London and the US. 12

Authenticity (Athens, Tennessee)

Many of us grew up watching and "hearing" the US through screens and loudspeakers. Some of us were overexposed to these images and sounds and thus they became familiar to us as a (half-) culture we could almost call our own. Consequently, when europeans travell to the US, they might be affected by an eerie feeling - on one hand, they sense their surrounings to be familiar; on the other, they perceive them to be dream-like, unreal, artificial.

A cinematic veil shrouds everyday experiences, rendering them less real, less authentic...ephemeral in nature.

This feeling may trigger a reaction on part of the traveller: the longing and search for the authentic experience in the US. A struggle against the pervading sensations of artificial, superficial, ephemeral, etc; a search for the unveiled experience, a longing for strong emotional interactions, to override the dream-like encounters.

I stumbled over a bit of the authentic right there, near Athens, Tennessee. Gathered around the family house porch, the southern folk talked about baseball, the evils of socialism and the lastest travell gossip from Europe. The gently sloping landscapes where cattle grazed was lush with green; the muddy creek had filled up some and was lined by crooked trees with bear branches scratching the blue skies. A tornado had come and gone and there we were, all gathered for easter sunday.

All was bound by the southern accent and the fragile patriarchal figure of Popa, in overalls and checkered shirt and a straw hat.

After lunch, the family gathered on the porch. One of the older brothers spat to the side, in that unmistakable way. And there it was, in that very gesture, the authentic spirit of America.