"Since the 1950s, Austria has nurtured a romantic attitude toward its past glory and embraced a cultural conservatism that hindered many Austrians from developing an open mind toward - and interest in - cultural criticism, artistic experimentation, and innovation. Therefore, most state funding continues to be channeled toward Austria's established theaters and artists rather than the writers and filmmakers, who make significant contributions to the public discourse on cultural amnesia and historical revisionism by challenging with varying intensity and on differing aesthetic platforms Austria's misguided self-promotion, such as Kulturnation par excellence."--BOOK JACKET.