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Summary of Discussion on Number 13
Posted on December 21, 2017 by melodramaresearchgroup
Our discussion of Number 13 ranged from the character of the protagonist, Professor Anderson (Greg Wise), his standing in society and how the episode tackled the issue of class, the MR James original short story, both texts' effectiveness as examples of the ghost story, the male and female gothic, and related texts.
Some of our first comments concerned the initial pomposity of Professor Anderson (Greg Wise). We noted his insistence that his proper title be used, especially when introducing himself at the city hotel in which he stays while researching some old manuscripts. Anderson would have been privileged compared to many in society, most likely attending public school if he later went to an Oxbridge college. It is significant that the only title he has is an academic – and indeed professional – one. He has earned this, rather than inherited it from previous generations.
The fact that when strange occurrences start to happen to him Anderson accuses others of playing tricks also raises the matter of class. He is sure of himself and, rather than doubting his sanity, assumes that others are persecuting him. We thought this spoke to class anxiety – the worry that those of the new middle classes did not know their place. The theorists Anthony Vidler and Terry Castle's ideas on the uncanniness of the middle classes were discussed by the group.
Indeed, class played a large part in the adaptation, with Anderson compared to some of the other characters. Anderson is clearly higher status than the hotel landlord, Gunton (David Burke), since he is a customer. He is also distrustful of the silent porter, Thomas (Anton Saunders), appearing rude to him on occasion. The character of Jenkins (Tom Burke), a lawyer, was especially drawn in class terms. We hear and then see him slurping his soup and his easy manner with one of the female guests, Alice (Charlotte Comer) causes Anderson jealousy – especially when we have the impression that Anderson is unhappy that such an inferior male has proved popular with a woman he seems to have romantic interest in.
Anderson's desire is further expressed through a brief dream sequence. Alice is seen lingering near Anderson's bed chamber, intercut shots of the bed hangings and paintings depicting naked men and women and various flora and fauna. We thought this conveyed Anderson's repression well. The very brief appearance of Alice in his dream is probably the most interaction he has with her during the episode. In addition, he lacks the imagination to picture her in a nightgown – she wears the dress and earrings she appeared in earlier in the night when her flirting between with Jenkins seemed so distasteful to Anderson. But there is another possible reading. The two men wake up together in a double bed, apparently for safety's sake, after they and the landlord experience terrifying happenings. We wondered if this was a queering of the text, since Anderson has gained not just homosocial knowledge (the next morning he seems more human, his pomposity punctured he is able to joke with Jenkins), but also perhaps experienced and been the object of homosexual desire. Perhaps Anderson's earlier jealousy was directed towards Jenkins and not Alice. Both Anderson and Jenkins were inordinately interested in what they thought was going on in the other's room.
The presence of female characters in the TV version (though it removed mention of Jenkins' wife and family) was a departure from MR James' original short story. In addition to this expansion, moving the setting of the story from Denmark to a class-conscious English city seems to draw out this issue far more. The character in the episode seems far more pompous than in MR James' short story, and has indeed been gifted the title of Professor, so that he can insist on others using it. There were also some particularly visual elements which conveyed Anderson's class which were less obvious on the page. Anderson was often seen in his professorial pince nez, and we especially noted his impeccable dinner suit.
There was much discussion about the character of the cathedral archivist, Mr Harrington (Paul Freeman). While he is a minor character in the short story, his role is expanded in the TV version. In this, Anderson researches the 'Bishop's House' at which witchcraft was said to have been committed by a man called Nicolas Francken, and which is revealed to be the hotel in which Anderson is staying. We thought that Harrington had far more knowledge of the Bishop's House and Francken than he revealed to Anderson. We remembered that Anderson had told Harrington that he was staying in a hotel which was so superstitious it did not include a room 13. However, when Anderson met Harrington in town and discovered from Harrington that the Bishop's House was still standing, Harrington did not tell him that it was the hotel in which Anderson was staying. It is suspicious that Anderson finds a sealed letter in the archive which he steals, but later replaces, only to not find it again. We also thought there was possibly a portal between the hotel and the library. Furthermore, we saw a resemblance between Harrington, the shadowy figure who appears on the wall of Anderson's room, and the ghostly figure of room 13. The latter was especially effectively conveyed, with flickering of the sound and the image recalling older technology (the pre-digital 'snowy' reception of some televisions). This poor signal transmission also prompted us to think of spiritualist séances.
We commented on the effectiveness of the TV episode. We thought it (and especially the shadowy figure and the flickering ghost in room 13) was good and scary. We were especially impressed by David Burke's moving performance when he learned of the horrible fate suffered by an earlier 'Cambridge man' he believed had skipped out on his bill. However, the foreshadowing of this 'revelation' and the over-explanation on finding the man's belongings seemed a little heavy-handed. This is far less the case in the short story. Conversely, we found that the changing of room 13's physical dimensions was, surprisingly, subtler in the TV version, with the explanation for Anderson's disappearing case (it had been subsumed into the newly appearing room 13) not obvious.
We pondered more the fact that Anderson never questions his own sanity in the face of such happenings, and especially contrasted this to the 'usual' doubting gothic heroines. Number 13 is comparable in some ways to Miss Christina (2013, Alexandru Mafeti). In our discussion of this film (which you can find here: https://blogs.kent.ac.uk/melodramaresearchgroup/2017/10/04/summary-of-discussion-on-miss-christina/) we noted that film's couple, Egor (Tudor Aaron Istodor) and Sanda (Ioana Anastasia Anton), both occupied the position of heroine at various points in the narrative. Despite Number 13's introduction of a female character, she remains minor, and the focus is on one character, Anderson. Anderson is very different to Egor in Miss Christina. While the former is a prissy and inexperienced scholar, the latter is a passionate, engaged painter. However, similarities to Miss Christina also occur. Anderson's experiencing of the supernatural is shared by two other men – the landlord Gunton and the lawyer Jenkins. In Miss Christina, the painter Egor is also validated by two men, in his case a medical doctor and a professor of archaeology.
We commented that the equivalent of such fraternal confirmation is usually unavailable to a gothic heroine, since there are often fewer other women in gothic narratives. Furthermore, women in gothic-set narratives (often taking place in the past) rarely have professions. The exceptions are the domestic roles of governess (The Innocents, 1961, Jack Clayton), housekeeper or companion (The Spiral Staircase, 1946, Robert Siodmak). Instead, heroines often enter the space of the gothic house through marriage, as new brides – in Rebecca (1940, Alfred Hitchcock), Gaslight (1940, Thorold Dickinson, 1944 George Cukor) etc. Anderson, however, enters the gothic space of the hotel temporarily, as a man on academic business, which is less likely to be open to a woman travelling alone. Such a situation also occurs in The Woman in Black (2012, James Watkins), in which a lawyer (male, obviously, but also like Professor Anderson, middle-class), gains access to the gothic house for a short period because he is working on legal issues.
This clearly shows the separation existing between the male and female gothics. While the former centres on a man and uses horror and explanations for what occurs, the latter focuses on a woman and employs terror to invoke and convey a supposedly hysterical response to a woman's situation. Both Miss Christina and Number 13, focusing more on men, over-explain the cause of the supernatural. We weren't sure if we approved of a man being the centre of a gothic story, as it is one of the few areas women occupy. While some may view them as passive heroines, it is significant that in our discussion of various films we have focused on the ways in which they take action.
Other texts we mentioned in relation to Number 13 were Ex Machina (2015, Alex Garland) (where the man is also the heroine). Aspects of film style were also referenced as we noted the whispering behind the walls reminded us of The Innocents, and the shadow on the wall of Vampyr (1932, Carl Theodor Dreyer). Although we discussed class at length, we also picked up on the opposition between city and rural evinced in Number 13. Anderson is not only dismissive of the local superstition against the number 13, but seems to feel at risk when walking in the country, seeing local people gathered around burning bins. This particularly reminded us of the sacrifice of the virgin outsider in The Wicker Man (1973, Robin Hardy), and of Shirley Jackson's unsettling 1948 short story The Lottery.
If you would like to see some more MR James adaptations, and learn more about the man himself, BBC 4 is devoting Christmas Eve night to the author and his works. You can (re)view Number 13 at 10.40pm.
As ever, do log in to comment, or email me on sp458@kent.ac.uk to add your thoughts.
Posted in Summary of Discussion	| Tagged Alex Garland, Alexandru Maftei, Alfred Hitchcock, Anthony Vidler, Anton Saunders, Carl Theodor Dreyer, Class, David Burke, Ex Machina (2015), Female Gothic, Gaslight (1940), Gaslight (1944), George Cukor, Gothic, Greg Wise, Ioana Anastasia Anton, Jack Clayton, James Watkins, M.R. James, Male Gothic, Miss Christina (2013), Rebecca (1940), Robert Siodmak, Robin Hardy, Shirley Jackson, Summary of Discussion, Terry Castle, The Innocents (1961), The Lottery, The Spiral Staircase (1945), The Wicker Man (1973), The Woman in Black (2012), Thorold Dickinson, Tom Burke, Tudor Aaron Istodor, uncanny, Vampyr (1932)	| Leave a reply
Summary of Discussion on The Others
Posted on June 1, 2017 by melodramaresearchgroup
Our thoughts about the film ranged over several topics: the film's setting, including time, space and place; the gothic heroine; her husband; their children; the plot twist(s); other gothic films.
We began with discussion of the film's setting. A title identifies the action as occurring in Jersey in 1945. The Channel Island location mostly seems significant in terms of its isolation and the unusual liminal position it held during World War II: it was British territory, but occupied by the Germans. This allows the film a connection to gothic of Britain past. The link to past gothic films is heightened by the 1945 date – a time at which many gothic films were popular in Britain and the US.
Discussion also centred on just what aspect of the film the 1945 date setting referred to. While there are no flashbacks, the film's structuring of time is complex as it is revealed that most of the characters are no longer living, with their deaths having taken place at various points in the past. The main family appears to have died some time between the beginning and the end of World War II, with the heroine Grace (Nicole Kidman) mentioning that the staff has left in the last week. In retrospect, we can see this as relating to the time of her and the children's (Ann and Nicholas') deaths. The ghostly staff replacements' date of death is more concretely asserted – Grace finds a photograph dated 1891 of housekeeper Bertha Mills, gardener Mr Tuttle, and housemaid Lydia posed after death from tuberculosis.
The gulf in time between these sets of characters was especially interesting. We noticed that the film gave good reason for the lack of technology, the presence of which might have confused the older staff. Grace says that they have got used to not having electricity since the occupation, while the children's supposed photosensitivity means they cannot be subjected to more than dull candlelight. The lack of a telephone and automobile also makes the fact that nobody calls more understandable – it both makes smoothes over the fact that the main family is only recognised by the three older ghostly staff and increases the whole household's isolation.
Space is especially important to the film, not just in terms of its isolated Jersey manor house setting, but the specific way in which Grace, Ann and Nicholas, as well as Mrs Mills, Mr Tuttle, and Lydia are all bound to the area of the house. The suitably gothic fog is complicit in this. While the ghostly staff is tied to the house by their duties, the children by their photosensitivity and Grace to a large extent by her status as mother, on the one occasion she leaves the house she is hemmed in by oppressive fog. Mrs Mills is signals that this is a deliberate instrument to prevent Grace from reaching the outside world. This is unsettling, as it causes us to question what is going on, and this is reinforced by the film's camerawork on the two occasions characters attempt to leave. When Grace sets out in the fog she appears to both leave the house and happen upon it without changing direction- almost making it seem that the building on screen is a neighbouring manor house. The children leave in the dark and they too end up looping around the house. The camerawork suggests they are getting away from the house, but they return to it, and the gravestones revealing the deaths of Mrs Mills, Mr Tuttle, and Lydia.
This lack of mobility, or the sense of characters trapped in space, led us to discuss this matter more. We thought it was especially significant that while the ghostly staff, Grace and the children are limited to their place of death – the house and its environs – Grace's husband Charles (Christopher Ecclestone) manages to escape the front where he has been killed to meet Grace in the fog on his return home. He states that this is what he has been looking for. While the gardener Mr Tuttle also has more mobility than his female counterparts Mrs Mills and Lydia, like them he is afforded no class mobility. All three are not only confined to the area of the manor house they previously worked, but to working for the new lady of the house– they do not get to rise above their class situation.
We especially focused on Grace's status as gothic heroine. While the mother is fairly unusual in terms of gothic film (it does not occur in Rebecca (1940), Gaslight (1940 and 1944), The Spiral Staircase (1945), or Secret Beyond the Door (1947)) other aspects connect Grace to the genre. She is a woman in peril, seemingly beset by ghostly intruders (actually the new owners of the house) against whom she actively takes up arms – a shotgun. It is also feared, by her, and us, that she is going mad. It later turns out this had indeed previously happened as the children died after she smothered them with pillows and she consequently committed suicide with a shotgun. There also seem to be specific nods to the gothic film of the 1940s with an especially striking scene in which Grace in dressed in a white nightgown, lamp in hand, as she investigates the goings on. (See previous posts on gothic films we've watched for discussion of similar scenes, as well as the 20 minute video essay Passages of Gothic which you can view here https://vimeo.com/170080190)
Grace's relationship with her husband is also unusual in comparison to the 1940s gothic film. While in Rebecca, Secret Beyond the Door, and others, the heroine is in danger from her husband, in The Others he is absent for a large part of the narrative. When he returns this appears, as indeed it is, unlikely, seemingly summoned by Grace's desire. We wondered what the point of Charles' return was. While he does reunite with his family and they are overjoyed to see him, he is distressed, spending much time unable to get out of bed. We were unsure whether this related to post traumatic stress due to the war or if he had an inkling as to his own death, and perhaps those of his family members. It was noted that he confronts Grace about her slapping the children in the past, after Ann relates this to him, and it was raised that perhaps this signalled his knowledge of Grace's killing of the children. We also discussed Charles' swift departure. Perhaps this signalled some kind of resolution for him, or Grace, though it seemed a little hurried.
The children were another interesting departure from gothic films. While they seemed grounded and modern in some ways (we especially appreciated Ann's logic in arguing for her interpretation of the bible) there were moments they appeared more like the creepy of films such as The Innocents (1961). There are times it seems that Ann might be 'gaslighting' her mother since she tells her of the intruders only visible to her – and not the audience. An especially disturbing scene occurs when Ann, dressed in her first holy communion dress, is possessed by the medium attempting to make contact with the family. The time Ann is supposedly possessed by new resident Victor is more complex. In retrospect it seems unlikely that the young boy would have the same skillset as the medium – and since we only hear Ann with Victor's voice while she faces away from her brother Nicholas we can suppose that, as in other parts of the film, she is tricking Nicholas in order to scare him. While not a very sisterly action, this has the feel of a childish prank rather than a truly creepy occurrence.
We also debated the children's alleged photosensitivity. In addition to the fact any previous exposure does not appear to have affected them (there are no sores on either child's skin) we wondered just how aware people would have been of the condition in the 1940s. It serves the narrative, however, to keep the children in the house without having to explain why they cannot leave the grounds. It also keeps them close to Grace. We instead considered the light Grace wanted to keep herself and her children from was metaphorical – the awful truth of their non-living status and Grace's responsibility for this.
It is especially interesting that the truth should be revealed when the curtains supposedly protecting the children from the sunlight disappear. This is a moment of horror for Grace, and this is indeed played with panic by Kidman. The connection of the curtains to the matter of domestic setting, and arguably female furnishings, is significant. Taking the line 'Where are the curtains?' out of its context strips it of its intensity, reducing it to a possibly trivial household inquiry. Spoken with urgency, but without knowledge of Grace's fears, we thought it would well suit a parodic melodrama.
While this whole summary has included spoilers (sorry!) some of us who had not already seen the film were aware of the twist that the family and the servants were ghosts; furthermore we suspected that they were the intruders with the supposed intruders actually the new living owners. The manner of the Grace and the children's deaths was a surprise though. They clearly all perished at the same time, but the fact that Grace killed her children and then herself was shocking. An attack by the Nazis seemed more likely. This revelation turns Grace's whole gothic woman-in-peril status on its head. While we might feel sympathy for her, presumably she was unbalanced and distraught at her husband not returning from the war, it is she and not her husband, the intruders or the medium, who is the danger.
While we noted some differences from the 1940s gothic – the presence of the mother, the mostly absent husband, the fact Grace is not a woman in peril in the end, there are clearly aspects of the gothic the film knowingly draws on. In addition to the isolated manor house, Grace's possible gaslighting, there is an emphasis on containment. Grace is obsessed with locked rooms, and keys, which speak to the fact she is keeping herself and the children from the ultimate secret – her actions. There is also the unusual fact that the supposedly ghostly goings on are indeed ghostly goings on –though the ghosts are not necessarily the people we suspect. They are not the result of Grace's imagination or her persecution by her husband. We also thought the scene in which Grace is dressed in a white nightgown, lighting her way with a lamp during her active investigation, was a nod to the 1940s films and The Innocents. We contemplated that the mute Lydia was perhaps a reference to the heroine in The Spiral Staircase.
We were also reminded of more recent gothic films. Grace's response to a suggestion that she has left a door unlocked, leading to the possible exposure of her children to damaging sunlight, 'Do you think I'd do such a thing?' is an important turning point. When we learn of just what Grace has done, it seems less like gaslighting and more that she is beginning to realise what she has done. Our knowledge then reframes the early scene of Grace waking up screaming and her response to the panicked breathing of her children. Grace's screaming is especially intense, but she does not reflect on this. Other aspects appear to seep through, however. Grace admonishes Ann for her quick shallow breathing at the dinner table, and later Ann similarly tells off Nicholas for comparable behaviour. It is possible this is linked to how Grace killed them – their hastened breathing in response to her smothering of them with pillows. We connected this return of the repressed to the film The Awakening (2011) in which the heroine is walked through her childhood home, and the passages of her mind, in order to remember her past and move on. In fact, perhaps all of this is occurring in Grace's mind. Such a view is supported by the fact Grace finds so many veiled items in the junk room of the mansion a surprise. While she has presumably lived there for a while, she has only just stumbled across the books of the dead- photographs of posed dead people. She is understandably shocked by these macabre pictures, and later finally recognises the truth of the ghostly servants when she discovers their photograph hidden under Mrs Mills' mattress. The notion that this is taking place in Grace's mind may seem to undermine the earlier assertion that Grace is not imagining the goings on. But it simply points to the complexity of the film, its relation to the gothic and its conscious referencing of earlier gothic films.
Posted in Summary of Discussion	| Tagged Christopher Ecclestone, Gaslight (1940), Gaslight (1944), Gothic, Nicole Kidman, Passages of Gothic, Rebecca (1940), Summary of Discussion, The Awakening (2011), The Innocents (1961), The Others (2001), The Secret Beyond the Door (1947), The Spiral Staircase (1945)	| Leave a reply
Summary of Discussion on The Devil's Vice
Posted on February 22, 2017 by melodramaresearchgroup
Our discussion on The Devil's Vice included comments on: its Gothic elements; references to other Gothic films; Richard's 'Gaslighting' of Susan; the audience's genre expectations; the audience's alignment with Susan; Richard and Susan's relationship in terms of control and isolation and Susan's realisation that Richard is her abuser; the role of technology; the film's contemporary setting; the film's purpose of the promotion of awareness of domestic abuse and the relation of this to the Gothic.
Like last session's The Diary of Sophronia Winters, The Devil's Vice contained a checklist of gothic elements. The opening shots of Susan, as a woman-in-peril, falling through the space from the top of the stairs onto the hard floor beneath emphasises the importance of the house. This is where much of the film's events take place (the only other settings are a hospital, a local library, a coffee shop and a police station), with its two staircases also playing prominent roles. Other aspects of the house are significant: there is a mirror on the stairs, several locked doors, focus on a keyhole, creepy portraits (specifically an old black and white formal photograph of a group of children and their schoolteacher, nicknamed 'Smiler' by Susan and Richard and seen as a demon), bats in the attic (and later in reference to this a comparison to Dracula's house) and a disturbing doll in the no-longer needed nursery. In addition to Susan's status as woman-in-peril she, like many other gothic heroines, is an active investigator who is seeking an answer to what is happening – and engages in the often-present action of walking down the stairs in her nightwear. In keeping with the contemporary setting, Susan is clad in pyjamas rather than a nightdress, and lacks a candlestick to light her way.
More specific references to gothic and horror films abound. The spiral staircase invokes memory of Robert Siodmak's 1945 film. Susan's research into the possible presence of a poltergeist summons up thoughts of Tobe Hooper's Poltergeist (1982), and her misleading suggestion that they call in a catholic priest brought to mind William Friedkin's The Exorcist (1973). Other points of plot similarity to gothic films include the pain of child loss (in J.A. Bayona's The Orphanage, 2007) and concern for Susan expressed by her husband Richard to his wife's friend (Douglas Sirk's Sleep My Love, 1948). Aspects of The Devil's Vice's style also appeared to be referencing other films: the black and white footage of Richard's attack on Susan was likened to scenes in Oren Peli's Paranormal Activity (2009).
Smaller moments also inspired comparisons. The appearance of the sunglass and strange oculist equipment-wearing medium, Madam Barbara, reminded us of Insidious (James Wan, 2010). Shots of Susan painfully and slowly crawling across the floor after being attacked in the kitchen were similar to Michelle Pfeiffer's attempts to escape her husband in Robert Zemecki's What Lies Beneath (2000). Richard's sing-song taunting while addressing Susan by her name as she's attempting to find proof of his attacks echoed that in The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, 1980). The colour red also gains significance when Richard is about to repaint the no longer needed nursery in a blood red hue; when combined with The Devil's Vice's concern with children and the occult, this made us think of Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby (1968).
We also brought in our own knowledge of other gothic texts and films. Particular attention was paid to Susan's moment of realisation that her husband is her attacker. This occurs in the office as she watches footage form the cameras she has placed in the kitchen. It was noted that this pivot is in some ways is akin to Bluebeard's eight wife entering the secret room which contains the bodies of his previous wives. Such a device was also used in Fritz Lang's Secret Beyond the Door (1947) when Celia (Joan Bennett) uncovers her husband's secret.
The film's self-aware drawing on of other gothic texts is probably most obvious in its use of Gaslighting. The term comes from Patrick Hamilton's 1938 play Gaslight (notably filmed in the UK by Thorold Dickinson in 1940 and the US by George Cukor in 1944) in which a husband attempts to make his wife think she is going mad and thus gain control of her fortune. In The Devil's Vice, Richard engages in such behaviour by placing the creepy photograph in their home. Susan later doubts herself when she remembers that the schoolteacher's eyes in the photographs have always been closed while Richard insists the opposite is the case. (He has presumably used digital alteration to support his position, since the audience agrees with Susan.) Not all Richard's manipulations are as clear-cut. His suggestion that Susan research the history of the house seems less than helpful, while his subtle undermining of Susan to her friend Helen and the hospital doctor includes him planting the idea that Susan harms herself. We even wondered if the anti-depressants in Susan's system were only present because Richard was drugging her in order to undermine her at this point.
Much of this is only seen in retrospect, once it is revealed that Richard is an abuser. This is also true of the way in which Madam Barbara's ambiguous warning to Susan that 'he' will kill her, and that she should leave the house, becomes reframed as a clear denouncement of Richard. Similarly, Susan's friend Helen asking Susan if she has received the messages she gave to Richard, and indeed her straight forward question of whether Richard is hurting Susan, are afforded extra significance. The oddness of the latter was made more apparent when we considered it later – Helen would hardly have asked this unless she was already concerned. Some of us suspected Richard early on; he seemed too perfect and his ever-ready smile caused us to make connections with 'Smiler' in the photograph. In addition, we are familiar with Gothic tropes, and in the gothic the husband is often the perpetrator. Yet like Susan, who is clearly also aware of some of the horror tropes present (she researches the Occult, knows about poltergeists and considers calling in a catholic priest for an exorcism) others in the group, despite their awareness of the related matter of the gothic, only realised later. It was knowledge of horror films which led to this. It occurred just after Richard claimed he had been attacked by the demon – while the woman often sees the demon in horror films, this is far less true of the man.
The delayed realisation reveals the success of the film's attempt to align us with Susan. We spend most of our time with Susan, with Richard's life away from the house little commented on – we just see him in his pinstripe shirt and suit, setting off for an undemanding day at work. Our alignment is not just in terms of sympathy, but in point of view. This is not strictly literal, but significantly we, like Susan do not physically see her attacker until the camera footage is screened. This means the revelation is indeed a plot twist for some of the audience.
We further pondered Susan and Richard's relationship, speculating on how long they had been together and when the abuse started. Susan seems highly conditioned to her situation, accepting Richard's control and her isolation without question. Oddly many of us also accepted Susan's isolation until considering it more after the screening. In addition to the earlier mention that Richard has isolated Susan from Helen, we found it troubling that she had no friends or family to turn to – even by telephone. The house, in which Susan spends the majority of her time, is also physically isolated – with Richard using the couple's one car to go to work every day. Some of us even credited Richard with more control than he possessed by wondering if he planted the card for Madam Barbara in the library book on the Occult. What happened during her visit discounted this theory, since Madam Barbara does not reinforce Richard's ideas on the presence of demons. While Richard has not arranged the Madam Barbara's appearance, she nonetheless seems frightened of him too since she leaves after giving only an ambiguous warning to Susan, and does not return to check on Susan.
Instead, Susan takes the matter into her own hands. She escalates the situation with Richard by goading the 'demon' until he attacks her – in full view of the cameras in the kitchen. Susan is prompted to take this action after 'Smiler' has apparently attacked Richard. The couple sits in the car, with Susan at the wheel, ready to drive them both away from the danger in the house. She is stopped by Richard, who asserts that Susan will never be able to escape from the demon, who he claims is feeding off the guilt she feels at losing her unborn children. This argument is illogical since Susan's miscarriage occurred when she was attacked (seemingly by the demon). Susan does not question Richard's logic. It is only after Susan sees the visual evidence from the cameras that the two parts of her brain which have previously been dissociated, join together, and she sees Richard as her abuser.
The consequences of this realisation are grim for Susan. Richard hits her over the head with the laptop on which she has been viewing the camera footage. We wondered if perhaps a similar realisation had prompted the attack at the start of the film. It is also possible that Richard deliberately timed it so that causing the loss of her babies would further punish Susan, make her more vulnerable, and place her more fully in his control. Sadly it is the case that an abuser never needs a reason to abuse. The morning after Susan's discovery, Richard seems a little wary of her. Susan is especially forceful in her squashing of sausages in the frying pan, perhaps causing him, like us, to wonder if he was about to be attacked with this most domestic of weapons. He is right to be concerned. Although Richard foolishly takes at face value Susan's suggestion they consult a catholic priest, she finally finds proof of his abuse (courtesy of the camera she placed in the fruit bowl which she has previously overlooked) and leaves him.
