Professional Documents
Culture Documents
“I have been teaching film and politics with this textbook since it was in its
original pre-publication form. My undergraduate students consistently find it
accessible and informative. Ernest Giglio has been responsive to feedback,
especially from students. With this edition, he continues his commitment to
be current with developments in the field and interests of students and
instructors. The fourth edition will be on my syllabus for my next politics and
film course.”
—JOHN W. WILLIAMS, PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE,
PRINCIPIA COLLEGE
8
|v→
Noble Mon
9
Contents
List of Illustrations
List of Tables
Preface
Acknowledgments
Prologue. President Obama Returns to the White House
Chapter 1. Film and Politics: The Hollywood-Washington Connection
Chapter 2. In Search of the Political Film
Chapter 3. Nonfiction Film: Picturing Reality?
Chapter 4. Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang: Hollywood, Sex and Violence
Chapter 5. HUAC and the Blacklist: The Red Scare Comes To Hollywood
Chapter 6. Real to Reel Politicians: Idealists, Saviors and Scoundrels
Chapter 7. Picturing Justice: The Law and Lawyers in Hollywood Films
Chapter 8. Hollywood Goes To War: From the Great War to the Good War to the
Forgotten War
Chapter 9. Remembering Vietnam on Film: Lessons Learned and Forgotten
Chapter 10. Mission Accomplished? Hollywood and the Afghanistan-Iraq War Films
Chapter 11. Hollywood Confronts Nuclear War and Global Terrorism
Chapter 12. Hollywood, Race and Obama: Feel-Good Racism
Chapter 13. Hollywood and Women: Cracks in the Celluloid Ceiling
Chapter 14. Epilogue: Is There a Future for Political Films in Hollywood?
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Selected Filmography
10
Index
11
| ix →
Illustrations
10.1. The Hunt for Osama bin Laden in Zero Dark Thirty, 2012.
Reprinted with permission, Columbia Pictures/Photofest
11.1. Unthinkable, 2010.
Reprinted with permission, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment/Photofest
12.1. The Help, 2011. Maid Octavia Spencer Delivering Her Special Pie to Her Ex-
Employer.
Reprinted with permission, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures/Photofest
13.1. Recreating the Judith Miller-Valerie Plame Affair in Nothing But the Truth, 2008.
12
Reprinted with permission, Yari Film Group/Photofest
13
| xi →
Tables
14
| xiii →
The idea for this book began a long time ago in the imagination of a young
boy whose childhood became entwined with the movies. Little did this kid
know that one day he would be writing on a subject that he loved. The first
edition was printed in 2000 and was a nostalgic journey back in time,
covering Hollywood movies from the silent era up to the millennium. But the
second and third editions were much more critical of the film industry and
the films it produced. The author has continued to find film “the most
creative and interesting” of the arts while his disenchantment with
Hollywood grows. While he applauded the end of censorship and the
creation of a self-regulating classification system as its replacement, he soon
became disenchanted with its application. The movies, it seems, had
abandoned the good stories of the past in favor of gimmicks and special
effects. Hollywood, for whatever reasons, became fascinated with the
technology of the medium, replacing the spoken word with loud noises,
digital filming, and violence that is mind-numbing. True, mainstream
Hollywood has always produced entertainment, but it also told stories that
dealt with social and political issues. Today, those movies are usually left to
the independents. By the third edition, the author was in a state of despair
over the future direction of the industry.
When Peter Lang presented me with another opportunity to revisit the
state of Hollywood, I was hesitant. Could the fourth edition be more
optimistic, offer more hope for those of us who still love the movies? In all
honesty, I had a “book party” after the third edition because I felt, at age 80,
that there might not be another opportunity. But with the re-election of
President Obama in 2012 and with the support of Peter Lang’s editor, Mary
Savigar, I decided that a re-examination of the relationship between
Hollywood, film, and politics was justified. Honestly, I wished that the results
would be less acerbic and more optimistic about the future of the industry.
15
But while there are some favorable developments, the overall tone remains
somewhat pessimistic.
Still, a new edition provides the author with the opportunity to right a
couple of factual mistakes, update new developments, and expand the
breadth of the text. In that regard, the fourth edition divides the subject of
Hollywood’s treatment of minorities and women into two chapters so as to
expand their content and fully develop both topics. The evolution of the wars
in Afghanistan and Iraq since 2010 required substantial changes in that
chapter. The opening and closing chapters are completely new, while the
remaining chapters and the statistical data have been updated.
