Christopher Hitchens and Martin Amis - No Laughing Matter [2007] [WITH VIDEO]
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- čas přidán 10. 11. 2012
- February 1, 2007 at intelligence²
Martin Amis discussed the mild anti-semitism of his own father, and gave his thoughts on Israel. He read from Saul Bellow's book on Israel, and suggests that there is a great deal of anxiety among Jews about the future of Israel.
Christopher Hitchens, who only discovered he was Jewish in 1989, talked about the place of Judaism in history: about Voltaire, suspicion, Israel, and the Jewish diaspora.
Martin Amis then discussed the Jewish concept of manhood, before going on to contemplate the effect of 9/11 on the Jewish community.
Hitchens then touched on some moments that betray a prejudice against Jews that still lingers even after the Holocaust, including the claims made in America in 1989 that Jewish doctors were deliberately injecting black babies with Aids. He suggest that pejudice against Jews is different from other kinds, because it takes a pseudo-intellectual, as opposed to superficial and ignorant form.
Amis then seeked to define the actual concept of anti-semitism, before Hitchens considered the perception of Jews as masters of finance.
All credit to: old.intelligencesquared.com/ta...
Looking at him today, in this video, smoking, and drinking I get a clear idea of his weaknesses. I wish he was here with us TODAY, I don't know if his habits were the real cause of his passing. We lost an important person in our humanity and it's hard to accept it. I recently discovered him and I've been watching tons of his videos and literally changed my perspective about life. I miss you and I wish you were here Christopher.
His weaknesses were also his strengths. He said he knew the risks he was taking, and it helped his concentration, stopped him from being bored, and stopped other people being boring. He said he couldn't even picture a life without those.
Watching Hitchens enjoy the jokes and company of another....it's a great thing.
I have never seen Hitchens smile as much in any video I've watched before.
Thx for posting this content 😊
This video is very important. Thank you for uploading it.
thanks for posting- made my day.
For fans, after brief and entertaining opening remarks, Hitchens doesn't speak again until around 18:00. By then, he was a quarter through his glass of scotch..and the rest is more Hitchens gold. He is missed and was, as many said, one of the best orators/speakers/debaters of our time...
hugh jorgan thank you 😃
Does he have to fucking cough all the way through this!
I can't hear myself think!
take this advice. I ignored it and listened to the whole thing... It really is a rambling 18 min of some guy reading stuff and talking about his family and some overly artistic self-congratulatory analysis of Israel and Judaism in general. If you're anything like me, you won't find anything of real intellectual value that you can take home with you until Hitchens starts to speak at 18:00, unless you just know nothing about Israel or it's people.
@@jwhipple5567 That 'some guy' is Martin Amis, Hitchens' absolute best friend, a man who has influenced Hitchens politically and literarily. If Hitchens sees value in him, I'm sure others will.
@@weefeatures Hitchens once said Amis was the only blonde he's ever loved
yeah! Thanks for posting.
It's a wonderful way for Amis to nod at Hitch without even the remotest sense of embarrassment. I would say it's classy but really it's the sort of interaction that can only be cultivated through a good friendship. A stranger wouldn't pick up on the cue.
Great stuff, thanks johnny
Someone said that was an Israeli flag on Hitchens lapel. It's actually the flag of the PUK for his support of the Kurdish people
Jacob -George
As far as I know he wore both
Instablaster.
@@thethurthkeeper689 as far as I know you made that up
Thank you, Hitch
CH (under his breath in private joke to Amis): "Unless it's a winch..." Amis laughs. Nice glimpse into their private relationship and shared sense of humor.
What i find so interesting as that Hitchens is a very cogent writer, by far one of the best, but he has always looked up to Amis as "the better." I could certainly agree with him, but i always find when hitch would say that as though he's selling himself way too short. Amis may be better, but hitchens is more charismatic; They are the Paul and John of Literary matters, perhaps adding with all due respect; Mcewan the philosophical George, and Rushdie the Fanciful Ringo.
"But, but, as Chekhov says: 'when there's a fucking great revolver on the mantelpiece in the first act, it'll be fired be act three. '" - The Hitch 1:00:57
How does Hitchens know so many quotes from so many writers. Jeez.
What a sober, down to earth view on the subject.
Amazing.
What a beautiful duo!
The discussion is open on this, as to whether Judaism is a religion, a culture or a nation. In my experience (my grandfather was Jewish) there is definitely a culture and there is definitely a sense of solidarity. I know many Jewish families for whom the religion falls way behind in their priorities - the most important thing is to pass on the ways that other peoples will try to stiff you over. I'm an atheist (even antitheist!) but I say I'm part Swedish, English, Welsh, Latvian and Jewish.
