Reading
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William Friedkin: A Director of Flashes and Failures
Upon reflecting on the directorial oeuvre of William Friedkin, I am pleasantly astounded by the enduring compactness and exhilaration of “The French Traffic” (1971), which I once viewed on a DVD player numerous years ago. In this cinematic masterpiece, French narcotic overlords conspire alongside financially strained thespians to peddle substantial quantities of drugs to the United States. Two New York law enforcement officers, guided by their capricious intuition, discern telltale signs while tailing a dubious figure, resolutely committed to dismantling this transnational drug smuggling network amidst public outcry. This film has yielded a multitude of iconic sequences. Among them, there exists a particular instance wherein a motor vehicle engages in…
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My Purple Scented Novel: A Sinful Story of Friendship and Betrayal
When I initially perused the title of British author Ian McEwan’s concise tale, “My Lavender-Scented Manuscript,” I envisioned a poignant tale of amour. Nevertheless, subsequent to immersing myself in the narrative and mulling over it at length, I abruptly comprehended that this is a narrative steeped in transgression, replete with absurdities and paradoxes, culminating in a profound denouement that elicits poignant sighs. The central character of this opus, Parker, assumes the role of a novelist. In the opening pages, Parker cryptically recounts his own misdeeds in the first-person narrative: “You must have heard of my comrade, the once-renowned wordsmith Jocelyn Tabit, yet I surmise his reminiscences are waning day by…
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Reading: A Paradoxical Journey of Escaping and Facing the World
It is still somewhat daunting to proclaim myself as an exceedingly ordinary educator, replete with biases, folly, hubris, self-delusion, and conceit that may befall anyone. Typically, I do not possess any pastimes. Reading serves as my means to while away the hours and combat the void. However, my reading experiences merely reflect my personal journey. Certain individuals deem reading as lacking in usefulness, a squandering of both time and finances, thus embracing a contemporary form of anti-intellectualism. Conversely, some individuals excessively venerate wisdom and propel knowledge to unprecedented heights, succumbing to intellectualism. In my estimation, both perspectives may be flawed. Anti-intellectualism constitutes a foolish prejudice, while intellectualism is an equally…
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Milan Kundera: A Literary Giant Who Disappeared from Public View
On July 12, in the local time, the renowned wordsmith Milan Kundera departed from this mortal realm at the ripe age of 94. At the venerable age of 92, Kundera harbored a desire for resources to dissipate, and now he has, in a different essence, fulfilled this yearning. Nonetheless, he remains one of the most widely read authors across the globe. His illustrious literary oeuvre encompasses masterpieces such as “The Unbearable Lightness of Being,” “Living Elsewhere,” “The Book of Laughter and Forgetting,” and other works, which have served as his spiraling path leading to the culmination of the Tower of Babel. The esteemed “Seven Stars Library” of Gallimard introduced the…
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Hannah Arendt: The Thinker Who Escaped Totalitarianism
Experience is the sole object of our thinking! Nothing else!” This was Hannah Arendt’s declaration at the “Hannah Arendt Works Seminar” in 1972. The event was organized by the Toronto Society for the Study of Social and Political Thought. Arendt was originally invited as a guest, but she insisted on giving a speech at the conference. Hannah Arendt’s oeuvre is largely concerned with thinking. In her “Thought Diary” she asked: “Is there a non-authoritarian way of thinking?” At the outset of “The Human Condition”, she stated her intention: “What I propose, therefore, is very simple: it is nothing more than to think what we are doing.” When she went to…
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A Dialogue with Nature: How Iceland has Inspired Roni Horn’s Multifaceted Exploration of Identity, Perception and Place Over Four Decades
Ronnie Horn: Born in New York, USA in 1955, now works and lives in New York and Reykjavik. In 1978, he received a master’s degree in fine arts from Yale University. In his artistic career spanning more than forty years, he has explored themes such as nature and human beings, gender, identity, and the relationship between subject and object through paintings, photography, installations, sculptures, and literary works. Be forewarned that this is not a serious academic retrospective. At the dialogue before the opening on June 7, the protagonist Roni Horn (Roni Horn) with a white cropped head and a black suit sat on the far right, opening his mouth, which…
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The Rise and Fall of Russia’s Shadow Army: The Origins and Legacy of the Wagner Group Mercenaries
On June 23, 2023, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the boss of the Russian mercenary group Wagner Group, posted a short video on his social media saying that his troops were attacked by the Russian army and suffered casualties. High-level officials should be responsible for this matter and asked President Putin to replace relevant officials including Defense Minister Shoigu. At the same time, Prigorzhin also claimed that the Russian army has now lost a large area of land and is retreating from eastern and southern Ukraine. The actual number of soldiers killed in battle is 3 to 4 times higher than the reported figure. After sending out a video attacking the Ministry of…
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The Secret of Kells: An Animated Masterpiece Bringing Ireland’s Rich Cultural Heritage to Life
”The Secret of Kells” (The Secret of Kells, 2009) is the first work produced by Cartoon Salon. It uses traditional 2D animation technology, rich and unique Irish art style and elegant and gorgeous pictures like oil paintings. countless viewers. Although it “lost” to “Up” in the 2009 Oscars for Best Animated Feature Film, but as director Tom Moore’s debut animation film, it is still a film that writes a heavy cultural tradition. A masterpiece as brilliant and vivid as a dream. The film is based on the Irish Christian illustrated manuscript “The Book of Kells”. It tells the story of a young man with ideals, Brandon, who overcomes many difficulties…
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An Irish Farewell: How a Down Syndrome Actor Won an Oscar with a Touching Family Drama
On March 12, 2023 local time in the United States, at the 95th Academy Awards ceremony held in Hollywood, Los Angeles, the British short film “An Irish Goodbye, 2022″ won the Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film. It has previously won a British Academy Film Award. ”Irish Farewell” is only 23 minutes long, and it is a black humorous drama full of strong Irish local flavor. The story is pretty simple: Set on a farm in Northern Ireland called Glenmornan, it tells the story of a family reunited after the death of their mother (Michelle Fairlie). London-based older brother Tello (Seamus O’Hara) has long been estranged from his younger…
