Radical Book Fair, Conway Hall, London

Well, well - Saturday 11th May 2013 proved to be quite some day for us (well, for Glenn, Alexander and I it did).

Firstly, it was off to get a mower mended - Alex's first mower and him wanting to keep it no matter what (but heavens - got to stop the petrol leak - hence the visit to the shop!).

Then, tea, food and chat in the cafe of the garden shop. Talking about Thomas Paine, Edmund Burke, Mary Wollstonecraft and Roger Scruton. Also, fitting this in with both the Tories search for an ideological base (see Roger Scruton's article in 'The Guardian' of 11th May 2013 -
http://www.amazon.co.uk//gp/css/summary/edit.html/?orderID=026-6098229-2509152)
and Gregory currently studying about the Enlightenment period.

Next, Alex and I go off to the Radical Book Fair at Conway Hall, London  - see http://www.artrabbit.com/all/events/event/38821/london_radical_bookfair
(whilst Glenn sadly had to return, for now, to being a marking machine).

Now, what made us decide to go to this? Well, it was Alex looking at the results of the recent local elections in the shires, and the disturbing inroads being made by UKIP (UK Independence Party) and the far right. 'Whatever has happened to the left?' Alex asked. Is there no 'left' left at all? (excuse the irresistible pun). This concerned us on a number of fronts:

1. The actual state of the left.
2. That Alex 'felt' this even though he has us as parents, telling him so much about what is going on, on the left (even though we are obviously very disappointed with the general trend).
3. The power of the media, which is controlled by the dominant, ruling class, which has not only been very successful in helping to put the right in the powerful place that they are now in, but also into manipulating people's minds into thinking that the 'right' is even more powerful and successful than it actually is! And so it all starts to become a self-fulfilling prophesy. No point in getting involved in the left, because there is nothing left worth getting involved with. So, just accept the right-wing agenda and that way of life. So it goes.

So, anyway, the decision was made - we would go to the Radical Book Fair. And what a wise decision that proved to be, and is something that we can now very much build on in a positive way.

The Radical Book Fair. Wow - it was great. Lots of stalls, lots of people, lots of books and some nice, wholesome food. We have been to the Anarchist Book Fair (in fact, Glenn and I went there with friends Elaine and Richard a few years ago) but the Radical Book Fair - that was something new and it was even better.Yes, it was great - bringing the various strands on the left and critical thinkers together: socialists, left labour, anarchists, communists, feminists, critical thinkers etc etc..

On arrival I bumped into Andrew Coburn, from Essex libraries. I got to know Andrew through the Library Campaign which he ran - trying to protect and enhance public libraries and all that. But of course, things aren't looking good on the public library front, but we can return to that another time.

Next - to look at the book stalls. Right by the door - Newham Bookshop bookstall. And what do we find? A book by Martin Hoyles. So what, you might well ask? Who is that? 'Could he be the same person?', I asked myself, I checked the bio info at the back of the book. Yes, it was the same person. My A' Level English Literature teacher from school! Wow!

Now, Martin Hoyles was very inspirational for me in my formative teenage years. Well, we studied D. H. Lawrence's 'Sons and Lovers' with him and it was Martin Hoyles that told us that Lawrence had been influenced by Nietzsche. And it was Martin Hoyles that got us to see Ken Russell's film of 'Women in Love'. And it was Martin Hoyles that got us to go to the Greenwich Theatre and see great plays such as 'The Doll's House' and 'The Cherry Orchard'. And it was Martin Hoyles that got us to see and view English Literature in a good way; enjoying it; thinking for ourselves; engaging with it. Not just digesting text and critics in order to feed it back to the examiners, thereby risking losing our own minds and our enthusiasm. This was so important to me; as fiction has always been such a love of my life. To have that messed up and destroyed by straight-jacket study methods and techniques would have been dreadful. And so, in this way, Martin Hoyles was a great saviour for me.

So, anyway, here was this book by him, on the Chartist Movement.The book is entitled: 'William Cuffay: the life and times of a Chartist leader' (Hansib, 2013). Well, our friend Dave Black has also written a book about the Chartists, so this became a 'must-buy'.  I wonder if they have met up or if we could arrange for them to meet up, I thought to myself?

