Sociologist Eva Illouz argues “that EL James’s novels are ‘a gothic romance adapted to modern times in which sexuality is both a source of division between men and women and a site to orchestrate their reconciliation’, and that their graphic descriptions of bondage, discipline and sadomasochism are ‘as much a cultural fantasy as a sexual one, serving as a guide to a happier romantic life’.”
Tag: 05.27.14
All-Female ‘Henry IV’ Coming From Donmar Warehouse
“Harriet Walter is to follow up playing Brutus in Julius Caesar by taking on Henry IV in the second of a trilogy of all-female Shakespeare productions staged by the Donmar Warehouse [in London].”
Amazon UK And Hachette Ramp Up Battle Over E-Book Profits
“The dispute has also dragged in JK Rowling and the best-selling American writer James Patterson, and broke into the open on Friday, when the world’s largest bookseller started turning the thumbscrew on the French-owned publisher.”
Do We Really Have To Shut Down? Ask Musicians Of Wisconsin’s Green Bay Symphony
“Members of the Green Bay Symphony Orchestra will talk among themselves in coming weeks to determine whether there’s any way to keep the 100-year-old organization alive beyond next season. At least two of the 70-plus musicians disagree with executive director Dan Linssen’s claim that orchestra can’t survive beyond next season.”
Violinists Forbidden To Board Flight With Their Instruments – And Turn (Of Course) To Social Media
Indianapolis Symphony concertmaster Zach DePue and colleague Nick Kendall, two-thirds of the group Time for Three, were denied boarding on a US Airways Express flight out of Charlotte after flight staff refused to allow them to bring their instruments as carry-ons. Left on the tarmac, they made a video and posted it to YouTube; naturally it went viral.
Boston Ballet Names New Executive Director
Meredith (Max) Hodges “succeeds Barry Hughson, who left the company in January to become executive director of the National Ballet of Canada. Hodges is currently executive director of Gallim Dance, a New York-based contemporary dance company.”
River Phoenix’s Last Film Will Finally Be Released After More Than Twenty Years
“[He] was just 23 when he died of a drug overdose. At the time, he was about 80 percent through the arduous production of Dark Blood … [The film’s producers] released a trailer today, confirming that the film will, over two decades after its production, finally see a release.”
Top Posts From AJBlogs 05.27.14
How Many Museums Is Too Many?
AJBlog: Real Clear Arts | Published 2014-05-28
A Mexican Composer Whose Time Will Come
AJBlog: Unanswered Question | Published 2014-05-27
Herb Jeffries, Singer
AJBlog: RiffTides | Published 2014-05-28
Offshoring Hollywood Musicians
AJBlog: CultureCrash | Published 2014-05-27
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Opera’s Chubbygate: One Critic Recants (Sort Of)
Richard Morrison of Britain’s The Times: “The first responsibility of all reviewers is of course to tell the truth as they perceive it to their readers, not to avoid bruising the egos of performers. … Sometimes, however, critics – and indeed all journalists, bloggers and tweeters – need a reminder of how much their words can hurt and how carefully they should be used.”
The Anxiety Of Paris, Captured In A Single Department Store’s Renovation
“Does Paris risk being ‘frozen in formaldehyde’? The French capital’s strict historic building preservation has come under fire this month, after a major revamp of a Parisian landmark was shot down by the courts.”