"The crimes of the United States have been systematic, constant, vicious, remorseless, but very few people have actually talked about them," said British playwright and screenwriter Harold Pinter, 75, during his Literature Nobel Prize acceptance speech on Wed., Dec. 7.
"You have to hand it to America. It has exercised a quite clinical manipulation of power worldwide while masquerading as a force for universal good. It's a brilliant, even witty, highly successful act of hypnosis."
Additionally, Pinter described the war in Iraq as "a bandit act, an act of blatant state terrorism, demonstrating absolute contempt for the concept of international law," asserting that "at least 100,000 Iraqis were killed by American bombs and missiles before the Iraq insurgency began. These people are of no moment. Their deaths don't exist. They are blank."
The Nobel honoree also called for U.S. president George W. Bush and British prime minister Tony Blair to be tried before an international criminal court. ("But Bush has been clever," Pinter added. "He has not ratified the International Criminal Court of Justice. … But Tony Blair has ratified the Court and is therefore available for prosecution. We can let the Court have his address if they're interested. It is Number 10, Downing Street, London.")
The Swedish Academy's press release states that "since 1973, Pinter has won recognition as a fighter for human rights" and "has often taken stands seen as controversial." Controversial indeed. But the Swedish Academy apparently has a yen for "controversial" types. In the New York Times, Sarah Lyall asserts that in recent years the Nobel Prize for Literature has been awarded to writers "with left-wing ideologies" though "writers with a liberal-humanistic worldview" would perhaps be a more accurate description of Pinter's, Dario Fo's, Günter Grass', and José Saramago's "ideologies."
Among Pinter's best-known screenplays are those for the socio-psychological drama The Servant (1963), in which Dirk Bogarde's servant takes over from master James Fox; The Caretaker (1963, from his 1959 play); The Pumpkin Eater (1964), for which Anne Bancroft received a best actress Oscar nomination; The Quiller Memorandum (1966); and The Go-Between (1971), an excellent exploration of sexuality and class, starring Julie Christie (above) and Alan Bates.
Also, The Homecoming (1973, from his 1964 play); The French Lieutenant's Woman (1981), which earned Pinter and leading lady Meryl Streep Oscar nods; Betrayal (1983, from his semi-autobiographical 1978 play), a psychological drama starring Jeremy Irons and Ben Kingsley for which Pinter received his second best screenplay Oscar nomination; and The Comfort of Strangers (1990).
Pinter also wrote the 25-minute made-for-TV documentary Against the War (1999), an indictment against the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. (The documentary is available for download here.)
Described on the Swedish Academy's website as "the foremost representative of British drama in the second half of the 20th century," Pinter has been suffering from esophagus cancer, and was forbidden by his doctors to travel to Stockholm for the Nobel Prize ceremony. His speech was delivered through a video recording.
In his speech, Pinter also quoted Pablo Neruda's poem "I'm Explaining a Few Things," and wrapped things up with the following admonishment:
"When we look into a mirror we think the image that confronts us is accurate. But move a millimetre and the image changes. We are actually looking at a never-ending range of reflections. But sometimes a writer has to smash the mirror – for it is on the other side of that mirror that the truth stares at us. I believe that despite the enormous odds which exist, unflinching, unswerving, fierce intellectual determination, as citizens, to define the real truth of our lives and our societies is a crucial obligation which devolves upon us all. It is in fact mandatory. If such a determination is not embodied in our political vision we have no hope of restoring what is so nearly lost to us – the dignity of man."
Full English-language text of Harold Pinter's speech
Harold Pinter official website