Never seen someone make Hitchens laugh like that
i was thinking EXACTLY the same thing!!!!! but they were good friends in real life.
amis is amazing and well worth a bit more looking into if you haven't already
why did hitch always stifle his laugh
Douglas Wilson did in the doc they made together, laughing about an old comedy or film.
Two masters of the English language. Smoking and drinking on stage and still delivering a beautifully crafted and intelligent argument. Chapeau ❤
Thanks Gonzotabb
Seeing a couple of intelligent mates natter is a great thing. Like eavesdropping in a pub.
impressive!
No, the citation comes from a book by Kingsley Amis called THE KING'S ENGLISH. I highly recommend this text.
this glitch in the beginning of the video almost gave me a me a seizure. lol
Price paid.
As Hitch says, in another context: 'magnetizing'. Many thanks.
it's hard to see hitch with that cough
I recommend Martin Amis's brilliant book on Stalin - Koba the Dread.
Is everyone getting the video flickering?
the best way to watch hitch is buy a bottle of johnnie walker black and sit in awe.
+Israel Turner Johnnie Walker Blue is Better.
+Gregg Thomas black was hitches fav though
+Adam Smith yea that was the point haha
Anyone know the phrase he used at 3:02? Can't seem to type it accurately into google base solely on pronunciation.
'bien pensant'
Ah, insane ramblings. Very entertaining.
Thank you.
Not clear from what I can see. Does anyone know what flag hitchens has as his Lapel pin?
Hitch is drinking Mr Walker's amber restorative.
Where was this at?
I remember that last part from the autobiography! And also how he used to frown upon 'versified filth'.
I can't believe I missed Peter Leavy!
At least Hitch didn't have to live in the time of plain packet cigarettes.
Or their prices
REALLY? Wow! Even better, haha, did you gleam that from "Hitch 22"?
such a couple of class and charm and influence.
please help and apologies for my ignorance but what does Hitchens really mean "hes marxist but no longer a socialist" is it so subtle i missed it, thanks for insight in advance
Indeed.
Whats with the glitchy video
“While I might not personally hand the keys of my house to the descendants of a Hitler victim, I expect others to do it based on ethnic background.” “I hope unconscious bias isn’t a harbinger of common later-years racism." "Or fiction falling to locked-out trash, unlocked only in flashes when I, y’know, timidly confront myself.” "Thank you, Martin."
Im sorry but i have to say this... But i thought something was amis
+Tyler Stull Can any of you niggaz hear what they're saying? coz I can't, shame because it sounds interesting
+ItsameAlex if you have a problem comprehending what they are talking about... Well, I'm afraid your mental fitness is questionable.
it aint about comprehension, it's about sound
i hear it good enough....check your device
*amiss
I love the phrase "bisexual days" like it's one of many political movements or social classes.
Ahh man I wish I could have had the opportunity to drink with these guys.
Hitch insider tip: at @1:17:55 when Hitch uses the word "Role model", notice Martin feigns not hearing the word Hitch said. It's actually Martin criticizing him. Hitch said that Martin would always chide him if he used a word that Martin thought was a bore or cliche.
I read about three lines, recognized what it was and typed this.
Martin when he says "that's not serious... that's not Jewish..." he reminds me of the cool ordinators in The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind.
Found it! I forgot where it was, but the highlight for me in this conversation- Martin Amis says "...that's not serious... that's not jewish..." 1:08:30
watched a good one
I can barely hear the dialogue over the hissing from my speakers because of how high I have to turn the volume up to hear the dialogue.
Oh awful irony.
Wow, you scorned him so effectively he deleted his comment.
The Hitch laughing 😂
sorry, problems with posting;
Hitchens was so prescient about Lindberghism and the current pogroms.
Person didn't fix the tracking on this. :/
if i were to make an advert for smoking i would just show this.
So is your profile pic ;-)
The girl that asked the first question, is it me or does she sound exactly like Cordelia, from Stephen Fry´s documentary on his manic depression?
Is that a glass of whisky filled to the brim?
Goddamn
Terence Francis It's neither/nor. Christopher, putting down the glass & pulling out his cigarettes, shows the devices that were to lead to his early demise. I love Hitch, and wish he were still around as the West continues its wrestling with the nuclear mullahs of Iran.
Likely
just love Hitch
The pantheon of great religious thinkers that have died of cancer eludes me, but I think it is fanciful in the extreme to suggest that this disease somehow avoids the devout. If you are saying that, so full of the light of the lamb are sufferers, that the symptoms of this terrible disease are of no consequence, then again - and as a result of first hand experience - I would revisit the term ‘fanciful’.
Unfortunately Christopher ignored these signs at 27:47 29:20 1:19:35. Would it have been too late if he went to the doctor in February 2007? I don't know.
ahhh Martin and Christopher, its like my brain getting a massage..
