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Last posts

The new Turkish cinema

Mónica Boixeda Istanbulite, Only-Be

Empress Theodora (501-548) is sad and significantly more famous for the scandalous and promiscuous sexual prowess bordering on the pornographic, without doubt relying on her past as a circus prostitute and actress, credited with clearly defamatory intentions of her contemporary Procopius of Caesarea in the Secret History which, due to her important work as a state woman and feminist legislator avant la lettre. Not only was she at the forefront of a decisive role in all significant developments during the reign of her husband the Emperor Justinian I. Moreover, among others, she pushed laws which forbade the punishment for adultery regardless of sex, governed the right to abortion, allowed divorce by women´s own decision as well as free marriage between different races, religions and social classes, imposed death penalty as punishment for rape, prohibited forced prostitution and regulated brothels so that they were under the control of women themselves. At least since her time, largely because of Procopius, the occidental imaginary of the Anatolia region is usually associated with hedonism and pleasures of the body. To this, the existence of a long, refined and successful tradition of erotic literature and the heady world of light perfumes, aromas, textures, colors, clothes, beverages, sounds and songs that somehow turned Istanbul into the place where the East begins to unfold its many sensory promises has undoubtedly contributed significantly in Minor Asia. Hence, perhaps, that since the early sixties until the coup of 1980, the erotic film industry representing more than two thirds of Turkish film production. At first, the erotic content is inserted more or less naturally in the romantic comedies and... read more

The Cinema Effect: Illusion, Reality and Moving Pictures at the CaixaForum Madrid

Mónica Boixeda Madrilenian, Only-Be

CaixaForum in Madrid The Cinema Effect: Illusion, Reality and Moving Pictures until April 24. The exhibition is an interesting review of the influence that cinema has had in shaping the 21st century visual culture. The exhibition is organized by the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, with support from the Broad Art Foundation and the Audrey and Sydney Irmas Charitable Foundation. Cinema is in our unconsciousness through images and social representations constructed in the contemporary imagination. Along with advancing the technique to produce and play movies and documentaries using computers and televisions, video art work is increasingly popular and invites us to project ideas via the image. Illusion and reality intersect in the sample and the ones who call to decode these two proposals are international artists Isaac Julien, Omer Fast, Runa Islam, Ian Charlesworth, Ferry Tribe, Mungo Thomson, Julian Rosenfeldt and Paul Chan. They summon us to discover the reality of their dysfunctional compositions which communicate us with the unconscious construction of images: dreams. The filmmaker Isaac Julien, born in London in 1960, in his complex works on the search for racial and sexual identity in a world dominated by the stereotypical image of beauty, correctness and everyday life, has done interesting video art works where he plays with dreamworld poet that treats mediation on the cultural impact of global migration. Runa Islam, a filmmaker born in Bangladesh in 1970, inspired her documentary video art work in avant-garde Franco-Swiss filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard, one of the most influential representatives of the Nouvelle Vague, the critical and poetic acidity of his images. His films have... read more

The Classic Real Madrid – Barcelona FC

Mónica Boixeda Madrilenian, Only-Be

In the last two years, the football league in Spain – which is one of the three champions of the world – has been determined in the Spring, at the stadium Santiago Bernabéu, with the classic match between Real Madrid and FC Barcelona – the two best teams in the world. In spite of the fact that since Pep Guardiola took over the Catalan team in 2008, the football of Barcelona has turned into the worldwide benchmark for the sport, as it continues to break records and gain new titles – in the last two editions of the League, the game has only been won in the second half when at the Madrid stadium. This just proves not only the Madrid competitive streak – who are unable to give over a defeat until right at the last minute – but also the all-round quality of the team, which is full of international figures who have just been unlucky enough to come up against one of the most memorable and formidable line-ups in history. Indeed, it seems an indisputable fact that Barcelona under Guardiola has reached an unforgettable level in the history of football, up there with the Madrid under Di Stefano or Milan under Arrigo Sacchi – the stuff of legends. It´s not unusual to hear Barcelona being referred to as the best team of all time – a label which arose from games such the one in the first round of the League against Madrid at Camp Nou, their brilliant home stadium. A fired up Barcelona whipped their opponents with a deserved 5-0 score, which has gone down... read more