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November 17th, 2008
Stories
Peru: Art Exhibit Depicting Saints Causes Controversy and Possible Censorship
Approximately one month ago, the exhibit “Migration of the Saints” was inaugurated at the gallery Vértice located in the Lima neighborhood of San Isidro. The works by the artist Cristina Planas are iconoclastic in nature, and portrays the saints in an unconventional format. In the blog Palabras Van y Vienen II [es], M. Isabel Guerra interviews Planas, where she talks about why she chose this subject matter:
Los santos están en los altares, pero antes de estar allí fueron seres humanos y vivieron en esta tierra … Estoy disponiendo la galería como si fuera una gran iglesia antigua; en lo que sería el altar principal está en Señor de los Milagros … al lado derecho, “a la diestra del Señor”, a San Martín y Santa Rosa, los santos que son, digamos, oficiales, y a la izquierda está Sarita Colonia, la santa popular pero que no ha sido reconocida por el Vaticano.
en la actualidad ya no matan a nadie con espinas ni con clavos, sino más bien con armas de fuego, entre otras cosas. Por eso al Cristo Moreno lo he retratado como clavado de fusiles, en vez de coronado de espinas; a Sarita la he ubicado en su combi; a San Martín lo he caracterizado como un muchacho de barrio; y a Santa Rosa como a la mujer apasionada que es capaz de disfrutar de su proceso vital.
The saints are located on altars, but before they arrived there, they were human beings and lived on this earth … I am arranging the gallery as if it was a great antique church; and on the main altar is the Lord of the Miracles … “on the right hand side of the Lord” are Saint Martín and Saint Rosa, the saints, who are ‘official', and on the left there is Sarita Colonia, the popular saint that has not been recognized by the Vatican.
Nowadays, they no longer kill people with thorns or with nails, but with firearms, among other things. That is why the Black Christ was portrayed as being nailed with rifles, instead of being crowned with thorns; Sarita was placed in her combi (public bus); Saint Martín was characterized as a man from the neighborhood; and Saint Rosa as a passionate woman capable of enjoying her vital processes.
Photo by Palabras Van y Vienen II and used with permission
The manner in which the saints were portrayed was not the only thing that attracted attention, but also because the saints were dressed only in their undergarments. This generated a wide variety of reactions, from those who were in favor of showing another side to the saints, one of being more human, to those who were offended because they considered that it was irreverent the way that the sacred figures were portrayed. However, the events took on another turn when prior to the exhibit's conclusion, the Municipality of San Isidro closed the gallery [es] alleging that there were problems with the operating muncipical license. The Director of the gallery, Rosario Wenzel, published a note in the blog Arte Nuevo [es] where she refuted some of the claims:
6. Debemos señalar que no es cierto que la Galería Vértice carezca de la respectiva Licencia de funcionamiento ni que no cuente con el Certificado emitido por Defensa Civil, aún cuando podrá haber existido un problema administrativo de actualización del RUC, el cual ya ha sido solucionado.
7. Es evidente que el cierre físico de la Galería Vértice se ha llevado a cabo por la presión de un grupo ultraísta, que no representa a la comunidad católica, de la cual somos respetuosos, y lo que es más grave, las personas que han expresado su disconformidad no han visitado la muestra y se han dejado llevar por la opinión tendenciosa de gente desinformada, fanática y llena de prejuicios, que estamos seguros no comparte la mayoría de las personas pensantes.
6. It is not true that the Vértice Gallery lacks the proper operating license or lacks the certification given by Civil Defense, and there could have been an administrative problem with the current validity of the RUC, but it has already been addressed.
7. It is apparent that the physical closure of the Vértice Gallery was caused by the pressure from a radical group, which does not represent the Catholic community, of which we are very respectful towards, and the most serious aspect of this matter is that those persons that have expressed their discomfort had not even visited the exhibit and allowed themselves to be swayed by the opinion of misinformed people, who are full of prejudices and we are sure that they do not share the opinions of the majority of people.
