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Fractured Times: Culture and Society in the Twentieth
Century
It seeks to understand the complex intertwining of society, religion, politics and arts. Culture is a difficult concept to explain and understand, since it is many layered, inclusive as well as exclusive. It encompasses many forms, like visual arts, music, multi-media, films, literature, poetry, festivals, clothes, food and language and it affects every aspect of life. Similarly, society is not a homogeneous mass of people; it is made up of many classes, nationalities and regions. Each group has a subculture, which has its own text. With the scientific and technological development in the 20th century, the demarcations of social borders have shrunk. The biggest impact in the process of globalisation on society has been in the field of culture. Culture in the 19th century was very bourgeoisie and was Europe- centric. The historian admits that Europe was the playground he was familiar with and that was the age when the world emanated from that continent. Much space is devoted to the past century. This is the hallmark of a good historian — to recognise that there are few clear breaks in history. Important events might be indicators of change but past, present and future form an indivisible continuum. The last century saw great transformation. Between the World Wars, Europe was going through a crisis. America and Japan, started emerging. After the 1950s and the 1960s, the geopolitics of the world changed the order of importance of nations. Many new societies and cultures came out of oblivion. Many new voices arose, including those of women who were till then totally out of the pail of consideration. The decades after the end of the Cold War have seen massive changes.
The force that has revolutionised culture is that of mass consumer society, through communication and reproduction. Art forms which have adjusted to this change like literature, whether on paper or screen, have performed well. Translations of classics of all languages is happening and selling. In spite of the pessimism, the printed book is holding its own. The same is true of music, which has broken the wall of purely physical communication between instrument and ear. It has become an industry, music festivals are a global phenomena, they have spawned cultural tourism. The other art which is doing well is architecture, for humanity cannot live without buildings. The architect of 20th century has become the ruler of fine arts. It is the costliest expression of wealth and power. Where the visual arts are concerned, the scenario is not that good. Sculpture is scrapping a miserable existence. In the 19th century, most of the European capitals installed statues. In Paris alone. 210 statues were erected in the 1870s; the old allegories and symbols have vanished. Photography is on the upswing, it has touched the masses, and it is the representation of the impression of the senses on the human eye. Haute Couture has crossed the sacred boundary; it is no longer only a commissioned piece for a rich patron. The big names have become commercial for the global firms. This industry now does not thrive on autonomous artistic individual but on mass consumerism. The wall between culture and life, between reverence and consumption, between work and leisure, between body and spirit is being knocked down. Though globalisation has led to assimilation and syncretisation of cultures. Still the 20th century has also seen the flowering of regional cultures. Asian and even African cultures have flourished. Funding of arts has led to new patronage, that by the state. They give subsidies; build arenas, libraries, opera houses. Internationally, art defines the soul of a nation, so governments take it seriously. Private patronage helps individual or a corporation to rise in social status. States are playing politics, which is affecting the independence of artists. Why go far, the Fatwa issued against Salman Rushdie or the hounding of M F Husain or elimination of Jew artists and writers in Nazi Germany is a pointer of how art has got politicised. The book is so thorough that it tries to cover a vast canvas as proficiently as possible in print form. There is a brilliantly written chapter on culture and gender, not until the second great wave of the 1960s and 70s did a much larger percentage of women find mention in reference books on arts. According to Hobsbawm, opposition to women’s emancipation was so stubborn, irrational and even hysterical that even venturing out for them was a Herculean task. The entry of women happened not only at the bourgeoisie level but at the lower end of the social slopes. The concept of a single universal rate of profit to which all enterprise should confirm, including arts has taken root. There is a whole section on Uncertainties — Science, Religion. Politics has got linked to religion, whether it is Muslims of the Middle East or Jews, or USA or India, Pakistan. The politics of holy books is a 20th-century innovation. The unquestioned rise in the public presence of religion has negated the thought that modernity will lead to secularism. The master has spun a web of facts and analysis.
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When
you are reviewing a book written by an unquestioned master of the
craft, who became a legend in his lifetime, you read the book twice
over. This is the last book from the stable of the great historian of
the 20th century, who though a prolific writer never lost sight of the
importance of research, and analysis. The greatness of any historian
is that, keeping the scientific tenor in mind, he can write history
which is interesting, educative and informative for the layman. Fractured
Times is so readable that you forget it is a subject book also. It
is a compilation of lectures delivered at the Salzburg Festival and
written between 1964 and 2012.
