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殘酷劇場：藝術、電影、戰爭陰影
Theater of Cruelty has three main themes that frequently overlap: war, film, and the visual arts. Many of the movies discussed are about war and violence, often related to World War II, and more specifically deal with the two nations that unleashed the war, Germany and Japan: why they did what they did, and how they came to terms with it afterward—or didn’t.
Other essays in the collection—about the diaries of Harry Kessler and Anne Frank, the bombing of German cities, Japan’s kamikaze pilots—further explore these themes. Many of the artists discussed by Buruma were German or Japanese, including Max Beckmann, George Grosz, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, and Tsuguharu Foujita, as were the filmmakers Werner Herzog, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, and Hans-Jürgen Syberberg—all of whom were affected in one way or another by fas- cism and its terrible consequences. Theater of Cruelty is less about war itself than the way people deal with violence and cruelty, in the arts and in life.
Other essays in the collection—about the diaries of Harry Kessler and Anne Frank, the bombing of German cities, Japan’s kamikaze pilots—further explore these themes. Many of the artists discussed by Buruma were German or Japanese, including Max Beckmann, George Grosz, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, and Tsuguharu Foujita, as were the filmmakers Werner Herzog, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, and Hans-Jürgen Syberberg—all of whom were affected in one way or another by fas- cism and its terrible consequences. Theater of Cruelty is less about war itself than the way people deal with violence and cruelty, in the arts and in life.
448 pages
First published January 1, 2014
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244 people want to read
About the author
Ian Buruma
89 books252 followersIan Buruma is a British-Dutch writer and academic, much of whose work focuses on the culture of Asia, particularly that of 20th-century Japan, where he lived and worked for many years.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 28, 2017
Theater of Cruelty: Art, Film, and the Shadows of War (2014) is another collection of essays by Ian Buruma that have appeared in The New York Review Of Books from as long ago as 1995 to as recently as 2012, which is an eclectic set of topics much like his previously intriguing collection of essays, The Libertine and the Missionary. Buruma has a myriad of interests, but in his introduction he identifies certain trends in the subjects which he discusses in his essay:
First of all, I am fascinated by what makes the human species behave atrociously. Animals kill other animals for food, and some animals turn on their own kind out of rivalry. But only humans commit acts of extreme and often senseless violence.
He goes onto to explain that: "A way to deal with our fearful fascination with power and cruelty and death is to act it out vicariously in art. hence the title of this book."
The first set of essays concern German history and art: 1. "The Joys and Perils of Victimhood"-about the cult of victimhood associated with Jewish people since WWII's holocaust, 2. "Fascinating Narcissism: Leni Riefenstahl"-discussion of the Third Reich's favorite director, 3. "Werner Herzog and His Heroes"-a look at one of Germany's greatest directors, 4. "The Genius of Berlin: Rainier Werner Fassbinder"-a look at another celebrated German film director, 5. "The Destruction of Germany"-discusses how and why Germany was so heavily bombed in WWII, 6. "There's No Place Like Heimat"-looks at the work of East German "grand master of cinematic kitsch": Hans-Jurgen Syberberg, 7. "The Afterlife of Anne Frank"-discusses the legacy of one of the most famous diaries of all-time, 8. "Occupied Paris: The Sweet and the Cruel"-collaborators and the resistance in Vichy France, 9. "The Twisted Art of the Documentary"-which discusses propaganda and an unfinished propaganda film about the holocaust made by the Nazis.
The next set of essays concern Japan: 10. "Ecstatic About Pearl Harbor"-about wartime diaries of Japanese intellectuals during WWII, 11. "Suicide for the Empire"-about kamikaze pilots and their motives in sacrificing their lives, 12. "Eastwood's War"-looks at his two films on the battle of Iwo Jima, 13. "Robbed of Dreams"-about the symbolic act of the opening a sushi restaurant in Palestine.