שלום
EXCELLENT
No, it's demonstrably correct.
bravo - nice UTube name!
i'm surprised the first minute didn't give me an epileptic seizure....
Damn he looks terrible this is probably one of those times where he was throwing up just before it started we miss you Christopher you have freed many minds a debt we can't repay we need you now more than ever
Does anyone know what they're drinking?
Johnnie Walker black, at least one of them.
handorei Come on, all that can't be whiskey, unless it's mixed with water or something, and that would be disgusting.
***** I really don't know, it was just based on what I know about him, and that's that his favorite was the black label.
***** I'm fairly sure it is. Hitchens was a very heavy drinker, and drank every day. He noted (along with others making comment on it), that he could put away copious amounts without ever slurring a word or swaying on his feet.
@@ValentinHarbinger mixed w/ perrier
No atheist fights against god, not one.
Generally an excellent discussion but a quite stunning level of ignorance about manic depression, or what we now call bipolar disorder. They are describing paranoia, which could co exist with it but is by no means the same thing.
I wish I had never seen this.
Ahhh 2007, a time where you could still light up a ciggarette in a public place without people looking at you like the devil himself.
Jacques Guerrier same
this was banned in scotland by 2007, surprised to see it in the video (London, I think, they said a few times)
contactkeithstack tuciuitciiitccicckufukuhfrrrhhrrybłvrct
What does Christopher say at 47:07 to make Martin laugh? *Unless of course it was a w....*
I dont understand half of the words they use or half of what theyre talking about. These two are on a whole other level of thought.
I don't think he ever fully stopped being a socialist entirely, I believe he just stopped by a trotskyist supporter.
'no laughing matter', yet many funny, lol moments ha
Martin's father Kingsley called the term "role model" a "hilarious barbarism."
Seizure warning
9:00 The Hitch laughs.
AndreasZimmerman a rare sighting
Funny and strange to see Christopher laughing.
Amis was never a laughing matter, unless his name was in the same sentence as Saul Bellow's.
I knew he was reaching for the smokes when he went digging in his pocket.
He did not make an ad hominem fallacy. "You are an idiot" is a claim, not an argument, and fallacies have to be arguments. "You are wrong because you are an idiot" would be an example of an ad hominem fallacy. He has made a claim and it is up to him to support his claim, but he has not committed an ad hominem fallacy.
God i miss Hitchens....i wish there were a God that could keep him around......too bad there isn't
There certainly isn't a God anything like the way it's been conceived.
But consciousness, which certainly wasn't given the last word by Daniel Dennett in his book "Consciousness Explained" isn't understood by anyone.
Cause if you think about it you realize that whatever thought is or comes from consciousness is a way bigger mystery.
And people tend not to like mysteries unless they're one of those extremely rare people who truly honest with themselves.
Consider exploring Zen.
exactly - it's a cheap semantic trick. his (or her) 'logic' is based on the fact that in the english language, the word "law" has a judicial meaning and in a scientific one. one is proscriptive, the other is descriptive.
I tend to agree. Without spacetime there couldn´t be laws. For all we know spacetime started existing at the point of the big bang. I wouldn´t know how there could be laws without spacetime, but perhaps NuMaiVremPamant would be kind enough to show us proof of these extraordinary claims.
Wait wait I am running in a problem here that I would need more than 500 letters to clarify. Short answer. I probably confused "time" and "laws". AFAIK physics explain the creation of spacetime by fluctuations in the quantum field. So at least quantum mechanics had to exist regardless of spacetime ( how about gravity, etc? Don´t know, think they are dependant on spacetime ). Ok, need to do more research on that. Still, Numai has not yet proven that "laws" are existing due to a designer.
If people want to test evolution they can take the sequences off the NCBI, run them through a tree drawing program and get the same result no matter what gene you use.
It sounds like you have been listening to a good deal too much Irving, and not enough Hitches and Amis.
1/2:
Off the top of my head:
1) Cultural and ethnic differences
2) Cultural and ethnic separatism on the part of Jews themselves which has been exacerbated by a long-term nomadic existence.
3) Old Catholic usury laws which brought Jews into professions (banking, tax collecting, money lending) which elicit hostility in any population.
I've always been baffled by anti-Semitism. I grew up in a rural Midwestern town where there was an undercurrent of bigotry against homosexuals, against Blacks, against Mexicans (all Latino immigrants were 'Mexicans'), but never really encountered anti-Semitism.
Why the [bad word] is everyone debating evolution and the existence of God in a (rather moving) video about anti-semitism?
Depends whether we mean, from Jewish decent, or practising the Jewish religion.
If not him then who?