Saturday, May 8, 2010

“CULTURAL AGENDA - Today's Zaman” plus 3 more

“CULTURAL AGENDA - Today's Zaman” plus 3 more

Five Filters featured article: The Art of Looking Prime Ministerial - The 2010 UK General Election. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

CULTURAL AGENDA - Today's Zaman

Posted: 08 May 2010 04:34 PM PDT

  For the full program, visit www.iksv.org/tiyatro/english/program.asp

 The İstanbul International Poetry Festival 2010 will run from May 11-15 with activities in around 20 venues across the city, featuring Irish poetry as its main theme. For the program: www.istanbulsiirfestivali.org/en

 The 13th annual Uçan Süpürge (Flying Broom) International Women's Film Festival runs until May 13 in Ankara, offering around 100 films in screenings at the Kızılırmak Movie Theater and the Goethe Institut. For full the program: http://festival.ucansupurge.org/

 The 11th Trabzon International Theater Festival continues through May 15 in the eastern Black Sea city, featuring performances by 14 foreign and two Turkish State Theater companies.

 The Second Kurye International Video and Digital Arts Festival runs until May 16 with events at İstanbul's Bahçeşehir University Beşiktaş campus and İstanbul Modern. For a detailed festival program, visit www.kuryevideo.org

 The inaugural Antalya International Theater Festival will take place May 16-29 in the Mediterranean city, with performances at the Haşim İşcan Cultural Center and the Atatürk Cultural Center.

PERFORMING ARTS

 The Ankara State Opera and Ballet will present "Çakırcalı Efe," a dance theater production based on Yaşar Kemal's novel of the same name, on Wednesday at 8 p.m. at the Opera House. "The Three Musketeers," a ballet in two acts featuring music by Verdi, will be staged on Thursday at 8 p.m.

 Turkish dance company Anadolu Ateşi is staging its show "Anadolu Ateşi -- Evolution" throughout the summer at the Gloria Aspendos Arena near Antalya. Tickets can be purchased at Biletix sales points.

EXHIBITIONS

 A selection of works by world-renowned Colombian artist Fernando Botero is on display until July 18 at İstanbul's Pera Museum.

 The İstanbul Museum of Modern Art's photography gallery is hosting an international photography exhibition titled "Time Within Us" until next Sunday, 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, continues 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.

 "Transcending Borders with Brush and Pen," a sampling of calligraphy from Ottoman, Far Eastern and Latin lands, runs until June 20 at the Sakıp Sabancı Museum in İstanbul.

 Cer Modern, a new modern art museum in Ankara, hosts "+Infinity," a selection of contemporary artwork from the private collection of Ebru Özdemir, until July 5.

FILM SCREENINGS

 Today is the last day of the Yeni Sinema Günleri (New Cinema Days) film program at the Feriye Theater in İstanbul's Ortaköy, offering recent, award-winning Turkish movies. www.yenisinemahareketi.com

 İstanbul's Pera Museum is hosting a film program titled "Journey to the Moon -- 40th Year!" from May 7- June 13, celebrating the anniversary of the historical landing on the moon through narrative and documentary films. Full program: http://en.peramuzesi.org.tr/

 The Nazım Hikmet Cultural Center in İstanbul's Kadıköy is screening films by American filmmaker Joseph Losey every Thursday at 8:15 p.m. in its May schedule .

Epic tale of a cultural icon - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Posted: 08 May 2010 04:27 PM PDT

Perhaps the laziest thing a reviewer can ask is, "Why another book on this subject?" The question often answers itself. Certain topics occupy iconic places in our historical imagination, giving rise to endless fascination. Better to ask, "What is important to the writer? What matters so much that he or she must enter a crowded field to provide it?"

The good news about Nathaniel Philbrick's "The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn" is that his priority is to tell a good story well. For those who have forgotten everything about U.S. history, this is a national epic. On June 25, 1876, Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer -- a hero in the Civil War and a controversial figure afterward -- led the 7th Cavalry Regiment against thousands of Lakota and Northern Cheyenne, who were galvanized by Sitting Bull. Custer and nearly 270 of his men perished.

Philbrick, winner of the National Book Award for "In the Heart of the Sea" and a Pulitzer finalist for "Mayflower," focuses tightly on the campaign and battle. Readers who hope for fast-paced action and complicated characters will not be disappointed. That is a true accomplishment, considering the conflicting sources and bitter debate clouding these events. Inevitably some will dispute his version, yet he displays sound judgment throughout.

Readers wishing for more, though, may be less satisfied. To the extent that Philbrick wishes to add to our knowledge, he limits himself to details. He stresses his personal inspection of the battlefield and discovery of Pvt. Peter Thompson's unpublished account. But the net increase seems trivial, except to buffs who obsess over every minor point.

Five Filters featured article: The Art of Looking Prime Ministerial - The 2010 UK General Election. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Sex becoming 'cultural wallpaper' - Canada.com

Posted: 08 May 2010 03:22 PM PDT

Young people engaged in an orgy, a porn star dressed only in thigh-high socks, and lingerie-clad women cavorting with vegetables are among the images created for new campaigns for Calvin Klein Jeans, American Apparel and PETA.

