NYPL Blogs: 24 Frames per Second

Mad Men on the Menu

Billy Parrott, Mid-Manhattan Library, Art and Picture Collections — Tue, 14 May 2013 10:56:43 -0400

You are what you eat is the common adage, but What you eat describes who you are is more appropriate for circa 1960s Madison Avenue and New York City.

The power lunch. Two-for-one happy hour. The business dinner. A sandwich from the corner diner. Scotch at 11am.

Food and drink play an important role in Mad Men.

The production design certainly gives the show an air of visual authenticity and nothing grounds a character like seeing them eat breakfast or mix a drink.

It's a common narrative device in film and television. The ritual of preparation. Consumerism, consumption and excess. The implied implications of someone eating and drinking alone. The social aspects of dinner parties with neighbors. Food and drink go a long way to reinforce themes and define and develop characters.

Mad Men is no different. Peggy Olsen bringing a simple sandwich and a bruised banana in a stained brown paper bag to work for lunch said a lot about the kind of person she was. Roger Sterling throwing up oysters and vodka perfectly characterized his excess. Characters eat and drink to celebrate just as much as they eat and drink to medicate.

The tense family dinners. The expensive meals and expense accounts. Need an excuse to drink? It's 5pm somewhere in the world! What would Mad Men be without all of this?

With New York City being one of the greatest food and drink cities in the world the use of food and drink in the show was a given.

Do you have a favorite Mad Men food or drink moment? Below are the food and drink references in the first episode to help you begin to eat and drink your way through Mad Men. Obsessive fans out there can also take a look at my "Mad Men on the Menu" Pinterest page for a visual list of food and drink references.

Bon appétit!

Cheers!

Season 1 Episode 1 - "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" Drink References

Less than two minutes into the show we learn something about Don Draper: he drinks old fashioneds. By the nine minute mark we learn he likes to drink. Period. Joan tells the new secretary Peggy to keep a fifth of something in her desk. "Mr. Draper drinks rye," she says. "Rye's Canadian, right?" Peggy asks, to which Joan replies, "You better find out."

Prior to a research meeting in preparation for the Lucky Strike pitch Sal asks Don, "Should we drink before the meeting or after? Or both?" He pours himself a scotch and adds Alka Seltzer. After the research meeting, which did not go very well, Don says, "Sal, I'll take that drink now."

Despite the research meeting the Lucky Strike pitch went very well, which was cause for celebration. Roger pours himself and Don a drink and says "I don't know if you were drunk, or not drunk, but that was inspired." Pete, Paul, Ken, and Harry join the celebration with a bottle of Canadian Club.

During the Menkin's Department Store meeting David Cohen from the mailroom starts to pour himself a Bloody Mary but after a look from Roger he decides against it.

Food References

To reinforce the office hierarchy of the time Joan tells Peggy that the men in the office may act like they want a secretary but most of the time they're looking for something between a mother and a waitress. She also tells Peggy to pick up a few things at lunch, including a box of chocolates. Peggy gives these gifts to the switchboard operators when she meets them.

After the Lucky Strike celebration Don reprimands Peggy by saying "If you ever let Pete Campbell go through my trash again then you won't be able to find a job selling sandwiches in Penn Station."

At Pete's bachelor party, when three ladies arrive at the guys table Pete asks, "How'd you swing it?." Ken says, "They work at the automat!" Paul adds, "He pressed a button and they came out!"

Food and Drink at Business Meetings

The first episode introduces viewers to the in-office business meeting, Sterling Cooper style. The meeting is with Rachel Menkin of Menkin's Department Store. Bloody Marys and shrimp cocktails are served. Rachel is Jewish. Shrimp is a shellfish. Not kosher. The placement of shellfish in the scene reinforces the lack of sensitivity started with Don's "not on my watch" comment in reference to whether or not the firm has ever hired any Jews. The meeting did not go well. Don invites Rachel to dinner that night to repair the damage. A waiter walks by with a pu-pu platter as another delivers Rachel and Don's drinks: a special mai tai and a whiskey, neat.

Breakfast references

Don makes an afternoon visit to Midge and thinks out loud, "We should get married. What size Cadillac do you take?" Midge replies, "You know the rules: I don't make plans and I don't make breakfast."

Lunch references

In Pete Campbell's first scene he is on the phone with his soon-to-be-wife. To end the call he says that he has a meeting and he suggests that she take her mother to lunch and tell her it was his idea. In that one brief conversation we get a clear idea of the kind of person Pete Campbell is. He is drinking from a coffee cup but I'd be surprised if it contained coffee or tea.

Dinner References

At the end of the episode it is late. Don finally returns home and we learn something else: he is married with two children. His wife Betty tells him "There's a plate in the oven... unless you're not hungry."

More Resources

The Food Companions, by Richard Farmer
"The introduction of rationing ensured that food became a central concern for the British people during the Second World War. 'The Food Companions' investigates the cinema of this period and demonstrates the cultural impact that rationing and food control had on both government propaganda and commercial feature films."

The Meaning of Food, by Patricia Harris
"Provides an examination of the role of food, journeying to thirteen different ethnic communities across the United States to explain how the food of each culinary tradition becomes an expression of human diversity."

Food in the Movies, by Steve Zimmerman
"This expanded and revised edition details 400 food scenes, in addition to the 500 films reviewed for the first edition, and an introduction tracing technical, artistic and cultural forces that contributed to the emergence of a "food film" genre--originated by films like Tampopo and Babette's Feast and continued by films like No Reservations, Ratatouille, and Waitress"

Food, restaurant, and menu information

from Laura Rietz:

For sixties-era food and drink recipes, we have several copies of the Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook, by Judy Gelman, including an eBook version (hint: place a hold soon—it's likely that all copies will be checked out before you know it!). You might also be inspired by NYPL's digitized copies of menus and other materials from restaurants mentioned on the show. While you're at it, help transcribe other menus for our "What's On the Menu?" project:

Danny's Hide A Way (mentioned in Season 5, Episode 8, "Lady Lazarus")
Grand Central Oyster Bar and Restaurant (mentioned in Season 5, Episode 8, "Lady Lazarus")
Lutece (mentioned in Season 2, Episode 3, "The Benefactor")
Peking House (mentioned in Season 4, Episode 2, "Christmas Comes But Once a Year")
La Caravelle (mentioned in Season 4, Episode 12, "Blowing Smoke")

You can also learn more about the Horn & Hardart Automats of the era in this post by Valerie Wingfield.

Create Your Own Classic Film Festival

John Calhoun, Library for the Performing Arts — Thu, 09 May 2013 08:58:52 -0400

The fourth annual TCM Classic Film Festival, held April 25 to 28 in Hollywood, included screenings of roughly 80 films and featured at least as many special guests, including Jane Fonda, Eva Marie Saint, Max von Sydow, and Mel Brooks. Festivalgoers got to watch Fonda add her hand and footprints to the TCL (formerly Graumann's) Chinese Theatre forecourt, listen to Tippi Hedren discuss her experience working with Alfred Hitchcock, and hiss a very gracious Ann Blyth, who portrayed Joan Crawford's nasty daughter in Mildred Pierce some 68 years ago, prior to a screening of the film.