I suppose the order must have been difficult to organize with so many different essays and subjects together in one volume: 14. "The Catty Chronicler: Harry Kessler"-discusses the diaries of Count Harry Clement Ulrich Kessler, Anglo-German, aesthete, publisher, art collector, world traveler,writer, part-time diplomat and socialite, 15. "The Believer"-in this essay Buruma takes Christopher Hitchens to task for his undefensible political shift to the right as chronicled in his book Hitch-22, 16. "The Last Bengali Renaissance Man"-an appreciation of legendary director Satyjit Ray, 17. "The Way Live Now: Mike Leigh"-an appreciation of the cinema of British director Mike Leigh, 18. "The Great Art of Embarrassment"-is an appreciative look at the films and plays of British writer Alan Bennett, 19. "The Invention of David Bowie"-analyzes the impact of Bowie on culture as presented by the Victoria and Albert Museum exhibition of Bowie's possessions from his personal archive, 20. "Dressing for Success"-is an essay on the life and times of the theatrical Japanese painter Tsuguharu Fujita, 21. "The Circus of Max Beckmann"-an appreciation of German painter Beckmann, 22. "Degenerate Art"-about the Museum of Modern Art's exhibition of the work or Ernest Ludwig Kirchner, 23. "George Crosz's Amerika"-an appreciation of an ex-pat German painter, 24. "Mr.Natural"-an exhibition of the work of R. Crumb leads to an appraisal of his career, 25. "Obsessions In Tokyo"-a very informed review of Japanese exhibitions that have taken place in the past and recently in 2013 in New York, 26. "A Japanese Tragedy"-is about the failings of institutions like government, media, and energy commissions that led to the tragedies of the post tsunami nuclear accidents, 27. "Virtual Violence"-is about Takashi Murakami's "Little Boy" traveling contemporary otaku art exhibition, and finally, 28. "Asiaworld"- discusses the future trajectory of China's government.
It is a very eclectic collection of essays that shows Buruma's far ranging interests as well as his knowledge and expertise in these various subjects. His prose style is extremely readable and draws a number of interesting and original examples and conclusions. I'm always curious about what he will undertake as the subject of his next project.
First of all, I am fascinated by what makes the human species behave atrociously. Animals kill other animals for food, and some animals turn on their own kind out of rivalry. But only humans commit acts of extreme and often senseless violence.
He goes onto to explain that: "A way to deal with our fearful fascination with power and cruelty and death is to act it out vicariously in art. hence the title of this book."
The first set of essays concern German history and art: 1. "The Joys and Perils of Victimhood"-about the cult of victimhood associated with Jewish people since WWII's holocaust, 2. "Fascinating Narcissism: Leni Riefenstahl"-discussion of the Third Reich's favorite director, 3. "Werner Herzog and His Heroes"-a look at one of Germany's greatest directors, 4. "The Genius of Berlin: Rainier Werner Fassbinder"-a look at another celebrated German film director, 5. "The Destruction of Germany"-discusses how and why Germany was so heavily bombed in WWII, 6. "There's No Place Like Heimat"-looks at the work of East German "grand master of cinematic kitsch": Hans-Jurgen Syberberg, 7. "The Afterlife of Anne Frank"-discusses the legacy of one of the most famous diaries of all-time, 8. "Occupied Paris: The Sweet and the Cruel"-collaborators and the resistance in Vichy France, 9. "The Twisted Art of the Documentary"-which discusses propaganda and an unfinished propaganda film about the holocaust made by the Nazis.
The next set of essays concern Japan: 10. "Ecstatic About Pearl Harbor"-about wartime diaries of Japanese intellectuals during WWII, 11. "Suicide for the Empire"-about kamikaze pilots and their motives in sacrificing their lives, 12. "Eastwood's War"-looks at his two films on the battle of Iwo Jima, 13. "Robbed of Dreams"-about the symbolic act of the opening a sushi restaurant in Palestine.
I suppose the order must have been difficult to organize with so many different essays and subjects together in one volume: 14. "The Catty Chronicler: Harry Kessler"-discusses the diaries of Count Harry Clement Ulrich Kessler, Anglo-German, aesthete, publisher, art collector, world traveler,writer, part-time diplomat and socialite, 15. "The Believer"-in this essay Buruma takes Christopher Hitchens to task for his undefensible political shift to the right as chronicled in his book Hitch-22, 16. "The Last Bengali Renaissance Man"-an appreciation of legendary director Satyjit Ray, 17. "The Way Live Now: Mike Leigh"-an appreciation of the cinema of British director Mike Leigh, 18. "The Great Art of Embarrassment"-is an appreciative look at the films and plays of British writer Alan Bennett, 19. "The Invention of David Bowie"-analyzes the impact of Bowie on culture as presented by the Victoria and Albert Museum exhibition of Bowie's possessions from his personal archive, 20. "Dressing for Success"-is an essay on the life and times of the theatrical Japanese painter Tsuguharu Fujita, 21. "The Circus of Max Beckmann"-an appreciation of German painter Beckmann, 22. "Degenerate Art"-about the Museum of Modern Art's exhibition of the work or Ernest Ludwig Kirchner, 23. "George Crosz's Amerika"-an appreciation of an ex-pat German painter, 24. "Mr.Natural"-an exhibition of the work of R. Crumb leads to an appraisal of his career, 25. "Obsessions In Tokyo"-a very informed review of Japanese exhibitions that have taken place in the past and recently in 2013 in New York, 26. "A Japanese Tragedy"-is about the failings of institutions like government, media, and energy commissions that led to the tragedies of the post tsunami nuclear accidents, 27. "Virtual Violence"-is about Takashi Murakami's "Little Boy" traveling contemporary otaku art exhibition, and finally, 28. "Asiaworld"- discusses the future trajectory of China's government.