So, purchase No. 1.

Purchase No. 2? One for Glenn - a book with a picture of a boy with a gun on the cover, with the title 'How I killed Margaret Thatcher' . The book was by Anthony Cartwright and published with Tindal Street Press, 2013. A work of fiction. Another 'must buy'. Something for Glenn to read after 'The Game of Thrones' - yes, all 7 of them, so will take him some time. Perhaps, Alex might want to read it too.

Purchase No. 3 -  a DVD each of the excellent film 'The Spirit of '45' (http://www.thespiritof45.com/), directed by Ken Loach. Glenn and I saw it at the cinema recently. Gregory also recommended it. Perhaps, this film can do what the left politicians seem unable to do these days - i.e. engage and move people, to work towards a better and a kinder world (rather than a worse and a crueller world). Ken Loach the director of great films, such as 'Cathy Come Home' and ''Kes'. Everyone should watch 'The Spirit of '45' in my view, (bar the ruling class and the enemy - see information about 'What we are fighting for' talk below). Not that we can stop the opposition from knowing what we are up to in that way, but still...

The film showed how the NHS was set up following the Labour landslide after the 2nd World War; and how many of the other state-provisions came into being - e.g. council housing, railways. After people fought for their country and following on from all the death, misery and suffering that people went through, and how brave they had been for their country, something had to be done (or else there might have been riot and revolution). And so the state intervened and did all these wonderful things for the ordinary people. And then Thatcher gets into power, and ever since then, all this good work is being systematically undermined and dismantled. This was what the film showed so clearly. It brought tears to my eyes.

Then, decided - enough purchases for now. Let's look round the stalls. Great variety - Housmans, Virso, Zero, Feminist Library etc etc. Picked up various leaflets.

We missed some of the talks as we got there late, but no matter - 'just enjoy the day'.

Next on the agenda - a talk about Children's Radical Publishing. Excellent. 2 childrens' authors talking about 2 books that they had recently written and published.

Jeanne Willis on 'Wild Child', published by Walker, 2012 - see http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wild-Child-Jeanne-Willis/dp/140632308X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368862854&sr=8-1&keywords=jeanne+willis+and+wild+child

Sarah Garland on 'Azzi in Between', published by Frances Lincoln Children's Books, 2012 - see http://www.amazon.co.uk/Azzi-Between-Sarah-Garland/dp/1847802613/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1368862964&sr=1-1&keywords=sarah+garland+and+azzi+in+between.

Both books were entered for the Children's Radical Book Prize at the fair. Sarah Garland's book won.

In regard to the talks, Jeanne Willis spoke first. She has over 200 books published. Jeanne spoke about and read her latest book, a picture book called 'Wild Child'. It was wonderful. About a child that was able to go off to play and wander all day in the countryside. Jeanne spoke about how she was able to do this with her sister when they were children and how today children are often not allowed/not able to 'run wild' in this way. There is now this great concern with 'safety'. And children are being turned more and more into consumers at ever younger ages.

Whilst  'Azzi  in between' focuses on the topic of refugees trying to integrate into the community and the difficulties they face. As it says on the publicity flyer for the book:

"Escaping from her home in a war zone, Azzi has to leave her Grandma behind and embark on a long and difficult journey by land and sea to the safety of a new country. Here, everything is strange to her. How can Azzi learn a new language? How can she make friends at her new school? Will she ever see her Grandma again?"

The book is in a graphic format, thereby making it available to a wider range of ages. Sarah Garland drew the pictures herself.