While Barbra Streisand was not in attendance at the opening-night gala world premiere restoration of Funny Girl, rival pop diva (and sometime TCM host) Cher made a surprise appearance. Despite the presence of all these luminaries, however, it's safe to say that no one got as much audience love as TCM chief host Robert Osborne, who presided over the four days of festivities.

Attending the festival made me want to delve into the Billy Rose Theatre Division's archives to see what kind of documentation might exist on some of the films I saw. Just skimming the surface, I located a souvenir program from the original roadshow presentation of Funny Girl in 1968; a dialogue cutting continuity script from Captains Courageous (along with many others from the MGM files); lobby cards for Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's I Know Where I'm Going and Nicholas Ray's They Live by Night; a beautiful full-color poster for the 1955 musical film version of Kismet; a pressbook for the 1932 shocker Island of Lost Souls ("In All Her Passionate Feline Beauty…The Panther Woman!"); and correspondence relating to The Night of the Hunter in the Lillian Gish Papers, plus a watercolor presented to Gish by the film's cast and crew. That's in addition to the clippings, photographs, reviews, typescripts, and other material routinely held on most of these movies and thousands more. It's a reminder of what a great place the Billy Rose Theatre Division is to do research on classic cinema.

Of course, if what you really want to do is see the movies, a majority of those showcased in the festival are available to borrow from New York Public Library. While it may not be the same as seeing them on the big screen, it's enough to have your own version of a TCM Classic Film Festival at home. Though it's doubtful that classic film aficionados need to be introduced to the likes of On the Waterfront or The Seventh Seal, the festival did spotlight some treasures that may be less familiar. If you know Powell and Pressburger primarily from The Red Shoes or Black Narcissus, for example, then you owe yourself the treat of checking out I Know Where I'm Going, a 1945 charmer starring Wendy Hiller on a romantic Hebridean Island adventure. Island of Lost Souls, starring Charles Laughton as a scientist conducting cross-species experiments, proves every bit as creepy as it must have seemed on its original release. Richard Fleischer's 1951 The Narrow Margin, presented at the festival with costar Jacqueline White in attendance, is a terrifically economical noir set on a nail-biting train ride. The theme of the festival was Journeys: Travel in the Movies, and railways also played prominent roles in Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes, John Frankenheimer's The Train, and of course, Buster Keaton's The General, which was presented closing night at the Chinese in a beautiful digital restoration, accompanied by the Alloy Orchestra. Boats were prominently featured in Victor Fleming's grand tearjerker Captains Courageous, and in It, the silent classic that forever enshrined Clara Bow as The It Girl, and which was presented at the Egyptian Theatre with Carl Davis' original score played by a 15-piece orchestra. Treacherous river trips unfolded in such varied offerings as The African Queen, The Night of the Hunter, and Deliverance, while a lovers on the run sidebar included not only Bonnie and Clyde and a world premiere restoration of Terrence Malick's Badlands, but also Ray's 1949 They Live by Night, another film that deserves to be better known. Some of the digital restorations screened at the festival, including George Stevens' landmark western Shane, are in advance of Blu-ray releases. If you own a player, the library is beginning to acquire Blu-ray versions of select DVDs. Look for the new Blu-ray material type in the catalog.

If you do wish to expand your knowledge of these films beyond information gleaned from DVD extras, then visit the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Start at the Theatre reference desk on the second floor. You'll be directed to the Theatre Division card catalog, where much of the division's non-book material is cataloged. For even more information—scholarly articles, databases, screenplays, and Variety in full text from 1940 to 2000—you may also want to access the library's Articles and Databases under the film subject category when you're onsite.

Meanwhile, pull up a couch and enjoy a few classic movies. Or, if you're in the mood for a more communal experience—and one that's free—check out the great film programming being done across New York Public Library locations.

The Man From Nowhere vs. Taken

Elizabeth Griffin, Tompkins Square Library — Mon, 06 May 2013 07:30:46 -0400

"I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you." (imdb.com)

These are the famous words of Bryan Mills, an ex-CIA operative who mercilessly rips through kidnappers and human traffickers to save his daughter, in the action film, Taken. This type of film is one of the many reasons my favorite movie genre is action.

There is something so cold and deadly about a man with a gun and revenge on his mind and I am such a sucker for father/daughter relationships. I especially love how Bryan (Liam Neeson), in the movie Taken, put on his cape of ruthlessness like I would imagine the Cape Crusader puts on his cape to fight injustice in the dark of night: Effortlessly. Yet, what makes Bryan so amazing in this particular action film is that he is able to be a desperate father as well as an ice cold machine that could torture a human being and leave it for dead. This dynamic is unique, I feel, to action films and this is why it is my favorite genre of film. It is interesting that a desperate human being could put that desperation and pain aside and focus on the goal in order to take care of a situation. It is fascinating that out of pain can come anger and such targeted ice cold hatred.

Action films also depict what a human being is capable of when cornered. When a human being is cornered, it usually fights until it dies. It becomes a ferocious animal who has nothing to lose. And a man who has nothing to lose can cause untold chaos. This is the type of man seen in the Korean film, The Man from Nowhere. In the film, an ex-Black ops officer, Cha Tae-Sik, turns into a depressed hermit after his wife and unborn child are crushed by a truck driven by one of his enemies. He is only able to watch as this tragic event happens and it is befitting that as he watches he gets shot twice in the chest.

It is a credit to actor Won Bin (Cha Tae-Sik) that he was able to, in that moment in the film, portray utter devastation after realizing and accepting what had just happened. With only his eyes he was able to portray how dead inside he instantly became after witnessing the death of his beautiful, pregnant wife. For the rest of the film, his eyes were so unfeeling that one could feel through the screen that a part of him had been ripped out forever.

After a few years of solitude, Tae-Sik comes alive for a little girl, So-mi (Kim Sae Ron). Her mother is a cocaine addict and a prostitute. So-mi takes comfort from Tae-Sik who reluctantly but lovingly makes her food after school. So-mi is then kidnapped by the drug dealers who provided the cocaine for her mother. After she is kidnapped right in front of Tae-Sik, he goes through a transformation. He cuts his hair, dusts off his gun and he goes after So-mi.

Tae-Sik becomes an animal with dead eyes who just kills with cold precision. The moment when he turns into a ferocious animal is when he is led to believe that So-mi is dead after the head honcho throws her eyeballs at him. In that moment he does not allow himself to break down. Using a gun and a small knife to defend himself, he easily discards the minions and fights his last opponent, who just happens to be the only challenge he encounters in the film. In the battle, Tae-Sik is cold and precise. Yet, as he stabs, claws and bites down on his opponent he looks as fierce as a lion with a gazelle in his mouth. And he never stops, not until his enemy's eyes finally glaze over with death.

The final moment that made this the most amazing action film is when Tae-Sik realizes he killed everyone but realizes it does not matter as he once again failed to protect his loved one. He then gets down on his knees and puts the gun to his head ready to kill himself. But then he hears So-mi's voice. He turns around and there she is safe and sound and he cries in relief. No scene in a movie, not even Rocky reaching the top of the stairs, has ever produced such a passionate jubilation in me.