It is a very eclectic collection of essays that shows Buruma's far ranging interests as well as his knowledge and expertise in these various subjects. His prose style is extremely readable and draws a number of interesting and original examples and conclusions. I'm always curious about what he will undertake as the subject of his next project.
Read
December 28, 2017A series of essays by one of the world's cleverest, most ecumenical, and regrettably seemingly little-known essayists, Ian Buruma, writing on topics ranging from the also regrettably seemingly little-known Foujita Tsugurahu (whose work I fell in love with in Japan) to luminaries like Max Beckmann and Werner Herzog, as well as the brilliantly written "Asiaworld" at the end. Strongly recommended for anyone interested in the essay as it's being practiced today.
October 17, 2014
A collection of previously published essays by Ian Buruma. Most of the essays had appeared in the New York Review of Books.
"But intellectual enlightenment is probably not the issue here. Instead there is authenticity. When all truth is subjective, only feelings are authentic, and only the subject can know whether his or her feelings are true or false." 12
"What makes us authentic, then, as Jews, homosexuals, Hindus, or Chinese, is our sense of trauma, and thus our status as victims, which cannot be questioned. The vulgar Freudianism of this view is remarkable in an age of debunking Freud." 14
"Ideology has caused a great deal of suffering, to be sure, particularly in political systems where ideologies were imposed by force. But without any ideology political debate becomes incoherent, and politicians appeal to sentiments instead of ideas. And this can easily result in authoritarianism, for, again, you cannot argue with feeling. Those who try are denounced not for being wrong but for being unfeeling, uncaring, and thus bad people who don't deserve to be heard." 14-15
"And there, as always, was Erza Nawi, perhaps the most remarkable figure among the Israeli activists, pressing the flesh with the energetic bonhomie of a born politician. In fact, Nawi, a stocky man with thick eyebrows and a bronze complexion, is not a politician at all but a plumber, a gay Jewish plumber, from an Iraqi Jewish family. He became an activist in an Arab-Jewish human rights group in the 1980s after becoming intimately acquainted with the hardships of Arab life in Israel through his Palestinian lover." 197
"One advantage of the homosexual life is that it often cut across class barriers." 211
"But intellectual enlightenment is probably not the issue here. Instead there is authenticity. When all truth is subjective, only feelings are authentic, and only the subject can know whether his or her feelings are true or false." 12
"What makes us authentic, then, as Jews, homosexuals, Hindus, or Chinese, is our sense of trauma, and thus our status as victims, which cannot be questioned. The vulgar Freudianism of this view is remarkable in an age of debunking Freud." 14
"Ideology has caused a great deal of suffering, to be sure, particularly in political systems where ideologies were imposed by force. But without any ideology political debate becomes incoherent, and politicians appeal to sentiments instead of ideas. And this can easily result in authoritarianism, for, again, you cannot argue with feeling. Those who try are denounced not for being wrong but for being unfeeling, uncaring, and thus bad people who don't deserve to be heard." 14-15
"And there, as always, was Erza Nawi, perhaps the most remarkable figure among the Israeli activists, pressing the flesh with the energetic bonhomie of a born politician. In fact, Nawi, a stocky man with thick eyebrows and a bronze complexion, is not a politician at all but a plumber, a gay Jewish plumber, from an Iraqi Jewish family. He became an activist in an Arab-Jewish human rights group in the 1980s after becoming intimately acquainted with the hardships of Arab life in Israel through his Palestinian lover." 197
