Films/DVD Asylum

Didn't mean this as a puzzle

76.99.186.92

Victor Khomenko

M

In Reply to: RE: Okay, I'll bite. Which two Russian literary works are you alluding to? nt posted by tinear on September 16, 2009 at 12:19:52

Our generation grew up literally peeing into our pants while reading these works, they were universally loved and broadly quoted, dozens upon dozens of their expressions became proverbs. The two authors had incredible sense of humor, typically associated with the Jewish inhabitants of the city of Odessa.

But we were still exposed to the Soviet reality the books described, even though some of it was already lost and nearly forgotten. Our kids, however, by and large, have no sense of that atmosphere, so they mostly "don't get it".

Ilf and Petrov (Open in New Window)

Follow Ups:

RE: BABEL! Was it fun to read! nt - patrickU 05:06:31 09/17/09 (2)
nt
- I know you liked it, but I simply CAN'T imagine preserving its unique flavor in translation - Victor Khomenko 06:32:56 09/17/09 (1)
  Perhaps I should take an English translation of Odessa Stories to see that first hand, but seriously, I can't. His other works - perhaps. But not that one.
  - RE: I know you liked it, but I simply CAN'T imagine preserving its unique flavor in translation - patrickU 07:00:03 09/17/09 (0)
    Well I suppose it gives an overview of the real thing.
    
    BUT the translation was excellent as fare I could tell, of course!
I'd argue that the greatest works by the greatest artists transcend - tinear 16:08:53 09/16/09 (1)
regionalist or nationalist "insider" material which render significant (20%) of the work unintelligible to "foreigners."
A good artist supplies context. I don't have to know much at all about Jewish culture to get the jokes of, "The Owl and the Pussycat" which is rife with ethnic humor.
There is very little new under the sun, Vic. For instance, when I supplied Russian ships, I often drank to stupidity with the Captain and other officers (it seemed a necessity for good business) and their stories, though poorly translated, always made sense. In fact, Russian anti-government humor and that of Brazil surprisingly were the same.
- Well, lesse... - Victor Khomenko 06:30:31 09/17/09 (0)
  I would submit to you that perhaps 90% of classical art can't be truly appreciated without knowing the mythology behind it, religious texts, historical events, etc.
  
  So yes, SOME art will transcend the cultural barriers... images of Mother, depictions of female and male beauty, landscapes... but even there one must be very aware of the period and school, otherwise the "crude" 20th century images will make no sense next to the classical paintings or sculptures.

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