These types of feelings are rare. I find I can only experience this type of emotion from action films. In these particular films the transformation from a loving, protective father to a cold vindictive killer was very fast and seamless. I like this exploration of what a cornered, desperate human being is fully capable of. The motivation for the actions of Bryan and Tae-Sik in their respective action film is very noble but it is how easily they can flip the switch and suddenly become a ruthless monster that really sets these films apart for me.

I cannot think of any other genre of film that delivers edge-of-your-seat excitement while at the same time providing an insightful look at the human psyche. Can you?

NYC Summer: Programs at Mid-Manhattan

Thomas Knowlton, Mid-Manhattan Library, Language and Literature — Mon, 06 May 2013 06:51:14 -0400

This summer at Mid-Manhattan Library: revisit the vital, gritty streets of 1970s New York City on Film, discuss great NYC books online with Reader's Den, and relax as librarian Lois Moore reads you short stories from The New Yorker and New York-based authors during Mixed Bag.

All of these events are part of our summer reading program for older teens and adults called NYC Summer. Watch this space for announcements of even more events and book recommendations! You can also quickly access this page at: bit.ly/nycsummer-nypl.

From June to August, we will be hosting 1970s New York City on Film, featuring a variety of movies shot on location in NYC. Each program includes an introduction to the film as well as a guided discussion afterwards.

DATE FILM YEAR TIME DIRECTOR June 5, 2013 Shaft 1971 100 min Gordon Parks June 12, 2013 Klute 1971 114 min Alan J. Pakula June 19, 2013 Super Fly 1972 93 min Gordon Parks, Jr. June 26, 2013 The Godfather 1972 175 min Francis Ford Coppola July 3, 2013 Across 110th Street 1972 102 min Barry Shear July 10, 2013 Serpico 1973 130 min Sidney Lumet July 24, 2013 Mean Streets 1973 112 min Martin Scorsese July 31, 2013 Three Days of the Condor 1975 117 min Sydney Pollack August 7, 2013 Network 1976 121 min Sidney Lumet August 14, 2013 Saturday Night Fever 1977 118 min John Badham August 21, 2013 The Warriors 1979 92 min Walter Hill

All film screenings listed above are FREE and held in the first floor corner room of Mid-Manhattan Library. Seating is first-come, first-served.

Still from Serpico directed by Sidney Lumet.

Reader's Den is a monthly, online book discussion led by NYPL's resident bibliophiles. As part of NYC Summer, all books are related to New York City.

MONTH TITLE AUTHOR DISCUSSIONS May The Contract With God Trilogy Will Eisner 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 Jun Time and Again Jack Finney 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 Jul Watchmen Alan Moore 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 Aug Slaves of New York Tama Janowitz 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 Sept Unterzakhn Leela Corman 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Request the book (or ebook) from the NYPL catalog and join us once a week for an online discussion of the current month's selection.

Image by Anthony Catalano and licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Love a good story? Sit back and relax during Mixed Bag as storyteller extraordinaire Lois Moore reads you a story or two at lunch or dinner time!

JULY Mon July 15, 2013 New York, New York: Stories From The New Yorker 7 p.m. Wed July 17, 2013 New York, New York: Stories From The New Yorker 1 p.m. Wed July 24, 2013 New York, New York: Stories From The New Yorker 1 p.m. Mon July 29, 2013 New York, New York: Stories From The New Yorker 7 p.m. AUGUST Wed August 7, 2013 New York, New York: New York Authors 1 p.m. Mon August 12, 2013 New York, New York: New York Authors 7 p.m. Wed August 21, 2013 New York, New York: New York Authors 1 p.m. Mon August 26, 2013 New York, New York: New York Authors 7 p.m.

Image by Anthony Catalano and licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

May 2013 DVD Releases... Reserve Your Copy Now!

Steve Herman, Stapleton Library — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 13:03:16 -0400

In the month of May, many great DVD movies are coming to the Library. Reserve titles now using the Library's Catalog.

May is a great month for movies based on books with DVD releases like Jack Reacher, Safe Haven, Cloud Atlas, and Beautiful Creatures. May is also full of thrills with A Good Day to Die Hard, Texas Chainsaw, The Last Stand, and Parker. Get a jump start ahead of the rest, and reserve these plus many more May DVD releases now!

Celebrate the Mad Men Season Premiere in ’60s Style

Laura Rietz, Multimedia Content — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 07:28:06 -0400

The sixth season of AMC’s hit show Mad Men premieres on Sunday, April 7. If you’re interested in throwing a historically accurate premiere party, or you just want to learn more about the 1960s, NYPL offers plenty of groovy resources.

Just how accurate can you be in staging a premiere party? The real question is what moment in time will Season 6 rejoin the lives of Mad Men’s fictional characters. Although AMC is remaining mum on how much time has passed since the end of Season 5, it does acknowledge that a time jump occurs. Based on the fact that Season 5 ended around Easter of 1967, and promos for Season 6 include Christmas decorations, show aficionados at NYPL are guessing that the narrative will pick up in late 1967.

Whether Season 6 picks up before or after the release of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (June, 1967), to celebrate the show you should make sure that you and your pad are sporting a far out look. For inspiration on retro outfits and décor, check out these books in our catalog:

For sixties-era food and drink recipes, we have several copies of the Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook, by Judy Gelman, including an eBook version (hint: place a hold soon—it’s likely that all copies will be checked out before you know it!). You might also be inspired by NYPL’s digitized copies of menus and other materials from restaurants mentioned on the show. While you’re at it, help transcribe other menus for our “What’s On the Menu?” project:

Danny’s Hide A Way (mentioned in Season 5, Episode 8, “Lady Lazarus”)
Grand Central Oyster Bar and Restaurant (mentioned in Season 5, Episode 8, “Lady Lazarus”)
Lutece (mentioned in Season 2, Episode 3, "The Benefactor")
Peking House (mentioned in Season 4, Episode 2, "Christmas Comes But Once a Year")
La Caravelle (mentioned in Season 4, Episode 12, "Blowing Smoke")

After your premiere party, as the season unfolds, be sure to follow the regularly-updated Mad Men reading list and other related posts by Billy Parrott at the Mid-Manhattan Library.

Also stop by the Mid-Manhattan library, at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 40th Street, to see a Mad Men-themed Picture Collection exhibition.

April 2013 DVD Releases... Reserve Your Copy Now!

Steve Herman, Stapleton Library — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 12:28:38 -0400

In the month of April, many great DVD movies are coming to the Library. Reserve titles now using the Library's Catalog.

We've got more Academy Award nominated DVD movie releases in April with Django Unchained, The Impossible, and Silver Linings Playbook. Get your fill of crime dramas in April with Gangster Squad and Broken City. Or maybe have a few laughs this month with A Haunted House and The Guilt Trip. Get a jump start ahead of the rest, and reserve these plus many more April DVD releases now!

March 2013 DVD Releases... Reserve Your Copy Now!

Steve Herman, Stapleton Library — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 09:10:49 -0500

In the month of March, many great DVD movies are coming to the Library. Reserve titles now using the Library's Catalog.

March is a month full of Academy Award nominated DVD movie releases with Life of Pi, Zero Dark Thirty, Les Miserables, Wreck-It Ralph and Lincoln. Make it a date night with Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2, Playing for Keeps, and This Is 40. Get a jump start ahead of the rest, and reserve these plus many more March DVD releases now!