A new feature of the fourth edition is the eight case studies of films that
warrant special consideration due to their subject matter and content. These
are intended to raise substantial issues and questions that my colleagues
hopefully will use as “talking points” for class discussion. The author accepts
that not every reader will agree with the perspectives and ← xiii | xiv →
views expressed in these in-depth film studies, but I sincerely hope that they
will stimulate interest and possibly serve as class writing projects. Readers
also are invited to visit my blog (ernestgiglio@blogspot.com), where various
film topics are presented.
I am gratified by the faith Peter Lang has shown in my work and I
appreciate the positive comments of my colleagues and their students. I leave
the reader with this parting thought: may you find this edition worthy of your
time.
16
| xv →
Acknowledgments
17
| xvii →
Prologue
President Obama was in the second year of his first term when the third
edition of this book went to press, much too early for even a preliminary
assessment. This edition continues from where the third ended in early 2010
and traces domestic developments and foreign events into the first year of
the president’s second term.
In 2008, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama appeared to
the American public as the patron saint of liberal causes: inclusive and
affordable healthcare, green energy policy, regulation of Wall Street and the
banking sector and a reasonable immigration policy. No wonder his victory
reminded film buffs of Jimmy Stewart’s Boy Ranger idealism and his
inspiring rhetoric in the Hollywood film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington or the
promise of John F. Kennedy’s New Frontier in the 1960s. Obama’s rise to
power couldn’t have been more of a blockbuster if Hollywood had written
the script itself. But the reality of his first term was quite different, with the
president spending much of his time deadlocked with the Republican-
controlled House of Representatives as he sought to implement his campaign
promises. He did manage to secure several stimulus packages to help failing
banks, revitalize the American auto industry, and push through the
Affordable Care Act to reform the nation’s health care system. However,
ObamaCare, as the healthcare law came to be called, would prove to be an
18
expensive achievement in terms of the president’s prestige and political
capital.
19
by Vice President Biden and Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. If the
Hollywood crowd was present, it remained in its seats. Both Ann Romney
and Michelle Obama, at their respective conventions, gave speeches that were
tributes to their husbands. But it was the performance of former President
Bill Clinton that electrified the crowd with a stinging attack on Republican
obstructionism. He made Eastwood’s performance appear amateurish.
Four television debates were scheduled during October, with three
involving the presidential candidates and one the vice presidential candidates.
By consensus, the pundits agreed that Romney had won the first debate on
domestic affairs. He appeared refreshed, confident, and ready for the
challenge. In contrast, the president seemed tired and distracted. Speculators
saw Obama as being ill like Nixon in the first Kennedy-Nixon 1960 televised
debate. The president recovered in the second and third debates, however, by
becoming aggressive. Romney held his ground but Obama out-jabbed him.
The vice presidential debate pitted Biden, a veteran politician, against Paul
Ryan, a younger, less experienced foe. Biden’s objective appeared to be to
unnerve his challenger by bullying the young representative, but Ryan
remained calm despite Biden’s constant interruptions. When the debates
finished and the fact checkers recorded the mistakes, exaggerations,
misinformation, and false accusations, it left the author wondering what, if
anything had been ← xviii | xix → gained. Both candidates were guilty of
trying to misrepresent their opponent’s positions. Add the “dirty tricks”
advertisements by both parties to this mass of erroneous information and
there were few in the country who were unhappy that the election lead-up
was over.
20
victory appear greater than it was, since his popular vote margin was around 2
percent. The closeness of the election is best understood by looking at the
narrow popular vote margins in the important swing states, all won by
Obama: Florida by 0.8 percent, Ohio by 1.9 percent, and Virginia by 3
percent. These three states provided Obama with 60 electorate votes and
sealed his victory.
Table 0.1. 2012 Presidential Election Profile3
Obama Romney
Electoral Vote 332 206
Popular Vote 62,611,250 59,134,475
States Won 27 23
Popular Vote % by Race
White 39 59
People of Color 80 20
Black 93 6
Hispanic 71 27
Asian 73 26
Popular Vote % by Age
18–29 60 37
60+ 45 54
Popular Vote % by Gender
Male 45 52
Female 55 44 ← xix | xx →
Figure 0.1. Obama’s Election Victory: The White, Black, Brown, Yellow and Red House,
election cartoon, 2012. Reprinted with permission, Clay Bennett Editorial Cartoon, the
Washington Post Writers Group and the Cartoonist Group
21
Obama’s narrow margin in the popular vote meant there was no coattails
effect that would enable the Democrats to control the next Congress. While
the Democratic Party continued to hold the Senate, the Republicans emerged
with a firm grip on the lower House of Representatives with a 40-seat
majority. In summary, the election results showed that after the political
parties spent almost $6 billion, the 113th Congress was very much like the
gridlocked 112th in political ideology.
