Poesy or Iranian films, part 2

To which Werner von Kottwitz replied that I was mistaken and that in former times Americans produced films and literature which abounded in circumlocution. He pointed out Hollywood productions from 1930’s through 1960’s and the novels of Henry James as examples – both produced in the days of uncensored speech and no-nonsense political discourse. He ended by proposing a counter-theory: that the American “How am I supposed to know if you do not tell me” is not a sign of extraordinarily thick skulls but –ordinary rudeness. They say they don’t understand, he said, but what they mean is that they don’t care. Any polite person, and that means well-brought up one, knows to listen carefully to the words of others and to pay close attention to little clues as to their feelings.

The fault, in other words, appears to be one of stress-free childrearing. Which dates, incidentally, to 1960’s, when the last American circumlocutory films ended? The data fits well the Polish phenomenon, too.