Clearly, sex still sells. One of this year's top-rated Super Bowl commercials, according to Ad Meter, was a Doritos spot that showed a woman's dress being whipped off at a male onlooker's whim, leaving her writhing on the sidewalk in her underwear. A separate ad, this one for GoDaddy.com, culminated with two women in the shower together -- one of them race car driver Danica Patrick -- while a trio of men watched from their webcam.

Neither has generated controversy and, in truth they do look tame compared to Calvin Klein's new campaign, which resembles a grainy skin flick in its depiction of a group make-out session between young models in various stages of undress.

"This has nothing to do with advertising and everything to do with the culture at large," says Advertising Age columnist Bob Garfield, noting that explicit sex has become the preferred currency for contemporary fame-seekers.

"This [trend] actually makes things more difficult for advertisers like Calvin Klein, who have spent decades trying to work the borderline between titillation and outrage. These days, it's hard to summon outrage."

Shot by Steven Meisel, the lightning-rod photographer behind Madonna's 1992 book Sex, Calvin Klein's print and video campaign appears online at calvinkleinjeans.com.

Censored adaptations of the ads will appear later this year in North America, while Europe -- long known for sexually liberal advertising -- will see the unedited versions.

With their hidden-camera esthetic and resemblance to pornography, the new ads are evocative of a 1995 campaign by the company that drew a probe by the Federal Bureau of Investigation into whether Calvin Klein Inc. had violated child pornography laws. (The models weren't minors, so the Justice Department found no statutes had been broken).

"The bigger the shock value, the more attention consumers are going to pay to the message," says Demetrios Vakratsas, an expert on consumers' response to advertising. "That's the underlying driver."

The McGill University professor says movies and cable TV have desensitized the public to graphic sexuality, noting that "consumers have seen pretty much everything." But unlike Garfield, he thinks marketers can claim to have pushed the envelope first.

"In general," says Vakratsas, "I would say advertising more likely drives pop culture."

In recent years, such companies as Abercrombie & Fitch, Sisley, the CW Television Network, Cabana Cachaca, Dolce & Gabbana and even women's skin care line Clinique have all produced ads that resembled stills from a stag film.

American Apparel -- the clothier founded by Montreal native Dov Charney -- has gone farther and featured professional adult entertainers as models in its advertising.

Carmine Sarracino, co-author of The Porning of America, says it's evidence of a society that has normalized the marginal.

"Porn is becoming our cultural wallpaper ... It's so commonplace that we're just figuring out how to manage it, rather than being really shocked by it," says Sarracino, a professor of English at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania.

"The sex that sells now is the sex that's derived directly from the porn industry, always with the very explicit suggestion of a sex act or sexual situation. It's not just titillating photos of a female in a bikini."

Shari Graydon, a director of the Canadian watchdog group Media Action, says PETA's new online ad for vegetarianism is a perfect example of a company deliberately courting controversy in order to get noticed.

"Advertisers are bypassing billboards and other traditional placements and relying on the power of viral media, creating campaigns that they don't even need to put on TV to get seen," says Graydon, author of Made You Look: How Advertising Works and Why You Should Know.

XXX-PLICIT CULTURE

A culture once seduced by subtle sexuality now finds that nuance is not enough. Today's sexual messages are explicitly spelled out in advertising, music, movies, TV -- and even in church.

- Britney Spears' new radio single is titled If You Seek Amy (say it fast), while recent mainstream movie titles have included Zack & Miri Make a Porno and the Canadian-made Young People F--ing.

- YouTube videos by Mark Driscoll, the charismatic pastor of a Seattle megachurch, carry such titles as Biblical Oral Sex, Circumcising a Callused Heart and Porn Addict.

- A recent ad campaign by the CW for its teen-targeted show Gossip Girl showed a young man and woman in the throes of passion, along with the headline: OMFG (a coarse twist on the widely used acronym for Oh My God).

- During televised MotoGP events last year, many viewers were surprised to see oversized signage promoting race sponsor A-Style-- an Italian clothier whose logo depicts two stick figures having sex.

Five Filters featured article: The Art of Looking Prime Ministerial - The 2010 UK General Election. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

family support and acceptance have a huge effect on ... - Canada.com

Posted: 08 May 2010 01:28 PM PDT

Q: My daughter loves a man who's 10 years older, comes from a different country, culture, religion and language. He says he'll learn our language, culture, etc. When asked what religion the children would follow, he answered that they'll follow both.

Will this marriage work?The situation brings me great sadness and fear.

--Distraught

A: Though diversity is common in our society, it's still up to each couple whether a cross-cultural marriage involving different backgrounds will work. But, just as with marriages between people of like upbringing, family support and acceptance have a huge effect.

If the man is sincere, loving and committed, then your daughter's choice deserves the best chance possible. You can help by learning more about your future son-in-law's culture, religion etc., and by gently introducing him to yours.

E-mail Ellie at: ellie@thejournal.canwest.com. Mail to Ellie, Edmonton Journal, Life Section, Box 2421, Edmonton, AB, T5J 2S6.

Five Filters featured article: The Art of Looking Prime Ministerial - The 2010 UK General Election. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.
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