The talks were followed by questions and comments from the floor. A lady who had recently completed a PhD on children's literature asked a very interesting question. She made the point that the authors were adults, aiming to look at the world through the eyes of children. She said that all that was fine, but wondered what the authors thought to the idea of children getting more involved; with children's thoughts and ideas being valued in this way. The 2 authors seemed to be struggling with this one, so I then suggested the possibility that gifted children could work with adult authors such as themselves, but that this can be very difficult as publishers need to get material published as quickly and efficiently as possible, in order to enhance their profit margins.  I was thinking here, in particular, about Victor growing up, being encouraged by his teacher to publish and so much wanting to do it; putting so much effort into it, but how we were not able to achieve it on our own. Jeanne Willis said that if a gifted 9/10 year old contacts her she provides them with information about how to get their stories published, so everything is fine. They can become successful writers; no worries and all that. But I think that Jeanne is being rather romantic here. For most children, it is a lot more complicated and more difficult than that. Perhaps, Jeanne has not come against the rawity of capitalism in the way that we have!

I wanted to say something about Jeanne's book; how wonderful it is but how it is much more difficult for urban children to be able to wander off all day and have these wonderful adventures. I also thought about Glenn and D. H. Lawrence who were bought up by or near the countryside and were able to wander off like this as children and enjoy all the plants, flowers and wildlife etc. Whilst, as an urban child, I was much more confined and could not have such great adventures. Although, I did play in the street - skipping, 2 balls, he, hop-scotch etc. And so I turned to my story books. But I never got to say that in the end; oh well, not to worry.

Next talk: ' What we are fighting for'. This was 4 men talking about their recently published book 'What we are fighting for: a radical collective manifesto', edited by Federico Campagna and Emanuele Campiglio (Pluto Press, 2012). This was also excellent. So much so, that one person at the end of Federico Campagna's talk said that he had been waiting to hear something like that from the left for 30 years. Wow! So what was so important and significant about this? It was the tone of the deliveries, in particular, with the emphasis being on how to defeat the right.

Federico Campagna made it clear that he thought that we were in a War, but that the left do not realise this enough. Thatcher realised this, which was why she was so successful. The left, on the other hand, are too concerned with being tolerant, considerate and peaceful.

Now, whilst we must obviously be against capitalist and imperialist wars, this should not lead us to being against the idea of war in general, he said, when it comes to thinking strategically (as opposed to actually using weapons and killing people).  But Victory is what we are after; and the aim is to win; it is not just about a beautiful gesture. The enemy - is someone that has to be defeated. This does not mean that, as individuals they might not be nice people; but one has to differentiate between individual people's personalities, and what side they are actually on/representing.

Also, that we need to be fully aware of the fact that the 'right' have control of 'reality engineering', with PR, advertising, tabloids, TV etc., so they have so much stacked up in their favour in this way. So, we need to know what we are up against.

In addition, we sometimes need strategic disengagement, to enable the left to set longer term goals. Thus, a multiplicity of strands is needed, and different terrains. One man said, for example, that he saw the SWP as his ally but not his comrade. Also, how we are often complicit in our own subjection to power. And that if we can't protect our own Labour party how ever can we defeat capitalism? I thought this was a very good point; well, they were all good points. So, we need a different strategy. The left also needs to work together through the different strands, focus on attacking the actual enemy, with the aim of winning and victory, rather than the left having in-fighting amongst itself. In contrast, 'resistance' is no good as an aim; it just means that one is resisting dying. Something far more positive is needed. We thought it was all really good and very much got to the heart of the matter.

Unfortunately, the session over-run, so there was no time for questions and comments. But Gayle Chester, from the Feminist Library, and acting as Chair, made a closing comment though, which I thought was very unfortunate, to say the least. She asked where the women's voice was; now, as far as I am concerned, this once again, is dividing the left; the very thing that the editors and writers of the book were aiming to overcome. Oh well, such is life.

The contributors in the book include Owen Jones, David Graeber, John Holloway, Nina Power, Mark Fisher, Franco Bifo Berardi and Marina Sitrin.

Then, on to the book prizes. Nina Power was one of the judges. Now, Glenn told me to look out for her and her book, 'One Dimensional Woman' (Zero Books, 2009). She is also a Philosophy lecturer. We wanted to buy this book, and also 'What we are fighting for' - but both were sold out at the fair! Wow - shows how popular they are. I did talk to someone, though, that runs 'The Fuse Book Club', a monthly book club on left non-fiction works, held at Housmans Bookshop. So, perhaps, will get involved with that. Looks interesting, but have to see.

