Search
Search results
Joelene Marie (28 KP) rated The Black Witch in Books
Oct 1, 2018
Wow! This story, these characters... just wow. Seriously got me right in the feels. There's quite a bit of controversy surrounding this book and i think it's for the wrong reasons. This book isn't racist or any of the other things it's been called, not in and of itself. Does it contain racism, misogyny, homophobia, xenophobia? in spades! Religious zealots, oppression, and just plain ignorant prejudice and discrimination? Oh, absolutely! At times heartbreaking and difficult to read? Definitely! But at its core this is a book about hope. It's about moving past preconceived notions of others based on any of the labels used to divide and coming together. It's about looking beyond outward appearance and seeing the person inside. There are obvious parallels between the book and reality because the author was trying to make a point, not that she or her story are racist or condone these behaviors but the exact opposite, that it is wrong and that we could do amazing things if we quit using labels that divide us, whether it's race, religion, gender, sexuality, occupation, ability, class, country of origin, political affiliation, etc. Those are only labels, they don't define any of us nor should they.
This book is beautifully written, with very well developed characters that u come to love and plenty u despise, in a world very similar to our own in different ways. It's emotional. It's wonderful. It has an important message. I am so glad that I read it for myself instead of just going on the negative reviews and jumping on the hate bandwagon. Thinking for yourself instead of believing what you're told about something is a pretty strong message in the story as well. I absolutely loved it and was disappointed when I got to the end. I implore everyone to please take the time to read it yourself and see how it makes you feel instead of avoiding it on some misguided principle after reading a bad review written by someone who either didn't get the obvious messages within The Black Witch or was already prejudiced against it themselves. Seriously, it's worth it.
This book is beautifully written, with very well developed characters that u come to love and plenty u despise, in a world very similar to our own in different ways. It's emotional. It's wonderful. It has an important message. I am so glad that I read it for myself instead of just going on the negative reviews and jumping on the hate bandwagon. Thinking for yourself instead of believing what you're told about something is a pretty strong message in the story as well. I absolutely loved it and was disappointed when I got to the end. I implore everyone to please take the time to read it yourself and see how it makes you feel instead of avoiding it on some misguided principle after reading a bad review written by someone who either didn't get the obvious messages within The Black Witch or was already prejudiced against it themselves. Seriously, it's worth it.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Colette (2018) in Movies
Jul 2, 2019
Directed by Wash Westmoreland, “Colette” is a biographical drama based on Colette, the French novelist. This is a film that is truly worth watching at least once in a lifetime.
Movie goers may start off with an impression that this film will only attempt to lavish them with grandiosity and a dash of drama that may or may not really be all that thrilling. A pleasant surprise – it goes much deeper than visual decadence and a bit of tear jerking.
Keira Knightley’s performance as Gabrielle Colette is one that shares with audiences a riveting evolution of a repressed young woman and her transformation into a controversial force to be reckoned with in a rapidly transforming entertainment industry.
Knightley’s performance is perhaps her best yet, with captivating depictions of raw human emotion in all its complexities.
Dominic West plays the role of Henry Gauthier-Villars, Colette’s husband. Gauthier-Villars is portrayed as an opportunist who puts greed before the value of others. He employs ghost writers to make him fortunes while he engages in debauchery. His life is filled with great possessions, parties, and beautiful women.
The intertwining of his path with Colette’s demonstrates the ways that a woman can be ravaged by love, giving everything they are only to find out it may never be enough.
Themes of gender and sexuality play a strong role in this story. Denise Gough is captivating in her role as Colette’s lady lover, Mathilde de Morny. In a time when women could not even wear pants, these characters began to write new rules by rejecting the repression of high society.
‘Colette’ shows us that our journeys are never so simple. A person who may seem close to destruction or repressed domestication has the ability to rise like a phoenix above the ashes, into something new and more ravishing than before.
The film has a magical feel with cinematography that puts the viewer right in the moment. It draws the audience in with subtle detail and continues to develop into a real experience of a complex and winding story.
Movie goers may start off with an impression that this film will only attempt to lavish them with grandiosity and a dash of drama that may or may not really be all that thrilling. A pleasant surprise – it goes much deeper than visual decadence and a bit of tear jerking.
Keira Knightley’s performance as Gabrielle Colette is one that shares with audiences a riveting evolution of a repressed young woman and her transformation into a controversial force to be reckoned with in a rapidly transforming entertainment industry.
Knightley’s performance is perhaps her best yet, with captivating depictions of raw human emotion in all its complexities.
Dominic West plays the role of Henry Gauthier-Villars, Colette’s husband. Gauthier-Villars is portrayed as an opportunist who puts greed before the value of others. He employs ghost writers to make him fortunes while he engages in debauchery. His life is filled with great possessions, parties, and beautiful women.
The intertwining of his path with Colette’s demonstrates the ways that a woman can be ravaged by love, giving everything they are only to find out it may never be enough.
Themes of gender and sexuality play a strong role in this story. Denise Gough is captivating in her role as Colette’s lady lover, Mathilde de Morny. In a time when women could not even wear pants, these characters began to write new rules by rejecting the repression of high society.
