Albert Camus's “The Human Crisis” read by Viggo Mortensen, 70 years later
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Publicado 2016-05-09
05:35 Introduction by Alice Kaplan, Professor of Yale University
11:50 Reading of 'The Human Crisis' by Viggo Mortensen
56:50 Discussion with Viggo Mortensen, Alice Kaplan and Souleymane Bachir Diagne
On April 28, 2016 a reading by Viggo Mortensen of a speech by Albert Camus, and roundtable discussion with Viggo Mortensen, Alice Kaplan and Souleymane Bachir Diagne
Albert Camus originally delivered this lecture on “La Crise de l’homme” on March 28, 1946, to a very full house at the McMillin Academic Theatre at Columbia University, on his first and only trip to the United States. 70 years later, to celebrate Camus’s visit to New York and Columbia, his lecture will be delivered in a dramatic reading by the actor Viggo Mortensen, in a version newly translated into English by Alice Kaplan.
The event will be introduced by Shanny Peer and by Alice Kaplan, who will share new research from her forthcoming book, Looking for the Stranger: Albert Camus and the Life of a Literary Classic, to bring alive Camus’ U.S. visit and provide a context for his lecture. After the reading, Bachir Diagne and Alice Kaplan will be joined by Viggo Mortensen for a panel discussion about Albert Camus’ influence, his impressions of the U.S., and his reception in this country as a leading voice of the postwar generation of French intellectuals.
Participants: Viggo Mortensen has consistently earned acclaim for his work in a wide range of films. Some of these include Jauja, Loin des hommes, The Two Faces of January, A Dangerous Method, The Road, Eastern Promises, Appaloosa, A History of Violence, and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. He has received various nominations and awards from groups including the Screen Actors Guild, the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Apart from acting in movies and plays, Mortensen is a poet, photographer, and painter. He founded and is the editor of Perceval Press, an independent publishing house specializing in poetry, photography, painting, and critical writing.
Souleymane Bachir Diagne is Professor of Philosophy and French and Chair, Department of French, Columbia University.
Alice Kaplan is the John M. Musser Professor of French and chair of the Department of French at Yale University.
This event is organized in partnership with The Albert Camus Estate and is part of a series of events taking place in New York on the theme of "Camus : A Stranger in the City" (March 26 – April 19 / @camusnyc2016) commemorating the 70th year anniversary of Camus’ visit to the United States.
If you want to see the Q&A with Viggo Mortensen about the movie Far from Men, a video is available here: • Far from Men: Q&A with actor Viggo Mo...
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Todos los comentarios (21)
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I believe that Camus was once quoted as saying " there are many things worth dying for but nothing worth killing for " I always found that a powerful statement.
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Viggo was perfectly cast as Aragorn. He is incredibly, flawlessly masculine with a tender, kind and moral heart
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"Beauty is unbearable, drives us to despair, offering us for a minute the glimpse of an eternity that we should like to stretch out over the whole of time "
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Lecture starts at 16:22
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What's good about Viggo reading this is that he is genuinely interested and is a regular sort of guy - the kind of intellectual Camus was trying to touch always. And for this he has a great non pretentious speaking voice - this is so very important, don't you agree - it's good that he's nervous.
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never thought i'd be listening to aragorn reading camus for fun but here we are edit: this was 2 years ago. i did an A-Level in philosophy for fun a few years ago but i no longer care about that or aragorn if I'm honest, please chill guys lmao.
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"Man has dominated man to his injury".... undeniably true.
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To be able to have access to presentations such as this is truly one of the great gifts of our times.
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My dear , In the midst of hate , I found there was , within me , an invincible love , In the midst of tears , I found there was , within me , an invincible smile , In the midst of chaos , I found there was , within me , an invincible calm , I realized , through it all , that in the midst of winter , I found there was , an invincible summer , and that makes me happy , for it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me , within me , there's something stronger , something better , pushing right back , Yours truly , Albert Camus Philosopher of the Absurd
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It's so blessedly cathartic to know that someone else got it. That someone else recognized the value in an imperfect struggle towards utopia. That another person understood the dehumanizing nature of bureaucracy and the way that systems strive at all times to pit some of us against the rest to keep us separated in our hearts and minds. Very interesting speech.
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Albert Camus delivered this lecture on “La Crise de l’homme” in 1946 at Columbia University, on his only trip to the United States. The lecture itself is from 18:45 - 56:35 in this video, and is presented in English translation. I recommend it wholeheartedly. It is relevent on many levels to the present situation, and while Camus spoke from the perspective of a 32-year-old Frenchman in the wake of WWII, his clarity and insight embody a kind of timeless wisdom.
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It’s incredible how a lot of what he’s talking about from 80 years ago seems so similar to today like how indifferent people are to others suffering and how everyone has an urge of rebellion
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I found my splendid naivety at the age of 18. Anything was possible everything was available. After a series of shocks in 2021 I have restarted reading Camus to rebuild my self. A body of work worthy of everyone's attention.✌🏽❤️
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“ The beast is dead but the venom isn’t gone “ Very eye opening 👍The plague is my next read
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Viggo's voice perfectly portrays the clarity & depth in the thoughts of Camus,a man without faith who hopelessly holds up hope in the midst of despair.
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Viggo is a proud product of Watertown in Northern New York. He is also a graduate of St Lawrence University. What you see is what you get with this man and it is so fitting that he is reading Camus’s work. Viggo is a very kind, unassuming, a truly down to earth and very intelligent gentleman to say nothing of his amazing performances as an actor. Thank you Viggo. We in the North Country are so proud of you. God Bless!
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Albert Camus will always be my favourite author. Honesty is everything.
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Viggo is a phenomenal human being. We are fortunate to have this multi talented individual share his talents with the world.
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This kind of clarity and pertinence is so rare in political philosophy
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I think the expression, just doing my job or following orders, is/are still today the cause of a great deal of pain.