Amazilia of Perú Apartheid [es] does not see the basis for the scandal:
En principio no entiendo por que encuentran estas figuras ofensivas, aunque presentadas en forma poco convencional se les guarda el respeto debido, estan como estarian en cualquier otra iglesia, no se que es lo que les molesta más: la ropa interior o las expresiones faciales. Pero en los 2000 años de arte cristiano no ha habido trasgresiones mas bizarras?
I don't understand why they found those figures to be offensive, and even though they were presented in an unconventional format, they were still presented with the proper respect, as if they were in any other church. I don't know if they were upset for the underwear or for their facial expressions. In the past 2000 years of Christian art, hasn't there been more bizarre examples?
Some other bloggers see the other side, such as Guille of Pueblo Vruto [es] who writes:
O la señora Planas ignora el valor de los santos para las personas religiosas o intenta burlarse de ellas. Es obvio que para los fieles y devotos la gracia del santito radica en que se trata de un modelo de vida espiritual que no solamente reduce la importancia de lo físico (material) sino que, incluso, combate su centralidad… No se trata del simple afán de proponer una estética “alternativa”: claramente se subvierte la estética “corriente” (oficial, canónica, etc) con un anti-valor. Los santos de Cristina Planas no “migran”: se trastocan hasta la negación y el (auto) rechazo.
Either Mrs. Planas ignores the value of saints for the religious persons or she tries to make fun of them. It is obvious that for the faithful and devoted, the grace of the saints are found in that they are model for the spiritual life. This also includes the physical (material) aspect, which is important for their centrality… It does not deal with simply proposing a simple aesthetic “alternative”: clearly it subverts the “ordinary” aesthetic (official, canonical, etc.) with an anti-values aesthetic. The saints of Cristina Planas do not “migrate”: they alter towards the negation and the (self) rejection.
Many are left wondering about the cause-and-effect aspect of the closure of the gallery. Luis of Bloodyhell [es] writes:
Aún no tengo los suficientes elementos de juicio para saber si lo de Vértice fue una censura o no. Pero sí tengo los suficientes elementos para comprender que sería más interesante que los artistas se animaran -a la luz de estas expresiones últimas de, según se dice, intolerancia o ignorancia estética de los mal llamados “fanáticos religiosos”- no a decir que la religión es importante para el “pueblo peruano” o a admirarse del fervor de esta nación “católica”, sino a alertar y pensar sobre todo lo chueco y malsano que una religión es capaz de producir. O sea, es hora de ofender a la religión.
Hay un comentario que leí por ahí que me pareció muy lógico. Dice lo siguiente, parafraseo: “¿cómo así me piden respetar el arte cuando los artistas no respetan mis creencias?”. Muy cierto. Súper cierto. 100 bonus points. La respuesta es así: no, nadie pide que respetes el arte. Es más, nadie pide que respetes nada. Tu irrespeto es ilimitado, sin fronteras y puede contener toda la ira y el desprecio de lo que tu cerebro es capaz. Solo hay una restricción: cumplir la ley, escritas, aunque te parezca increíble, por los hombres, que pensaron cosas muy diferentes a Dios. Por lo tanto, no puedes ir a una galería de arte y quemar aquello que te parece ofensivo y que no respetas. Serías detenido por eso. Pero sí puedes decir y escribir sobre el arte todo lo que tú quieras. O, mejor, podrías ser un artista religioso y dedicar tus obras al Señor, obras que, claro, lo respeten. Dudo mucho que le importe, pero bueno, eres libre. ¿Y sabes qué? Esa libertad de expresarte no te la dio Dios: te la dieron los hombres.
I still don't have enough evidence to judge whether the (closure) of Vértice was censorship or not. I do, however, have enough evidence to understand that it would be more interesting if the artist would be willing to - in light of the latest intolerance and ignorance of the so-called “religious fanatics” - not say that religion is important for the “Peruvian people” or admire the fervor of this “Catholic” nation, but alert and reflect about all of the twisted and unhealthy aspects that religion is capable of producing. In other words, it is time to offend religion.
