Gothic

Yumna Kassab's impressionistic novel Politica considers moral dilemmas and harsh choices in a time of war

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, January 17, 2024

Politica is the fourth novel by Yumna Kassab, who has made a significant impact on the Australian literary scene since the publication of her debut novel The House of Youssef in 2019.

Key Points: 
  • Politica is the fourth novel by Yumna Kassab, who has made a significant impact on the Australian literary scene since the publication of her debut novel The House of Youssef in 2019.
  • Politica is written in Kassab’s now signature polyphonic style.
  • Set in a small community, the novel is sparsely written, with minimal description of character, place or historical moment.
  • Politica achieves its impressionistic effects through quirky vignettes, poetry, fable, gnomic aphorisms, and arguments between conservative forces and those seeking to redefine their values.
  • Some of the characters are resistance leaders and their heirs; others are ordinary people with everyday aspirations.
  • Accept the political as the only authentic option or seek the consolations of private life?
  • Politica has allegorical ambitions, so these dilemmas cannot be resolved by referring to a describable geopolitical reality.
  • The novel spans decades, yet no particular enemy or threat can be consistently identified, nor does it identify the nation in which it is set.
  • idolise death over life […] Such is the tendency of one who has not yet learned to live.


Read more:
Colonial and nationalist myths are recast in Yumna Kassab's Australiana

A moral project

  • This is of crucial importance when Arab and Muslim political movements, including that of the Palestinians, are relentlessly delegitimised and dehumanised.
  • Politica wants to show what a resistance movement might look like from the side of the oppressed.
  • The novel questions the total warfare the West now excuses as a drive for security.
  • Yet there is always a danger that a novel seeking to say something about politics will begin to moralise.
  • A war that began with noble ideals comes to resemble a plague laying waste to all who experience it.
  • It prefers bathos in a minor key to the ambitious scope of historical fiction, now an abundant postcolonial genre.


Ned Curthoys does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Library Card Streaming Service Kanopy Releases Its Top 30 Most-Watched Films and Television Programming Of 2023

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, December 14, 2023

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Kanopy, the free/no ads movie streaming service available through local libraries, colleges, universities and other institutions, has released its "Top 30 Most-Watched Films of 2023 on Kanopy" today.

Key Points: 
  • From Oscar winners to deep catalog favorites, the "Top 30 Most-Watched Films of 2023 on Kanopy" includes box office winners, film critic hits and a few surprises drawn from Kanopy's streaming content
    SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Kanopy , the free/no ads movie streaming service available through local libraries, colleges, universities and other institutions, has released its "Top 30 Most-Watched Films of 2023 on Kanopy" today.
  • Because Kanopy film viewers must be either library card holders or part of an academic university community, it should be no surprise that several films are more academic.
  • "Unlike other places where you have to subscribe monthly or pay to view a film, our Kanopy service is free with your library card, courtesy of your participating local library, college or university.
  • The complete "Top 30 Most-Watched Films of 2023 on Kanopy" list is as follows:

VIKING ANNOUNCES OPENING OF 2026 EUROPEAN RIVER SEASON

Retrieved on: 
Monday, December 11, 2023

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Viking® (www.viking.com) today announced that the 2026 season of its European river voyages is now open for reservations. With many 2024 dates already sold out and the 2025 season selling well, strong demand among North American travelers has led to an early opening of all 2026 departures for Viking's iconic itineraries on the rivers of Europe.

Key Points: 
  • LOS ANGELES, Dec. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Viking® ( www.viking.com ) today announced that the 2026 season of its European river voyages is now open for reservations.
  • With a current fleet of 80 river ships and more than 50 percent of the market share for North American travelers, Viking is by far the industry's leading river line.
  • Viking recently announced it will welcome an additional 10 Viking Longships ® to its river fleet by the end of 2026.
  • From now through December 31, 2023, Viking is offering North American travelers the Holiday Sale, with up to FREE international airfare, special fares and a $25 deposit on all 2026 European river voyages—as well as other river, ocean and expedition voyages.

Gothic getaways: the rise and evolution of 'dark tourism' festivals

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, October 26, 2023

Mention October 31st and the mind instantly fills with images of trick-or-treating and the inevitable paraphernalia of pumpkins, polyester cobwebs, and witch hats.

Key Points: 
  • Mention October 31st and the mind instantly fills with images of trick-or-treating and the inevitable paraphernalia of pumpkins, polyester cobwebs, and witch hats.
  • It was also a day when, according to Celtic beliefs, the veil between the living and the dead is particularly permeable.
  • Notable authors included Mary Shelly, Walter Scott, Edgar Allen Poe, and especially Bram Stoker, whose classic Dracula was published in 1897.

