been sung by a white French artist. In any case, "Allons enfants de la patrie...", so whoever sings.
Everything was actually an anthem of unity, diversity and inclusiveness. Thus, the proclaimed ideals also won Pierre Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games, exactly one hundred years ago.
Otherwise, many questions and remarks could be raised with strict approaches.
Let's say, why did Arsen Lupen, the famous burglar, true, with nice manners, also appear in that imaginative walk through the Parisian galleries? Right next to Mona Lisa, who, by the way, winked at him. One had the impression that Lupen, walking through the galleries, liked some of the female figures from the paintings this time.
Organizers promote a thief? We know, no! Imagination game. And Lupine is a part of France, its literature.
Has anyone played with their imagination in the right way, even too much? Let's say - it's a matter of taste.
After all, calling for tolerance, and respecting everyone, the organizers, including the mayor of Paris, apologized if anyone was injured.
The curtain of the Games is down. Spectacular again, with somewhat less provocativeness compared to the opening.
Namely, the opening of the Olympic Games in Paris is now becoming part of history. That's where he will get his rightful place. Like the Eiffel Tower, the great protagonist of these Games, which was welcomed during its construction as an unprecedented "ugliness” (scolding) of Paris, with frequent protests, including artists, including writers Mopasana, Dime, architect "Opera" Garnier... Time, we know, is the ultimate judge.
I think we have agreed that here we too have the right to impressions and judgments about world events, including possible examples of desecration of the high values of religion, including biblical themes and images such as "The Last Supper".
The question arises whether such sensitivity should be shown in domestic conditions as well.
Perhaps we should leave it to the French and France - as we have already said, to the oldest daughter of the church - to assess and defend potentially endangered traditional values.
Here is also an example of our considerable indifference to a performance that leaned towards public kitsch, and it is related to the apostles and Christ. At the same time, it was not about the artistic stage but, sorry for the brutality of the topic, about the composition of the Montenegrin government. So, four years ago, the government of "12 apostles" was proclaimed with the same number of ministers, as its president publicly called, who himself in that incredible idea and analogy, was obviously, sorry again, Jesus Christ.
In addition to the inadequacy of these comparisons, it should be added that the apostolic government was decisively composed by some white world Hochstapler, with others, even parts of the church, as all this is publicly witnessed by a former apostle from the mentioned government and actor of further political - fraudulent performances. A person with a fake diplomatic passport was hosted at secret dinners here until he completed the task of forming an "apostolic government". And it was not about aesthetic artistic inspirations, but brutal material interests, in extreme crime and smuggling, that gravitational center of state politics for a long time.
Here, it seems to me, it is not only a question of the inadequacy of the taken-over biblical title, but also the fact that it was actually 12 plus 1 dilettantes, an honor to an exception, who together leading the country very quickly defeated the great democratic victory of Montenegro on August 30, 2020 And great expectations of the citizens for the finally serious and responsible management of the Montenegrin state.
In order to then continue the Olympic (self) advertising here, the "apostolic government" very quickly proclaimed itself "the best in history", the next even better, etc. The formation of a government with decisive factors from the side, from persons with real diplomatic passports, continued, creating a painful image of Montenegro as a voluntary colonial protectorate.
Even a part of the apostles managed to bring back the former forces of the mafia regime, to form a government together, to lead inter-apostolic wars to this day, so one former apostle publicly announces to the nation that the other, at the head of the current government, will rob the country and then flee somewhere ... And everyone remains on the spotlight-lit stage, in front of which is the darkness of truth.
I will stop with this story, after all, so as not to spoil the topic of the Olympic Games in Paris. Still with the question: Did the use of biblical themes, images and description of the government, that in the sequels of an immature society, deserve criticism, at least a public warning that in their problematic - charlatan mission, they should leave it alone and not abuse a great monotheistic religion and its symbolic images.
All that was missing. All the more reason, it seems to me, to reduce the severity a little for the possible abuse of religion, the pictures of the 12 apostles in Paris this summer. Or at least we see the same show a little more tolerantly.
It's about time I sent this mail. And that in a modern way... However, with a reminder of Umberto Eco who, appreciating technological progress, nevertheless warned us to stick to pen, paper, letter, book, classic mail because as he said - we don't know if some will black out delete everything possible message, link, floppy, disk, CD, USB....
If, in that vision, the e-mail happens to fail, I would send this letter as before, by that route and line to Cetinje.
I would come with Ciro Kirović, the grandson of Đon Kirović, the driver from that picture, on the line Ulcinj, Bar, Vir, Cetinje. Let him also be reminded of the path his grandfather took. Ćiro is a car mechanic, but I don't believe he could reconstruct that grandfather's car, so that the experience would be complete. But you never know. If one day they entrust us with the organization of the Olympics - let me, inspired by Paris, play with my imagination - then the performance with Đonov's car on the mentioned line would be good tribute our past.
But alas, and now without imagination, would we, in that case, with the recapitulation of history and common spirituality from the past that other host countries do, request at least four parallel opening of the Olympic Games. Because here, meanwhile, history has been nationalized, there are as many versions of the past as there are people, all in a value-destabilized state, where ethnic fields are turned into political fields, the outcome hidden in the future.
And maybe by the time the Olympics are won, something serious will happen here, let's say the end of the propaganda feast of the gods in power, so some turn will happen, first of all, the return of the basic spiritual-state community, the serious construction of a legal, decent, economically rational state. Conditions, not only for imaginatively winning the Olympics, but for the historical duration of the country, again in the face of many visible and invisible temptations.
And that is another, serious topic, let's leave it for another time.
Bonus video:
