“Here’s a selective, not-so-nostalgic look back at some of the fiercest fights from a year when just about every cultural event and artifact became an arena for asking not just ‘Which side are you on?’ but ‘Do you really have my back?'”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Why The Culture Wars Of 2017 Are Not Like The Culture Wars Of The 1990s
For a start, unlike the battles over the “NEA Four” and Chris Ofili’s painting The Holy Virgin Mary (the one that incorporated elephant dung), the censoring impulse this time is coming from the left at least as much as the right (as with Dana Schutz’s painting of the murdered Emmett Till). However, argues Isaac Kaplan, the key difference between then and now isn’t the political identification of those objecting to the art – it’s how much actual power they have.
Guerrilla Penis Mural Appears In Manhattan’s Chinatown On Christmas Eve
“The painting, on an apartment building on Broome Street in the Lower East Side, was commissioned by a local street art foundation and made by a Swedish artist, Carolina Falkholt, as a companion to a similarly vast if more abstract vagina, further east on Pike Street.” The landlord has now had it painted over.
Pakistani Film About Rape, Politics, And Impunity Sparks Unlikely National Conversation
“In the film, Verna, Pakistan’s most popular and highest-paid actress, Mahira Khan, plays a teacher who is abducted and raped repeatedly by the son of a regional governor. After failing to get justice from the police or the courts, the teacher takes matters into her own hands. Pakistan’s Central Board of Film Censors banned the film for its ‘edgy content,’ which the board said was ‘maligning state institutions.’ But a public outcry, fueled by extensive news coverage and a social media campaign, #UnbanVerna, bore fruit when an appellate board lifted the ban.”
Dissident Tibetan Filmmaker Gets U.S. Asylum After ‘Arduous And Risky Escape’ From China
Dhondup Wangchen, who interviewed Tibetans about life under Chinese rule for his documentary Leaving Fear Behind – and was jailed after the smuggled film was shown at festivals abroad – was reunited with his family in San Francisco on Christmas Day.
Zentropa, Lars Von Trier’s Film Studio, Had A Very Creepy Workplace Culture (In Denmark, No Less)
“The image of Denmark that travels around the world is that of a peaceful, progressive, liberal, educated country on the cutting edge of feminism,” writes Danish journalist Anne Mette Lundtofte. And Zentropa, founded by Lars von Trier, is Denmark’s international flagship in the media world. Lyndtofte was initially “captivated” by Zentropa’s “militant transparency” – open plan offices, glass walls, outdoor swimming pool. “But, the more I visited Zentropa, the more I saw behavior that made me feel uncomfortable – both as a woman and as a Dane.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 12.27.17
The Year in CultureGrrl: Kicking the “*!%&@” Out of Plan B (for “Blog”)
Once again, art-lings, allow me to offer you my Best Wishes for an Art-Full New Year, along with CultureGrrl’s Top 20 Stories for 2017, in chronological order, with an emphasis on the controversies that we’ve been following and exhibitions that caught my eye. … read more
AJBlog: CultureGrrl Published 2017-12-27
A Book That Brings Her Back Alive
Mary Beach’s Electric Bananas, the brilliant posthumous collection put together by her daughter Pam Plymell, uncovers a writer who has the kind of … read more
AJBlog: Straight|Up Published 2017-12-27
Credo
I’m not nearly as good as I should be about answering my reader mail, especially during stretches of time when my life becomes more complicated than usual. So I spent an hour on Christmas afternoon … read more
AJBlog: About Last Night Published 2017-12-27
‘Broadcast News’ Is Terrific, But There Was An Disastrous Alternate Ending That Would Have Wrecked It
When the movie was first in previews, audiences wanted Holly Hunter’s newscast-producer character to end up with one of her two guys. So James L. Brooks, against his better judgment, shot a scene to provide that happy-ish ending. As Jane Craig (Hunter) said in another context, “It’s awful.” Jason Bailey explains.
The Beloved, Popular Books That Got Rejected Over And Over Again
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was turned down 121 times by publishers; Stephen King’s Carrie, 30 times; Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time, 36; Catch-22, 22 times (of course). Emily Temple’s list includes other surprising titles – including (!) The Diary of Anne Frank.
The New York Times Comedy Critic Explains How He Works (And Decides What’s Funny)
Jason Zinoman: “The first question I ask of a show isn’t whether or not it’s funny. Rather, I look to understand: What is the comic trying to do, and how interesting or new is it?”