Quand Mauriac jugeait la télé

23 mars

Relu, la nuit dernière: "On n'est jamais sûr de rien avec la télé. Chroniques, 1959-1964" de François MAURIAC, édition établie par Jean Touzot et Meryl Moneghetti (Bartillat). C'est le meilleur remède à l'insomnie que je connaisse.

1959. De Gaulle règne sur la France. Quand Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber, le puissant directeur de L'Express, propose à François Mauriac, 74 ans, de tenir une chronique de télévision dans son journal, celui-ci accepte aussitôt. Ca l'amuse follement, cette vieille âme! Non seulement il va faire le job mais il va s'en délecter, trépignant devant la petite lucarne comme un enfant devant une vitrine de jouets.

Le Général, lui aussi, adore la télé, il va très vite apprivoiser ce drôle de machin qui fascine les Français, à la fois comme téléspectateur (avec le concours de Dame Yvonne) et comme acteur; il va apprendre à s'en servir, en monarque cabotin et roué. Le Roi-Soleil qui avait la jambe bien faite s'exposait sur une scène de danse à Versailles, De Gaulle lui va affronter la caméra. Ouf! heureusement, on a changé d'époque. D'une certaine façon, il donne l'exemple au vieil écrivain qui ne le quitte jamais des yeux.

Mauriac est éclectique, d'une insatiable curiosité. Tout l'intéresse de "Lectures pour tous" à "Bonne nuit, les petits" en passant par "Intervilles" qui le ravit. Il n'y a que le sport qui l'ennuie. C'est un portraitiste implacable. Quel oeil! Juliette Gréco: "Ce beau poisson maigre et noir". Fidel Castro: "Que reste-t-il de l'homme, la barbe enlevée?" Brigitte Bardot: "Il y a du carlin dans cette petite figure boudeuse". Khrouchtchev: "Vieille tête comme servie sur un plat, émouvante pourtant, pareille à une vieille tête d'apôtre détachée du portail de la cathédrale Saint-Marx".

Devant les caprices de la mode, il se barbouille le visage de son petit rire de sacripant, il pouffe, il médit un peu, oui c'est un péché, mmh! c'est si bon, il se confessera plus tard. Evidemment, parfois, il se fâche, en moraliste exact, contre un jeune prêtre qui dit la messe avec un tam-tam, contre Casarès qui ne comprend rien à Racine, contre la gauche, contre la droite (qui est sa famille sans doute, mais pas son parti!), contre les sottises: "Si le néant pouvait se glorifier de ne pas être, nous l'aurions entendu ce soir". Il pourfend les préjugés: "La bourgeoisie? Mais elle a produit Claudel, Valéry, Gide, Proust, Manet, Cézanne, et presque tout ce qui compte dans tous les ordres". Il doit penser en secret: "Et moi donc, suis-je un fils du peuple"? Il ignore ce qu'on appelle aujourd'hui: le politiquement correct. 

Quelle leçon d'actualité! C'est Bossuet qui s'encanaille sur le Pont-Neuf.

Comments

[Rédigé par : Anne b]

Merci Yasmine!

[Rédigé par : Nihad]

oh wow every single one of those dance shots in the hall are kilelr fantastic job capturing the ambient light (as it kept changing) while lighting the dancing couple perfectly. and my goodness they look like they had a blast! such fun images i'm also kinda in love with the bride's dress

[Rédigé par : Mario]

oh well, things are like that only, god makes eenyrove in mysterious ways. I suspect that you may find at least some the family in India to be more accepting than your parents lgbt issues are very much in the news here, especially in urban areas, and it's not necessarily the invisible taboo topic that it probably was when your parents left India. The diaspora is often strangely frozen in time, while India itself is moving on. In India the family can sometimes be a big tent that includes eenyrove. You may find unexpected allies in people that don't have such a strong vested interest in you being a source of shame' and whatnot.Definitely enlist your allies (cousins); can you ask their advice i.e. whether to share the news more widely in advance so that it's not a big shock? Share this blog post with them? And do check in with A to make sure she's really ok with the fact that your appearance might draw some of the limelight from her at her own wedding. She might not have really thought it through.If it feels like the wedding is not the right moment, you can also use this invitation as a catalyst for a reunion trip at a different time but in the near future a quieter trip to visit and congratulate her, meet other cousins, maybe while your parents are still in India after the wedding, or maybe totally separate from them. Maybe with your partner, maybe not. Or maybe even a mass email.It sounds like you do want to reconnect and that your family is really important to you. So hold to those core values and know that there are lots of options for you to rejoin your family again you don't have to get stuck in someone else's false dichotomy between total in-your-face outness and total closet/pariah status.There is a creative way to proceed based on love and integrity, not fear. Even if they don't totally understand everything about you, Indians of all people will understand how much you want to be with your family.

[Rédigé par : Jof]

This is a difficult sauiitton to say the least. Though I understand your parent's sauiitton, I wouldn't suggest you skip the wedding. That is so not fair to you and to your cousin who loves you and wants you to be part of her wedding.IMO, you should talk to your parents and explain them the sauiitton. And then get your cousin and other supportive relatives to talk to your parents. Let them explain that your parents are not alone and not all relatives are phobic and many including them support you for who you are. I am hoping this will have some positive influence on your parents and they might change their mind.Even after this, if your parents are not okay with it, I would say you should go to the wedding and your parents have to deal with it.

[Rédigé par : Geethu]

If you can't tell your parents about the intiiatvon and the fact that you are considering it seriously, then going there unannounced is tricky. It is obvious that your parents count the most for you. Consider the following scenario: if your parents can handle the idea of your presence at your cousin's wedding while they are still here in their home in America, then it will be indeed a very happy event. Maybe you need a family reunion and reassessment of your parents' attitude towards the whole situation. With all the progress that has happened in your relationship with them, maybe now they are ready to face the challenges of your re-introduction into your extended Indian family. Best of luck Deen!

[Rédigé par : Reaam]

Explain your conundrum to your ciuosn A ( she probably does know about this) and see if she will be willing to make the place comfortable for you and your parents to attend together. If so, go otherwise, I would think about it. Chennai does have a growing scene with Pride marches every year. So some of your relatives may be more sensitized than what you and your parents think. And who knows there may be another banished from relatives queer ciuosn lurking there. Good luck.

[Rédigé par : Sara]

Insurance is based off the law of large #'s. Everyone puts in some money for the few people that may place a claim. I unrtdseand you may have a great driving record and don't plan to have an accident. But that's the meaning of an accident, no one plans to have one. I am in the United States so I am not sure if the UK operates the same way, but here its illegal to drive without insurance. If your parents are alive I don't think they would want to risk their house. But if you own your parents house why don't you see about getting a loan against the house to help with the insurance bills. As a side note there are insurance companies that do pay dividends if they made a profit, but none that i have ever heard of would refund you back a set amount if you were accident free.

[Rédigé par : lanie]

I would like to learn about the process of sttlnmaiiug thinking routines as an introduction to a new unit on wellness in the LOTE, Indonesian, part of a new unit plan for next semester. Image to stimulate thought and response. creating magazine agony aunt letter , email etc whereby students can respond to each other, role playing, offering advice.. AND/ OR Would like to further create an online activity multimedia usage about popular music in Indonesia, traditional etc with sound bites, ie from youtube looking at influence of westernisation in modern and popular music trends in indonesia.