ReelAbilities: NY Disabilities Film Festival

Brigid Cahalan, Library Sites & Services/Outreach — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 07:38:45 -0500

New York Public Library is once again proud to partner with ReelAbilities, offering opportunities to see recent, high-quality films promoting awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories and artistic expressions of people with differing abilities.

If you search for disability-themed film festivals, you can easily find several throughout the United States and the world. Each has its unique personality and approach; all beckon filmgoers enticingly...

But ReelAbilities stands apart.

Since its New York City debut in 2008 it has not only greatly increased the number of films shown and participating venues in NYC but has been expanding its national reach, now offering a National Program in 12 locations throughout the U.S. in addition to New York.

I've attended other film festivals, but none has both touched my heart and opened my mind as has ReelAbilities.

Mid-Manhattan Library will host several films in the first floor Corner Room:

Thursday, March 7, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Six Points About Emma/Seis Puntos Sobre Emma, with discussion afterwards led by Iris Rosen, LCSW-R. The film's director, Roberto Perez Toledo, will also be present.

Monday, March 11, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Imagine, with discussion led by sound artist and designer Charlie Morrow.

Tuesday, March 12, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
The Importance of Tying Your Own Shoes, with discussion led by the producer of the film, Peter Kropenin.

The Stephen A. Schwarzman Building hosts two short film series in the Berger Forum (Room 227):

Friday, March 8, 1:00-2:30 p.m.
Flying Anne/Be My Brother/Autism in Love/Beautiful/Jazz Hand
These films, which touch upon Tourette syndrome, Down syndrome, autism and more, will be followed by a discussion led by Susan Dooha, Executive Director of the Center for Independence of the Disabled, New York. Mary Archbold, featured in Jazz Hand, will also be present.

Friday, March 8, 2:30-4:00 p.m.,
Coming Home/Departure Lounge. These deaf-themed short films will be followed by a discussion led by actor/choreographer Alexandria Wailes. The discussion will be in A.S.L. (American Sign Language) with voice interpretation.

In addition, several branch libraries are screening films or hosting special programs:

Thursday, March 7, Bronx Library Center: AKA Doc Pomus

Thursday, March 7, St. Agnes Branch: Wampler's Ascent

Saturday, March 9, Chatham Square Branch: The Importance of Tying Your Own Shoes

Saturday, March 9, Andrew Heiskell Braille & Talking Book Library: AKA Doc Pomus

Monday, March 11, 115th Street Library: Somewhere, with Heidi Latsky Dance Group

Tuesday, March 12, Countee Cullen Library: Still Standing, with Anita Hollander

All these events are free. All films will be captioned. No reservation needed: first come, first served!

February 2013 DVD Releases... Reserve Your Copy Now!

Steve Herman, Stapleton Library — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 07:43:31 -0500

In the month of February, many great DVD movies are coming to the Library. Reserve titles now using the Library's Catalog.

February is a great month for DVD movie releases that were based on books, with Alex Cross, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Cloud Atlas, Anna Karenina, and Atlas Shrugged Part II. February also sees the RZA directed Man With the Iron Fists, a good addition to any library's #WUSEUM. If you're interested in documentaries, check out Bully and Undefeated in February. Get a jump start ahead of the rest, and reserve these plus many more February DVD releases now!

Three Auteurs of World Cinema

Thomas Knowlton, Mid-Manhattan Library, Language and Literature — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 05:20:33 -0500

Three Auteurs of World Cinema starts with six screenings of films by the highly-stylized Hong Kong director, Wong Kar-wai. In March, we move to the meditative works of Soviet/Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky. And finally, throughout April and May, we'll explore the fantastical world of Italian director Federico Fellini through eight films spanning his entire career.

All film screenings listed below are FREE and held in the first floor corner room of Mid-Manhattan Library. Each program includes an introduction to the film as well as a guided discussion afterwards. Seating is first-come, first-served and doors open at 6:30 p.m.*

*Please note: the screening of Tarkovsky's The Sacrifice will begin at 6 p.m. with doors at 5:30 p.m.

WONG KAR-WAI DATE FILM YEAR RUN TIME Jan 9, 2013 Chungking Express 1994 103 min Jan 16, 2013 Fallen Angels 1995 96 min Jan 30, 2013 As Tears Go By 1988 102 min Feb 6, 2013 Days of Being Wild 1990 89 min Feb 13, 2013 Happy Together 1997 97 min Feb 20, 2013 In the Mood for Love 2001 97 min ANDREI TARKOVSKY DATE FILM YEAR RUN TIME March 6, 2013 Andrei Rublev 1966 205 min March 13, 2013 The Mirror 1974 106 min Mach 20, 2013 Stalker 1979 163 min March 27, 2013 The Sacrifice 1986 142 min FEDERICO FELLINI DATE FILM YEAR RUN TIME April 10, 2013 I Vitelloni 1953 104 min April 17, 2013 The White Sheik 1952 83 min April 24, 2013 La Strada 1954 108 min May 1, 2013 La Dolce Vita 1960 174 min May 8, 2013 Satyricon 1969 128 min May 15, 2013 Roma 1972 128 min May 22, 2013 8 1/2 1963 138 min May 29, 2013 City of Women 1980 139 min

Please feel free to contact Karen Ginman at karenginman@nypl.org or Thomas Knowlton at thomasknowlton@nypl.org if you have any questions.

A Cold Night's Death: The Allure of Scandinavian Crime Fiction

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 10:48:05 -0500

Maybe you've got the Nordic noir bug from reading Stieg Larsson's Millennium series (we've all seen those ubiquitous neon paperbacks on the subway) or were enthralled earlier by Peter Høeg's Smilla's Sense of Snow or the Detective Wallander series of books. However you encounter them, Scandicrime writers such as Henning Mankell, Larsson, or Jo Nesbø are like a good bag of chips, it's hard not to have another. This is a selective guide to some notable authors and detective series from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and even some Nordic noir from Iceland, and what's better, a guide to pronouncing their names correctly over cocktails.

[A note on usage: The terms Scandinavian and Nordic are often used interchangeably but their meanings can be quite distinct in terms of linguisitic, cultural and geographical boundaries. Finns and Icelanders may prefer the term Nordic (derived from Norden meaning Northern). See Use of Nordic countries vs. Scandinavia for a thorough treatment of the topic on Wikipedia]

The Dark Knight

The detectives in Scandinavian crime fiction share many attributes with their American and British counterparts. Many are unkempt, unhealthy and sometimes fatalistic characters, but are nevertheless humane and brilliant sleuths. They doggedly pursue the criminal element, usually (but not always) winning the day at the expense of maintaining a normal family or social life. Some are alcoholics whose human interactions are limited to station and squad car. Some even develop relationships with the victims or, even worse, the criminal. You know you have no life when the serial killer you're hunting chides you about your cholesterol.

