230
DWIGHT MACDONALD
as a hack, simply because he cannot help putting
himself
into
his
work. The unhappy hero of James' story, "The Next Time,"
tried again and again to prostitute
his
talents and write a best–
seller to support
his
family, but each time he created another
unprofitable masterpiece; with the best will in the world, he
was simply unable to achieve a low enough standard. The
reverse is also true: a hack
will
turn out hack stuff even when he
tries to be serious. Most of these examples will come later under
Midcult, but Masscult also has its little tragedies. When I was
in Hollywood recently, I was told by one of the most intelligent
younger directors, Stanley Kubrick: "The reason movies are
often so bad out here isn't because the people who make them
are cynical money hacks. Most of them are doing the very best
they can; they really want to make good movies. The trouble is
with their heads, not their hearts." This was borne out by the
film I was there to write about, a mawkish travesty of Nathanael
West's
Miss Lonelyhearts
that was written and produced by
Dore Schary with the noblest intentions.
There seem to be two main conditions for the successful
production of
kitsch.
One is that the producer must believe in
what he is doing. A good example is Norman Rockwell, who
since 1916 has painted over three hundred covers for
The Satur–
day Evening Post.
When a fellow-illustrator remarked that their
craft was just a way to make a living-"You do your job, you
get your check, and nobody thinks it's art"- Rockwell was
horrified. "Oh no no no. How can you say that? No man with
a conscience can just bat out illustrations. He's got to put all
of his talent, all of his feelings into them." Having just seen a
most interesting exhibition of Rockwell's techniques at a local
bank, I think he was telling the truth. He makes dozens of
careful, highly competent pencil sketches, plus oil renderings
of crucial details, for just one
Post
cover;
if
taking thought
could add a cubit to an artist's stature, Norman Rockwell
would be a giant. The trouble is that the final result of
all
this painstaking craftsmanship is just ... a
Post
cover, as slick