There is a comment that I read that appeared to be very logical. It says, paraphrased, “How can they ask me to respect art, when the artists don't respect my beliefs?” It is true, very true. 100 bonus points. The answer is the following: no one asks you to respect art. It is more, no one asks you to respect anything. You disrespect is unlimited, without borders, and can contain all of the anger and disdain that your brain is capable of. There is only one restriction: follow the law, even if it seems to be unbelievable, as man thinks differently than God. You cannot go to an art gallery and burn all that you think is offensive and that you don't respect. You will be arrested for that. You can, however, say and write all that you want about art. Or better, you can be a religious artist and dedicate you work to the God, works that would be respected. I doubt that it matters to you, you are free. You know what? That freedom of expression is not given to you by God, man gave it to you.
Egypt: Internet Freedom in Egypt
Tunisian blogger, Sami Ben Gharbia, published a video explaining the role of the Egyptian blogsphere in exposing human rights abuses and the role of the social-networking website Facebook and the micro-blogging platform.
Here's the video:
And here's what Ben Gharbia, who is Global Voices Advocacy editor, wrote:
Here is a great video explaining the role of the egyptian blogsphere in exposing human rights abuses and the role of the social-networking website Facebook and the micro-blogging platform Twitter in organizing demos and strikes, such as the April 6 strike and the May 4th General Strike.
The video features, among others, blogger and activist Noha Atef, editor of Tortureinegypt.net blog, Gamal Eid, the executive director of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, blogger and journalist Abdel Monem Mahmoud, and Facebook activist, Ahmed Maher.
Egypt for Sale
Word is out that every Egyptian citizen who is over 21 years old will own a part of Egypt's public sector companies and factories. The announcement has been the core topic of talk shows and has made its way to the blogosphere.
Zeinobia wrote a post titled “To sell your country in an auction” saying:
First of all I apologize for my misunderstanding of the huge surprise, or rather the shock, of the outcome of this year's NDP Conference. Pardon my bad economic information but to be honest I did not get the real idea of the NDP's plan except when I read it several times in the Newspapers. I read it several times because I wanted to know if it was real; does the NDP want to destroy our economy completely this time?
The blogger summarized the announcement as follows:
1 - The government would privatize public companies and factories and distribute free shares through vouchers to all citizens.
2 - Those Citizens are Egyptians citizens above the age of 21 years.
3 - The parliament will start discussing that plan next week.
4 - The shares will available to the pensioners and public sector employees
Then she wonders:
What about the private sector employees, what about the citizens who work as “farmers”?!
She continues with the summary:
5 - No Foreigners are allowed to buy these shares except if they are listed in the Stock Market!
The she addresses Egyptians saying:
Now my dear friends you have to know that this kind of privatization - The Privatization voucher system - was implemented before in different countries around the globe but it did not work in all countries as it should be.
It proved to be a big failure in Russia when it was implemented in 1992, people there used to sell the vouchers to get money without any considerations to the consequences and in the end a minority of people bought most of the shares and some of that minority was the Russian Mafia.
Till now the ministers and the NDP officials do not seem to understand the project or the plan as they should; their statements are contradicting one another - for example Mr. Gamal Mubarak as far as I recall said that our shares as total population above 21 years will reach max. L.E. 2000 - yes L.E. 2000 !! The Minister of Investment Mahmoud Mohi El-Din in the newspapers today said that the share of the citizen will be more than L.E. 2000.
People are more confused than the officials and they do not understand how this plan will be good to the economy and will improve their living. Several newspapers like Al Dostor and Al Badeel asked the people about the plan and their answers were fearful. They said that they would sell those vouchers to get food and pay bills while others wondered if the government is going to sell the Nile and the High Dam.
Her final word on the matter was:
From now to March many things can happen - who knows!
On Facebook, several groups were created objecting to the proposal like Gamal Mubarak - we will not let you sell Egypt to Israel (Ar) and The New Privatization Law is a Trap - Be warned! (AR)
India: Terror stalks Kolkata
Recently, Kolkata (or Calcutta, as it is still referred to by some) woke up one morning and its heart skipped a beat as it read the headlines of the day - Terror alert in Kolkata. Apparently, terror attacks can be carried out in the city, anytime between November 15-30th. Oh no! the city groaned and then went about the rest of the day wondering how it would cope, if terror indeed came calling at its doors.