"One advantage of the homosexual life is that it often cut across class barriers." 211
July 4, 2021
人类为什么会有残暴的行为？
艺术和戏剧揭露了我们所谓的文明行为，在光鲜亮丽的外表下，有什么其他动机？
这些非常具有“知识分子”责任感的思考，”纽约书评”主编，荷兰作家Ian Buruma的这本合辑很代表了千禧年前后西方记者的高水平。
作者基于二战的反思，对德国和日本的民粹，民族主义有特别多的思考，无独有偶，轮回一个甲子是正合适指引我们思考现状。他以评论形式写了很多战后时代的文艺现象及人物，带给读者除了观点还有更多的思考。比如Riefenstahl代表的艺术是否也能否把纳粹宣传和纯粹的艺术感区分开来？/ Herzog 编辑过的纪录片还真实可信吗？/ 遭受逼害的集体记忆被当作国家民族主义的基础…回忆不等同于历史，追悼不等同于书写历史 / “硫磺岛战役”，Clint Eastwood是第一位将战争中的敌我都当做完整的人来呈现的导演 / 第15章“信仰者”把我们带回去本拉登，侯赛因，双子塔倒塌的历史事件和背后的政治谋算 / Kesler属于当时最有文化素养、最具国际观的人，但这位念兹在兹皆是欧洲文化的知识分子，他所鼓吹的种族、青春和纯粹却种下日后二战近乎毁灭的因子 / 明治寡头政要是“抱着世界主义的知识分子”，他们将日本建设为抵挡西方殖民主义的堡垒。
。。。。。。
编译引进这本书的理想国也因此吸引了我的注意。梁文道，许知远，刘瑜等带领下，应该算是国内同样有社会责任感的知识分子办的良心品牌。
艺术和戏剧揭露了我们所谓的文明行为，在光鲜亮丽的外表下，有什么其他动机？
这些非常具有“知识分子”责任感的思考，”纽约书评”主编，荷兰作家Ian Buruma的这本合辑很代表了千禧年前后西方记者的高水平。
作者基于二战的反思，对德国和日本的民粹，民族主义有特别多的思考，无独有偶，轮回一个甲子是正合适指引我们思考现状。他以评论形式写了很多战后时代的文艺现象及人物，带给读者除了观点还有更多的思考。比如Riefenstahl代表的艺术是否也能否把纳粹宣传和纯粹的艺术感区分开来？/ Herzog 编辑过的纪录片还真实可信吗？/ 遭受逼害的集体记忆被当作国家民族主义的基础…回忆不等同于历史，追悼不等同于书写历史 / “硫磺岛战役”，Clint Eastwood是第一位将战争中的敌我都当做完整的人来呈现的导演 / 第15章“信仰者”把我们带回去本拉登，侯赛因，双子塔倒塌的历史事件和背后的政治谋算 / Kesler属于当时最有文化素养、最具国际观的人，但这位念兹在兹皆是欧洲文化的知识分子，他所鼓吹的种族、青春和纯粹却种下日后二战近乎毁灭的因子 / 明治寡头政要是“抱着世界主义的知识分子”，他们将日本建设为抵挡西方殖民主义的堡垒。
。。。。。。
编译引进这本书的理想国也因此吸引了我的注意。梁文道，许知远，刘瑜等带领下，应该算是国内同样有社会责任感的知识分子办的良心品牌。
dnf
November 10, 2025could not get past the opening essay from the mid-90s about "identity politics and victimhood" which is as noxious and hand-wringing as you might fear it being. "there's no doubt that oppression is real and horrible beyond all understanding" followed by the nuclear "BUT" like three separate times come on man. best imaginable defense of this is "oh it was a different time" but he had no problems tossing it in this book 20 years later without any qualification or revision. gimme a break
January 14, 2023
對歷史和民族的判斷帶有一種歐洲人樂觀和幼稚。
Read
April 28, 2015A mixed bag. The pieces about Japan read as strangely censorious; the single piece from the political cesspit called ISR/PAL rather patronising. The latter, though, may be because it it runs alongside more forgiving social commentary - the risk always inherent in publishing a collection that spans time and context.
On the whole, a worthwhile and rewarding read, best enjoyed over a period I time rather than a couple of sittings.
On the whole, a worthwhile and rewarding read, best enjoyed over a period I time rather than a couple of sittings.
March 22, 2015
Een ongelofelijk interessante verzameling essays over het vermogen van mensen om wreedheden te begaan, zij het onder het mom van oorlog, zij het onder dat van kunst en heel vaak allebei. Klinkt wat somber, maar het boek leest als een trein. Veel stukken lijken meer kunstrecensies. Het varieert van de Nazi's (Leni Riefenstahl), Anne Frank, Japanse kunstenaars in Europa en Japan zelf, India en andere Aziatische landen tot Duitse kunstenaars "in exile" in de VS.
January 27, 2016
collection of buruma essays from nyrb looking at art and cruelty of humans. mostly swirling around wwii atrocities. he writes about max beckmann, grosz, ernst kirchner, mishima yukio, , yokoo tadanori, werner herzog, fassbinder, kurosawa, syberberg.
has a few pictures,no index. but has corresponding list of nyrb issues/dates for each chapter.
has a few pictures,no index. but has corresponding list of nyrb issues/dates for each chapter.
September 12, 2015
A thoroughly enjoyable and occasionally infuriating mix of biography, history and art inspired by wars of the 20th Century; at its best when the strokes are the most detailed.
September 4, 2020
虽然说理解某个艺术作品最好的方式是看作品，但现在很多艺术展（或者艺术作品）其实都没法看——想法并不出彩，技术也非常平庸——看高质量的艺术评论反而能得到更多的信息，至少比展览好看多了。其中关于日本文化的部分也很有看点。
February 28, 2021
说到绘画艺术就完全不懂了...
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews