Turkey is Typing…Film and Other Arts · Global Voices
Pursuits of the artistic type seemed to be on the fingertips of the Turkish bloggers this week from film reviews to art galleries and music.
Film
<PERSON>'s Daily gives us her review of the film Apocalypto, which she gave a 7 out of 10:
That is to say, that man is just an ordinary man who may have lived any time and in any society. The movie is not about Maya culture. I dont think that the movie should tell us more about Maya civilization since it is not a documentary but a movie however we need more information to understand what is happening. Maya is nothing to do with the film. The territory that the man lives in is inside Maya territory, that's all. Besides we dont have to know anything about Maya but I felt like people including me watch the movie as we know basic information about the civilization. If you dont know what's happening inside the empire, then the movie only appears as an adventure of a man who is escaping from his enemies.
Erkan's Field Diary posts an interview from <PERSON>, filmmaker of the controversial film Takva:
“Takva” is originally an Arabic word. It means “A man's fear of God” which is also the subtitle of the film in English.
The White Path reviews the film 300 with a critical eye:
This week I went to see the new chic movie, “300,” which tells the story of the ancient Spartans’ last stand against an invading Persian army. 829
Yet what I have found in the film was, besides all the spectacular photography, a crude Orientalism and a thinly veiled fascism. The person who made “Orientalism” a household term was, of course, the late <PERSON>, the most prominent Palestinian intellectual ever. According to <PERSON>, the whole Western scholarship about the East, i.e., the Orient, was dominated by a discourse intentionally created to depict this “other” civilization as inherently backward. The Eastern peoples, and especially the Islamic world, was portrayed as irrational, absurd and stagnant — an image which only served the imperialism of the West.
Art in its Various Forms
While Athanasia's Daily discusses the recent Mongol art exhibit in Istanbul, Istanbul Street Style explores the clothing of Istanbul's artists….and the Izmir Blog discusses the art of shopping for maternity clothes in Izmir. Of course, we can't miss the art of the tabloid as <PERSON>'s Ignore Me If You Can points out that she lives in a country:
..that would rather read about some model going on a pilgrimage
to the Mecca (which appears on the front page of the newspapers)
than important news on global warming. (which appears at the back of the newspapers)
The Music of the Street
Metroblogging Istanbul posts about street performers (with pictures) in Taksim, while <PERSON> gives us the run-down of the Turkish music scene:
By no means do I pretend to be a connoisseur of or an apt guide to the music of Istanbul, but here are a few suggestions to those that want to try out different sounds from the city's music scene, as opposed to the mainstream Turkish pop and arabesque sounds that tourists will usually hear.
Istanbul Beats
Possibly a statement too idealistic to make, but in music the talent and writing should be the main focus points. Looking at a beautiful face and body is always a bonus, but the packaging shouldn't overtake the album. Good visuals enhance a concept and help it sell, but it shouldn't be the driving force of an album.
Shiny pictures are nice, but the songs should shine more.
Check out some of the links, and maybe, just maybe, you will become as addicted to Turkish music as I am! 260