What shall be the 11th art?
(A translation of my French essay)
Note: In France, cinema is said to be the 7th art. I have no idea about the other nine. Our French professor asked us to imagine what shall be the 11th art and here’s what I wrote.
(A translation of my French essay)
Note: In France, cinema is said to be the 7th art. I have no idea about the other nine. Our French professor asked us to imagine what shall be the 11th art and here’s what I wrote.
0630: Mr. X wakes up. He showers while listening to the radio. As always, two road accidents, a report on Paris Hilton in jail and a bomb-blast in Palestine.
0730: He breakfasts. Along with decaffeinated coffee (since he’s real careful about his health)
Then he walks towards the station from where he will take the metro to work. His work doesn’t interest him. But since it pays well, he hangs on. He will return to work at eight with a pain in the back. He will go to bed, the television on, without eating his dinner but after having taken some anti-depressants.
Life goes on in this way. Of course, he goes on vacations sometimes. He goes to the beach, he has fun. He returns to work, with a tan and a hangover.
Life flies him by. At sixty, he’s rich, a ‘success’. After a stroke that almost killed him, he asks himself, “What did I do with my life?” It’s too late…
No one would like to end up like Mr. X. Yet, we let life pass us by, burying our dreams and doing what the society wants us to do. We forget that life is short and so one must rejoice every moment of it.
Considering this is a huge problem of the twenty-first century, I think the 11th art should be “the art of living”. And we must study and perfect this art which is dying.
Indeed, life has become too demanding. Or maybe we demand too much of life. We are like Alexander who wants to conquer the world. Here’s a little dialogue between him and Diogenes, the great philosopher.
Diogenes: What do you desire the most, your majesty?
Alexander: I wish to conquer Greece.
D: And then?
A: And then I wish to conquer the whole world.
D: And then?
A: And then I shall rest and enjoy myself.
D: But that, your majesty, you can do even now!
0730: He breakfasts. Along with decaffeinated coffee (since he’s real careful about his health)
Then he walks towards the station from where he will take the metro to work. His work doesn’t interest him. But since it pays well, he hangs on. He will return to work at eight with a pain in the back. He will go to bed, the television on, without eating his dinner but after having taken some anti-depressants.
Life goes on in this way. Of course, he goes on vacations sometimes. He goes to the beach, he has fun. He returns to work, with a tan and a hangover.
Life flies him by. At sixty, he’s rich, a ‘success’. After a stroke that almost killed him, he asks himself, “What did I do with my life?” It’s too late…
No one would like to end up like Mr. X. Yet, we let life pass us by, burying our dreams and doing what the society wants us to do. We forget that life is short and so one must rejoice every moment of it.
Considering this is a huge problem of the twenty-first century, I think the 11th art should be “the art of living”. And we must study and perfect this art which is dying.
Indeed, life has become too demanding. Or maybe we demand too much of life. We are like Alexander who wants to conquer the world. Here’s a little dialogue between him and Diogenes, the great philosopher.
Diogenes: What do you desire the most, your majesty?
Alexander: I wish to conquer Greece.
D: And then?
A: And then I wish to conquer the whole world.
D: And then?
A: And then I shall rest and enjoy myself.
D: But that, your majesty, you can do even now!
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