The moment I heard Dua Lipa was curating a list of ‘banned’ books, the first thing I knew for certain was that these books would definitely not be, in fact, banned.
Well said. I'm not sure what's more aggravating: the fact that this objectionable airhead is pretending she came up with this list of books, or the fact that the actual person who was her supposedly 'smart' advisor on this came up with this list of books.
The subconscious thought process that underlies all of these selections is merely, "these are smart books that smart people would agree are smart. I'm very smart because I'm like the smart people." What unites the worldview of Kafka and Kendi? Nothing beyond the fact that someone 'smart' would know who both are and probably have read them.
So again I return to being unsure of what I detest most: Lipa herself or whoever advised her. Scratch that, I hate both. And modernity.
To be fair, the Commies did ban 1984. I should think "The Trial" was probably a bit close to home too.
I was told by a former Yugoslav that "How Green Was My Valley" was read at school there so that the children could see how exploitative Western Capitalism really was. They must have missed the bit where two of the brothers found great jobs in London digging the underground. A Romanian lady said "Madame Bovary" was permitted, probably to cheer them up.
I was being light-hearted. At least I thought I was. I don't count the commies banning books as them being banned. Anyway it got the comment count up, I'll get me coat....
Not to worry if the book A Handmaid's Tale was banned, you can catch up with the 1990 film starring Natasha Richardson or the 2017 TV series. Maybe banned translates differently in Albanian?
I don't know who this young woman is. A celeb or pop star I guess. But was struck by the photo of her seemingly licking her lips with pleasure at the thought of reading The Handmaid's Tale. Maybe they were being ironic or something...presenting herself as a painted and manicured victim of the patriarchy etc. Or perhaps I am over- analysing as I often do, or so I am told at home!
Well said. I'm not sure what's more aggravating: the fact that this objectionable airhead is pretending she came up with this list of books, or the fact that the actual person who was her supposedly 'smart' advisor on this came up with this list of books.
The subconscious thought process that underlies all of these selections is merely, "these are smart books that smart people would agree are smart. I'm very smart because I'm like the smart people." What unites the worldview of Kafka and Kendi? Nothing beyond the fact that someone 'smart' would know who both are and probably have read them.
So again I return to being unsure of what I detest most: Lipa herself or whoever advised her. Scratch that, I hate both. And modernity.
Great analysis Nick.
Thanks!
To be fair, the Commies did ban 1984. I should think "The Trial" was probably a bit close to home too.
I was told by a former Yugoslav that "How Green Was My Valley" was read at school there so that the children could see how exploitative Western Capitalism really was. They must have missed the bit where two of the brothers found great jobs in London digging the underground. A Romanian lady said "Madame Bovary" was permitted, probably to cheer them up.
Obviously some were banned. This doesn’t address my argument. Maybe it wasn’t meant to.
I was being light-hearted. At least I thought I was. I don't count the commies banning books as them being banned. Anyway it got the comment count up, I'll get me coat....
Not to worry if the book A Handmaid's Tale was banned, you can catch up with the 1990 film starring Natasha Richardson or the 2017 TV series. Maybe banned translates differently in Albanian?
As I say they don’t claim they’re all banned. That’s why my argument is much more subtle than that.
I don't know who this young woman is. A celeb or pop star I guess. But was struck by the photo of her seemingly licking her lips with pleasure at the thought of reading The Handmaid's Tale. Maybe they were being ironic or something...presenting herself as a painted and manicured victim of the patriarchy etc. Or perhaps I am over- analysing as I often do, or so I am told at home!
You wouldn’t need to guess if you read the piece as I say it at the start of the third paragraph.
Oh, so you did. I was skim-reading it over my breakfast. Now I know. Thanks for the information.