22
midnight showing of Hollywood film The Dark Knight Rises at a Colorado
theater in the summer of 2012, and a third at an elementary school in
Connecticut where a gunman killed 26 people, including 20 children. These
were not unusual incidents, either, as 33 people were killed in eight other
shootings in 2012 ← xx | xxi → alone. These shootings led the president to
propose changes to the country’s gun laws. But anti-gun advocates wondered
why he had not also taken the opportunity to scold Hollywood for the
excessive violence in its movies.4
Meanwhile, Obama had to contend with notable security issues as well.
Terrorist attacks against U.S. citizens occurred in 2013 during the Boston
Marathon when two bombs went off near the finish line, killing three people
and injuring 170 others, and in Ankara, Turkey, where an attack on the U.S.
Embassy killed a Turkish guard and injured a journalist, although no
Americans were hurt.
On the foreign affairs front, both Iran and North Korea proved irksome.
Iran persisted in developing its nuclear weapons program despite Western
sanctions. North Korea continued its belligerent attitude in testing nuclear
weapons in the Sea of Japan as part of its campaign to intimidate South
Korea. In the Middle East, where the Arab Spring was raging, the president
decided against pursuing an aggressive course, refusing to commit U.S. forces
in the Syrian civil war and intervene in Egypt as the military toppled the
elected government. On a positive note, he kept his promise to withdraw
U.S. troops from Iraq and present a drawdown plan for the withdrawal of
American troops from Afghanistan.
After enjoying a scandal-free first term, President Obama’s second term
saw irregularities and improper behavior by the Internal Revenue Service
(IRS) and the National Security Administration (NSA) and an investigation
into the 2012 Benghazi terrorist attack that killed the U.S. ambassador and
three of his staff.
Hollywood, meanwhile, went about its usual business of making films
regardless of the party occupying the White House. And rightly so, as it is
Congress that the film industry must lobby to protect its global interests and
prevent the unlawful piracy of its films. With these interests in mind,
Hollywood hired former U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd (Connecticut) to be
its new leader. Still, there was reason to wonder whether the election of the
first African-American president might not affect the kind of films
Hollywood would make. Would it really be business as usual or would having
Obama in the White House compel the film industry to become sensitive to
minority hiring and racial issues on the big screen? Certainly it seems possible
that Dodd, a fellow Democrat, will hasten the making of a movie about the
first African-American president, either describing his journey into politics or
extolling a legacy still unfinished. The only certainty seems to be that
23
Hollywood’s Obama films will never equal the number made about Abraham
Lincoln, the president’s hero. But then who can ever be sure what will
happen when the real world of politics meets the reel world of Hollywood?
24
|1→
Chapter 1
“Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn’t mean politics won’t take
an interest in you.”
—Pericles, 430 BC
“Film is one of the three universal languages, the other two: mathematics and
music.”
—Filmmaker Frank Capra
In this era of polling and public opinion surveys, suppose the author were to
conduct a word association poll asking random people on the street what
image came to mind when Hollywood was mentioned? Of course, there
would be the usual suspects: entertainment, movies, movie stars, big-budget
epics, and so forth. The author is willing to wager, however, that the word
“politics” is unlikely to come to mind. And the reason is quite simple:
Hollywood wants the public to believe that the industry only makes
entertainment pictures. To be sure, in any given year, 90 to 95 percent of
what comes out of Hollywood is strictly commercial, designed to bring
customers into theaters and make money for the studios and their corporate
25
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
paarsdiepe silhouetten op rossigen, trillenden sneeuwgrond. Lallend
zangden de heesche beest-stemmen. Even van kerels af, die in ’t
vlok-schimmige als bedouïnen-stoet in sneeuw-nacht woelden,—
kwam angst-gekijk [96]van Baanwijkbewoners soms, schuw op
haventje loerend.
