Sir, - Despite the assertions of Raymond Williams and his disciple Alan O'Leary (January 28th), neither Ben Jonson nor the Romantics had an ideology. What they had was a culture, based on the Judaeo-Christian and Classical traditions. Leni Reifenstahl does have an ideology, and it is precisely because Triumph of the Will is a work of ideology, not culture, that despite all its technical virtuosity it is a hymn to evil and a celebration of arrogance.
Ideology and art are incompatible. The trouble with so much art in the 20th century is that it is based on ideology; and whether it's Nazi propaganda, Soviet Social Realism, or the work of Marxist theorists in the West, it is dead, lifeless. The art of this century that works as art - science fiction, fantasy art and literature, Hollywood, role-playing games, pop music - succeeds because it is based not on political ideology or critical theories but on a living, dynamic culture - the same Western culture, in fact, which Ben Jonson, Shakespeare and the Romantics were part of. - Your, etc., Kevin J. Dodd,
Ballydoogan, Sligo.