Not everyone had lost their sense of humor though. Blogger Sayantani writes:
I thought it's remarkable that the authorities can now pinpoint a terrorist attack projection to that acute a point. Fifteen days!! That almost gives you time to pack your bags, picnic hampers and your bedding, put in your toothbrush and air your monkey caps and muffler, so that you can make it warmly out of the city.
Terror alerts are not new news to Kolkata. Ever since the bomb blasts in other Indian cities, authorities in Kolkata had attempted to step up the security. This has been a herculean task, given that the month of October-November is the festive season in West Bengal and therefore Kolkata.
First there was the week long celebration of Durga Puja, the biggest festival in West Bengal. This is the time when thousands of people, from far and near, throng the streets of Kolkata to take part in the celebrations and festivities.
This year, the festivities were in full swing, yet there was a slight difference - yes, more security. More then 20,000 police personnel were deployed across the city. News on India quoted from PTI :
“All pujas, particularly the major ones have been requested to install close circuit television cameras to monitor movement of the people,” Home Secretary Asok Mohan Chakraborty said. Hand held metal detectors, emergency exits and electronic information boards have been made mandatory and the organisers have also been asked to erect watch towers to monitor movements, he said.
Quoting from IANS, IndiaID provided further details about the never-seen-before security arrangements in the city.
Watch towers, hidden cameras and commandos trained in combating militant strikes are the novel features as the city was wrapped in a thick security blanket for the Durga Puja - the main festival of West Bengal…
And yet, as Kolkata celebrated with a gusto (after all, it had waited one whole year to celebrate this week) under the watchful eyes of police personnel, trained volunteers, QRTs (automatic gun weilding Quick Response Teams), CCTVs et al, there was that little sprinkle of anxiety in some dark recess of the mind that was voiced by Upasana Mallick in The Viewspaper:
Fortunately, my city Kolkata has not witnessed any serial bombings recently, though I am certain that our serene days are counted. I might get blown out at this very moment while I am writing this to you all… It is an unnerving feeling that wakes me up every morning and puts me to sleep each night…
October and November in Kolkata also brought along three other major festivals of 3 others forms of the mother Goddess - Lakshmi (the goddess of wealth), Kali (the destroyer of evil) and Jadaddhatri (the protector of the world).
As Bengalis continued in their revelry, the authorities attempted to keep up the vigil. However, it must be admitted that all of this was taking a heavy toll on the leisure-loving, laid back Bengali mindset. How long could we continue being on “high alert”? The solution? Kolkatans decided to come up with their own arguments as to why Kolkata was a safe haven, where one could continue to live a complacent life amidst all sorts of warnings and dire predictions (after all, we had almost perfected the art of blithely ignoring weather predictions from the Met office, hadn't we?). Sayantani elaborates on her blog:
The general consensus on the impending terrorist insurgency in kolkata, is that it will not happen. because the terror mongers live in Kolkata and they happen to make regular trips to the capital and all over India to do there jobs, like say a normal factory worker would on a regular basis, travel to far out places by local trains, to earn his daily bread. Hence who gives a damn about what the local nostradamus's say? As it is the Met office can't predict the weather.
This view of the average Kolkatan is summed up in the words of Sayantani's father who confidently says, “They're not going to attack. No one attacks there own house.”
But who are these “they”? Do we know? And is our house really safe, or is it being eaten away by borers from within? Perhaps only time will tell.
Photos: by Aparna Ray
Armenia: Violence against Women
The world’s oldest Christian nation may have many things to be proud about, but when it comes to women’s rights the ex-Soviet Armenia is possibly in denial. With widespread human trafficking as its worst manifestation, violence against women in Armenia is alarming the world. Will a recent Amnesty International report detailing domestic abuse and government inaction bring about change?
Bloggers react by sharing their own stories of violence against women and one even mocks a report that he suggests doesn’t reflect the Armenia he knows. My own post on Blogian, however, provides a background to the problem of domestic violence in Armenia.
