Themes
Enlargement of the live of the self-made entrepreneur Henk van Wijnen-Swarttouw on the one hand, mainly occupied with its position in the Fortune 500 and the relationship with his daughter, and on the other hand his employee Cor Figee, working hard to save the company from bankruptcy, creates friction. Also regarding several relationships tension increases within the context in which the story takes place: between parents and children, between lovers and between people of different ethnicity.
An important subject is friction between encroaching cosmopolitanism – fed by modernism – on the one hand and the rise of populism under the “ordinary people” on the other, the danger of polarisation in society. This populism is a response to the experienced variety in society. As Paul Verhaeghe in his book ‘identity’ rightly states, a bad balance between difference and equality will fuel aggression and fear will emerge. At too large or enforced equality one will want to distinguish themselves from the group, too big or enforced differences will cause people to integrate or participate within the group. It becomes really dangerous when people lose themselves in the crowd (Elias Canetti: crowds and power).
Art tries to play a positive role through one of the main characters: Julia. First she tries to bring the various parties closer together or to emphasize differences where necessary. And where that does not work she tries to at least provide some comfort with her performances.
The following contradictions are covered:
- entrepreneur vs. employee
- parent vs. child
- modernism vs. tradition
- cosmopolitanism vs. multiculturalism
- >(Julia’s) art as a remedy or consolation