Brooding Landscapes The waves dying a natural death on the beach seemed to have traveled vast distances bearing neither life nor hope. This is not my sea, Van Veeteren thought to himself. —Borkmann's Point, by Håkan Nesser

Key to the appeal of Scandinavian crime literature is the stoic nature of its detectives and their peculiarly close relationship with death. One conjures up a brooding Bergmanesque figure contemplating the long dark winter (they do have their share of hot summers too). Another narrative component just as vital is the often bleak Scandinavian landscape which serves to mirror the thoughts of the characters. Vast alvars, ancient stone, and dark shores inhabit these stories such that the soul of the landscape becomes an important narrative agent, even a character in itself. Readers will also find fascinating the supernatural strain pervading this literature: Ancient beliefs in ghosts, changelings, and other natural spirits thrive in contemporary Nordic noir as if upholding the ancient lineage of the Icelandic saga.

We're All Victims

Another important element of the Scandicrime genre is its traditional willingness to incorporate larger social issues into the narrative of police work. Immigration, xenophobia, misogyny, racism, and larger issues of intolerance and social inequality are recurring themes that often form the core of the mystery at hand.

Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö

Any review of Scandinavian crime literature rightly starts in Sweden, home of noir stalwarts Henning Mankell, Håkan Nesser, and of course, Stieg Larsson. One must begin, however, with husband-wife team Per Wahlöö and Maj Sjöwall, who launched the phenomenon in the 1960s with the series of police procedural novels featuring Inspector Martin Beck. One of them, The Laughing Policeman, was adapted for the screen and starred Walter Matthau. A great 1970s cop movie, and an early blip in the American mainstream of the Scandicrime phenomenon. Detective Beck became the template for the detective as humanistic everyman whose thoughtful investigations serve as a prism through which we view the ills of society. The underbelly of crime revealed by the discovery of a corpse begins an investigative journey that often leads to the higher orders of society and the authorities of the state.

Henning Mankell

Henning Mankell is probably the brightest star in the Scandinoir universe. His Detective Wallander books have been widely translated since the 1990s and today outperform even Stieg Larsson's posthumous success. Wallander is a decent, hard-working detective who takes his cases to heart. Despite being confronted with the worst of humanity's brutality, he is an optimistic soldier in the war against injustice. His social circle is limited mainly to his daughter Linda (who also becomes a detective) and his disapproving father. Start with Faceless Killers and see if you can resist picking up Dogs of Riga. Fans of the Kenneth Branagh BBC TV series Wallander who wish to tap into its Swedish roots will be rewarded by the Svensk ethos of the original TV series starring Krister Henriksson. For completists, there are actually three incarnations of Wallander (properly pronounced 'Vallánder') if you include the original movie adaptations starring Rolf Lassgård.

Stieg Larsson

Stieg Larsson's bestselling Millennium Trilogy begins with the first book The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (the true title, Män som hatar kvinnor, is Men Who Hate Women). The series is infamous partly because it lacks a proper detective. Our sleuth is Mikael Blomkvist, disgraced editor of the alternative press magazine Millennium, who is privately hired to solve a 36-year old mystery. But the real bonus of the trilogy is the tattooed goth hacker Lisbeth Salander, who becomes Blomkvist's unlikely partner. Larsson scholars will be interested to note that Salander is based partly on the picture book rebel Pippi Longstocking. The movie adaptations of the Millennium Trilogy were faithful and quite thrilling. Even David Fincher's remake was a presentable alternative for the subtitle-averse, but the Swedish original is a must-see (Noomi Rapace will simply own you).

Håkan Nesser

Håkan Nesser's Van Veeteren is another highly regarded series. Van Veeteren is the archetypical single-minded, intuitive, somewhat detached detective with family problems who loves classical music and chess. In Nesser's world, he contemplates a fictional Northern European landscape. Later in the series, Detective Van Veeteren retires and consults on cases from his antique book shop. The series is a good example of Nordic noir at its best. Most of these books also have film versions. The first book is The Mind's Eye.

Johan Theorin

Fans of page-turning thrillers will learn to slow down and enjoy Johan Theorin's Öland Quartet of novels. In the first book Echoes From the Dead, the detective figure is a retired sailor named Gerlof who is seen throughout the series, sometimes only indirectly involved with solving the mystery at hand. Theorin creates a deeply troubling atmosphere of murder, family secrets, and crossed destinies with a gothic feel set on the rugged coast of the Swedish island of Öland. These are low on procedural, heavy on psychology, and with a strong supernatural element. Slow down the tempo and savor Theorin's prose.

Karin Alvtegen

Karin Alvtegen's masterful thrillers are a psychological tour de force. Highly recommended is Missing: A homeless woman is wrongly accused of murder and it is up to her to solve the crime while remaining hidden from the authorities. Gradually the reader learns more about her background via flashbacks of her privileged yet oppressive upbringing and an epic fail of a mother. Her sole ally is a samaritan teenager. As the mutual trust develops between them, his computer savviness and her street-smarts combine to form an ad hoc investigative team which must thwart the killer in a suspenseful race against time. A movie adaptation of the same title was made in 2006. Alvtegen's other books include Guilt, Betrayal, Shame (a.k.a. Sacrifice), and Shadow.

Karin Fossum

On to neighboring Norway. Karin Fossum's distinctive Inspector Sejer series, a Scandicrime fan favorite, are procedurals with a soul. Elegant and well-mannered Inspector Sejer resembles a Norwegian James Stewart. He is determined not only to solve the crime but to understand the motives that led to the scene of death. The Inspector Sejer books are less whodunits than penetrating whydunits that sometimes focus on the criminals themselves and bear witness to the spiral of remorse and desperation that plays out after the crime. In Fossum's world we feel the pain inflicted by the crime on victim, perpetrator, and investigator alike. The crime's consequences spread like a virus to the victim's families and society at a large and the guilty are not always caught. Fossum's books are widely available in NYPL as books, ebooks and audiobooks. The first title in English of the Inspector Sejer series is Don't Look Back.

Jo Nesbø

If Karin Fossum is Norway's queen of crime, Jo Nesbø is their darling prince, grabbing much of the market share of the Scandicrime wave reaching American shores in the wake of Stieg Larssen's posthumous popularity. The arthouse crowd has seen his book Headhunters (Hodejegerne) adapted into a film recently and are trembling with anticipation for Martin Scorsese's interpretation of The Snowman to hit the big screen. The popular Harry Hole series is clever, violent, and loaded with dark humor. Each book sports a well-structured theme and the frenetic pace of the narrative moves like a first-person shooter. Each book stands on its own but leaves a certain cliffhanger element with regards to the characters' fates. Nesbø's colorful detective Hole is a soul-searching, intermittantly recovering alchoholic who maniacally hunts down his perp. The Harry Hole series never disappoints with clever plot construction and interesting scientific and historical facts woven in as bonus material. The first book in the series is one of the last to be published, forthcoming as The Bat. Until then, try Redbreast. NYPL has many of the books in ebook, audiobook and even large print versions.

Peter Høeg

Smilla's Sense of Snow may be one of the greatest fiction books published in the 1990s but is least typical of the noir picks here. Although it is not a police procedural as such, Smilla is rich in the forensic detail of nature and incorporates many of the existential themes, issues of social inequality and injustice, and investigative suspense found in the Scandinoir tradition. Hoeg's vividly rendered landscapes enraptured readers all over the world, but the real draw was the [non-]detective native Greenlander Smilla, who like Lisbeth Salander, is an outsider with special abilities (she can read snow like a book). [Spoiler alert!] After examining the snow around the scene of a boy's accidental death, she sees that it is no accident, and so begins her amazing quest to find the truth. Smilla uncovers a grand scale conspiracy where the machinations of greed culminates in the murder of a small child.