An 8-page report by Amnesty International documents widespread domestic violence and sexual abuse of women in Armenia. According to the findings, while one in four Armenian women are physically violated by family members, many more are psychologically abused.
Worst of all, violence against women is a taboo in Armenia, with all-male government agencies reluctant to investigate “private matters” and women afraid to report abuse in the first place. Moreover, the report says that many women in Armenia help perpetuate the widespread abuse by treating violence as normal. Amnesty quotes an infamous Armenian saying that translates, “A woman is like wool; the more you beat her, the softer she’ll be.”
[…]
The England-based Armenian blog Unzipped: Gay Armenia posts Amnesty’s report, adding information about upcoming awareness events in Yerevan.
Women’s Resource Centre in Armenia organises march against violence against women on 25 November 2008.
[…]
There will be round-table discussion on sexual violence against women in Armenia on 27 November. Also, thanks to the initiative and cooperation of the U.S. Embassy and other organisations, Armenia's first-ever walkathon to raise awareness about domestic violence issues in Armenia is being organized in connection with the “16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence,” spanning from November 25, International Day Against Violence Against Women, to December 10, International Human Rights Day. Walkathon for a Violence-Free Future for Women is on Sunday, November 30, 2008.
Another England-based Armenian blogger, Mark Grigorian [RU], posts the official Russian version bringing about a lively discussion. Russia-based blogger Besyonya, was the first to react to Grigorian’s post and leaves a comment detailing her own family’s tragic story.
Мою тетю избивал муж, когда за нее заступился отец (мой дед), то муж полез и на отца. В итоге дедушка убил этого мужа, это была самозащита. Сейчас уже нет и дедушки, но когда я приезжала домой, то там до сих пор женщины терпят от мужчин всё, пытались шикать на меня, когда я некоего пьянствующего родственника отправила выпроводила за двери.
Aregjan, a US-based Armenian blogger, also reacted.
… С домашним насилием надо боротся. Меня больше раздражают в таких случаях когда люди начинают ссылатся на
“традицию” и на “крепкость семьи” (великолепная семья, ага, где дети растут видя как отец каждый день избивает мать).[…]
The blogger later reminds people not to forget the big picture, the culture of violence in Armenia (saying that it’s not a big deal when young men, for instance, engage in physical fights).
Armenia-based blogger Pigh, however, writes sarcastically that he is going to hit every fourth woman in Armenia in order to support Amnesty International’s claims that one in four Armenian women are physically abused.
Earlier this year, on my Blogian, I translated parts of my column for the Azg Daily. Talking about human trafficking as an extension of general oppression of women in Armenia, I discussed the denial of violence.
There is some “pride” in the denial of (the fact of) oppression against women. And if there is denial, then [men] know they are wrong. Last year, when several NGOs found out that about half of Armenia’s women had been subjected to physical brutality in the past year, a member of the 95% men-controlled parliament said that these non-profits simply seek grants and hurt Armenia’s image for the sake of their pockets. “They shouldn’t present Armenia as some African tribe where people eat each other.”
Japan: Japanese Language in the Age of English
The Fall of the Japanese Language in the Age of English [ja], the latest book by Japanese novelist and essayist Minae Mizumura [水村美苗] [en], roused debate among many Japanese bloggers recently over the fate of their national language. In this book, the writer, who had the opportunity to live and receive an education both in Japan and in the U.S., examines the role and future of the Japanese language. Mizumura contextualizes her discussion of this language, used for centuries by many literates and intellectuals to produce works of great literary value, in a modern age in which English is invading all fields of knowledge, to the point of becoming a universal written language used by everyone across the world to communicate.
