I recently read a lecture - as the writer called it – on the new type of barbarians, in Paler’s volume, Mythological Slanders. The text worried me and made me reflect a little on the immediate reality, see and feel the presence of the neo-barbarian next to us. Not that I did not see it before every day in the streets, in shops, and especially in the area that guarantees most often his celebrity, the media - and especially the audio-visual media. Because the neo-barbarian likes to be seen, admired by his fellows although he has nothing to say; he is in constant pursuit of notoriety by any means. Most often he has something to shown, not to say: he dresses up, invests into clothing and would suffer greatly if there wasn’t anyone to show his “outfit” to, his only possession. Actually… I think there are some other accessories too: the muscles, the tan, the tattoos, the jewellery, which need to be large and many so as to stand for his social “nobility”.
Paler looked with nostalgia at the barbarians who did not know the benefits of culture and civilization, who were illiterate, dirty, who were shaped in history by a process of assimilation, by imitating the civilization which has become an organic part of them. To them he opposed the neo-barbarian, a more dangerous species, living inside a civilization that he defies and undermines, imposing his personal “civilization”, with a polish of education, high school graduate at least, if not with one or two university degrees, limo at the door and suburban slang at hand.
Barbarians were a danger outside the citadel, ante portas, the neo-barbarians are here, within the walls, next to us, trying to impose their “values” with their cheekiness, aggressiveness, boorishness. There’s no point in giving any examples, as you never know what we might end up with in the huddle to pick from.
A girl came in with big lips and even bigger “disaccordens” came to my mind; she’s probably preparing a DOOM 3 (orthographic, orthoepic, morphological and punctuation dictionary), after the image of her own utterance. And there was another one, a blond with many purses. And to lower the level a little: at other levels - nudities, undulations, empty heads (if they were ever inhabited by any neuron), clothes, show, and scandal. Let it be scandal! It helps to ones celebrity.
We have concerns, we feel invaded, dominated by them, mainly because TV stations don’t sit idle: they promote them because this is what the nation wants and asks for. But can this nation not be shaped by anyone? Is there no real culture there for it? I believe that the nation is formed mainly by what’s to offer. This what the nations is given and this is what it got used to. Where did the rest go wrong, the ones who are against the neo-barbarism, to be visually and noisily assaulted everyday by Braila-hotties and Andrasanu-likes , Wonder Boys (Copilul Minune ), Storms (Vijelie) and Salamis, Biancas and Nikitas?
People who really have something to say in this country stay hidden, to avoid being hit in the head by the neo-barbarism, are weary, feeling guilty and ashamed for reading or going to the theatre. Art and culture in general are nearly subversive, if not turned illegal soon, given the rapid multiplication of the mentioned subspecies. I do not know what the situation is with others, but I believe that there’s a much denser filter and bad seeds cannot go through the mesh.
The barbarian was tamed by civilization. But who’s going to tame the neo-one if the supremely disregards the civilization he’s living in? Can this be the case of the fox and the grapes? I do not think so. The neo-barbarian does not want to be different, as long as so many people will fall to their knees in admiration of his “value”, as the manele singer claims.