‘Colette’ shows us that our journeys are never so simple. A person who may seem close to destruction or repressed domestication has the ability to rise like a phoenix above the ashes, into something new and more ravishing than before.
The film has a magical feel with cinematography that puts the viewer right in the moment. It draws the audience in with subtle detail and continues to develop into a real experience of a complex and winding story.
ClareR (5849 KP) rated Frankissstein in Books
Aug 6, 2019
A novel with a lot to think about!
I feel a sense of satisfaction having finished this book. I loved it, and I can really see why it has made the Booker Prize longlist (2019).
It is set in two different timelines. The first begins in 1816 with Mary Shelley, Percy Shelley (actually, before they were married), Lord Byron, Mary’s stepsister and Byron’s lover, Claire Clairmont and Polidori, Byron’s doctor. During a particularly wet two weeks on Lake Geneva, Byron sets them all the task of writing a horror story. And so Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is born.
In the modern day, we follow Ry Shelley, a transgender doctor, Victor Stein (a ‘mad’ scientist), Ron Lord (a very successful sexbot producer), Clare (a staunch Christian, who seems to be working undercover in the most unlikely places!) and Polly Dory (a journalist for Vanity Fair. Do you see what she did here? It took me a couple of ‘chapters’, sadly! This is the Frankenstein of the modern age. Where Mary Shelley was terrified at the idea of creating a living man from parts of the dead, Victor Stein in the present day wants to preserve the brains and thoughts of the dead - and it’s equally terrifying.
Mary Shelley and Ry Shelley are very similar (the same, but in different times?) characters, even though they are in two very different times. Mary is at the mercy of her female body - she falls pregnant and loses two babies before she has the third who survives. Ry is trying to change his body from female to male so that he has control over it. But society has very fixed ideas about these characters in both timelines.
It’s a very current book with mention of Brexit and Trump, but I think it will hold up well in the future because it is so well written, and it has a lot to say about society and gender.
I thoroughly enjoyed it - and now I’m going to go and find more books in Jeanette Wintersons back catalogue!
Many thanks to Penguin Random House/ Jonathan Cape and NetGalley for a copy of this book (which I actually went and bought as well - it needs to be sat on my bookshelf!)
It is set in two different timelines. The first begins in 1816 with Mary Shelley, Percy Shelley (actually, before they were married), Lord Byron, Mary’s stepsister and Byron’s lover, Claire Clairmont and Polidori, Byron’s doctor. During a particularly wet two weeks on Lake Geneva, Byron sets them all the task of writing a horror story. And so Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is born.
In the modern day, we follow Ry Shelley, a transgender doctor, Victor Stein (a ‘mad’ scientist), Ron Lord (a very successful sexbot producer), Clare (a staunch Christian, who seems to be working undercover in the most unlikely places!) and Polly Dory (a journalist for Vanity Fair. Do you see what she did here? It took me a couple of ‘chapters’, sadly! This is the Frankenstein of the modern age. Where Mary Shelley was terrified at the idea of creating a living man from parts of the dead, Victor Stein in the present day wants to preserve the brains and thoughts of the dead - and it’s equally terrifying.
Mary Shelley and Ry Shelley are very similar (the same, but in different times?) characters, even though they are in two very different times. Mary is at the mercy of her female body - she falls pregnant and loses two babies before she has the third who survives. Ry is trying to change his body from female to male so that he has control over it. But society has very fixed ideas about these characters in both timelines.
It’s a very current book with mention of Brexit and Trump, but I think it will hold up well in the future because it is so well written, and it has a lot to say about society and gender.
I thoroughly enjoyed it - and now I’m going to go and find more books in Jeanette Wintersons back catalogue!
Many thanks to Penguin Random House/ Jonathan Cape and NetGalley for a copy of this book (which I actually went and bought as well - it needs to be sat on my bookshelf!)
OR
Old-Time Religion Embracing Modernist Culture: American Fundamentalism Between the Wars
Book
Old-Time Religion Embracing Modernist Culture focuses on the founding generation of American...
Psychology of Prejudice and Discrimination
Mary E. Kite and Bernard E. Whitley
Book
The Psychology of Prejudice and Discrimination provides a comprehensive and compelling overview of...
!Tequila!: Distilling the Spirit of Mexico
Book
Italy has grappa, Russia has vodka, Jamaica has rum. Around the world, certain drinks-especially...
What is Feminism? Why Do We Need it? and Other Big Questions
Louise Spilsbury and Bea Appleby
Book
What is feminism? Why do we need it? Where does it come from? Why does it exist? The word 'feminism'...
Making and Remaking Horror in the 1970s and 2000s: Why Don't They Do it Like They Used to?
Book
In Making and Remaking Horror in the 1970s and 2000s author David Roche takes up the assumption...
HI
How it Feels to be Free: Black Women Entertainers and the Civil Rights Movement
Book
Winner of the Benjamin L. Hooks National Book Award Winnter of the Michael Nelson Prize of the...
Understanding the Sexual Betrayal of Boys and Men: The Trauma of Sexual Abuse
Book
Understanding the Sexual Betrayal of Boys and Men: The Trauma of Sexual Abuse is an indispensable...