Re: Savage Beasts and All That

["Anne M. Marble" <amarble@sff.net>]

> I'm fascinated with literature that suggests that a deep
> love of the world's greatest music has utterly no
> predictable effect on the human soul, and is as likely to
> produce ghastly human beings as lovely and enlightened
> ones.

> The most deeply shocking examples, to me, have been
> * "A Clockwork Orange," where the brutal sadist Alex has
> a deep and sincere appreciation and love for Beethoven.

How can you forget Hannibal?! He'll be so disappointed. :->

I think people who love great music are more likely to have
the patience to deal with life. Listening to great music
(particularly great classical music) requires intelligence,
some patience, etc. That doesn't mean we don't have problems
dealing with the world now and then. (You should hear me
cuss my computer out.)

Another question might be... Why are lovers of classical
music so often portrayed in a bad light in movies, plays,
literature, etc.?

Is it reverse snobbery of a sort? Or are these potrayals
really that frequent? Maybe we're more likely to stand up
and take notice of them because while they're not as
frequent, they are usually shocking when they occur. And
because that type of character is usually portrayed as
charismatic.