I have no problem with John von Rhein relating his trained, analytical, educated opinion on the technical abilities of David Helfgott’s piano playing (“The dark side of `The Shine Tour’ “; April 6). I do, however, question Von Rhein’s psychological evaluation of Helfgott. Von Rhein compares Helfgott to the character of Chance in “Being There,” writing “Like Helfgott, Chance is a simple soul who becomes famous by spouting meaningless jargon. In Chance’s case, the jargon is television banalities, in Helfgott’s, its music filtered through a fractured mind.” Von Rhein’s condescending evaluation seems to indicate that anyone with a mental illness is “simple,” so that anything that is created by a person with a mental illness is therefore “meaningless,” at least to the person producing it.
Von Rhein and other critics question Helfgott’s ability to mentally withstand the rigors of a concert tour, and indicate that Helfgott must be the helpless pawn of unscrupulous marketers. This stance indicates that the mentally ill are inherently incapable of living meaningful, vigorous lives, and are certainly incapable of self-determination. When was Von Rhein last in the mind of David Helfgott, or any other mentally ill person?
Von Rhein ends his article by saying that after this Shine tour, “one can only hope that people will leave this troubled, if cheerful, man alone.” Von Rhein seems to feel Helfgott will be better off back home, put away, tucked out of sight. Perhaps Von Rhein rather than Helfgott would be more comfortable if Helfgott were out of sight.
I for one, however, see David Helfgott’s presence as a triumph of an individual learning to live with a disability, refusing to stay locked behind closed doors.
