"Since their earliest days, Americans have believed Paris to be the repository of a kind of cultural magic that eluded their bold but brash republic. Hence the remarkable tide of artists who've crossed the pond in search of it: Fitzgerald, James, Hemingway, Irving, Mailer, Miller, Nin, Pound, Stein, Whistler, Eakins, Hopper, Ginsberg, Burroughs, Buchwald, Twain … come to mind.
Yet the veneration accorded to Paris by Americans is puzzling. Like other grand cities, this one certainly has an aura – yet its cultural credentials are hardly the world's most impressive. If anything, its most enduring characteristic is a distinct whiff of merde de taureau.
It wasn't Paris that delivered Bach, Beethoven, Shakespeare, Tolstoy, Leonardo, Marx, Michelangelo or the Beatles. Instead, the city has given us the likes of bohemianism, deconstructionism, symbolism and the nouvelle vague. All of these were quite fun at the time, but in retrospect seem somewhat less than the real deal. The city's aesthetic soul appears to have more to do with Gitanes, cafe society and elegant posturing."
Monday, October 10, 2011
Wait - so why do Americans hold Paris in such awe?
Wait - so why do Americans hold Paris in such awe?
I think it's because a girl with a French accent is way hotter than one with a German, English, or Russian accent.
ReplyDeleteAnd when you think about it, Rome comes a pretty close second to Paris. And it's because a girl with an Italian accent's pretty hot too. Except for the underarm hair. And her brother Guido.