“CULTURAL AGENDA - Today's Zaman” plus 3 more |
- CULTURAL AGENDA - Today's Zaman
- 'Pearl of China' is fan letter to author Buck - PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
- Intrax Cultural Exchange - PR.com
- Sex in China: Prudence and Prurience - Huffingtonpost.com
Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.
| CULTURAL AGENDA - Today's Zaman Posted: 03 Apr 2010 04:25 PM PDT |
The 12th State Theater-Sabancı Adana International Theater Festival runs until April 28 in the southern city, featuring performances by three Turkish State Theater companies, one municipal theater, three private companies and 10 theater companies from abroad. PERFORMING ARTS The İstanbul State Opera will stage "Les contes d'Hoffmann" (The Tales of Hoffmann), an opera in three acts by Jacques Offenbach, on Tuesday and Thursday at 8 p.m. at the Süreyya Opera House in Kadıköy. The company's production of Puccini's "La Boheme" will be staged Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 4 p.m. The Ankara State Opera and Ballet will present its production of Johann Strauss' three-act operetta "Eine Nacht in Venedig" (A Night in Venice) on Monday at the Opera House. A performance of "Cem Sultan," Sabahattin Kalender's opera in three acts, is scheduled for Wednesday at 8 p.m. and the two-act ballet "The Three Musketeers" will be staged on Thursday. EXHIBITIONS "Opus," the newest collection of work by Paris-based contemporary Turkish artist Sarkis, is on view until Saturday at the Galerist art gallery in İstanbul's Beyoğlu district. An exhibition titled "Picasso -- Suite Vollard Engravings," featuring the Spanish artist's most important engraving series from the first half of the 20th century, continues until April 18 at the Pera Museum in İstanbul's Beyoğlu district. "Türk Resim Sanatının Kilometre Taşı" (The Milestone of Turkish Painting), a group exhibition featuring selected works by the lecturers of the prestigious Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, is on view through April 24 at the Kibele Art Gallery in İstanbul's İş Sanat. Visiting hours 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. "Türk Resim Sanatının Bir Asırlık Öyküsü II" (A Centennial Tale of Turkish Painting), a selection of paintings by 20th century Turkish artists from the private collection of Ahu and Can Has, is on display until April 30 at the Rezan Has Museum in İstanbul's Cibali quarter. Visiting hours are 9 a.m.-7 p.m. every day. "The Garden of Forking Paths," a group exhibition featuring the works of Lara Almarcegui, Jordi Colomer and Guillaume Leblon, is on view until May 8 at the Akbank Art Center in İstanbul's Beyoğlu district. The İstanbul Museum of Modern Art's photography gallery hosts an international photography exhibition titled "Time Within Us" until May 16, featuring the work of 15 photographers from Turkey, Greece and Russia. The museum is closed on Mondays. "From Traditional to Contemporary: Cultural Memory in Modern Turkish Art," an exhibition featuring works by modern and contemporary artists from Turkey, runs until May 23 at İstanbul Modern. A collection of artifacts dating from the 16th and 17th centuries from Moscow's Kremlin Palace Museum is on display at the "Treasures of the Moscow Kremlin at Topkapı Palace" exhibition until June 7 at the palace's Imperial Stables section. FILM SCREENINGS The Piramid art center in İstanbul's Taksim hosts film screenings every Wednesday at 7 p.m. in its theater. Next on the program is "Diarios de motocicleta" (The Motorcycle Diaries), a 2004 biopic about the journey and written memoir of the 23-year-old Ernesto Guevara. Tel.: (212) 297 3120 The Nazım Hikmet Cultural Center in İstanbul's Kadıköy is presenting films on Latin America by Argentine filmmaker Fernando Solanas throughout April. Starting April 11, the center will also host a program that focuses on animated cinema in Turkey. For full program: www.nazimhikmetkulturmerkezi.org | |