—Hak’ker puur op in, krijschte een agent, die lust had te ranselen,
dwars door de dronken bende. Weer volgde van klein troepje
dienders, ’n schijncharge. Achter karren, die schuin opstonden, met
kruk de lucht in, vluchtte weg, donker gestoet van meidentroep naar
wallekant, in angsthaast over glibbervuile loopplank dringend, naar
tuindersboot. Achter kisten en manden uit, striemden steenen, hout
en groentenvuil zwarte streepen door sneeuw-wemel, die als in
stormhoozen weer wegwarrelde in andere richtingen.
Boven alle geweld uit krijschten de stemmen van Rink en Piet, dat
sullie de kerels ’t water in mosten douwen. Plots trokken ze allen,
met brok-scheppen, hooi- en mestvorken,—die ’n paar kerels uit
afslagloods bij ’n pakhuis hadden losgewerkt uit den rommel,—op
het viertallig agentenkringetje af, waar burgervader bleek-strak
midden-in ordonneerde. De agentjes hadden de sabels ingehouen
en de dronken stoet, in brullend gekrijsch en gefluit, drong weer, uit
donkering van besneeuwde handkarren en kisten, in rossigen
schemer van lantaarnlicht, midden op haventje, zwaaiend met
scheppen, steekvorken, rijzenknuppels en boomstronken. Vooraan
gilden dronken meidentronies, sommige woest-bleek beschenen, nat
van sneeuw, met schuimige vlokken op neuzen, wenkbrauwen en
oogranden. De burgervader, voelend dat ie te sterk had ingezet,
schuchterde achteruit, wou ’t z’n klein agentje weer zoetjes laten
bijleggen. Aarzeling was er, die de stoet voelde, want raker en
striemender bonkten steenen, koolstruiken en hand-ingekneusde
sneeuwballen in ’t kringetje, waarvan burgervader mikpunt werd.
Klein agentje trad even weer uit den kring, vlak voor de donkere
woelige bende, kerels die slagschaduwden [98]op lichtschuwen
sneeuwgrond, als wemelende gedrochten uit chineesch
schimmenspel.
—Barst jai, gilde Rink uit, jullie benne begonne.… laileke dood-van-
ganzebord.… jullie sa’k levent f’rbrande.… aa’s we je nie mosse
fille.…
—Smait sain onder de kar, breek se de strot, gierde Rink uit den
stoet.
Een jolige meid duivelde plots vóór agentje, gaf ’m ’n ruk aan z’n
baard, haastig in den donkeren stoet weer wegspringend, die al
meer kwam aandreigen met zwarte harken, vorken en zware
gereedschapbrokken. [99]
Rink zwaaide met ’n ijzeren moker, maar agent je was ’t minst bang
voor hèm. Vlak bij ’m ging ie staan.
—Wees jai nou verstandig Rink, vleide agentje, zeg jai an Hassel
nou, da se goan motte.… jai ben tog de boas hier.…
Allo jonges.… wai saine waiser.… loate wai de vuilike links legge.…
links legge.… wai.… wài.… binne vuilike.… wài.… sài binne ’t.…
sài.…
—Flink soo Rink.… soo is ’t.… goan jullie d’r moar van deur.
Maar Piet wou niet, bleef halstarrig, schold Rink uit voor ’n verrajer,
’n kabboebelaap!.…
—Hou jai je bek.… ik seg moar.… ik seg moar, waggelde Rink er uit,
stomdronken, donkerhoog boven den stoet uitschouderend,—ik seg
moar.… da je.. da je te veul neusiesverf hàt hep.… jài bin dronke.…
f’rdomd!.… dronke!..
De vrouwen wouen niet langer staan in kou en nattigheid.
[100]Telkens scheurde zich ’n groepje af van den stoet, dat lollend en
zingend, onder vermaning van agenten, de haven langsslingerde,
onder boomen door; soms afbrokkelde, dàn weer arm-in-arm haakte,
als donkere schutters in rijen, opmarcheerend naar hoek van
achterhaven, tegen schuwen pakhuizenschemer in, den polderweg
op. En achter hen áán, kreupelden al meer schamele hinkstoetjes,
scharminkels in duister bewustzijn, verkoortst van karnavalshitte,
onmenschelijk en ramp-zwaar geslagen, havenweg áfslingerend;
landloopersellende, verspokend in langzamen schaduwtocht tegen
oneindig donker-schimmige gat van besneeuwde-wei-poldernacht.
—Sien je.… sien je.… jai!.… jai!.… jai-bint ’n fârrike.… sel ’k moar
segge.… moar ik seg.… ik seg.… fierkant wa je bin.…
—F’rsjue Jààn, hai hep t’met nog honger.… schaterde één, met twee
zwarte, ingekneusde sneeuwballen klaar, om te gooien, springend
van lol, alsof ie op gloeiende platen te dansen stond.
