Reflections on books and the arts from the New Statesman culture desk
A new documentary tries to find out.
According to filmmaker Nick Francis, it is the biggest story of our time. The emergence of China as a global economic power is portrayed in the documentary When China met Africa. A preview of the film by the makers of Black Gold, brothers Mark and Nick Francis, was screened at London's Frontline Club last week.
The film is set in Zambia, ... read more
A party at the dissident artist's studio in Shanghai goes ahead without its host.
Despite his being under house arrest in Beijing, around 500 supporters of the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei gathered at his soon-to-be-demolished Shanghai studio on Sunday. Partygoers were served river crab and steamed buns, and held up posters of Ai that displayed the gash on his forehead which he received when he was beaten by police in 2008.
Ai told the New Statesman:
It was fantastic to see pictures from the event ... read more
As Japan's economic dominance of south-east Asia wanes, so could its manga-centric cultural pull.
"Once one starts listing the examples of Japanese culture infiltrating the United States, it's pretty hard to stop," wrote Entrepreneur.com's Laura Tiffany in 2008. "The import market for Japanese pop culture is still in its infancy," she continued, citing the growing market for manga comics, which had become readily available at mainstream outlets such as Walmart and Borders. Of the ten bestselling graphic novels in US bookstores in November ... read more
I enjoyed the book, the first section which dealt with life in an oppressive pre First World War France was I thought better than the chapters involving the war. Although, the pieces dealiing with...
From John Dessauer, 13 February 21:40
Love Adele, however, besides some Country music, most new stuff is gar-baaage!
From John Cheese, 13 February 17:48
Sad. Shades of MJ. Always makes me wonder about the inner circles, not intervening due to a paycheck, ala MJ, Elvis, Anna Nicole Smith, etc??
From John Cheese, 12 February 22:19
Can the UK achieve it’s commitment to carbon reduction targets by 2020?
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