The religious book phenomenon is looking like it has more staying power than many in the publishing industry believed. “The growth of Christian books outpaced the adult trade category in 2004, with sales expected to soar in coming years… Precise reasons for this jump in interest are hard to pin down, although the phenomenon coincides with the rise of evangelical Christianity and general anxiety over terrorism and the economy… Beyond that, Christian bookstores enjoy a special relationship with customers. The stores tend to blend a bit of ministry with retailing.”
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American Gothic, Iowan To The Core
For three-quarters of a century, the lonely farm couple depicted in Grant Wood’s ubiquitous painting, “American Gothic,” have called Chicago’s downtown Loop home, an incongruous base of operations for such a distinctly rural pair. But this fall, in a rare case in which the Art Institute of Chicago has consented to lend out one of its prized works, the painting will be going “home” to Iowa for a special Wood retrospective at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art. It may be just another painting in Chicago, but Iowa is already abuzz with talk of the return.
Harry Potter & The Dubious Legacy
The Harry Potter craze has been hailed by parents and educators on both sides of the Atlantic as a sign that children of the information age can still be engaged by good, old-fashioned books. But are the books really the classics of children’s literature that they are constantly made out to be? Robert McCrum thinks not. “When the current generation of Harry Potter readers has grown up, it will look back on the Harry Potter phenomenon with a mixed thrill of intense nostalgia, embarrassment and dismay. Our children’s children will certainly read these books, but as curiosities, bizarre literary relics from a lost world.”
Placido’s Fire
For Luciano Pavarotti, the Three Tenors phenomenon was the beginning of the end for a career that went from spectacular to parody. But for Pavarotti’s 3T counterpart, Placido Domingo, the crossover blockbuster was little more than a curious way-station in the midst of a breathless marathon that never seems to slow down. At Domingo’s core appears to be a burning desire to prove himself again and again, and to earn the love of everyone around him. “That sense of obligation, rare in performers (especially among the flighty narcissists who sing opera), is the essence of his character and accounts for the esteem in which he is held. He always justifies the price of the ticket, because he sets out to earn his reputation all over again every time he sings.”
The Plays That Wouldn’t End
Apparently, things just aren’t worth enjoying anymore unless they’re “extreme.” The tag gets put on everything from skateboarding to soft drinks, so why not theatre? “Marathons (as savvy marketers have called them since the running boom of the 1970’s) defy conventional ideas about how long full-length plays are. These productions can run 20 hours or more.”
Is Hollywood Finally Becoming Color-Blind?
It may be a bum year at the box office, but this year’s crop of summer blockbusters suggests that Hollywood may finally be getting over a hump that has plagued it for decades: racial inequality both in front of the cameras and behind the scenes. “Black filmmakers and actors and those who work with them echoed that sense of progress, pointing especially to evidence that white audiences – spurred by the 20-year-old hip-hop revolution – are going to films that might once have been seen as an African-American preserve.”
When Is A Symphony Orchestra Not The Answer?
Can the demise of a symphony orchestra actually be good for the affected city’s classical music scene? It seems counterintuitive, but Lawrence Johnson points out that, since the untimely end of the Florida Philharmonic, smaller chamber ensembles have begun to flourish in geographically disparate South Florida. “It’s not what former Philharmonic musicians want to hear, nor what those who prefer to experience the rich glory and volume of a large symphony orchestra desire. But the fact is that these smaller, less expensive orchestras and chamber ensembles may be more effectively serving the needs of local audiences than the Florida Philharmonic.”
9/11: The Movie
It had to happen eventually: Paramount Pictures has announced plans to make a big-budget film focusing on the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The director will be Oliver Stone, and the film will star Nicholas Cage. Several smaller films and documentaries have dealt with the attacks and/or their aftermath, but until now, the major Hollywood studios have shied away from what they rightly guess to be a sensitive topic.
“Ed McBain”, 78
The author of a legendary and long-running series of police novels centered on the fictional 87th Precinct has died. Ed McBain, whose real name was Evan Hunter, wrote his first crime novel in 1956, and never looked back, amassing a huge following over the subsequent half-century of work. “How long the Ed McBain books will hold their huge audience is anyone’s guess. Mystery writers go out of style… James Ellroy’s intense, dark stories of Los Angeles have nothing in common with the formulaic Ed McBain stories. But there you are in the airport, and your flight has been delayed. You’ve read the papers and had a drink. Luckily, there on the newsstand shelf are half a dozen Ed McBains. Relax: Detective Carella will take good care of you for the next three hours.”
Russia’s Legendary Beanpole
“From unpromising beginnings as a gawky young dancer, Uliana Lopatkina has become the greatest ballerina in Russia today, and a national legend… Russian ballet had been known for its small, delicate women, but the then Kirov director Oleg Vinogradov was mad about Sylvie Guillem and eagerly started unearthing tall new girls in her image – his ‘basketball team’, as they were known.” A decade on, Lopatkina is changing the face – and the body type – of classical ballet in Russia and beyond, but she remains quite conservative in her choice of roles, as well as in her assessment of what a dancer with her body can (or should) attempt.