Dracula rising

  • One of the better known “dark tourism” festivals is the Whitby Goth Weekend, which takes place in the Yorkshire town where Stoker spent his holidays and from which he drew inspiration for Dracula.
  • In the novel, Stoker gives a detailed account of the town’s layout, architecture and spooky atmosphere.
  • The Bram Stoker Festival is a playful celebration of his most famous literary creation.
  • It includes the family-friendly theme park “Stokerland”, literary walking tours, and lectures about his life and legacy.
  • The festival attracts everyone from families looking to entertain their children over the Halloween weekend to Gothic fiction enthusiasts.

When participation becomes co-creation

  • Many are there for the alternative music events, shopping at the local markets, or socialising.
  • This intersection of participation and observation draws in many photographers when the festival takes place in April and October.
  • As a result, the dressed-up participants do not simply experience the festival as passive attendees, they become a festival attraction themselves, co-creating the festival experience.
  • Some simply enjoy the performance aspects, while others use them to express what they see as their “true” identities.

Selling darkness

  • While some may remind us of long-standing traditions, as is the case of the Celtic celebration Samhain, others show clear signs of commodification.
  • Together, they become an integral part of the “commodification of darkness”, making them an under-recognised component of festival marketing.

Dark tourism destinations


Ready for a spooky escape? Here are five personal recommendations for the ultimate Gothic getaway.
Whitby Goth Weekend, Whitby, United Kingdom, October 27-29.
Bram Stoker Festival, Dublin, Ireland, including Stokerland, 28-30 October.
Salem Festival of the Dead, Massachusetts, United States; the month of October.
Derry Halloween Festival, Derry, Northern Ireland, Oct 28-31.
Wave Gotik Treffen, Leipzig, Germany, May 26-29, 2024.
Luisa Golz does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

U.S. Non-Profit Foundation acquires John Collier's controversial painting, "The Laboratory"

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, September 21, 2023

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Arts of Imagination Foundation today announced their acquisition of John Collier's artistic masterwork, The Laboratory , in a private sale negotiated by Christie's in New York.

Key Points: 
  • LOS ANGELES, Sept. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Arts of Imagination Foundation today announced their acquisition of John Collier's artistic masterwork, The Laboratory , in a private sale negotiated by Christie's in New York.
  • The 1895 oil painting is an instantly recognizable example of Victorian Gothic art and has rarely been displayed publicly.
  • Its striking visuals and roots in storytelling played a vital role in the Arts of Imagination Foundation's decision to make The Laboratory part of their permanent collection.
  • The painting will be publicly available as part of the Foundation's continuing efforts to illuminate how stories and art influence our culture and inspire personal discovery.

10 years of homegrown horror hits: Talk To Me and the golden age of Aussie horror

Retrieved on: 
Monday, August 7, 2023

The past decade has been a golden one for Australian horror, bookended by The Babadook in 2014 and the current sensation Talk to Me.

Key Points: 
  • The past decade has been a golden one for Australian horror, bookended by The Babadook in 2014 and the current sensation Talk to Me.
  • The global premiere of Jennifer Kent’s groundbreaking supernatural bogeyman film at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival caused ripples that became a wave.
  • Talk to Me’s success story is not just commercial but critical: the film currently has a 94% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Australian New Wave

    • Australia’s golden horror decade has roots in the Australian New Wave, a particularly productive period for Australian film from the 1970s to the late 1980s dominated by two key horror subgenres on opposing ends of the taste spectrum.
    • The high-brow Australian Gothic includes critically esteemed dramas Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) and Walkabout (1971).

Destroying the high/low culture binary

    • The horror films of the past decade tend to trample over this high/low genre binary.
    • These films experiment with art cinema aesthetics and deploy narrative strategies of prestige drama, echoing the Australian Gothic.
    • In Natalie Erika James’ debut feature Relic, a grandmother’s descent into dementia impels the reverberation of spectral traumas across three generations.
    • This play with high/low culture boundaries filters into Talk To Me’s play with audience emotions and expectations.

A collective energy

    • Our current golden age of horror has grown out of a collective creative energy.
    • The Philippou brothers worked on The Babadook as 19-year-olds and credit Kent’s influence as key to their creative approach.
    • Jennings and Causeway have been critical to the collective currents that have propelled our golden horror decade.

Arresting, dry and fast-paced: ABC series Bay of Fires brings a new humour to the tradition of Australian Gothic

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, July 19, 2023

But Anika is betrayed by Johann and becomes the target of an attempted murder.

