π Explore this insightful post from Culture | The Guardian π π Category: Film,Documentary films,Cop28,Dubai,Culture,Environment,World news π Key idea: FFilmmaker and climate activist Josh Appignanesi brings us an interesting prospectus from the front lines of modernity and postmodernism, from the 21st century capital itself: Dubai β a city where βoil money turns into concrete, glass and false optimism.β It seems to be the place on everyone's lips, the metropolis at the center of contemporary conversation, endlessly and casually cited as an example of ruthless capitalism and reactionary politics, a city that transcends cynicism or principled objection. However, until now, I…
π₯ Explore this insightful post from Culture | The Guardian π π Category: Stage,Dance,Culture,Federico GarcΓa Lorca,Theatre π‘ Key idea: I Admire the work of Amina Khayyam. The Slough-based dancer and choreographer has made pieces about domestic abuse (Bird), sex (You and Me) and promiscuous women (Punk). She often works in consultation with community groups, drawing on the lives of marginalized and underrepresented women. Rooted in North Indian Kathak dance, it has an unforced authority to its movement, a smoothness and certainty, that draws your attention towards it.But Khayyam's latest work, "Bibi Ruqaya's Reckless Daughter," doesn't quite hit home. It is…
π Check out this awesome post from BBC Culture π π Category: β
Key idea: Melania TrumpTailoring, belted trench coats and sharply cut tuxedos are often her style of choice. At times military-inspired, highly polished and always glamorous, Melania Trump's style has been the subject of adulation and consternation. For some, she is the epitome of First Lady style, and for others, she embodies something else. She famously wore high heels on her way to visit a natural disaster site and a felt hat β a symbol of colonial rule β on safari in Kenya. Some point to her expensive…
π Discover this awesome post from Culture | The Guardian π π Category: Fiction,Books,Culture β
Key idea: HeyOf all the Seven Deadly Sins, envy is the last to be commodified. You can understand why β unlike lust, anger, or even laziness, it's not something that needs to be acknowledged. In his allegory of Venus and Cupid, Bronzino depicted Envy as an ugly green hag, holding her head and howling helplessly; Now Instagram allows anyone online to access photos of the lifestyles of those richer, more beautiful, and more fortunate than us.Ruth, the narrator of Harriet Lane's third novel, The Pleasure…
π Explore this must-read post from Culture | The Guardian π π Category: Dance music,Music,Club culture,John Lewis Christmas ad,Culture β
Main takeaway: IIn John Lewis' new Christmas advert, a young son presents his father with a vinyl copy of Alison Limerick's 'Where Love Lives', which transports the father to the dance floor of his youth. Powerful stuff.Of course, this record won't be everyone's choice, so we asked readers to tell us which '90s club tracks they'd pass on to the next generation. Here are some of them.Breathing - the miracleBreathe by The Prodigy is a shot of adrenaline for a…
π₯ Check out this insightful post from Culture | The Guardian π π Category: The Traitors,Television,Television & radio,Culture,Reality TV,Claudia Winkleman π‘ Hereβs what youβll learn: 'WWhy is it always mine? I always have to do the dirty work for these traitors. I'm surprised they didn't put me in that tower with the hovercraft! Yes, it's always you, Alan Carr. And most people who watch The Celebrity Traitors wouldn't have it any other way. But even aside from marking Carr's rise to national treasure status, The Celebrity Traitors felt like a timely national bonding experience from beginning to end. Elon Musk…
π Explore this must-read post from Culture | The Guardian π π Category: Television,Television & radio,Culture π‘ Key idea: Shetland9pm, BBC OneOne minute, you're complaining to your colleague about a trashy date, the next you're sifting through frozen fish for illicit drugs. It all happens in a day's work for DI Ruth Calder (Ashley Jensen) as the tenth series of this popular murder-solving drama begins. Her next case with DI Tosh McIntosh (Alison O'Donnell) is the horrific murder of a retired social worker in a remote village - and they learn that the community is not as cohesive as it…
π₯ Read this trending post from Culture | The Guardian π π Category: Fiction,Books,Culture β
Main takeaway: IIn this moment of cultural panic about the decline of reading, it takes an enviable confidence to hand over a volume like Tom's Crossing. Weighing more than 1,200 pages of closely printed text, the novel contains about half a million wordsβalmost two Ulysses novels. It is also, in this respect, twice as long as Danielowski's first novel, House of Leaves, which secured cult status for its author when it was published 25 years ago. Tom's Crossing is so big that when I showed…
β¨ Discover this must-read post from Culture | The Guardian π π Category: Television,John Lewis Christmas ad,Culture,Television & radio π‘ Main takeaway: TThe strange thing about traditions is that they tend to last longer than their usefulness. Bonfire Night, once a way for the government to remind the public of its ability to kill revolutionaries, has simply become an excuse to eat a potato in a field. Church bells still ring on Sunday mornings, when worshipers communicate via WhatsApp much faster and more considerate. And the John Lewis Christmas advert is still a thing.True, it wasn't long before the John…
β¨ Discover this must-read post from Culture | The Guardian π π Category: Film,Documentary films,Nagorno-Karabakh,Women,Azerbaijan,Armenia,Culture,Europe,Society,World news β
Hereβs what youβll learn: WWith a title taken from the traditional opening phrase of Armenian fairy tales, Emily Mkrtchyan's debut nods to the impermanence of life itself. Filmed in the now-defunct Republic of Artsakh, the film follows four extraordinary women who find their hopes and ambitions cruelly derailed by war. The breakaway state was formed in 1991, after decades of political discrimination under the Soviet Union and military conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. For the majority Armenian population here, their peace has always…
