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David Porter » Entries tagged with "literature"

‘Good Books Make Bad Movies and Vice Versa’: Discuss

A perennial Media Studies question: do good books make bad films or do bad books make good films? However, perhaps the bigger question is: does it matter? Filmmakers take most material from adaptations, recycling and re-envisioning. They’re rarely bothered about whether it’s a ‘good’ book they’re using, as long as the movie makes money. Books (good and bad) make films (good and bad), that’s the bottom line. Critical and artistic acclaim are bonuses. Tim Robey, Sunday Telegraph’s Film Editor mused (21 Aug 2011) that autumn 2011 would bring a ‘slew of high-profile literary adaptations’ to the screen. Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, We Need to Talk About Kevin and The Help to discuss good/bad books. He said that One Day had enjoyed box office success retelling the big … Read entire article »

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The Gruesome Appeal of Executions and Executioners in the Arts

Many popular books, films, songs and poetry have been inspired by people who (officially) take the lives of others, and the manner of their departures. Shakespeare once said that nothing became a particular man in his life, except the leaving of it. Three hundred years ago, the public flocked to watch the entertainment of executions. Broadsheets of last words or narrative songs were best-sellers; souvenirs. So, artistic use of executions and executioners has been around for a long time. Modern executioners’ hoods are for sale, for people who want to imagine or play games. Execution is the corollary of discussion over the merits or otherwise of the death penalty. How is it done? Public or private? Descriptions like ‘state-sanctioned murder’, ‘system sponsored killing’, or ‘offing the inconvenient’ convey strong feelings. Public desire for … Read entire article »

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Unfinished Masterpieces Can Be As Compelling As the Originals

Works of art are often left incomplete through war or artists’ death. Some are finished by other people; but most are made interesting by being abandoned.   On the April 2011 publication of David Foster Wallace’s novel, The Pale King, Robert Douglas-Fairhurst wondered in Britain’s Sunday Times at the attraction of unfinished works. ‘You don’t buy a jacket with one arm, so why seek out what amounts to a creative stump or narrative doodle?’ Wallace’s book came from 200 pages left stacked on his desk when he committed suicide in 2008, intertwined with fragments from his bin. For many readers, it’s a suicide note revealing the man’s state of mind. Douglas-Fairhurst also cited Henry James’ short story The Middle Years about a novelist on his deathbed dreaming of the stories he might … Read entire article »

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Roots Matter in the Diversities of Life, Culture and the Arts

In an age of ever-extended families and diverse communities, peoples’ need to know where they come from and belong to is reflected in their arts. From Genesis in the Bible on the one hand and Darwin’s Origins of Species on the other, to Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s Two Tribes (Go to War) (1984), everything from religions, traditions, lifestyles and world-views are determined by people’s roots. Heritage-search companies offer programs to research family trees for probate, adoption or interest in genealogy. Military records from the first world war (1914-1918) are now accessible on line. Interest is high in getting a picture of how a great grandparent lived and died. In 1977 historical epic Roots aired. It‘s an early example of a TV mini-series, based on the studies author Alex Haley made into his own … Read entire article »

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Hotels in the Arts: Special Places in Film, Music and Literature

Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel” and The Eagles’ “Hotel California” are not the only hotels, real and imagined, that have played a major part in great arts. Hotel businesses market themselves on historical events or people, celebrity connections, geographical/movie locations to develop customer bases. Lucy Komisar, in The Travel Lady said: “no longer just places to sleep and shower, hotels are now environments for experience.” She reckoned in Paris, for example, the left bank Bel Ami (utilising Guy de Maupassant’s 1885 novel) and for art links, the right bank Hilton Arc de Triomphe, should be visited. Such boutique hotels sit alongside guest houses, inns, pubs, clubs and restaurants the world over, exploiting all connections to boost trade. Hotels in Literature Hotels are perfect settings for creativity. Hedwig Baum’s novel Grand Hotel (1929; movie 1932) was set … Read entire article »

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The Waiting Game: Playing For Life’s Meaning in Literature

Most writers inspired by the theme of humans made to wait, have used it to say life is hopeless, pointless and futile. That could be seen as depressing. The human need or compulsion to wait, is both natural as a feeling, and obvious as a theme for literature and movies. Waiting is stronger than queueing. It’s not standing in line for rations, for a ride at a theme park; it’s a wait which can take years, and perhaps with no apparent purpose. ‘It’s better to travel hopefully than to arrive to disappointment’ is an old adage. Anticipation can be fun in itself, excitement about something pleasant can add to the joy. However, dashed hopes, the wait for something intangible or terrible is more appealing to creatives. The idea of getting justice or … Read entire article »

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Surrealism’s Enduring Contribution to 20th Century Arts

Surrealist artists, painters, poets, filmmakers and writers are no longer regarded as fringe lunatics; their work & legacy of ideas have become mainstream. According to Surrealist.com, Surrealism is ‘a style of art and literature developed in the 20th century, stressing the subconscious or non-rational significance of imagery arrived at by the exploitation of chance effects, unexpected juxtapositions’. It is also, in a sense, a search for life’s meaning. It began, possibly, with Alfred Jarry publishing his play Ubu Roi (1896) in Paris. Its mix of absurd humour and obscenity caused mayhem. Surrealism was prominent in Europe between the world wars, growing from earlier ‘Dada’, which produced anti-art that deliberately defied reason. Surrealist.com quotes poet and critic André Breton (1896-1966), the ‘Pope of Surrealism’, who published The Surrealist Manifesto in 1924: ‘Surrealism is … Read entire article »

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