“…1972
For the first time in the history of America Bobby Fisher became world’s chess Champion...
It was in Marseille that one of the greatest Artists of our time Zinedine Zidane opened his eyes and saw the world...
The world saw ‘Transparent Things’ by Vladimir Nabokov, in which the Writer gave a clue to all his riddles…”
Dmitry Sokolenko (St.-Petersburg, Russia)
ZIZOU CRUSHES THE BIG TOE OF THE STATUS QUO
by Simona Eva Schneider (New York City, USA)
…
He is the well-oiled machine of the industrial revolution suited to our era with a keen sense of subtle self-consciousness. On his homepage there is a photograph of a handicapped boy wearing a t-shirt with Zizou's head; the photograph is replaced by Zizou wearing a photograph of the handicapped boy, as a promotion for his charity. This new machine-artist has been given the facility of spontaneous and precise reaction, all the more unexpected as the world resists recognizing signs, even the moon's waxing and waning, let alone he who lives next door or that which laps at their shores.
…
Unlike other retrograde artists of the past centuries, Zidane transcends not with divine aid, but with the aid of the crowds like Baudelaire before him. The crowds are both his patrons and his inspiration. The masses are still faceless, but they are no longer a place for anonymity. Now they are a place for homogenity, and the biggest crowds of them all are nations. As a representant of his "crowd" Zidane would have had to swallow his pride and proceed, unfeeling, toward the World Cup, for his country, for the pride of his nation. As a man, this was not possible.
…
But the unbalanced nature and mystery of the provocation only serve to keep matters unresolved. As we claim people when we want them on our team, so everyone wanted to claim Zizou. He transcends his national team. In the weeks after the incident papers all over the world reported their solidarity with him, reported important figures' commenting on their identification with him, everyone's favorite president, Bill Clinton, included, who recognized his status as underdog.