Jussi Adler-Olsen

Although not all translated into English, the books of Danish author Jussi Adler-Olsen's Department Q series promise to be a unique treat. Try the first, Keeper of Lost Causes, a real page-turner about a politician who wakes up to find herself sealed in a pitch black cell. She strives to understand her abduction, survive, and plot her escape. Meanwhile, Detective Mørck, recently "promoted" to a basement room after his partner is killed, picks up the cold case and works it, aided by a mysterious janitor with latent gumshoe talents. The Department Q series is a departure in some ways from the genre as it is chock full of laugh-out-loud funny situations and oddball characters. As Keeper reaches its conclusion, it becomes an exercise in suspense and pathos which will leave you reeling. Hopefully more of this series will be forthcoming in English.

Arnaldur Indriðason

Arnaldur Indriðason's Detective Erlendur series is popular around the globe, and not just for its local Icelandic flavor (boiled sheep's head for take-out anyone?). Erlendur is another hero in the mold of brooding, gruff, but humane detective with a dysfunctional family who resolutely pursues justice. Each book finds him coming closer to terms with his own past as he struggles to keep his present life together. The bleak Icelandic landscape in these books gets under your skin and stays there long after putting them down. But it is the reserved, yet humorous, interplay between Erlendur and his closely-knit investigative team (Elínborg and Sigurður Óli) that comprises the real charm of the Detective Erlendur series. Arnaldur's third book in the series, Jar City (a.k.a. Tainted Blood), is an absorbing mystery that was made into an excellent film version. In the ninth and tenth books (Outrage and Black Skies) Erlendur's partners (Elínborg and Sigurður Óli respectively) are the central characters.

This selective reading list could easily be augmented, so please do share your own recommendations!

Non-fiction sources to learn more:

Death in a Cold Climate: A Guide to Scandinavian Crime Fiction by Barry Forshaw (2012).
BBC Timeshift: Nordic Noir (2011). Informative documentary about the Nordic noir phenomenon, interviews with Jo Nesbø, Karin Fossum, Håkan Nesser and others, with a generous focus on Stieg Larsson.
List of Glass Key Award winners. A good starting point to explore more works of Scandinavian crime fiction.

Popular Scandinavian Detective Series Arranged in chronological running order. This list will be adjusted as books become available in English translation. Title translations may vary between the American titles listed here and British releases which often precede them. Links to original language editions are given where available. Click on the '⇨' symbol to hear a pronunciation of each name (courtesy of Forvo).

⇨Mäj Sjowall / ⇨Per Wähloo - Martin Beck Series

Roseanna (Roseanna)
The Man Who Went Up in Smoke (Mannen som gick upp i rök)
The Man on the Balcony (Mannen på balkongen)
The Laughing Policeman (Den skrattande polisen)
The Fire Engine That Disappeared (Brandbilen som försvann)
Murder at the Savoy (Polis)
The Abominable Man (Den vedervärdige mannen från Säffle)
The Locked Room (Det slutna rummet)
Cop Killer (Polismördaren)
The Terrorists (Terroristerna)

⇨Henning Mankell - Wallander Series

Faceless Killers (Mördare utan ansikte)
The Dogs of Riga (Hundarna i Riga)
The White Lioness (Den vita lejoninnan)
The Man Who Smiled (Mannen som log)
Sidetracked (Villospår)
The Fifth Woman (Den femte kvinnan)
One Step Behind (Steget efter)
Firewall (Brandvägg)
The Pyramid (Pyramiden)
The Troubled Man (Man Den orolige mannen)

⇨Stieg Larsson - Millennium Series

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Män som hatar kvinnor)
The Girl Who Played with Fire (Flickan som lekte med elden)
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest (Luftslottet som sprängdes)

⇨Håkan Nesser - Van Veeteren Series

The Mind's Eye (Grovmaskiga nätet)
Borkmann's Point (Borkmanns punkt)
The Return (Återkomsten)
Woman with Birthmark (Kvinna med födelsemärke)
The Inspector and Silence (Kommissarien och tystnaden)
Munster's Case (Münsters fall)
Hour of the Wolf (Carambole)
The Weeping Girl (Ewa Morenos fall)
Svalan, katten, rosen, döden
Fallet G Available in German as Sein letzer Fall

⇨Johan Theorin - Öland Quartet (Ölandskvartetten)

Echoes from the Dead (Skumtimmen)
The Darkest Room (Nattfåk)
The Quarry (Blodläge)
---

⇨Karin Fossum - Inspector Sejer Series

Eva's Eye (Evas øye)
Don't Look Back (Se deg ikke tilbake!)
He Who Fears the Wolf (Den som frykter ulven)
When the Devil Holds the Candle (Djevelen holder lyset)
The Indian Bride (Elskede Poona)
Black Seconds (Svarte sekunder)
The Murder of Harriet Krohn (Drapet på Harriet Krohn)
The Water's Edge (Den som elsker noe annet)
Bad Intentions (Den onde viljen)
The Caller (Varsleren)

⇨Jo Nesbø - ⇨Harry Hole Series

The Bat (Flaggermusmannen) Available in French as L'homme chauve-souris
The Cockroaches (Kakerlakkene)
The Redbreast (Rødstrupe)
Nemesis (Sorgenfri)
The Devil's Star (Marekors)
The Redeemer (Frelseren)
The Snowman (Snømannen)
The Leopard (Panserhjerte)
Phantom (Gjenferd)
Police (Politi)

⇨Jussi Adler-Olsen - Department Q Series

The Keeper of Lost Causes (Kvinden i bure)
The Absent One (Fasandræberne)
A Conspiracy of Faith (Flaskepost fra P) Available in Spanish as El mensaje que llegó en una botella
Journal 64
The Marco Effect (Marco Effekten)

⇨Arnaldur Indriðason - Detective Erlendur Series

Sons of Dust (Synir duftsins)
Silent Kill (Dauðarósir) Available in German as Todesrosen
Jar City (Mýrin)
Silence of the Grave (Grafarþögn)
Voices (Röddin)
The Draining Lake (Kleifarvatn)
Arctic Chill (Vetrarborgin)
Hypothermia (Harðskafi)
Outrage (Myrká)
Black Skies (Svörtuloft)
Strange Shores (Furðustrandir)
Einvígið
Reykjavíkurnætur

Django Unchained: Lorraine Hansberry Unbridled

Christopher Paul Moore, Senior Researcher, Schomburg Center — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 06:42:57 -0500

Angelic stranger, Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) grants freedom to hapless Texas slave Django (Jamie Foxx). Schultz, a kindly German dentist-turned-bounty hunter, provides Django with employment, trusting friendship and his first handgun. Django is reborn as a slave-turned-bounty hunter, becoming a vengeful black American superman on a dangerous and deadly mission to free his lovely German-educated wife, Broomhilda von Shaft (Kerry Washington), from a Mississippi cotton plantation.

