What’s wrong with this picture? (part 1)
Well…plenty, unfortunately.
Well, aesthetics and love for Australian actors and actresses aside, what do we have here? Yes, it’s Cate Blanchett, displaying her support for the SZFE. The Színház és Filmművészeti Egyetem: The University of Theatre and Film Arts. And she’s not alone. Also proudly displayed on SZFE’s Facebook page are photos from other famous personages including none other than Sir Ian McKellen, Julia Stevenson, and…wait for it, wait for it…yes; Salman Rushdie. I didn’t even know that he acted. You learn something new every day, it would appear.
So, what is this that they’re all upset about? What is this that has caused them to disfigure their beautifully dramatic thespian palms, albeit temporarily, not with tattoo guns, but with black marker pens.
Well, the white-hot matter in question is that the government intends to restructure this university.
Yes, that’s it. A restructuring is planned, just as has been done with other universities. But here, this university is a hotbed of anti-government, perhaps we could even go so far as to say anti-Hungarian sentiment. Certainly, they don’t agree with the government’s stance on the issue of nation.
All that aside, the university itself claims that it is, in all practical terms, the long-lost eighth wonder of the world.
Since 1865, according to a little video they put together, the results the SZFE has achieved illustrate the indispensability of the institution for capital and countryside alike.
So, from the video we learn that 96% of those who graduated in the last 10 years are active today in theatres in the capital and scattered around the countryside.
The video draws attention to the fact that they’ve taken the lion’s share of all state theatre and film awards.
But, there is an alternative opinion. In an interview given to the weekly Mandiner, film producer Lajos Tamás highlighted that in the 30 or so productions made in the past ten years, not one was written by a screenwriter who had graduated from SZFE, and in only one case did the director learn their trade at SZFE.
OK, so this tells us that what we’re dealing with here isn’t really a question of anything other than politics. It’s like Spinal Tap sing:
OK, so that means that we’re back in our familiar stomping ground. The government, with the taxpayers standing alongside, have decided that allowing these thespians to flounce about the place being luvvies, is doing nobody any good. Perhaps there are some great talents there, perhaps not. This was a press conference they held outside the ministry. Make your own minds up.
Can you see what I mean? This is like the 1980’s, isn’t it? Haven’t we grown up? Didn’t we move on from this? Isn’t this merely the sort of thing that would impress a teenager? No? Well, I may be wrong, after all. But, would anyone want to see it? Would anyone rave about it? Would it get you a job? Presumably that’s the idea, isn’t it? You go off to university with the aim of leaving with a better chance of beginning a career. Would this help? I honestly don’t know.
So, sweeping all the irrelevancy off the table, and leaving the students to act as students tend to, we should still be able to see that this problem is all about politics.
The government doesn’t like the fact that SZFE derides the policies of the government, and the SZFE doesn’t like to admit that the government provides them with 100% of their funding.
But this means that the SZFE are attempting to ignore the natural way of things. If someone provides your funding, it’s a fair bet that they’re going to tell you what they want to see done with their money.
How would you fare if you did the opposite of what your boss asked you to do? What if, on top of that, you called your boss a prick to his face, and then refused to allow him to enter the building?
You can see where I’m going with this, can’t you? Yes, we’re all bound by different relationships in life and in business. Apart, it would appear from the SZFE. They’re determined to be different. They demand that nobody interfere with what they’re doing, no matter who that body is. That’s not really going to work now, is it?
Keep on showcasing the sort of work that would appeal to 13 year old boys (and even then only because there are tits on show) will get you to the point where the people who are paying your bills are going to have to answer to the people who are providing the cash to pay your bills. Taxpayers don’t like to see their money wasted on immature plays of exclusive interest to horny boys.
The government has decided to change the structure of the university and give control to a board of trustees. The head of this board of trustees is Attila Vidnyánszky, the head of the National Theatre.