France, mirror of American divide

Susan Sontag was arguably the most prominent American essayist/philosopher of the 20th century. A literary figure who would rightly be labelled an “intellectuelle” in France.

The year before she died (December 23, 2004 in New-York were she was born) she was awarded the Peace Prize by the German Book Trade in Frankfurt. In a scathing speech against the trend of the then Bush American administration, she decried the effort to drive a wedge between America and the so-called “old Europe”. Hated by the American right for all the values she represented and would fight for, she was “une Grande Dame”.

As other distinguished Americans such as Man Ray or Jean Seberg and of course Jim Morrison, her last wish was to be buried in Paris, where one can pay a visit to her grave in the cimetière du Montparnasse. In fact, quite a number of Americans have chosen to make France their eternal resting place, in addition of course to the thousands of artists and writers who have felt and still feel an inescapable need to come to Paris and France in order to better their artistic and intellectual skills.

Considering the usual images associated in America to France, isn’t that a telling tale of the divide between populist politicians, mass medias and the elite in America? And doesn’t that explain why, in so many places, France is both ridiculed and secretly envied, giving a confusing and conflicting image to many Americans who don’t know how to handle this seemingly contradictory country. Hence, maybe, the stereotype of arrogance the French permanently carry with them. What do you think ?

How about Yul Brynner, buried in the churchyard of a monastery in Touraine?