AVANT-LA-LETTRE REVERBATIONS OF THE “CANCEL CULTURE” PHENOMENON, IN ENESCU’S YEARS OF EXILE NORELA-LIVIANA COSTEA „ACTUALITATEA MUZICALĂ” MAGAZINE
ABSTRACT: History and time are two interdependent concepts that undergo continuous changes – from changes of perspective to changes of the reflections of the collective consciousness or of the one who lives them – then or later. But how many times are these two altered to become convenient to those at their helm? In this study I set out to discover the result of the influence that the phenomenon of “cancel culture” has had over the image of the composer in the last decade he spent on this earth.
KEYWORDS: CANCEL CULTURE, EXILE, PARIS, RHAPSODIES THE LAST years of George Enescu's life are marked by the exile tacitly imposed by the new regime
and by the inevitable consequences of the totalitarian philosophy of government, whose ways of altering reality had bad results culturally (and this did not happen only in Romania, but – as we well know – on the territory of the entire communist bloc). One of the methods that were frequently used by those in power was to carry out sustained campaigns to discredit certain characters in the local cultural landscape who did not meet the newly imposed norms and who, moreover, refused to cooperate with the governing structures. Among the famous victims that were targeted by these campaigns we find Constantin Brâncuși, Mircea Eliade or (of course) George Enescu ... but the list continues with a large and sad number of artists who lived to see their art die... For some time now, it seems that these campaigns are being justified again, materializing in a phenomenon called “cancel culture”. Due to the growing influence of social platforms and in the context of collective radicalization for the support of minorities, this has been increasingly used, becoming a powerful weapon (and not always useful). But “cancel culture” affects history since ancient times and was implemented in principle by almost all political, ideological or religious regimes that sought to gain ground and followers as quickly as possible. In the following I will try to define this process, exemplifying some famous victims from universal history, then stopping at the permanent efforts of the communist regime to discredit George Enescu, by exercising this phenomenon (even if it was not defined as it is nowadays). * In the most cases the expected result of a “cancel culture” campaign is the negative change of attitude towards an individual or group (religious, political, etc. – usually a minority), which leads to a boycott, to “cancellation” from social circles or to statements or actions offensive to the target of the attack (www.dictionary.com, no year). Basically, the power of different media platforms is used for a welldefined purpose, namely to turn a public person into an “non-frecventable” person. “Cancel culture” is for some a way to signal past mistakes. For others, it is an excessive and aggressive reaction to manipulating public opinion. One recent example is the elimination of historical figures associated with racism, following protests in the United States over the attempted arrest of George Floyd. But an initial manifestation (of course, on another scale) of this type of behavior is found even in public trials that culminated in whipping and other public punishments in the city squares, so popular in the Dark Ages. I am referring in particular to the trials of the witches of Salem (who also set a precedent for the communist regimes that resumed the “purging” behaviors of those considered different). Another phenomenon of “cancel culture” that affects universal history from the beginning is that of the “discovery of America”; in fact, the explorers had discovered the lands occupied by indigenous cultures (it is true, an unknown land, but not an unpopulated land!); the omission of this 169