| 'Pearl of China' is fan letter to author Buck - PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW Posted: 03 Apr 2010 08:57 PM PDT Pearl S. Buck was an intensely prolific author, the winner of a Pulitzer Prize for her 1931 novel, "The Good Earth," and the first American woman to win a Nobel Prize for literature. Her tales of peasant life in China, where she was raised by missionary parents, provided intimate glimpses into a world then unknown to most Westerners. Today, Buck's childhood home in China houses a museum dedicated to her legacy, while her grave in the Pennsylvania countryside bears a tombstone with her Chinese name -- a nod to the cultural duality that marked the writer's life and work. In "Pearl of China," Anchee Min, whose best-selling memoir "Red Azalea" recounted the story of her childhood in communist China, spins a fictional account of Buck's early life in China and her imagined friendship with the narrator, a young Chinese girl named Willow Yee. The two women form a spiritual and emotional bond that resists political turmoil, the violence of civil war, romantic rivalry and eventually, the distance imposed by communism. The theme of separation from homeland, whether it is one's home by birth or by heart, permeates the novel, exemplified by this description of Pearl's final days in China: "She would be uprooted and transplanted to America, a country she called home but barely knew. Later in her life, this last day in China would haunt her." As a teenager, Min followed an order issued by Madame Mao to denounce Buck as an "American cultural imperialist." However, after Min was given a copy of "The Good Earth" in 1996, she felt an immediate respect and admiration for Buck's portrayal of Chinese peasant life. "Pearl of China" grew out of that epiphany. As a result, the novel often reads like an unabashed fan letter to Buck, painting an idealized portrait of the artist as a patient, empathetic and strong-willed writer whose love for China and its people never wavered, even when the country's government drove Buck and her family into exile. The backdrop of the Boxer Uprising, civil unrest and the brutal rise of communism lends historical authenticity to the intimate story of friendship, but, too often, the dialogue and the storytelling seem stilted and artificial. The narrative's most moving moments come when Min describes the simple, yet seemingly indestructible, connection between Pearl and Willow as they grow from children gleefully waiting for the popcorn man into women struggling with unhappy marriages and personal sorrow. "I had known Pearl's loneliness since we were children. She had always searched for her own kind. That didn't mean another Westerner. It meant another soul that experienced both the Eastern and Western worlds," Willow seems to murmur after Pearl is visited by unforeseen tragedy. In those moments, when human emotions transcend cultural and geographical borders, Min echoes Buck's talent for showing compassion and empathy toward her characters, and like her, reveals the power and dignity contained in the lives of ordinary people. Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. | ||
| Intrax Cultural Exchange - PR.com Posted: 03 Apr 2010 01:16 AM PDT Intrax Cultural Exchange: Connecting People and Cultures Our mission is to create dynamic cultural exchange experiences that inspire personal growth, mutual respect and cultural understanding around the world. Since 1980, Intrax Cultural Exchange and its family of companies has provided international exchange and educational travel opportunities to students, young adults, families and organizations around the world. We welcome more than 30,000 participants each year from over 80 countries working to reach across boundaries to build bridges of cultural understanding. AuPairCare Providing international live-in childcare since 1989, AuPairCare is the leading au pair agency designated by the U.S. Department of State that places experienced au pairs from over 40 countries with caring American families. Au pairs are pre-screened by AuPairCare and provide families with 45 hours of care at $7/hour or $320/week. Learn more at www.aupaircare.com Intrax Career Development Connecting students and young professionals from around the world with internationally-minded U.S. companies, Intrax Career Development is a leader in work-based cultural exchange programs including short-term seasonal jobs, internships and training programs. Learn more at www.experienceintrax.com Intrax International Institute Helping international students achieve their academic, career and language goals, Intrax International Institute offers flexible English programs at its centers in San Francisco, San Diego, Chicago and Vancouver. Learn more at www.intraxinstitute.edu Intrax Study Abroad Offering the deepest high school study abroad opportunities to 19 countries around the world, Intrax Study Abroad offers programs varying in length from four week summer programs to semester and academic year. Learn more at www.intraxstudyabroad.com AYUSA Global Youth Exchange Intrax Intern Abroad World Headquarters Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. | ||