So, all in all, what a great day. We had a bite to eat. What next? We didn't just want to go home. It had been such a wonderful day.

So, what next? Go and watch a film? Go and see a play? Go and see a musical? We wandered round. We went in the Arts Theatre at Leicester Square for a tea. Should we see the play, a love story, that was on there? Alex thought not; he wanted something that had more fire in its belly; preferably something that exposed some of the horror of capitalism. We ended up at Piccadilly Circus. Noticed that 'The Place Beyond the Pines' was still on in one of the cinemas. I told Alexander that Glenn said it would be a good film. We knew nothing much about it; but we went for it - purely going on Glenn's recommendation (not that he had seen it - he was just going on the reviews). But what a winner it turned out to be. It was sensational; it was amazing. Addressing class issues; addressing police corruption issues; addressing the 'Eternal Return of the Same' issues. I would certainly really recommend it. It stars Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes and Ray Liotta. See:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/movie/146649/place-beyond-the-pines

Came home tired but very satisfied and happy and gave the various goodies to Glenn.

P.S. A few days later, I could not resist it - I had to read 'How I killed Margaret Thatcher' by Anthony Cartwright. A very good book, although not quite what I had been expecting. The story was told through the eyes of a 9-year old boy. The author was born in 1973, so I suspect that what he was describing was the type of Thatcher-world that he saw as he was growing up as a boy. Co-incidentally, Anthony Cartwright has also worked as an English teacher in schools in East London.

Take this great paragraph as an example from the book, following on from the boy Sean talking about Thatcher taking away the school milk:

"She must really hate us, I think. You can see if you watch her on telly or even if you hear her voice coming out of the radio that we make her angry. At least, someone makes her angry. Even when she said that Saint Francis stuff, it was like she was telling everyone off. Things are getting out of hand. She wants to stop people going to work, let all the factories close. That's what my grandad says. I want to know why. I don't know what we've done to upset her, but we've done something. If we know why she's angry maybe we can stop her." (p. 86)

The whole book also got me thinking; why did she so much want to destroy various communities - close factories, shut down industries, force pubs and libraries to close in villages etc? And why did she and do the Tories want to make ordinary people pay for their health care and schooling etc? I thought it was just that they did not care about the ordinary people; were not bothered about what happened to them, as their concern is with defending the interest of their own class. But perhaps there is more to it than that.

Perhaps, Thatcher thought that there were just TOO MANY ordinary people; TOO MANY working class people. Sir Keith Joseph said, at the time, that ordinary people were breeding too much; perhaps, we should take his words more literally.

So, what has happened is that ordinary people and communities have died and are dying through neglect; and this will increase now that the National Health Service no longer formally exists (as from 1st April of this year) and private capital starts to make more and more inroads into the NHS. Then, it will be - do or die; pay or die. So, just how different was Margaret Thatcher from Adolf Hitler, one might start to wonder? Is it just another way of getting rid of unwanted people? What a scary thought. But coming back to 'What we are fighting for', if one has a clearer idea about what the enemy is about, what strategies it is using, and what its long-term goal is, then one is better armed, and more able to defeat the enemy.

'How I killed Margaret Thatcher' is definitely a book that I would recommend.

The Never Ending Story

What is this about? The Never Ending Story?

Well, this is a film that I re-watched with our middle son, Victor Rikowski, over the Easter period (at Victor's suggeestion). This is one of Victor's favourite films, and indeed, it is one of my favourites too. Victor was given this by his Auntie Julie, when he was quite young (about 8 years old). But even more surprising is the fact that Glenn took Alexander to see it in the cinema in Cromer, Norfolk when he was only about 6 years old. At the time, they thought it was a bit strange. Victor, Gregory and I watched it later on (when we got the video from Aunt Julie), and we all really liked it. Well, Victor and I really loved it, in fact! And now, we have just re-watched it.

