Interview Michel Houellebecq @ Terzake (Soumission) скачать в хорошем качестве

Interview Michel Houellebecq @ Terzake (Soumission)

Interview for VRT (Flemish/Belgian Television) in which M.H. discusses his distaste for politics, Charlie Hebdo, and his book Submission (Soumission) and their connection. Short summary for those who don't understand: The journalist starts by summarizing the similarities between Soumission and the Paris Attacks, which leads her to interview Houellebecq on this highly controversial topic - islamophobia. When she asks the writer about this particular synchronicity, he jokingly admits he sometimes thinks God gave him a destiny. For example: The NYT published an article in which they expressed him being too harsh on Islam; the article was published on 9/11/2001. The interview cuts on to a reaction on French television, where Ali Baou reviews the book as being disgusting (Ali says it made him vomit) and outrageous for being published in 2015, as it would promote and minimalize hatred towards Islam. When the journalist asks Michel about this reaction, he responds this is typical to the Left. They have been losing power and according to him, this is why they are turning malicious. "You don't like the Left?", she asks. "No, I don't. I try to push them even further into this.", "Why don't you like them?" "Oh, it's a very long history, let's not go there, I just don't like them and they know I don't." She asks if he likes the Right, to which he repeats he doesn't like either side. "What the Left does not understand, is that intellectuals leave them for an unnamed destination. Which is called freedom, frankly." Houellebecq chooses to write whatever he wants: fiction, non-fiction and everything inbetween. "If someone expresses their fear for cancer, it doesn't mean they will get cancer. Everyone is free to express this fear. Why would talking about this fear predict being diagnosed with the disease? I guess the same could be said about this novel that anticipates a certain political crisis." Parallels are drawn to Le Pen, who uses the novel as a signal for her own political ambitions, upon which Houellebecq responds "She does this because the book is dangerous. It is dangerous because it awakens a fear that isn't French, but European. The fear that the continent will become muslim." Security guards are in the hallway, secret agents secured the building. When the journalist asks if Houellebecq is afraid of being attacked, he reacts rather defensive and says that he isn't afraid because he is neglectful, but perhaps he should be. After that, he distinguishes himself from Theo Van Gogh, a Dutch director who made statements against Islam and was assassinated in public, something he finds rather unfortunate, but to which he can't find himself to be guilty. He doesn't make controversial statements in the media or in public, and will be happy when he can move on from the novel. After that, Houellebecq gets uneasy and stops the interview.