Nou was ie half-lam, z’n eenige jongen, waar ie van hield, ’t eenige
dat ’m thuis deed komen. Ingebukt van zorg-gedachten, wààr wat
vreten te krijgen, bleef ie staan, voelend z’n lijfkracht als iets dat ’m
hinderde, iets te véél, waar ie in ruil voor brood, wel van af wou. En
duizelig, van weeïge leegte en knaag-jeuk in z’n maag, vloekte ie in
stille hevigheid, dat ie geen geld had voor kogels, dat ie nou samen
d’r op uit most om te stroopen, met lui, lui, die ie verwenschte, ’t
stroopen dat ie haatte, schrikkelijk diep, waarvan ie ’n walg, ’n afkeer
had, gloeiend en onzeggelijk diep, al dachten ze allemaal, dat ’t z’n
grootste lol was.
Even staan bleef ie weer, met z’n oogen doelloos de grijze lucht
instarend. Grauw drukte laag-zwaar de lucht op de tuintjes en
huisjes, droef gewolk. In wittige donzing weggevlokt blankten de
dakjes en gevels. Ingewarmd, in sneeuw, lag stil-vochtig, veilig,
bourgeoisstraatje nu voor ’m, met de knussige bepoetste huisjes. De
tuintjes er voor, wit besproeid; sierdennetjes en heesters, wit-stil, ’t
groen verborgen, kromgekronkeld onder blinkend-stekende
sneeuwvracht. En overal, in zij-wijkjes en Beekstraat langs,
besneeuwd gepui van kleine huisjes, wit gedak, met zwarte en
rooiige pannen-uitpunting, droef-mooi winterstraatje, scherp-blank in
grauwlucht, vreemd uitblijend in sneeuwpronk van winterigen
treurdag.
—Debies! zei kort-strak Kees met diepe basstem, vol en trillend, die
naklonk ’t zijstraatje in.
—Niks om hande? vroeg Westerling, wel wetend, dat Kees niks had.
Geen antwoord gaf ie, voelend ’t leutervraagje van den kerel.
Kees was ’n zij straatje ingeklost en Westerling liep recht uit, z’n slee
slingerend op glibberbaantjes over platgeloopen sneeuw. Op ’t
Kloosterpad kreunden krotjes, droeviger, wrakker verweerd, als
beschimmelde hondenhokken, wegdonkerend tusschen
spleetweggetjes, waar nieuwe krotjes-kronkel weer
doorheenschroefde, uitloopend op sombere hoog-donkere
schuttingen, om moestuinen der heerenhuizen van Baanwijk. Soms
rammelde in de dorre gangetjes-grauwte ’n luikje, bleek-blauw,
pastellig kleur-teer, met scharnierpiepjes krijschend; en kledderde
[108]vaal ’n kindje, met vuile voetjes in moddersneeuw, gretig uit z’n
klomp water opzuigend, telkens vullend weer, in zwak bonzenden
slinger aan de pomp,—grauw brok steen, er staand als groenig-
bemorst voetstuk van vergruizeld standbeeld.
—Hier Mie, neem die helhake effe bai je!.… d’r valle puur klappe
aa’s foàder t’met komp.… werm jai flesch effies.… Ko!.… kristus
Hassel, se moake main puur daas.… geloof je?.…
Nou weer, in z’n loop naar huis, langs al die winkeltjes met heiligen-
beeldjes.… Nee hij kon er niet om lachen zooals [111]anderen deeën,
hoonspottend, en gluiperig toch tegen katholieken. Eén
woedestroom kwam er door z’n reuzeknuisten gloeien, in
brandenden lust om den boel rinkelend tot gruizel te hameren, met
z’n marmeren haat-vuist, om al dat laffe spul tot pulver te hakken en
te blazen als stuivende kalk in de oogen van paapsche bedotters.