Django Unchained, directed by Quentin Tarantino, is a fascinating and troubling movie about slavery, freedom and violence in America. With a little extra viewer study, it could become an important film experience.

In 1858, Schultz and Django ride from Texas to Mississippi, collecting bodies and bounty checks, cash and promissory notes along the way.

"This is my world! And my world has gotten dirty," laments Schultz, after another bounty-winning bloodletting day.

Schultz and Django encounter plantation Big Daddy (Don Johnson) a charming slave-owner with added interest in constructing a destructive future Ku Klux Klan. Continuing to Mississippi, Schultz and Django arrive at a much larger plantation, Candie Land, owned by the very wealthy and sophisticated Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio).

Stephen (Samuel L. Jackson), a docile appearing house slave, serves slyly as Candie Land's ultimate overseer — a slave commander plus a decipherer of truth, goodness and evil — an authentic African Obeah (or Obi) transformed to an African-American monster. From 1858 to long beyond slavery, Stephen will live on in many American households, like any favorite uncle: Tom, Remus or Ben.

Django Unchained is irreverently violent, often reproachfully racist and so much like D.W. Griffith's 1915 Birth Of A Nation, the two films should ideally play back-to-back someday. Its lead character comes from the 1960s Italian film series, Django, starring Franco Nero, a gunman drifter who dragged a coffin on his violent journeys. Django replaced Sergio Leone's leading "man with no name" character (Clint Eastwood) as spaghetti Western box office favorite.

Laden more with schnitzel and beer than pasta, Django Unchained is influenced much by Karl May, the 19th century German novelist. May (pronounced My) wrote popular books about Germany's incremental spread into the global colonial world, including Asia, Africa and America, and German encounters with indigenous peoples. As a child, Germany's 20th century emerging artist-turned-Führer, Adolph Hitler, immensely enjoyed May's romantic conquest fantasies, in addition to trusting authentic historian accounts about the American expansion of the West, from sea to shining sea.

German production companies started Spaghetti Westerns in the late 1950s, filming Karl May-derived scripts in Italy as the surrogate American West. One powerfully repugnant scene may reawaken the late Fuhrer's delight and disgust, as a sadistically entertaining mandingo-canine mismatch nauseates the German, but not the more fearless Django, who then becomes Schultz's mentor.

"I am just a little more used to Americans than he (Schultz) is," intones Django, as he edges toward his very possible ancestral namesake, Shango (Xango), traditionally invoked by believers for male potency, fertility and war. More powerful than any handgun or rifle, Foxx's dynamite Django vaporizes Eastwood's charmingly destructive original.

Samuel L. Jackson's superbly delivered Stephen reminded me of a favorite unpublished slavery screenplay, The Drinking Gourd, written by playwright Lorraine Hansberry in 1959. Commissioned by NBC as a teleplay, it was judged "superb" by one network official, but dropped, essentially because of Hansberry's firm storyline opinion that slavery was wrong. The Hansberry play contains a Stephen character, too, whom she named Coffin.

Her surnamed Hansberry grandparents were slaves from Mississippi. In an unpublished letter to the Village Voice, she connected the American slave experience with the Holocaust:

"I have long since learned that it is difficult for the American mind to adjust to the realization that the Rhetts and Scarletts were as much monsters as the keepers of Buchenwald, they just dressed more attractively and their accents are softer," Hansberry wrote, adding, "The slavocracy was neither gentle nor vague; it was a system of absolutism: he who stood up and preached 'discontent' directly had his courageous head chopped off; his militant back flogged to shreds; the four points of his limbs fastened down to saplings, or his eyes gouged out."

Hansberry studied slavery from materials at The New York Public Library's Schomburg Center for the television project.

I have not spoken to Tarantino but his interview by The Root's editor-in-chief Henry Louis Gates offers important insights into his cinematic mission.

"I think America is one of the only countries that has not been forced, sometimes by the rest of the world, to look their own past sins completely in the face," Tarantino said.

"And it's only by looking them in the face that you can possibly work past them."

Great Americans named Douglass, DuBois, Wells, Bethune, King, X (Shabazz), Baldwin and Hansberry fundamentally argued that America's ugliest disfiguring was the self-castration of its own humane ideals.

Likely, Dr. King and Malcolm X would be with Spike Lee and Tarantino, in part, on this film. In his autobiography, Malcolm X expressed an unnamed partnership on the root cause and outcome of generations of fanciful national history:

"When the white man came into this country, he certainly wasn't demonstrating any 'non-violence.' In fact, the very man (Dr. King) whose name symbolizes non-violence here today has stated: "Our nation was born in genocide when it embraced the doctrine that the original American, the Indian, was an inferior race. Even before there were large numbers of Negroes on our shores, the scar of racial hatred had already disfigured colonial society. From the sixteenth century forward, blood flowed in battles over racial supremacy.

We are perhaps the only nation which tried as a matter of national policy to wipe out its indigenous population. Moreover, we elevated that tragic experience into a noble crusade. Indeed, even today we have not permitted ourselves to reject or to feel remorse for this shameful episode.

Our literature, our films, our drama, our folklore all exalt it... It was upon this massive base of racism that the prejudice toward the nonwhite was readily built, and found rapid growth. This long-standing racist ideology has corrupted and diminished our democratic ideals. It is this tangled web of prejudice from which many Americans now seek to liberate themselves, without realizing how deeply it has been woven into their consciousness."

[From Autobiography of Malcolm X, As Told To Alex Haley, by Malcolm X, 1965 / MLK Jr. excerpt from Why We Can't Wait, by Martin Luther King Jr., 1964]

In 1960, American star Henry Fonda agreed to plans for the The Drinking Gourd and negotiations with Claudia McNeal and British star Laurence Olivier were underway when NBC abruptly passed on the script. In 1967, radio station WBAI commemorated the second anniversary of Hansberry's death, broadcasting two scenes from the script, voiced by Cicely Tyson, Will Geer, James Earl Jones and Rip Torn.

When my Moore family arrived at the Manhattan movie theatre, my sixth grade son passed up the opportunity to see Django Unchained with his twelfth grade brother, mother and me. Instead he went with his aunt Imani to see The Hobbit.

"You all look exhausted!" my younger son exclaimed as we walked wearily toward him after the movie. We were tired of all the killing. Make-believe killing is tiring, even in an important and valuable film. My wife, Kim Yancey, who introduced me to Lorraine Hansberry's works, liked the performances but she was just plain tired by the violence. My older son unequivocally enjoyed the movie, but he was weary, too (thankfully!) from the so lengthy killing stretches. He is a video production intern and he is learning that movies are never the last stop in the learning curve, but can be the first step. We have a few books at home and I figured a trip to the library would help translate Django Unchained from a potential waste of family time.

Spielberg's Lincoln cinematically constructs the Thirteenth Amendment. Many viewers may see that Tarantino's Django Unchained deconstructs the Second Amendment. Django Unchained is Historical Literacy 101 (with or without popcorn). Syllabus: Hansberry, Malcolm X, MLK Jr.

For more information:

The Collected Last Plays of Lorraine Hansberry including Les Blancs, The Drinking Gourd and What Use Are Flowers, New American Library, 1983.
Spaghetti Westerns: Cowboys and Europeans from Karl May to Sergio Leone, by Christopher Frayling
Jubilee: The Emergence of African American Culture, New York Public Library Schomburg Center for Research in Publication, National Geographic 2005.

