Bildungsroman, Kunstlerroman, and The Age of The New Wave
(March 14, 2007, from my old friendster blog:
http://xn3ct.blog.friendster.com/2007/03/bildungsroman-kunstlerroman-and-the-age-of-the-new-wave/ )
Yesterday, I got to watch “Live Aid” (July 13, 1985). Brought me back to my growing up years… I saw Sting performing with some saxophonist named Marsalis (probably the brother of Wynton Marsalis, a trumpeteer who came to the Philippines in 1998, got to watch him live at the CCP). They played “Roxanne… You don’t have to put on the red light…” Saw Bob Geldof (he who organized Band-Aid and Live Aid) of the Boomtown Rats singing my favorite “I Don’t Like Mondays.” Saw Sade singing “Your Love is King.” Saw one of my idols Bono sing “Sunday, Bloody Sunday” and “Bad.” He was wearing what looked like a military suit with vinyl pants and knee-length boots. Wow! He looked like a conquering general!
Tangna! Wala lang. Made me think of the time I was in high school, an innocent teen-age boy of thirteen/fourteen, starting to listen to Depeche Mode, China Crisis, Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, and XB102 (anyone remembers that radio station? circa ‘84-85… way, way before NU107)… A young seminarian having a difficult time reconciling my growing appreciation of rock music and the lectures we’d be having from our prefect of discipline, saying that rock and roll is the “music of the devil.”
But what has this got to do with “bildungsroman” and “kunstlerroman”?
Of course, you’re quite familiar with J.D. Salinger’s “Catcher in the Rye.” That’s an example of a “bildungsroman.” If I’m not mistaken, it means a novel that tackles the coming of age of the protagonist. I never liked the protagonist of “Catcher in the Rye” (What’s his name again?) Holden Caulfield. He seemed to me like a spoiled brat. Well, if not spoiled, a brat just the same. An angry brat who wants to take on the world for its supposed “fakery,” “inauthenticity,” or something like that. Ewan ko, it’s just me.
On the other hand, I love Leonard Cohen’s “The Favourite Game.” Also a bildungsroman. But more properly, a kuntslerroman. (The words “bildung” and “kunstler” are German for “culture” and “artist.” Yata.) It’s about the coming of age of a poet. The introduction to the book says that it’s probably semi-autobiographical. Leonard Cohen has a deep bass for voice and I think he’s released his recorded poems/songs. (I heard one, I forget the title… something about “something coming.”) In one interview, he said that his roshi (he practices zen sitting meditation) told him to “be more sad” when he was relating about his experience of sadness.
Most of Hermann Hesse’s novels are bildungsroman: Steppenwolf, Siddharta, The Glass Bead Game, Demian, and one, Narcissus and Goldmund, could be classified as a kunstlerroman. (That’s probably the reason why a lot of teenagers and college guys with a philosophical bent love Hesse.)
Which brings me back to why I thought of all these stuff… I read sometime in January a cute little novel, a bildungsroman, by some guy named Stephen Chbosky (not too sure about the name). I borrowed it from my cousin Aeon. It’s titled “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.”
Unlike the hero of “Catcher in the Rye,” the protagonist here doesn’t rage against the so-called inauthenticity of the world. Instead, he finds himself crying for a number of reasons. He’s also precocious, and yes, a little fucked up in the head.
He breaks down towards the end of the novel. Won’t tell you the reason.
It’s a compassionate novel. And the insights of the hero are quite okay. Reflecting on his being “fucked up” inside, he realizes that you cannot blame the past (whatever has happened to you in your childhood) for your present difficulties and hang-ups. Well, yes, the past has certainly a definite bearing and influence on who (what kind of person) you are. But you cannot use it as a scapegoat once you do realize its influence on your personality.
And of course, the novel talks about “mix tapes” (in the age of ipods, who remembers about casette tapes and “mix tapes”?).
Wala lang. With a certain wistfulness, I wonder: What if I had a wider exposure to the music that I loved and love until now? Would I be a better person? A better artist?
“Keep me searchin’ for a heart of gold… and I’m getting old.” (Neil Young, “Heart of Gold”)
Wala lang. Am getting old.
“Well, we were younger then and the days were long and slow/ But were we wiser then? I couldn’t say, I wouldn’t know…” (The Chameleons, “Tears”)
But as good old Fritz (Nietzsche) would say: “Was that life? Then, once again! Da capo!”
From the beginning!
best regards,
ian