| Sex in China: Prudence and Prurience - Huffingtonpost.com Posted: 03 Apr 2010 09:05 PM PDT In this week's Financial Times, there is an article concerning Nanjing "swingers club" proprietor's arrest which has spurred "a debate on sexual freedom as 22 members of a swingers club prepare to go on trial accused of having 'group sex,' a crime that carries a maximum prison sentence of five years." Progressive versus Traditional Mores This incident underscores the tension in contemporary Chinese society, not to be reconciled anytime soon, between a new reality of "progressive" behavior and deeply traditional cultural imperatives. On one hand, the Chinese are having orgies. On the other, the price for fun may be jail. Decadence All Around. What's going on here? One thing is for sure: sexual mores in the People's Republic are dramatically more liberal now versus fifteen or twenty years ago when economic reform really began to pick up steam. Prostitution is everywhere; it's difficult to check into a three-star hotel without being accosted in the lobby by pimps or "pleasure girls" plying their trade. Every high-ranking cadre seems to sport a Gucci-clad xiao laopo - i.e.., mistress or "little wife." Premarital sex is common place; ten years ago, most college students graduated as virgins while today less than half do. Sex paraphernalia shops, usually managed by old ladies in lab coats, are as ubiquitous as massage parlors, most of which offer "happy endings" for, I'm told, a reasonable fee. Karaoke joints, both seedy and ornate, transform "singing with the boys" into meat markets, as mama-sans parade comely country girls for inspection in between rounds of dice games and off-key musical discharge. Gay clubs have popped up in every city; "money boys" prowl dance floors in search of tricks. On line pornography, despite the government's intermittent, half-hearted crack downs, blankets cyber space, covering every possible predilection. (And it's free.) When President Clinton had his fling with Monica Lewinski, no one here could understand what the fuss was about: he was just a man enjoying the fruit of power. Conservatism Rules. And yet, in many ways, China's attitudes towards sex remain, by Western standards, prudish. Girls who have boyfriends during high school are "bad." Mass advertising is tame, reflecting not only strict censorship guidelines, promulgated by the state, but also broad conservatism amongst the public at large. (Underwear models are invariably Caucasians because Chinese blanch when fellow citizens strike a degradingly erotic pose.) Even dye-haired, urban fashionistas wince at dresses cut too low or "wild" tattoos. True, premarital sex is now the norm, but there is very little "sleeping around." Modern women, rarely overtly assertive, conform to traditional standards of "seductive demureness." Men, unlike Western counterparts eager to indulge in locker-room braggadocio, are tight-lipped regarding exploits, even after a beer or two. (On-line trash talk, fueled by anonymity, is another story altogether.) Boyfriends or girlfriends are never introduced to parents until engagement is on the agenda. And the vast majority of homosexuals, even new generation types, resign themselves the inevitability of prison marriages. So what's going on? Is today's jarring coexistence of propriety and prudery merely a transitional phenomenon as the Chinese race, full throttled, toward sexual liberation? Or is something more timeless manifesting itself? Does China's sexual dualism tell us anything fundamental about cultural drivers in the Middle Kingdom? In the West, sexual love and marriage are inseparable. As Frank Sinatra sang, they "go together like a horse and carriage...you can't have one without the other. [Trying] to separate them is an illusion." The root of a healthy union, regardless of whether it has been sanctioned by the state, is a romantic passion that deepens over time. When loves "dies," the union is considered, by society and individual, shambolic, empty at the core, hence divorce rates in excess of 50%. Not so in the Peoples Republic. Stability is Golden. In the Middle Kingdom, the individual is not the basic building block of society. It has always been, and will always remain, the clan. Marriage, therefore, is less a union of two souls than two extended families, and is not truly consummated until a new generation is produced, the fulfillment of sacred duty to past and future generations. Romantic love, desired and even "useful" as