Chris Moore is author Fighting For America: Black Soldiers, The Unsung Heroes of World War II and co-author Standing In The Need of Prayer: A Celebration of Black Prayer and Jubilee: The Emergence of African American Culture.

January 2013 DVD Releases... Reserve Your Copy Now!

Steve Herman, Stapleton Library — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 04:36:59 -0500

In the month of January, many great DVD movies are coming to the Library. Reserve titles now using the Library's new Catalog.

Start the year off right with one of our many January thrilling action movie releases, which include Dredd, House at the End of the Street, Stolen, The Possession, and End of Watch. Find out how Liam Neeson's family somehow become kidnapped again with Taken 2. Make it a date night with To Rome with Love, and Nobody Walks. Get a jump start ahead of the rest, and reserve these plus many more January DVD releases now!

December 2012 DVD Releases... Reserve Your Copy Now!

Steve Herman, Stapleton Library — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 07:12:06 -0500

In the month of December, many great DVD movies are coming to the Library. Reserve titles now using the Library's new Catalog.

The month of December is a great month for thrilling action movie releases, with The Dark Knight Rises, The Bourne Legacy, Total Recall, Resident Evil: Retribution, and Premium Rush. We also have a few family friendly releases in December with The Odd Life of Timothy Green, Ice Age: Continental Drift, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days. If you're looking for a laugh, check out Ted, the raunchy comedy starring a CGI bear, written and directed by Family Guy's Seth MacFarlane. Get a jump start ahead of the rest, and reserve these plus many more December DVD releases now!

LES Heritage Film Series: The '80s, Part 1 — DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN with DIRECTOR SUSAN SEIDELMAN

Johanna Lewis, Seward Park Library — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 09:12:23 -0500

I'm sorry to shout. But we're showing Desperately Seeking Susan and DIRECTOR SUSAN SEIDELMAN WILL BE HERE. So if ever you were going to attend a Lower East Side Heritage '80s film, this is the one. Ms. Seidelman will be speaking about her work, and there will be a Q and A after the show. Moving on...

I was amazed at what I remembered and what I forgot about Desperately Seeking Susan, or remembered differently. I forgot all the cameos. Richard Hell is the jewel thief that ends up dead in Atlantic City. Rockets Redglare of The Way it Is and Permanent Vacation fame is the cabdriver. The guy that's not John Lurie from Stranger than Paradise. Richard Wright as a dentist. John Turturro as the emcee at the Magic Club.

I forgot the amazing screwball schtick of the amnesia and mistaken identity. I forgot all the funny, subtle, throwaway lines. And I misremember what was, to me, the most iconic image of the film. When Madonna dries her armpits on an upturned hand dryer in the Port Authority bathroom I remember it as a holding shot. in 1985, at 16, I thought it was just so cute and weird and badass. And it still is. But it turns out it's onscreen for literally two seconds. Enough time to brand it on my brain, apparently.

Here's what I remembered correctly: the clothes. The vintage store with the totally Eighties grandpa overcoats. The round skeleton suitcase. The amazing clothing/accessory/hair combos that were Madonna being art directed AS Madonna. That freaking jacket with the pyramid on the back. No one ever looked better in Ray Bans and red lipstick than her. Ever. And Madonna playing Madonna playing Susan? She kills it. Rakish and radiant and totally natural. You can't take your eyes off her.

Please brings your eyes and your questions next Tuesday night, November 20th at 6:30 p.m. for Desperately Seeking Susan with the film's director Susan Seideleman in attendance.

In our community room, lower level. Admission is FREE.

Seward Park Library
192 East Broadway
NY, NY 10002
212-477-6770

Korean Drama Collection at Tompkins Square Library

Elizabeth Griffin, Tompkins Square Library — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 06:45:44 -0500

Before the craze of Psy's "Gangnam Style", the Korean Wave had already overwhelmed the masses and continues to spread throughout the world today. The Wave does not only include famous, catchy Korean Pop songs but also great dramas and movies that rival any Spanish soap opera I've ever watched.

Here at Tompkins Square Branch Library aside from the usual collection of great American movies there is a small collection of DVDs filed under Chinese DVDs, which in reality includes mostly Korean dramas. My first concern is for the many fans of Korean dramas who may feel like the library does not have any at all. As a huge fan of the actor Jang Geun Suk (Mary Stayed Out All Night) (first DVD on the left, pictured above) I would be seriously depressed if I thought I could not find his Korean dramas in the library. Luckily, I have the privilege of browsing the collection as I shelve and know the difference between Chinese, Japanese and Korean characters.

Unfortunately, I have not seen many dramas added to the collection but I have faith that the Korean Wave has not reached its peak and droves of patrons will come in asking for them in the future.

For those of you who would not like to wait and have a hunger to experience different cultures, visit viki.com. The website provides free, legal access to content which includes dramas and movies from all over the world, and user-generated subtitles in many languages. Be it Japanese, Taiwanese, Chinese or Korean dramas just know that the library is only the beginning of the journey to free content and the experience of amazing cultures.

November 2012 DVD Releases... Reserve Your Copy Now!

Steve Herman, Stapleton Library — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 06:16:34 -0400

In the month of November, many great DVD movies are coming to the Library. Reserve titles now using the Library's new Catalog.

The month of November is a great month for family-friendly movie releases, with Arthur Christmas, Brave, and ParaNorman. In the mood for a little action? Then check out The Amazing Spider-Man, The Watch, Savages, The Expendables 2, and Men in Black 3. If you're into dance or musical films, then check out Step Up: Revolution, and Sparkle. Get a jump start ahead of the rest, and reserve these plus many more November DVD releases now!

October 2012 DVD Releases... Reserve Your Copy Now!

Steve Herman, Stapleton Library — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 13:55:53 -0400

In the month of October, many great DVD movies are coming to the Library. Reserve titles now using the Library's new Catalog.

The month of October is full of thrills, with releases of Prometheus, Chernobyl Diaries, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, and Savages. Tired of big studio movies? October has a few good indie movie releases, with Moonrise Kingdom, Safety Not Guaranteed, and Seeking a Friend for the End of the World. If you got a thing for Michelle Pfeiffer, check out Dark Shadows, and People Like Us, which both feature everyone's favorite Catwoman. October also sees many TV releases, such as How I Met Your Mother, The New Girl, Mad Men, Law & Order, and many more! Get a jump start ahead of the rest, and reserve these plus many more October DVD releases now!

September 2012 DVD Releases... Reserve Your Copy Now!

Steve Herman, Stapleton Library — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 13:06:40 -0400

In the month of September, many great DVD movies are coming to the Library. Reserve titles now using the Library's new Catalog.

September is a super-powered month that sees the release of this summer's biggest hit movie, The Avengers. If you're looking for a laugh, we've got you covered, with releases of The Five-Year Engagement, What to Expect When You're Expecting and Beverly Hills Chihuahua 3. September also has many TV releases such as Parks and Recreation, 30 Rock, The Office, and many more! Get a jump start ahead of the rest, and reserve these plus many more September DVD releases now!