So, what is this film about? And what is so special about it? Well, it is about the land of Fantasia. And this land is only kept alive by children's imagination. But the land is dying, the people are dying, the different species are dying; the emptiness is threatening the world of imagination, and the 'Nothing' is taking over. This is because children's imagination is dying. They are being turned into consumers at ever younger ages, of course. This was not stated explicitly, but the message is there implicitly.

The film opens with a young boy, Bastian, being bullied. He escapes by going into a book shop. The man running the bookshop is reading a book, but tells him that it is not for the boy; that it is no ordinary book. That, of course, is 'The Never Ending Story'. The boy runs off with the book. He gets very absorbed in it; he seems to become part of it. How easily I could relate to that! Getting away from bullies, and into a book instead!

Meanwhile, in the story we have the boy child, Atreyu (the other side of Bastian) that is on a mission to save Fantasia; a young Artistic Warrior one could say.

I thought of Nietzsche and his ideas around the übermensch, the overman, the superman and all that. Yes, I have suddenly started pouring myself into the ideas of Frederick Nietzsche and I am really fascinated by it all! I got it wrong; I have been unfair on him. But then again, it is all so complex. Whilst now, Victor has turned right away from him. Oh well - such is life! These great geniuses and thinkers move and shake us in all sorts of ways. But they are where it is at - that is the most important thing to remember, in my view. The great books, the great thinkers, the great writers, the great artists: those people that want to transcend and indeed, are often driven to transcend, every day reality.

Such people take us on to another plane; they take us on to another level; another way of thinking, being and existing. And I am part of that. I have always been a part of that. But I have not had many of the advantages that many of the greats have had, so I am not being taken as seriously. Nietzsche had a very tough life in many ways and he was, indeed, very courageous, and he broke through so many boundaries and said just so much that others would not dare to say. Well, never dare to think, let alone say and write. But he did have the advantage of being a Professor at a young age, which gave him a head start, in terms of confidence and getting taken seriously (D. H. Lawrence was the same here). But anyway, we all find our own way and I am finding mine. But I do also think that women have to be more careful and cover themselves more (and those from less privileged backgrounds even more so). If a woman wrote as Nietzsche did she would almost certainly be accused of being head-strong, prejudicial, irrational etc. etc. And a woman is also more vulnerable to such attacks, because at the end of the day, most women are physically weaker than men. But anyway, we all find our own way, which is what Nietzsche wanted. And so, as I say, I am finding my own way.

Coming back to the Overman, this is what Nimrod Aloni says in his great book 'Beyond Nihilism' about Nietzsche's overman:

"...the overman stands as the materialisation of the theme that the primary element through which life grows in value or attains power is neither knowledge nor morality, but the creative form-giving, value-assigning, meaning-introducing human enterprise. In other words, in the doctrine of the overman Nietzsche associates the enhancement of life, the elevation of man, and man's metaphysical destiny with a self-determining creative process that is dominated by the will to power, manifested in the introduction of ever-new forms of patterning experience, and continually aiming to surpass and perfect its prevailing state of being." (Aloni, 1991, p. 176)

So, we have the creative outlet driven forward by the 'will to power'.

Then, a little later, and very near the end of the book, Aloni says:

"Nietzsche places the highest value on continual self-overcoming through the spiritualization and creative employment of the passions, identifying man's highest form of self-affirmation with 'the power of creating beyond oneself ' without losing oneself." (Aloni, 1991, p. 185)

Thus, self-overcoming; taking hold of one's life; 'going for life' etc.

Also, the 'Nothing', from an adult perspective, can be associated with Nietzsche. A nihilist state (which could be equated with 'the nothing') that Nietzsche thought had to be reached and recognised in order to then overcome it and move beyond it. Reject Christian morality, reject conformist value systems, all of which leads to sickness in humankind: 'God is dead' (Nietzsche). And so we then have a state of nihilism. Then, the overman can create a new set of values, 'a revaluation of the previous values'  (Nietzsche) and so the 'nothing' is overcome. This is one adult way in which 'The Never Ending Story' could be developed and built on.

