The earth: a large scale enterprise where you have to watch so you aren’t “disturbing” if you want a place in the sun…

The Swedish journalist Maria-Pia Boëthius writes in the leader "The Galleria of the Ego-trippers" a couple of weeks ago about a Swedish radio programme called “Summer,” that is having its 50 years anniversary this summer.

It’s a programme where celebrities are invited to talk and play music. She thinks that Public Service in Sweden has chosen a lot of self centered, ego-tripped, cowardice and harmless (not dangerous) hosts for the programme. People who aren’t risking anything or exposing themselves - because it can be bad for the(ir) trademark.

They are seen as “non-political” she thinks, but she hasn’t seen something so political; “Summer” is the self-sellers and yellow-bellies arena, the Alliance for Sweden’s deadly boring apprehension of the “successful” man/woman.

The system chooses its babblers she thinks. And the system, also the public service, is governed by those who have joined the thought on the earth as a large-scale enterprise owned by the rich where it’s about not disturbing – but get yourself a place in the sun.

One of the last speeches the creator of this programme, Tage Danielsson, held had the heading “The Murder on Solidarity.” Today this could be used as the heading for public service’s way of choosing summer-talkers she thinks.

PS. Tage Danielsson made a movie on Astrid Lindgren's book "Ronia the Robber's Daughter" (se below).

Scenes from a marriage - Ingmar Bergman and love...

Käbi Laretei in a TV-programme last Monday on her new book about her marriage with Ingmar Bergman coming next month and the TV-series “Scenes from a marriage” from 1973.Also see here and here about this series.

The contracting parties were described as “the self-absorbed Johan and the self-effacing Marianne”.. Illustrated with a scene where Johan and Marianne met a therapist for the first time, and the therapist asked them to describe themselves. Johan started and expatiated himself about how fantastic he was, as a father, husband, employed, citizen etc, though with a a mix of slight self irony and seriousness. Marianne tried to intervene, lame and feeble:

“But...No... But listen...”

When it was Marianne's turn she had almost nothing to say about herself:

"Well... I am mariied to Johan... And we have two children... And... Well... I don't know what to say more..."

It was also established that the children don't exist in this series (from 1973), except from the beginning of it, compared to today when the children are at the center.

Something other people have established. Earlier (for those born 40-50 years ago or more) it was the dad who decided what the family should do: The mom helped realize and support this. Today the children decide, what to eat (parents make different dishes to the children and the parents), where to go on holidays etc.

Erland Josephson characterized the series with the words “being shut in” and “egocentricity”, not being seen by each other..

Käbi's new book has the title “Where did all this love disappear?”

When she had returned home after the funeral of Ingmar Bergman, almost two years ago now, she started to wonder “how it actually was” and recalled that she had almost 250 letters from Bergman lying somewhere, letters they wrote to each other from everywhere after their first meeting till they broke from their marriages and got married.

Bergman had visited a rehearsal in Malmö with Käbi playing the fourth piano-concerto by Beethoven, and he immediately fell in love, the start point for their relation.

Reading those letters made her surprised over the passion, a passion she had forgotten for the most part, and she got inspired writing a second book about her love relation and marriage with Bergman.

The reading of those old letters was also quite peculiar she said.

They met 1959 and broke up ten years later.

Käbi thought her pianist career was a main reason for this divorce. She couldn't think of giving her profession up and just be Bergman's wife. Not just support the genius.

The young male programme-leader also pointed out to Käbi and the audience that those letters are remarkable, that he and his generation-mates don't know how to write such paper-letters. It's quite different writing emails to each other...

I had Käbi as my piano-teacher for four years in all during my education and she awoke my "intellectual interests," and made me interested in Ingmar Bergman. She didn't only stimulate my piano-playing, but also other things...

I was struck by her continued admiration of him, an admiration that to a great part was mutual.

Their relation came to a fantastic friendship Käbi means, a friendship with both Ingmar and his last wife Ingrid.

Girlishness - a defence?