Redefining European Humanism Lara Kristjansdottir t can without contestation be Idesignated stated that the additional time to the private sphere
and our inner circles over the past year has allowed for an alternative vision of engagement with culture. Traditionally, we would tend to associate such involvement to encompass enriching activities carried out within social functions or at least in relation to any sort of compound artistic production. We would imagine visiting concerts, theatres, cinemas, galleries or historic sites. In our present-day societies, our primary intake of cultural initiatives has surrounded a reinforcement of a personal reading culture, as well as, needless to say, the additional hours spent on large TV content platforms and streaming services. Despite what we may believe and declare, watching Netflix can, and should, be considered as much a participation in culture as the traditionally envisaged explorations. This analogy is not intended to make us feel better about spending our time binge-watching drama series and escaping reality, although it certainly may, but rather to shed light on what our immersion into a different social and cultural reality is able to facilitate.
“Not only is our sense of sympathy tickled, but so our imagination and creative strength as well.” Indeed, film language is universal. As a film or a series absorbs us, we come to identify and empathise with people who we will most likely never meet, and who we might have entirely disregarded as different or ‘other’. We gain insights into societies which we realise would on no occasion be able to become a part of if
not only for two hours through our laptop screens. We can even discover developments which occurred before, or (fictionally) ahead, of our own time. Not only is our sense of sympathy tickled, but so our imagination and creative strength as well. We become able to both broaden and deepen our conception of community and the world at large. Countless initiatives continue to be carried out by the European Union, as well as by Europeans themselves, which aim to reinforce a European identity as based on the integral values constituting the foundation of our common society and culture. With such objectives in mind, the advancement of the cultural sector, and the European film industry has played an indispensable role. In the past years, the EU has funded various networks for the promotion of European film and TV. More recently, it has legally required Netflix and other streaming companies to feature and promote 30% European content to ensure its operation within the continent. In the name of furthering integration, the EU surely does not fall short on initiatives hoping to make culture a cross-border endeavour. The underlying ideas behind such measures, however, in certain ways continue to miss refinement or clarification. Assuming the promotion of European culture abroad
is not our foremost desire, but rather the reinforcement of common identity based on shared values — is the focal point of all of this to secure that Europeans are watching European content instead of those of the American major? Surely, the countless films showcasing the dynamism of our common history may contribute to a heightened awareness of commonalities amongst us. However, we might want, and need, to contemplate more intimately on how an inclusive society, as based on the proclaimed European values, can be built through engagement with culture.
“the promotion of European culture abroad is not our foremost desire, but rather the reinforcement of common identity based on shared values”
