Richard Brody: “And storytelling is the most overrated value and misattributed term in the world of moviemaking and, for that matter, criticism. The classic dichotomy of plot and character is beside the point; while following a character in action, the inner life can be reflected in a moment – or, catching a character in repose, stories can be spun out on the wing.”
Tag: 11.30.12
The Salman Rushdie Case (Is It Plausible?)
“In a departure from the standard, liberal notion that literature must be free to offend, he proposes that literature, properly understood, cannot offend.”
After Attacking British Government, Nicholas Hytner’s Star Rises Yet Higher
Hytner is the widely acclaimed director of the National Theatre. “Any further cuts would be a disaster, he argues. Not for the National Theatre (or the Royal Opera House, or the British Museum), whose privileged status and ability to raise private funds shelter them, but for the majority of other orchestras, galleries and theatres, especially those outside London.”
Is The Internet Going To Save The Novel?
“The internet is a permanent fixture in modern life, and that it influences the way we read, write and think is simply fact. So instead of lamenting how digital ubiquity is nibbling away at the novel’s purview, what if a novel were to pull a fast one and swallow the internet whole? What if, rather than putting novels online, we downloaded the internet into a novel?”
A Museum Staff Exodus Causes Some Questions
“The Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg has not yet opened, but there has already been an exodus of employees, amid allegations of indecision and political interference on the part of management and the board of trustees.”
A Symphony of Tape Decks (Remember Cassettes?)
“With a few people pacing around the gallery, you get tape players sounding off from all sides — an immersive symphony of a near-extinct technology.”
Holy Grail Producer Sues Monty Python Over Spamalot Royalties
“Mark Forstater, the film producer behind Monty Python and the Holy Grail has launched a High Court claim that he is the ‘seventh Python’ and entitled to royalties from the Broadway and West End stage musical spin-off, Spamalot.“
Little Things, And Little Feelings, Make Up Our Days
“The zany, cute, and interesting won’t stir us to tears or action or a belief in the creator. … But these are judgments as rich for unpacking as the beautiful or the sublime–and, in our time and place, more important than ever.”
National Labor Relations Board Sends Jacksonville Symphony To Court
“There is enough evidence of unfair labor practices by the Jacksonville Symphony Association to take the musicians’ union’s complaint before an administrative law judge, the National Labor Relations Board has decided.”
Eat This Rothko – Without Harming The Artist’s Work
“The murals that were meant to ruin the appetite of wealthy patrons inspired chef/stylist Caitlin Levin and photographer Henry Hargreaves to interpret Rothko’s collection using rice.”