Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

Create Dangerously: The Power and Responsibility of the Artist by Albert Camus

2 reviews

lugalante's review against another edition

challenging slow-paced

4.0

A great insight in to a mind and a time.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Slavery, War, Genocide, Antisemitism, and Colonisation

brnineworms's review against another edition

hopeful reflective fast-paced

3.5

I’m not sure what to make of this book. There are some fantastic quotes but Camus’s arguments overall aren’t particularly precise or revelatory.

The titular speech contends that art should not be superficial but it shouldn’t be propagandistic either, and it should speak truth without trying to replicate reality (an impossible task). It is, according to Camus, the artist’s responsibility to not succumb to either extreme.

“Art cannot be a monologue.”

“Art is neither complete rejection nor complete acceptance of what is. It is simultaneously rejection and acceptance, and this is why it must be a perpetually renewed wrenching apart.”

There are two supplementary speeches: “Defence of Intelligence” and “Bread and Freedom.” “Defence of Intelligence” discusses the importance of logic in a world filled with violence and hatred. It’s a little pretentious but sure, okay. “Bread and Freedom,” like “Create Dangerously,” advocates balance, this time between freedom and justice. I remember some evocative phrases like “the doves of peace do not perch on gallows!” but that’s about it.

There’s not much to dislike about Create Dangerously but it’s not that deep. Perhaps Camus’s observations were more impressive in the 1940s and 50s but now they seem quite plain. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Slavery, Gun violence, Violence, War, Police brutality, and Sexism

Minor: Blood, Torture, Colonisation, Sexual assault, Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Death, Genocide, Murder, Racial slurs, and Xenophobia