Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Savannah Guz and Kris Collins open for Stephen Elliott 11-23-09
New Yinzers Kristofer Collins and Savannah Guz will be opening for Stephen Elliott, author of The Adderall Diaries, given a starred review by Kirkus and pronounced 'superb' by Time Out New York.
When? Monday, November 23, 2009 @ 8:30 p.m.
Where? Modern Formations (4919 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh)
Cover? $4
When? Monday, November 23, 2009 @ 8:30 p.m.
Where? Modern Formations (4919 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh)
Cover? $4
Monday, November 16, 2009
The Prisoner--an fascinating, Orwellian concept
"The Prisoner," an AMC miniseries, offers a very Orwellian tale about an intelligence agent, who once monitored close circuit video feed of public places in search of significant patterns. After he angrily resigns (over what the viewer does not yet know, and the main character has apparently forgotten), he wakes up in a desert, near a village from which he cannot escape. The village has almost every amenity and some idiosyncracies, much like our own world, and nearly everyone has accepted it, unquestioningly. It has become their reality.
'Six,' whose name was Michael, longs for his old life and refuses to live under the silent, ostensibily beneficent tyranny of the man called Two. Six, who rebels against his new name, often shouts Claire Wolfe's mantra "I am not a number!"
The Village is a pure distillation of our more heterogenous world. There is no genuine escape in the closely monitored residential, leisure, or commerical spaces, since there is no privacy. And until Six arrives, there is no fraternity of underground resistance, where rebels can find kindred spirits. The whole tale points to the fact that, even as we have creature comforts, we are not truly free. We are monitored continuously, in ways we aren't even aware of. Everything comes at a price, and most often that price involves our liberty. But we knew this. What's more fascinating is that "The Prisoner" presents a trenchant vision of society that actually calls into question (let's face it, not just the Western World's but...) America's current definition of freedom. Is it still the same as it was in 1776? Or has our concept of freedom significantly altered in response to external controls and personal desires? Have we willingly enslaved ourselves? And an even more interesting question to ask: why show a movie like this now, at this specific moment?
See various explanatory trailers here:
http://www.amctv.com/videos/the-prisoner/?bcpid=19921019001&bclid=45497761001&bctid=49981935001
'Six,' whose name was Michael, longs for his old life and refuses to live under the silent, ostensibily beneficent tyranny of the man called Two. Six, who rebels against his new name, often shouts Claire Wolfe's mantra "I am not a number!"
The Village is a pure distillation of our more heterogenous world. There is no genuine escape in the closely monitored residential, leisure, or commerical spaces, since there is no privacy. And until Six arrives, there is no fraternity of underground resistance, where rebels can find kindred spirits. The whole tale points to the fact that, even as we have creature comforts, we are not truly free. We are monitored continuously, in ways we aren't even aware of. Everything comes at a price, and most often that price involves our liberty. But we knew this. What's more fascinating is that "The Prisoner" presents a trenchant vision of society that actually calls into question (let's face it, not just the Western World's but...) America's current definition of freedom. Is it still the same as it was in 1776? Or has our concept of freedom significantly altered in response to external controls and personal desires? Have we willingly enslaved ourselves? And an even more interesting question to ask: why show a movie like this now, at this specific moment?
See various explanatory trailers here:
http://www.amctv.com/videos/the-prisoner/?bcpid=19921019001&bclid=45497761001&bctid=49981935001
Friday, November 6, 2009
Bill O'Driscoll reviews American Soma in Pittsburgh City Paper
Savannah is over the moon about the review of American Soma in this week's edition of Pittsburgh City Paper!
Read the review here:
http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A71099
"...Her cautionary science fiction sits alongside "Patent Leather Sidewalk Evangelist," a bitingly ironic story that recalls Flannery O'Connor. The humanistic fantasy of "The Fountain" -- filthy tavern toilet springs the fountain of youth -- contrasts with the quietly chilling "Secret Convexity," about a young woman's descent into depression. Guz even offers a few short, funny epistolary pieces, including "A Salesman Reborn," a kiss-off to a boss that suggests something from George Saunders' oeuvre...."
Read the review here:
http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A71099
"...Her cautionary science fiction sits alongside "Patent Leather Sidewalk Evangelist," a bitingly ironic story that recalls Flannery O'Connor. The humanistic fantasy of "The Fountain" -- filthy tavern toilet springs the fountain of youth -- contrasts with the quietly chilling "Secret Convexity," about a young woman's descent into depression. Guz even offers a few short, funny epistolary pieces, including "A Salesman Reborn," a kiss-off to a boss that suggests something from George Saunders' oeuvre...."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)