a bonding agent, is a secondary concern, a means to end. Men demonstrate worthiness via "proof of commitment." Valentine's Day, a platform on which devotion can be displayed, is almost as Chinese as Lunar New Year. Titanic was a mega-hit because Leonardo DiCaprio was willing to pay the ultimate price - his life - for love. Marriage is a protective union, a bulwark against the vicissitudes of a world in which: individual "rights" do not exist; self-expression is often viewed as a threat to the established order; and institutions designed to protect individual interests are rare. In America, DeBeers' slogan, "A Diamond is Forever," glorifies eternal romance. In China, the same tagline connotes obligation, a familial covenant, rock solid, like the stone itself. Pragmatism and Release. The Chinese, supremely practical in most aspects of their lives, focus less on sexual fulfillment than we do. This is why, given the right professional opportunity, spouses are willing to be live in different cities, or even on different continents. It also explains why, according to research conducted by Durex in over 100 countries, China ranks third to last in terms of frequency of intercourse by married couples. As a result, men in China have access to a much broader variety of "release" options than American or European men do. Sex is commercialized - and ritualized -- here to an extraordinary degree. With a wink and smile, prices of high- and low-end services -- by the hour or overnight, from manual or oral stimulation to full penetration -- are quoted as freely as a McDonald's menu board. Men joke about "above the line" (i.e., of the head and heart) versus "below the line" needs, separate and unequal. Wives often turn a blind eye to sexual activities outside the home as long as they pose no threat to cohesion. Tolerance, of course, varies but women, more often than not, endure philandering spouses so long as dedication to family is not in question. They grin and bear an hour with a prostitute or a trip to the massage parlor. A mistress - i.e., a de facto threat to solidarity -- is more likely to be a deal breaker, but not necessarily so. According Xu Xinjin, the owner of marital-advice hotline, divorce due to extramarital affairs is still relatively uncommon. Many go on for years because no one wants to hurt the family's only child. Yes, the number of men -- and women - tempted into "dangerous liaisons" is on the rise. But those who have them, particularly after a child is born, are scorned by society, shamed by family and friends. (Twenty years ago, they would be demoted at work.) Unhappy Destiny? The prevalence of "loveless" unions and "cheating" spouses begs the question: are the Chinese unhappy? Do they buck against demands to forgo personal gratification in the interests of social stability? Yes and no. On one hand, divorce rates have skyrocketed. According to official statistics, more than 25% of Shanghai marriages now end in court, up from under around 5% during the 1980s. Support groups, both on line and off, are increasingly commonplace. Clearly, an economically-empowered new generation now refuses to put up with serial cheating, physical abuse, emotional abandonment, deadbeat dads or domestic cold war. That said, Chinese and Western aspirations - emotional, spiritual and material - are not, and never will be, the same. We believe "pursuit of (individual) happiness" is an inalienable right, the fundamental purpose of life. The Chinese crave a ta shi future, steady and sturdy; as long as both husband and wife advance the clan's well-being, harmony will reign. In the aforementioned Dumex survey, China placed second in terms of marital satisfaction. Warm trust trumps hot love. True, the desire for romantic "completion" is universal and ever more aspirational, even idealized, in a globally-connected Middle Kingdom. But 5,000 years of cultural truth - the supremacy of Confucian cohesion over Jeffersonian individualism -- will not be swept away by ten years of Barbie and Ken. The Chinese will resolve, in their own way, on their own terms, the struggle between passion and pragmatism. Their journey to modernity will, in the end, only superficially resemble ours. The co-existence of "comfortable" domesticity and extra-curricular indulgence is part and parcel of the Chinese experience. Save 30 years of post-Revolution puritanical repression, it always has been and always will be. Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. | ||
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