Key Points: 
  • But Anika is betrayed by Johann and becomes the target of an attempted murder.
  • She soon discovers Johann has hired professional thugs to murder her and her children, Otis (Imi Mbedla) and Iris (Ava Caryofyllis).
  • Bay of Fires, the new drama from the ABC, is arresting, dry and fast-paced.

An Australian Gothic

    • As we get to know the townsfolk, they open the door into a Gothic world of mystery and the supernatural.
    • Australian Gothic began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, combining elements of traditional European Gothic literature – characterised by horror, mystery and the supernatural – mixed with the unique Australian landscape, history and cultural identity.
    • The harsh and unforgiving Australian environment provided a fertile ground for the development of a distinctive Gothic tradition.
    • These experiences became a central theme in Australian Gothic literature and the sub-genre Tasmanian Gothic.
    • Read more:
      Australian Gothic: from Hanging Rock to Nick Cave and Kylie, this genre explores our dark side

Twisting the genre

    • Bay of Fires is a continuation of this significant Australian genre.
    • The series captures dark and mysterious aspects of the nation’s past and present which shape our national imagination and the Australian Gothic genre, all with a larrikin wit.
    • Read more:
      How Deadloch flips the Nordic Noir crime genre on its arse and makes it funny

Run Rabbit Run isn’t excessively bad – just earnest, heavy-handed and predictable

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, June 27, 2023

Horror films once managed to seamlessly integrate cultural commentary into their visceral effect.

Key Points: 
  • Horror films once managed to seamlessly integrate cultural commentary into their visceral effect.
  • Run Rabbit Run, following a mother and daughter as the past comes back to haunt them, is the latest Australian film to jump on the bandwagon of the new wave of horror.
  • The psychological terrain of the guilty mother is typical narrative fare, but, unlike Jennifer Kent’s brilliant The Babadook (2014), Run Rabbit Run doesn’t take any of this in surprising or invigorating directions.

No escape

    • Fertility doctor Sarah (Sarah Snook) and her young daughter Mia (Lily LaTorre) live alone.
    • The more the daughter reaches out to her mum in the hope of understanding her family, the more dysfunctional their relationship becomes.
    • In trite fashion, the film’s closing moments show for Sarah, no matter how fast she runs, there’s no escaping her past.

Predictable cues and gothic cliches

    • It follows some of the predictable visual cues of horror in the Instagram-era: muted, washed-out colours; a score favouring drone sounds; a plethora of slow-moving tracking shots and spooky silhouettes.
    • The narrative is replete with gothic cliches.
    • Read more:
      Films made for Netflix look more like TV shows — here's the technical reason why

A visceral medium

    • It seems to approach its – let’s face it, totally ludicrous – ghost story with the seriousness of a Bergman film.
    • Film is a visceral medium; horror film more than most.
    • The heavy-handed tone of Run Rabbit Run exhausts it of visceral impact.
    • The “trauma” in Run Rabbit Run – while significant for the characters – doesn’t connect to any more meaningful cultural or historical moment.

The Web3.Conference will gather Web3 builders & creators this May in Amsterdam

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, May 16, 2023

Amsterdam, Netherlands, May 16, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --  The Web3.Conference is the premier event to guide you around the fascinating world of Web3. Explore, learn, network, and gain insights into the latest trends and use cases emerging within this new internet standard. With a lineup of famous speakers, industry leaders, marketers, developers, investors, and entrepreneurs, the conference promises a day packed with insightful talks and networking.

Key Points: 
  • Amsterdam, Netherlands, May 16, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Web3.Conference is the premier event to guide you around the fascinating world of Web3.
  • Explore, learn, network, and gain insights into the latest trends and use cases emerging within this new internet standard.
  • Web3 builders, investors, marketers, creators, developers, CEOs, and numerous NFT projects will be there to share their knowledge and offer unique opportunities for further growth.
  • Contact AroundB to receive a sponsorship deck and discuss further opportunities: [email protected]
    Let's shape the Web3 future together!

Christendom College’s New Christ the King Chapel Dedicated

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, April 18, 2023

Front Royal, Virginia, April 17, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Christendom College’s new Christ the King Chapel was dedicated by Bishop Michael Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington on Saturday, April 15, with Cardinal Francis Arinze in attendance.

Key Points: 
  • Front Royal, Virginia, April 17, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Christendom College’s new Christ the King Chapel was dedicated by Bishop Michael Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington on Saturday, April 15, with Cardinal Francis Arinze in attendance.
  • Christendom currently has over 500 students, with a growing enrollment necessitating the construction project to replace the college’s existing chapel.
  • The Piazza of Christ the King sits outside the chapel, which will serve as a place of community and Catholic culture.
  • Together, with the grace of God, you have built this new Chapel of Christ the King.