Kultura i sztuka
George Bernard Shaw
“The Philanderer” is a play by George Bernard Shaw, an Irish playwright who became the leading dramatist of his generation, and in 1925 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. The Philanderer was written in 1893 but the strict British censorship laws at the time meant that it was not produced on stage until 1902. This is one of three plays Shaw published as Plays Unpleasant in 1898. They were termed "unpleasant" because they were intended, not to entertain their audiences – as the traditional Victorian theatre was expected to – but to raise awareness of social problems and to censure exploitation of the labouring class by the unproductive rich. The other plays in the group are Widowers' Houses and Mrs. Warren's Profession.
The Power of Darkness. A Drama in Five Acts
Leo Tolstoy
The very concept of The Power of Darkness for Tolstoy corresponds to the Gospel, where darkness is identified with the concept of hell and death, and light with hope and paradise. The Power of Darkness expresses not only religious, but also philosophical ideas of the great Russian writer. Darkness is the moral blindness of people who commit a crime in order to satisfy the most base motives. The power of The Power of Darkness for Tolstoy is the tragedy of hopelessness, a heavy chain of sins that entangle a person. But The Power of Darkness is also the path to moral regeneration through repentance.
The Sacred and Film. Darren Aronofsky\'s Transcendent Cinema
Marcin Kępiński
The book about the transcendent cinema of Darren Aronofsky takes the reader on a journey through the selected filmography of this outstanding American director. A monograph devoted entirely to his extraordinary work, which among film experts and film audiences has both a group of devoted admirers and critics. A strong, even anarchist accent falls here on the type of film hero presented, living on the margins of society and consciously rejecting its normative structures. The films, as well as the literature to which the book refers, are an expression of a critical attitude towards symbolic violence and the imposition of creatively limiting cultural norms on the individual, requiring such ordering such and no other understanding and experiencing the surrounding world. An astute observer of Darren Aronofsky's work will notice the existence of metaphysical problems in it, sometimes directly directed towards religious issues. We can call this kind of cinema transcendent. This cinema is only seemingly pessimistic in its meaning. It is worth looking for mythical stories to try to hear and understand what they have to offer us. It is worth turning to transcendence and trying to express the inexpressible, also in the art of film, as does Darren Aronofsky, who wants to be a trustee of great mythical narratives. These features, so characteristic of the director, can be seen, to a greater or lesser extent, in all his films, especially those referred to in this monograph. It will be interesting for the reader who expects from contemporary cinema something more than unsophisticated entertainment and wants to go beyond its ludic dimension.
The Sea-Gull. A Play In Four Acts
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov
This is one of the most dramatic works of Chekhov. The conflict between the four main characters. Everyone has their own point of view, but who will be right in the end? Because of their conflict, everything is going to a bad spot, but can the mother really be able to bring her son or husband to the tragic end?
The Second Part of Henry the Fourth
William Shakespeare
The plot of the play is based on the struggle of King Henry IV with former allies. The Earl of Northumberland and his influential relatives, to whom the king owes a great deal to the throne, are not satisfied with their position under the new government and are rebelling. In addition to political troubles, Henry IV is tormented by problems of a personal nature: his heir Henry leads a hectic life, spending time in the company of the dissolute fat man Sir John Falstaff and his drinking companions...
The Second Part of King Henry the Sixth
William Shakespeare
The play of W. Shakespeare King Henry VI was written in 1590-1592. Its events take place during the war of England with France and at the beginning of the war of the Scarlet and White Roses, which led to a feudal anarchy and untold misfortunes. The limp, unable to rule the country, King Henry becomes a toy in the hands of his power-hungry wife Queen Margarita and her lover the Duke of Suffolk...
The Shewing-up of Blanco Posnet
George Bernard Shaw
“The Shewing-up of Blanco Posnet” is a play by George Bernard Shaw, an Irish playwright who became the leading dramatist of his generation, and in 1925 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Shaw claimed that "this little play is really a religious tract in dramatic form", the plot being less important than the debate about morality and divinity that occurs between the characters. He was using the folksy language and quirky insights of his principal character to explore his version of the Nietzschean concept that modern morality must move "beyond good and evil". Shaw took the view that God is a process of continual self-overcoming: "if I could conceive a god as deliberately creating something less than himself, I should class him as a cad. If he were simply satisfied with himself, I should class him as a lazy coxcomb. My god must continually strive to surpass himself." When he heard that Leo Tolstoy had shown an interest in the ideas expressed in the play, he wrote a letter to him explaining his views further.
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov
The story of a boy Egor, who goes from his home to a gymnasium located in another city. This trip is the last event before the start of a new life away from mother and familiar places. Nothing unexpected happens on the way, but at the same time, there is a constant change of landscapes and moons of Egor, meetings with new people, both ordinary and of noble origin. The boy is a witness to the life of people whose path also lies through the steppe.
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov
The story of a boy Egor, who goes from his home to a gymnasium located in another city. This trip is the last event before the start of a new life away from mother and familiar places. Nothing unexpected happens on the way, but at the same time, there is a constant change of landscapes and moons of Egor, meetings with new people, both ordinary and of noble origin. The boy is a witness to the life of people whose path also lies through the steppe.