Children, on their own, cannot overcome nihilism. The fear is that if it was all just left to children, then barbarism might well take a hold and take over instead (e.g. Golding's 'Lord of the Flies'). It is all too dangerous, and too much left to chance. So, we need to find another way; an adult way but one that is inspiring, fulfilling, creative (and not where the adult lives in an alienated and sick state). But this would build on the power and beauty of children's imagination; of taking adults when they were imaginative children and building on this.  Able, gifted and fortunate children that are able to develop creatively and imaginatively.

But Atreyu, as a child is using the force of his personality, his strong beliefs, his courage and his bravery to try to find the Empress and to call forth Bastian in order to defeat 'the nothing' and to save Fantasia. And of course, in a story it is possible; well anything is possible in stories and in one's imagination. Also, these are very courageous and different young people of course (or the same person, but we won't go into that one here). And if stories and fiction writing in general can help to enrich our real lives, and be real lights to us in the process about how to live more fulfilling lives, so much the better. But we need more than that; we need to put it into an adult context.

And then we have these incredibly wise words from Karl Löwith, in his good book Nietzsche's Philosophy of the Eternal Recurrence of the Same. He says:

"The teaching of the eternal recurrence repeats The Birth of Tragedy and makes possible the 'revaluation of all values' that follows, because this teaching pertains in its principle not to just any single value but to the now problematic 'value of existence' as such and as a whole: the reversal of the will to the nothing of nihilism, into the willing of the Being of the eternal recurrence of the same." (Löwith, 1997, p. 26)

Yes, a 'revaluation of all values', to overcome nihilism; to overcome 'the nothing'.
Also:

"To Hegel the death of God is the abyss of the nothing into which all Being sinks, in order to emerge anew in the movement of becoming." (Löwith, 1997, p. 39)

Yes, becoming and:

"A superhuman will of the man of the future, a will that creates itself and the world as its own, takes the place of God, who creates Being out of nothing." (Löwith, 1997, p.43)

And so again, we have Nietzsche's notion of the 'will to power'.

In general, I wasn't understanding Nietzsche before - well I never studied him formally. And I had got caught up in the hype with the right-wing and fascist propaganda, his many 'anti-women' remarks, the madness, the post-modernists taking him up (seen to be their godfather) and much else besides.

But Glenn and Victor's persistence and enthusiasm with Nietzsche over many years made me think that there must be something important in it all and that I should really try to get to grips with some of it. Also, then, there is my own personal love of D. H. Lawrence who was heavily influenced by Nietzsche of course. And so, this is what I have been turning my attention to of late. And in some strange way, things seem to be fitting together. And I now realise what a genius Nietzsche was.

But how could a child achieve so much? How could any child, on his/her own, save Fantasia? Well, you could argue that, of course, she/he could simply because she/he is a child, and it is a childlike world that he/she is trying to save - the world of children's imagination. So, if children have a strong enough and powerful enough imagination (which Bastian clearly did) then Fantasia can be saved. But one can take this a step further; and indeed, I think it should be taken further. That society, in many ways, tries to force us to be in the supposed 'real world'. Working and functioning in capitalism; being both producers and consumers. And only using our imagination where it fits in with capitalism; such as going to the movies, and spending money, but not getting too sucked into it all, as we need to go out and labour in capitalism again. But this is not good for us. We need our imagination; we need our fantasies; we have to escape from the real world; we have to get beyond day-to-day reality in many ways. And so we do. And so the contradictions continue.

But can all this be really achieved by a child? Well, clearly not. And that perhaps is where the confusion comes in. Perhaps, Victor thought that, in some way, he could achieve it. That would make sense, with his enthusiasm for Nietzsche. That as a child; then as a teenager; then as a young adult, he could have some big impact on the world creatively and artistically. Well, one can in various ways of course, but it is very hit and miss and it is very difficult to make a real and lasting impact. It is still something worth striving for though, as it makes life worth living. Also, it means that one is sharing one's gifts, one's work, one's creative output, one's ideas etc. with others, and thus hopefully helping to enrich the world in general in some way. Or at least, that is a good aim, I think.