Wat ie was voor zichzelf wist ie niet, kon ’m geen zier schelen. Niks
braaf, niks goed was d’r an ’m.… Maar huichelen en liegen dee ie
nooit. Hij leefde om te ploeteren en te vreten. Met z’n merakelswijf
was ie nou eenmaal getrouwd. Daar zat ie nou met z’n nest van
negen. Nou, nòu eerst begreep ie, in woeste helderheid, waarom z’n
vrouw, die eerst toch, als meisje van ’m gehouen had, ’m nou
verafschuwde en altijd toch maar lief gebleven was. Nou zag ie ’t; de
pastoors, de biechtvader, die werkten er achter; die hadden ’r
opgestookt! Kinderen! kinderen! Alle vrouwe moste d’r hebbe,
zooveul aa’s maar kon, dàn weer meer zieltjes voor de kerk! Zoo
was ie met z’n stommen kop erin geloopen! Maar nou, nou was ’t
vàst uit. Geen poot wou die d’r in d’r leve meer anrake! Geen poot!
Daar zat ie met nege kooters en ’n vervloekt behekst wijf.… geen
cent, geen werk. Wat ’n stommeling ie was! Daar had ze’m in goeie
luim, nog gesmeekt, d’r vader en moeder in huis te nemen; dat ouë
wijf Rams dat altijd schold op den Ouën Gerrit en zijn suffe
moeder.… Wat ’n stomme kop, dat ie zoo iets had goed gevonden.
D’r uit most ie ze trappe!.… hààr ’t eerst, dat ouë kreng.… die heulde
en stookte met den pastoor, en venijnde tegen hem, met den
biechtvader van Wimpie. Waarom niet ging ze bij d’r andere dochter
hokke in den polder?.… die had toch te vrete?.… Maar die wou dien
ouë boerehommel van d’r man niet.… hee?.… Nou zag ie, met z’n
stomme beroerde kop, dat ie zich had late neme! Dat monster, dat
oud k’nijn.… dat in d’r kippige ellende, ieder in z’n gebeente
vervloekte, die niet van d’r g’loof gediend was. Dàt was heelegaar ’n
helhaak, ’n heks, die hij om ’r afgrijselijke streken d’r schedel met lol
kon splijten, in één mep. Wat ’n boeven in huis, die half lamme, zieke
beroerling van ’n dooie [112]vent Rams met z’n roggelhoest en dàt
half-blinde wijf.… En zoo moest hij, hij toelaten, dat z’n kinderen
knielden voor malle beeldjes, dat ze gebeden blerden, dat alles daar
inroestte, katholiek-gemeen, haatdragend en venijn-barstend tegen
ander geloof, tegen zijn geloof, waar ie toch ook geen duit voor gaf.
Dat had ze ’m bij d’r trouwen nog wel gezeid. Wat had ze dan toch in
d’r snoet gehad, dat ze ’m zoo had weten te beheksen? Ja, ’n knap
wijf was ze geweest.… Dondersjuw, wat ’n heete!.… Wat had ze ’m
angehaald.… Maar bij ’t trouwen mosten àl de kindertjes katteliek.
Wat ’n botterik ie toch geweest was. Zoo had ie maar toegestemd,
blij dat ie ’r hebben mocht. En nou ’n heele keet vol, met hatelijkst
gezeur, dat ’r voor ’m te hooren was, voelde ie z’n kinderzootje als ’n
vreemde bent, ’n troepje wezentjes, van ’m vergroeien vervreemden,
volgepropt met „onze-vaders” en „wees-gegroets”..
Eén zoontje had ie, naast acht meiden, die ’m weinig konden
schelen. Maar van ’t jongetje hield ie ràzend. Daar kon ie niet af.
Daar dacht ie altijd an. Dat was iets in ’m van warm geluk, van
brandend verlangen, zonder dat ie ’t zelf goed wist. Eén wild-hevig
begeeren voor dat kindje, om het te zien, te verzorgen, te koesteren.
Toch, in z’n rauw stil hongerleven, weggegroeid van àlle teederheid,
wist ie ’t bestaan van die woorden niet, had ie geen naam om die
drang-gevoelens te zeggen, gingen ze dóór ’m, als ’n stroom van
snikkende pijnsmart, soms méé in de bloed-rauwe hitte, ’t geweld en
leef-stompheid van al z’n andere driften, van al z’n andere instinkten,
die zijn bestaan wegvraten. Hij wist niet wàt koesteren, verlangen,
liefhebben was. Nooit had ie die woorden gehoord en als ie ze
gehoord had, waren ze’m voorbijgeklankt onbegrepen, [113]als zoo
véél gepraat. Maar wààr ie was, dàt gevoel voor z’n ziek kereltje,
kwam in ’m droeven en knagen, als iets heel smartelijks, zóó dat hij,
de zwijgende arme schooier, onverschillig en beroerd, voor geen
duivel of dood wijkend, dat hij huilen kon van binnen, om de ellende