Region of Fawners
Europe dignifies trashy American celebs.
BY BENJAMIN IVRY
Tuesday, June 24, 2003 12:01 a.m. EDT
URL:http://www.opinionjournal.com/la/?id=110003665
American rock star Iggy Pop is known as "The Rock Iguana" and "Grandfather of Punk." But as of last Saturday, to the French the 56-year-old is Officer of Arts and Letters. Officer Iggy was decorated over the weekend by the French Ministry of Culture, which formerly decorated such cultural notables as rocker Lou Reed, who wrote a hymn to "Heroin," Sylvester Stallone and Jackie Chan. As for Jerry Lewis, he outranks all of the above, of course, having been named a Commander of Arts and Letters by Socialist Culture Minister Jack Lang back in 1984.
Time was when Mr. Lang enjoyed pinning decorations on celebs who seemed trendy in France if amazingly low-rent in America, but there is no sign that the current French culture minister, Jean-Jacques Aillagon, is a groupie of Iggy, whose greatest-hits album on Virgin is aptly titled "Nude & Rude: The Best of Iggy Pop." Among the Officer's best-remembered tunes are "Nazi Girlfriend" and the 1970s punk anthem "I Wanna Be Your Dog":
So messed up I want you here
In my room I want you here
Now we're gonna be Face-to-face
And I'll lay right down in my favorite place
And now I wanna be your dog
Now I wanna be your dog
Now I wanna be your dog
Well c'mon
Born James Jewel Osterberg in Michigan, Iggy Pop is notorious for his onstage antics, in which nudity and occasional self-mutilation with razor blades have played a major role, all of which apparently play well in France, as well as his immodest statements, like "I'm better than a Pepsi, I'm cooler than MTV." A genuine hell-raiser, he is given credit as having inspired other pop stars, notably David Bowie.
But is this contribution really enough to merit honors from the French Ministry of Culture? Even the left-tending newspaper Libération expressed some doubts, headlining the story, "Iggy Pop Has Been Chirac-ized. The Deviant Hard Rocker Is Decorated by Arts and Letters. Is It a Joke?" Still, the article expressed sneaking admiration for the rocker's reputation as a "sonic Nijinsky, escorted by groups of delinquents worthy of Jean Genet."
Iggy's kudos appear to be utterly serious, as part of an attempt to seem as cool as possible. The further out of style a ministry is, the more it must stretch to "get game," and incongruous results are almost guaranteed.
The problem is not uniquely French. Denmark is beginning to trumpet as a big tourist event for 2005 the bicentennial of fairytale author Hans Christian Andersen. Danish Crown Prince Frederik appointed "Hans Christian Andersen Ambassadors" whose duty, it appears, is to publicize the events. They include such contributors to Danish culture as rock singer Suzanne Vega, actor Harvey Keitel, actress Susan Sarandon, and the retired soccer star Pelé.
Although it may be argued that Iggy Pop possibly has more to do with arts and letters than Pelé does with Hans Christian Andersen, the fact remains that celebrities are seen differently abroad than at home. A recent case in point is the French Ministry of Tourism's decision to have Woody Allen appear in commercials touting France for travelers, which grossed out some observers. As the New Orleans Times-Picayune asked, "Why him? Roman Polanski wasn't available?"
To date, Mr. Allen seems to have escaped being decorated, but it seems only a matter of time. After all, Polanski, who pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl and is a fugitive from American justice, is not only a Commander of Arts and Letters but since 1998 a member of France's prestigious Académie des Beaux-Arts, where he took the place of the legendary filmmaker Marcel Carné, who directed such masterpieces as "Les Enfants du Paradis." In addition to a certain tone-deafness about a creative personality's actual work, the French proudly ignore the private lives of their cultural personalities.
The famed writer André Gide (1869-1950) has had dozens of lycées named after him in France, despite being a notorious pederast who was thrown out of his own lycée in Paris as a youngster for masturbating repeatedly in class. The even more debauched poet Paul Verlaine (1844-96) has the unusual honor of having a public swimming pool named after him in Paris. But Gide and Verlaine were both lastingly great writers, whereas when Iggy Pop's razor blades are rusty and his ligaments too creaky for him to be anyone's dog, one wonders how this latest gesture of the French ministry will look. |