The first blogger who wrote about the book in enthusiastic terms was Mochio Umeda, who expresses his hope that the work becomes the basis for any future debate over the relationship between English and Japanese. At his blog My Life Between Silicon Valley and Japan, Umeda-san writes:
この本は今、すべての日本人が読むべき本だと思う。「すべての」と言えば言いすぎであれば、知的生産を志す人、あるいは勉学途上の中学生、高校生、大学生、大学院生(専門はいっさい問わない)、これから先言葉で何かを表現したいと考えている人、何にせよ教育に関わる人、子供を持つ親、そんな人たちは絶対に読むべきだと思う。
一言だけいえば、これから私たちは「英語の世紀」を生きる。ビジネス上英語が必要だからとかそういうレベルの話ではない。英語がかつてのラテン語のように、「書き言葉」として人類の叡智を集積・蓄積していく「普遍語」になる時代を私たちはこれから生きるのだ、と水村は喝破する。そして、そういう時代の英語以外の言葉の未来、日本語の未来、日本人の未来、言語という観点からのインターネットの意味、日本語教育や英語教育の在り方について、本書で思考を続けていく。
少女時代から漱石に耽溺し「続明暗」でデビューした水村の問題提起は、「たとえば今日、2008年11月7日、漱石と同じくらいの天賦の才能を持った子供が日本人として生を受けたとして、その子が知的に成長した将来、果たして日本語で書くでしょうか。自然に英語で書くのではないですか」ということである。放っておけば日本語は、「話し言葉」としては残っても、叡智を刻む「書き言葉」としてはその輝きを失っていくのではないか。「英語の世紀」とはそういう暴力的な時代なのだと皆が認識し、いま私たちが何をすべきか考えなければならない。
Disagreeing with the author of the essay, blogger id:fromdusktildawn attributes the fall of the Japanese language to the poverty of contents that have been transmitted over the past few years in Japanese, especially by the mass media. He stresses, moreover, that more so than studying Japanese literature, it would be useful if Japanese studied economics, in order to gain the basic knowledge necessary to acquire political awareness:
今後、世界中の、あらゆる価値ある知識は英語で生産され、英語で流通する。
インターネットの普及が、その流れをますます加速している。
世界中の知的にパワフルな人々は、ますます母国語よりも英語で読み、英語で書き、
英語で議論しながら、価値ある学術的成果・文化・商品・サービスを創り上げていくだろう。
[…]
It would seem that all over the world, intellectually influential people will read, write and debate in English, rather than using their mother-tongue, and in this way they will create scientific results, culture, products and services of great value.
そうして、日本語圏は、三流芸人が軽薄にバカ騒ぎするバラエティー番組や
スポーツマンや芸能人の下半身の話題をさも重大事件のように扱うゴシップ雑誌、
知性のかけらもない動物的で脊髄反射的なネット書き込みばかりがあふれる言論空間に堕ちていく。
書店の本も、ネット上の文章も、日本語のものは、ますます知的に貧弱になり、
英語圏のものは、ますます豊かで豊饒で活力に満ちたものになっていくだろう。
[…]
日本近代文学大好きな小説家である彼女は、以下のような主旨のことを主張する。
「国語」としての日本語の衰退を防ぐために、
日本の学校教育の国語の時間数を増やし、
全ての学生に日本近代文学を読み継がせることを
日本の国語授業の主眼にすべきだ。
In order to avoid the decline of the Japanese language as a “national language”, the number of hours of Japanese language lessons at school should be increased, all students should be made to continue reading Japanese modern literature texts, and class work on Japanese language should be treated as the central aim.
[…]
文化のために個々のリアルな人間が存在するのではなく、
個々のリアルな人間の生を豊かにするために文化が存在するのだ。
個々の人間のリアルな生が輝くのなら、日本文化など亡んでもかまわない。
[…]
そもそも、現在の多くの日本国民は、
有権者としての最低限の知識すら身につけていない。
どの政治家に投票すれば、自分たちの暮らしが良くなるのかを
判断するための基礎知識が決定的に欠落しているのだ。
どの政治家に投票すれば暮らしが良くなるのかを知るには、
夏目漱石や芥川龍之介を読むより、
現代経済学の教科書を読む方が、何百倍も効果的だ。
Another blogger, id:repon, disagrees with Mochio Umeda (the first blogger introduced in this article), explaining that he doesn't feel the same sense of crisis about the Japanese language reported by Umeda-san and also described by [ja] blogger Dan Kogai:
僕には、id:umedamochioさんやid:dankogaiさんが「日本語が危ない」と「危機感」を持つ、その危機感とやらがさっぱりわかりません。
英語は道具、日本語は「国語」。そうなっていくだけのことですよ。
それは危機でも何でもありません。
英語は「国語」にはなりませんよ。
English is a tool, Japanese is our “national language”. Simple as that.
