Editorial

Welcome 2006

2005 has been an eventful year, but not in a good way. Disasters, both natural and man-made, have wreaked havoc across the globe leading to crises of confidence in our leaders and more personal crises of survival. Humanity, as a social construct, is reeling and its pain is there for all to see. But, as William Goldman once wrote, “Life is pain … anyone who says differently is selling something.”

France has seen its share of pain in recent weeks due to its insistence on a monoculturalism that makes racism acceptable within French society. The French with their notions of liberty, equality, fraternity and superciliousness have ignored the hard heart of their one nation policies. The fact is that to be French means you have to invest fully in the idea of Frenchness; you have to be all-the-way in or all-the-way-out. If you are out, you’re all the way out in the cold. Ten years ago, Matthieu Kassovitz delineated the inequalities of French society in La Haine, a sensation at the time and now seeming prescient about the anger that has lit up the Parisian suburbs. Life is pain … anyone who says differently is selling something.

Inequalities and injustices exist here in Britain too but in its major cities we have seen a vibrancy brought to urban arts. The genuine multiculturalism that is present, especially in east London, is distinctive and to be proud of; witness the cultural mix present in the winners of the CEN Magazine Annual Awards for achievement in arts for a sense of how much east London resonates world culture. Hollywood is more monolithic and has had a piss-poor year in terms of delivering quality product, whereas world cinema has continued to make intriguing and surprising spectacle. Francesco Rosi, one of the pioneers of Italian filmmaking, is interviewed in this issue and his insights on film and realism make for some compelling reading. His films document life, and life is pain … anyone who says differently is selling something.

We would like to wish you all the best for the festive season and an interesting new year. And if you are reading this after the festive season, take two paracetamol, relax and the pain will go away. 2006 will be a great year and if you believe that … we have plenty of advertising space to sell.