Even The Greatest Is Not Safe From The Philistines

    So I get a call from a loyal reader not long ago, and he starts in on me, calling me all kinds of names (I think it was in jest) like nationalist, white supremacist, colonizer, etc. Being the curious guy I am, I say to him, ‘‘What the hell are you talking about?’’ He then describes a piece he just read how the British, or at least the British avant-garde, and so-called keepers of the culture, are finally attempting to toss Shakespeare overboard because of his so-called affinities with the aforementioned ‘‘sins’’ of empire, and why haven’t I written about it, since I am a huge Shakespeare guy. Well, now. I told my friend that I had not seen nor heard about this particular topic as I try to ignore stupid. But, as I said earlier...I’m a curious guy. So I found the piece and others like it about the same topic. I was right...stupid. It’s kind of like Robin Williams. Now, I loved Robin Williams, and he was not stupid. He was a comedic genius. And if you’re a comedic genius, whether it’s Williams, George Carlin, Richard Pryor...whoever; it means you’re a pretty bright person. But...and there is always a BUT.

    It reminded me of an interview Williams did with Johnny Carson many years ago. The clip is here, and my issue with Williams takes place in the first 15-20 seconds. It seems that Williams was one of those who does not believe that William Shakespeare actually wrote the plays and poems attributed to him. Well, at the risk of speaking ill of the dead, for all of his comedic genius, Williams was a literary and historical idiot. And when you say something like that on national television with a cultural icon like Carson smiling and laughing, it gives you a certain gravitas that you don’t deserve. And unfortunately, because many people watching a show like that think people like Williams, etc., are right about everything they say because they have a certain genius. Not true. Nor is the accusation that Shakespeare did not write what has been attributed to him. That said, the above topic that my reader shared with me is part of that same anti-Shakespeare thought process. And it drives me insane. So, dear reader...this one’s for you!

    And now that my first rant is completed, here comes the second one! What is it with Britain’s cultural custodians and their hatred of everything British? (And before the rest of us get a little too high on our horses, the same thing happens in many Western countries, especially here in this great land of ours.) National self-loathing drips from curators and museum directors alike, revealed in a Tourette’s-like compulsion to blurt out the word ‘Decolonize!’ at everything they see. They are currently getting hot under the collar in the quaint, sleepy town of Stratford-upon-Avon, where they have Shakespeare’s birthplace in their sights.

    Where normal people admire timber-framed houses and marvel at the schoolroom where Shakespeare learned the classics, people of a certain political/philosophical ilk see ‘white supremacy.’ Where I see complete genius in plays like King Lear, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, and Othello, they see a symbol of ‘British cultural superiority.’ They seem to imagine that racist thugs have swapped sharing memes on Instagram for watching Macbeth at the local theater (please...these people couldn’t spell Macbeth). Labeling the Bard as a vehicle for white supremacy is that insane.

    With hatred comes self-flagellation, and I don’t mean the erotic kind. Shakespeare’s Birthplace Trust – the charity tasked with preserving Shakespeare-related heritage sites in historic Stratford-upon-Avon – is now ‘decolonizing’ its vast collection. This means that, just as in practically every other museum and art gallery across the UK, exhibits will be labeled to make clear ‘the continued impact of Empire’ or the ‘impact of colonialism.’ In Stratford-upon-Avon, the special twist will be to show how Shakepeare’s legacy has allegedly played a part in this litany of sin. Kill me now...

    Shakespeare’s Birthplace Trust has also warned visitors that some items in its collections may contain ‘‘language or depictions that are racist, sexist, homophobic or otherwise harmful,’’ Well, of course they will. Are these people really that obtuse? The past was a different time, with different attitudes and values. I am certainly not saying that these attitudes, etc., were right. But you simply cannot overlay 20th century sensibilities onto the 16th century and judge them on that criteria. That is, what’s the word I’m looking for...oh, yeah...STUPID! Shakespeare was not subjected to training in diversity, equity and inclusion. Nor was he presented with a style guide advising him as to the correct pronouns to use for his many cross-dressing characters. Thank the gods.

    It is all just so tedious. But the philistines and cavemen and cavewomen (yes, women can be troglodytes, too) running many, if not all, of our cultural institutions seem determined to continue with these anti-intellectual endeavors until every last artifact that might inspire pride in Britain’s (and America’s) past achievements is torn down.

    Whether the decolonizers like it or not, Shakespeare is an integral part of what it means to be British. To speak English is to utter phrases first conjured up by him. That ‘the lady doth protest too much’ may have been said of Margaret Thatcher, but Hamlet’s mother got there first. We’ve all been on a ‘wild goose chase’ and gotten ‘in a pickle’ or angrily insisted for our ‘pound of flesh.’ And if you’ve never seen a Shakespeare play (give me a call, I’ll take you) because you think ‘it’s all Greek to me,’ then you are using his words without even knowing it.

    For once, the Englishness is not what the decolonizers find ‘problematic,’ to use their favorite word. They would, it seems, be happy to write Shakespeare off as a quirky but unimportant dead Brit. But what really troubles them is the perception of the Bard as a ‘universal’ genius. According to the fevered imagination of the anti-Shakespeare crowd is a belief that The Bard’s plays represent the pinnacle of human achievement for all time and across all continents ‘benefits the ideology of white European supremacy.’ Shakespeare’s fans simply cannot win. Celebrate the Bard for being British and you will be accused of nationalism. But celebrate his universal appeal and you’re in the firing line for promoting white supremacy.

    Just as Shakespeare is integral to being British, his work also and absolutely has universal value. He portrays emotions such as joy, grief, and anger, and experiences like being young, falling in love and growing old that are fundamental not just to being British or even European, but to being human. Because, in no small way, Shakespeare invented the human. Among many, many other things, he taught us to overhear ourselves, and even more importantly, to change based on that overhearing. This is why his legacy endures. 

    His genius transcended racial, national and generational differences and points to what we have in common, rather than what divides us. The fact that Shakespeare is English is incidental to the common humanity in his work, but it is entirely relevant to the historical circumstances that made his prodigious talent possible. He is the ultimate “Universal Poet.” His plays are performed by troupes from America to Brazil, to Africa and Europe, as well as to India, and Japan. And that’s just for starters. He is the definition, ‘par excellence,’ of THE multicultural author. The gross attempt to dilute and boil all this down to something as idiotic as ‘white supremacy’ simply boggles the mind and calls into question the intelligence of those hurling these accusations. 

    I believe The Birthplace Trust’s real concern is to stop British people from taking pride in Shakespeare and seeing his work as a symbol of ‘British cultural excellence’ and for Shakespeare himself; his superiority. It wants him to be viewed not as the ‘Greatest,’ but as ‘part of a community of equal and different writers and artists from around the world.’ Oh, please. I had to type that thought 3 times because I kept laughing and screwing it up! If academics and curators really cannot say that Shakespeare’s plays are better than a Nigerian soap opera or a Brazilian drag-queen performance, or, the gods have mercy on our souls, Harry Potter, then we really are in trouble. If even Shakespeare’s custodians cannot say that his work is the pinnacle of human achievement, then the Bard doesn’t need enemies, and the barbarians are not at the gates. Indeed, they are inside those gates and making themselves quite at home.

Write to Peter: magtour@icloud.com