This is not a crisis. And English will not become the “national language”.
「国民とはイメージとして心に描かれた想像の政治共同体である」とベネディクト・アンダーソンはその主著「想像の共同体」で述べています。
国民という概念は近代になって創造されたものなんですよね。
その「国民」概念を支えているのが、共通言語として作られた「国語」なんです。
「国語」は、簡単には衰退しませんよ。
グローバリズムが簡単に国民国家や民族や宗教を駆逐するどころか、かえって強化したように。
And globalism, rather than simply destroying nations, peoples or religions, would seem to actually strengthen them.
Blogger id:essa (Taku Nakajima) agrees at with id:repon in the belief that the Japanese language, if it were to face a crisis, would come up against a centripetal force that works to conserve language as a symbol of the nation:
確かに、グローバリズムに対抗する形で、民族や宗教の力は強まっている。でも、基本的にはその力は国民国家を解体する方向へ作用すると見るべきだと思う。どこの国でも、国民国家は内と外に引き裂かれて消滅しようとしている。
[…]
日本という国は、明治以降になってから明確に外国の存在を意識して人為的に作られた国であり、江戸以前の日本とは別の国だ。夏目漱石は自分が生まれた頃に新しく作られた、その近代日本という国において、どういう言語を使ったらいいかということを生涯のテーマとした人だ。
[…]
だから、明治維新で作られた近代的な国民国家としての日本が消滅した時に、何が出てくるか予想つかない。それがイメージできない分だけ私にも実感がわかない所もあるが、国民国家としての日本は消えつつあり、漱石に象徴される一つの言語が亡びつつあるのだと思う。
そういう意味で、「あたし彼女」はやはり象徴的だ。あれは、夏目漱石の使った言葉とは違う言語だけど、枕草子には接続できるような気がする。
For this reason, I think that “Atashi kanojo” [lit. “I, the girlfriend”, a popular keitai shosetsu] is symbolic. It uses a different language from the one used by Natsume Sôseki, but I feel that it can somehow be linked to “Makura no Soshi” [en] [“The Pillow Book” a Japanese masterwork written in the last period of the 10th century by a court lady].
Links for Mon, 2008-11
Onnesha reports that some members of Indian Border Security Force (BSF) sneaked into Bangladesh soil and started firing when they were intercepted by the villagers. Three Bangladeshi villagers including an infant and the mother were killed.
Although the precise circumstance are still unclear, Unzipped comments on news that Edik Baghdasarian, an investigative journalist and editor of an online publication, was attacked today. The blog posts a video of Baghdasarian receiving medical treatment in a local hospital and writes that the attack was most likely connected to his investigations into high level corruption in Armenia.
Life as a Tai Tai, an expat wife's blog gives some tips about buying quality cloths at low prices in various Bazaars of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.
M. J. Akbar opines: “As Maulana Azad repeatedly emphasized…Islam is a brotherhood, not a ‘nationhood’. If Islam were sufficient to create a modern nation state, the Arabs would not be divided into 22 countries. They even have a language in common.”
The American University’s School of Communication Center for Social Media posts an entry on the potential to counter a constrained and often politicized or controlled media in the South Caucasus and especially to promote peace-building in the war torn region. Blogs are included as one of five key areas that need to be developed in order to do so.
“An argument in olden Arab times was like a dance. People wooed each other, rejected or accepted, negotiated, insulted and convinced each other using subtle messages & connotations, all applied courteously,” notes 50% Syrian.
Syrian blogger Rime Allaf says she was misquoted in a Press interview. “I have been misquoted in the past, about more “serious” issues resulting in strange statements, but I think this one takes the lead as the most ridiculous misquote,” she notes.
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