And that is one way where we can go wrong with the geniuses; with the greats. We can expect too much from them. They are only human, when all is said and done. We should appreciate the fact that they give so much to the world. And so with Nietzsche - his work 'blows one's mind' and can, on one level, seem contradictory - or far worse of course. But we should appreciate the fact that he was trying to find a different way to live, and challenging conventional wisdoms. To such an extent that in the end he went, mad of course. Well, enough said on that one, for now. We also need to bear in mind that life is quite short, so any one person, any one genius, can only ever do so much. Nietzsche can't sort everything out; Marx can't sort everything out; D. H. Lawrence can't sort everything out. And on top of all of that, they had so many prejudices against them, as applies to so many great thinkers, movers and shakers.

So, coming back to Victor, he decided that it was all dangerous nonsense (after reading Geoff Waite's book Nietzsche's Corpse); and currently he has no time much for the notion of the 'Artistic Warrior' or Nietszchien-type stuff in general. Oh well! I was certainly very much against Nietzsche at one time, so who am I to talk? And I still can't really read much of Nietzsche's raw text, it has to be said, (so am reading some good books by others interpreting his work), but hopefully in time, with the help of this reading, I will be able to read more of the raw text, and continue to make more sense of it all. Having said that though, I also now realise that Nietzsche did not really intend for his books to just be read from cover to cover. He was just such a very different thinker and writer - it is often more appropriate to 'dip into them'.

I realise now though that Nietzsche's philosophy was about a way of life, and not confined to reasoning (and that is very important). As Alistair Kee says:

"...he [Nietzsche] set himself to develop not a system of philosophy, but a philosophy by which to live." (Kerr, 1999, p. 20)

And for me, that is also the essence of philosophy; although thinking rationally is also vitally important in capitalism. Because the capitalist system is just so mad, one has to use one's reason in order to be able to function in it. But people are going to be very disappointed if they think that by such sensible behaviour they will then be living in a sane and rational system! No way!

But coming back to 'The Never Ending Story' - well, I think we need a 2nd good film, showing how an adult artistic warrior can take all this forward. That is my conclusion. And, of course, that also fits in with Nietzsche (overcoming nihilism). Now, there is the film 'The Never Ending Story II: the next chapter' (this is on the same video actually). But it just isn't very good at all. It just does not capture one's imagination (strangely enough!), is not very gripping, and has too many adults in it (but not doing very worthwhile and interesting things either).

Suddenly, I wanted to find out more. Surely such a great film, must be based on a book? So, I did a search on Amazon, and - hey presto, I was right. It is based on a book by the famous children's fiction author, Michael Ende. Amazing! But I should have guessed that before! So, I had to find out more. I found out that the 2nd film was not really based on the book - so that explains that one! Some were saying that it should be a classic, and I quite agree. I then went into my local Waterstones bookshop, found it on the shelf (great!) and bought it. I will read it soon. Then, I read a really interesting review of the film by Kylopod on Amazon (see http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088323/reviews) They say:

"No fantasy film I've seen has tapped more successfully into the kinds of philosophical thoughts that kids have...This is the type of film that greatly appeals to introspective kids who think about things like infinity and the end of the universe. Do children think about such things? I did. People who find that surprising have forgotten how profound children can sometimes be."

I did too! That is really profound, I think. But a little later the person has this to say:

"Bastian never grows as a character, he never learns to put his feet on the ground, something the early scenes suggest will happen."

And this is, indeed, the problem, I think, and why it could confuse and mislead intelligent children in particular, and why a second, good film is needed to try to address the problem.

I also think they were right about some of the characters that the director, Wolfgang Petersen created in the film, and that he did not seem to have a clear enough idea about what age group he was filming for. As Kylopod says::

"Some of the scenes are quite scary and violent, making this film inappropriate for younger children. Yet, the muppet-like characters are presented in an annoyingly condescending way that I doubt older kids (not to mention teens and adults) would appreciate."

And I think this was what Glenn didn't like.

I checked further and found that a 3rd film has been made - 'The Never Ending Story 3' - but that is even worse that the 2nd one apparently, and actually features in the 'Badmovies.org' website, would you believe. What a tragedy. All getting worse, rather than better. Dear oh dear!

So, anyway, instead, a completely different kind of sequel is needed. This should be where an adult artistic warrior takes it all forward. This could be done in various ways by the adult; such as through sophisticated fiction writing, through art, through philosophical writing, through music etc. Indeed, perhaps more people writing like Nietzsche. And people writing and/or living in real and genuine ways; where they really try to become themselves; be true to themselves (and not get taken in by the propaganda etc); to 'go for life'; to be real; to be genuine. And this of course, was what D. H. Lawrence also very much took up (being inspired by Nietzsche and all that) - 'going for life', aiming to be a whole person, taking risks etc. He wrote a letter to his friend Catherine Carswell, for example, congratulating her on her marriage, saying that:

"I only want to know people that have the courage to live."

That about sums it up.

Then, at the end of his book Apocalypse (which he wrote just before he died), he said:

"What man most passionately wants is his living wholeness and his living unison, not his own isolate salvation of his 'soul'...What we want is to destroy our false, inorganic connections, especially those related to money, and re-establish the living organic connections with the cosmos, the sun and earth, with mankind and nation and family." (Lawrence, 1974, pp 125-6)

So, this childhood, innocent wonderment could be taken into adulthood and in that way, it can drive it all forward (as D. H. Lawrence did with his novels of course), and help adults to live a better life; one where consumerism does not dominate. Lead by example, and all that. Use one's adult brain, but use it wisely.

To just leave it with the child being the saviour, is rather dangerous on one level and can give people (especially children) false hopes, I think. Children thinking that they can change the world by adopting childlike ways of behaving, with their vivid imagination and that, in this way, they can do better than adults. And giving themselves too much self-importance.

But of course, this cannot be done, because capitalism is just too powerful. Take Michael Jackson here as an example. Michael Jackson trying to remain childlike, living in Neverland and wanting to be Peter Pan. But of course, it was not possible, and the cruel, capitalist, greedy society basically 'got to him' and killed him. And Thatcher as good as defeated the unions and old Labour, and much else besides, when all is said and done and crippled and debilitated the working class. How much easier it would be, and is, for the 'right' to defeat children and childlike mentalities. They don't really have a leg to stand on!

But I want to find ways forward, in general and indeed, that is what I intend to do! A way to overcome; a way to take control of one's life; a way to live a fulfilled life; a way to live life in a beautiful, creative and meaningful way, but where fantasy and escapism (which ideally should first be developed in childhood) also has its important part to play and can shine through. Yes, even guide us forward. And that is where Nietzsche's Eternal Return of the Same comes in, but that can be for another time and another day.

N.B.  In my blog entry 'Fiction Write-Ups' I make clear that I am moving away from the type of
fiction write-ups that I have previously entered on this blog. This entry builds on this (and is no deviation):

1. It is about a film, not a book
2. Only parts of the plot are revealed
3. It deals with some important philosophical issues, which not many of my other fiction write-ups have dealt with; 'The Age of Reason' by Sartre being one big obvious exception here. Also, Sartre's 'Nausea' and Douglas Kennedy's 'The Moment'.
4. It provides an introduction into my newly discovered understanding, thoughts and insights into Nietzsche.

Link to film: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Neverending-Story-Thomas-Hill/dp/B0017U09JE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1366886677&sr=8-1&keywords=never+ending+story+film

Link to book: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Neverending-Story-Puffin-Books/dp/0140317937/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1366886677&sr=8-2&keywords=never+ending+story+film



References
Aloni, Nimrod (1991) Beyond Nihilism: Nietzsche's healing and edifying Philosophy, University Press of America, Lanham, Maryland

Kee, Alistair (1999) Nietzsche agaist the crucified, SCM Press, London

Lawrence, D. H. (1974) Apocalypse, Penguin, Middlesex (first published in 1931)

Löwith, Karl (1997) Nietzsche's Philosophy of the Eternal Recurrence of the Same, University of California Press, London

Waite, Geoff (1996) Nietzsche's Corpse, Duke University Press, USA