Symbolically Susan leaves behind her rather ostentatious engagement/wedding ring. Susan and Richard are obviously comfortably off; they rent or own a large house, have a four wheel drive car, neither is overworked, and Susan can spend several hundred pounds on her investigations without blinking. The ring is another sign of this wealth. It is also indicative of something else though. A member of the group was reminded of the Adrienne Rich poem 'Aunt Jennifer's Tigers'. This discusses the 'massive weight of Uncle's wedding band' on Aunt Jennifer's hand and references imperialism and the oppression of women by men. (You can find the full poem here: http://writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/88v/rich-jennifer-tiger.html) As with The Yellow Wallpaper and The Diary of Sophronia Winters, patriarchy is signalled to be damaging, and women are advised to avoid marriage.
Susan, with the help of technology, manages to extricate herself from her situation. Seeing film footage of Richard attacking her is what makes Susan see the truth, and also provides proof for the police. Susan was also able to access this technology via other technology – she orders the cameras over the internet she perhaps surprisingly has some access to. Technology is not wholly positive, however, since Richard uses it to physically attack Susan.
Such instances of technology clearly place the film in the modern day. The modern is also reflected in the decoration of the central aspect of the house. While it has Gothic elements (an almost church-like appearance, especially evident in its windows) the interior is stylish and modern. The fact it is largely functional also suggests emptiness. There seem to be few personal items, with the main photograph that of a group of children and their schoolteacher. While some Gothic films are set in contemporary times (notably Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca (1940), Secret Beyond the Door, and Bryan Forbes' The Stepford Wives (1975)), more often they take place in the past (Gaslight, The Spiral Staircase, Joseph L. Mankiewicz's Dragonwyck (1946) and Jack Clayton's The Innocents (1961).
Setting films in the past provides the audience with distance from the narrative, to allow them to deny the relevance of the gothic (and its disturbing overtones) to the present day. By contrast, The Devil's Vice is set in contemporary times since social documentary and feature film maker Peter Watkins-Hughes' main remit was to raise awareness of domestic abuse and to encourage people to seek help. It was released at the time Clare's Law –the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme was rolled out across the UK. The law allows people with concerns to make enquiries about a partner. You can find out more on the film's website: http://www.thedevilsvice.org.uk/
We thought that the film was very effective in using its small cast of fewer than ten, limited running time and few locations. These all added to the sense of constraint. However, the tone was occasionally uneven (especially in Helen's visit to the house seemingly being played for a little comedy), and we found Susan's desire to return to home a bit unbelievable. Regardless of how much Susan is being controlled, she has suffered not just terrible physical trauma but the emotional effect of losing her unborn babies. This is dealt with quickly. While the focus on extreme physical violence is understandable in terms of seeing what is already in plain sight, it underplays the significance of the more subtle ways people abuse others. Since the film's release, the matter of coercive control has also been more discussed, and indeed in March 2015 was included in the Serious Crime Act https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/482528/Controlling_or_coercive_behaviour_-_statutory_guidance.pdf)
But the film did raise our awareness in making the connection between Gothic heroines and domestic abuse – whether physical, emotional, or both. This crystallised for us the continuing relevance of the Gothic, especially in a world that continues to be unequal.
Posted in Summary of Discussion	| Tagged Adrienne Rich, Alfred Hitchcock, Aunt Jennifer's Tigers, Barbe-Bleu (1901), Bluebeard, Bryan Forbes, Clare's Law, Domestic Abuse, Douglas Sirk, Dracula, Dragonwyck (1946), Fritz Lang, Gaslight (1940), Gaslight (1944), Gothic, Horror, Insidious (2010), J.A. Bayona, Jack Clayton, James Wan, Joan Bennett, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Melodrama, Mirrors, Old Dark House, Oren Peli, Paranormal Activity (2009), Patrick Hamilton, Peter Watkins-Hughes, Poltergeist (1982), portrait, Rebecca (1940), Robert Siodmak, Robert Zemecki, Roman Polanski, Rosemary's Baby (1968), Sleep My Love (1948), Staircase, Stanley Kubrick, Summary of Discussion, Technology, The Devil's Vice (2014), The Diary of Sophronia Winters, The Exorcist (1982), The Innocents (1961), the Occult, The Orphanage (2007), The Secret Beyond the Door (1947), The Serious Crime Act, The Shining (1980), The Spiral Staircase (1945), The Stepford Wives (1975), The Yellow Wallpaper, Tobe Hooper, William Friedkin, Woman in Peril	| Leave a reply
Passages of Gothic Project Notes
Posted on March 24, 2016 by melodramaresearchgroup
Following the intense and enjoyable screening of the Melodrama Research Group's contribution to the International Festival of Projections, here is a version of Frances' wonderful Project Notes for Passages of Gothic.
Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca (1940) is often cited as the first in a cycle of films emerging in Hollywood in the 1940s labelled as 'Gothic'. These films – which have also been called 'melodramas', 'women's films' and 'female film noirs' – feature similar narratives focusing on the central female protagonist: the Gothic heroine. In all these films, the Gothic heroine encounters the old dark house which harbours a sinister secret which the heroine must investigate, often in fear for her life. This threat usually emanates from a male love interest, or is sometimes presented as the oppression of a larger patriarchal society. These films – which also include Gaslight (1944), Secret Beyond the Door (1947) and Sleep, My Love (1948) – feature remarkably consistent motifs, including keys, staircases, images of the heroine alone in the dark and the threat of the domestic space. Significantly, the study of film history reveals that these tropes are not isolated to the Hollywood Gothics of the 1940s but, in fact, continue to inform and appear within the Gothic cinema of today. This installation shall highlight and explore these similarities.
This project focuses on the female performance in these films in order to show the narrative and visual agency given to characters who are often seen as passive subjects and victims. Whilst the Gothic heroine may indeed be threatened by her male counterpart or dangerous environment, these stories encourage us to identify with the female lead, admiring her bravery. We engage with these films' narratives by aligning with the Gothic heroine and her experiences. In particular, our exploration of space is mediated by the Gothic heroine's actions. This project will illuminate how such investigation consistently takes place within the domestic space: the safety of a home is transformed into the mysterious and dangerous space of the old dark house. Comparing these films demonstrates how the Gothic heroine is often framed within the in-between places of a house: the stairwell, the hallway or the doorway. These thresholds are spaces which blur the boundaries between the public and private spheres of a home, in much the same way these Gothic narratives present a slippage between the real and the imagined; the everyday and the supernatural.
It is for these reasons that Passages of Gothic is presented within Eliot Dining Hall. Eliot College is a building which is also both a public and private space, containing professional forums for study (lecture halls, seminar rooms and offices) and private rooms (student bedrooms and kitchens). The Hall is at the heart of the college and provides passageways between these distinct locations. The Hall's distinctive appearance has also historically made it the site for public and private events, and its scale is evocative of the intimating houses the Gothic heroine explores in these films. As the name of this event suggests, Passages of Gothic therefore invites you to immerse yourself into the Gothic heroine's world.
The film shall play on three separate screens and is divided into six 'chapters'. Together, these chapters create a narrative which is reflective of the fictional journey taken by the Gothic heroine: the heroine enters the house; she is forced the investigate strange occurrences; she is threatened by someone or something; and she may or may not survive her ordeal. In Passages of Gothic these six chapters are:
"I dreamt I went to Manderley again": Gothic introductions
"I should go mad if I stay!"
Lights in the darkness
Women in peril
Passages of Gothic is the culmination of the research conducted by the Melodrama Research Group into female performance, stardom, genre conventions, Gothic tropes and the representations of the heroine on-screen. This installation showcases the re-emergence of Gothic tropes – in a remarkably consistent fashion – across film history, highlighting the importance of the Gothic heroine within this. Our celebration of the Gothic's strong, brave, and active heroines contributes to an important, broader research question: why, after 75 years, do these representations of the Gothic heroine persist in the 21st Century?
Top image: Lies Lanckman and Ann-Marie Fleming (image from The Innocents (1961); Main text: Frances Kamm; Bottom image: Crimson Peak (2015)
Passages of Gothic
Project organiser: Sarah Polley
Project's writer and content provider: Frances Kamm
Project's editor: Alaina Piro Schempp
Lead technician: Lies Lanckman
Promotions: Ann-Marie Fleming
IT Support: Oana Maria Mazilu
Contributor: Tamar Jeffers McDonald
Contributor: Katerina Flint-Nicol
The Gothic Heroines
Joan Fontaine in Rebecca (1940)
Ingrid Bergman in Gaslight (1944)
Dorothy McGuire in The Spiral Staircase (1945)
Joan Bennett in Secret Beyond the Door (1947)
Claudette Colbert in Sleep, My Love (1948)
Deborah Kerr in The Innocents (1961)
Katharine Ross in The Stepford Wives (1975)
Shelley Duvall in The Shining (1980)
JoBeth Williams in Poltergeist (1982)
Sigourney Weaver in Aliens (1986)
Michelle Pfeiffer in What Lies Beneath (2000)
Nicole Kidman in The Others (2001)
Naomi Watts and Laura Harring in Mulholland Drive (2001)
Belén Rueda in The Orphanage (El Orfanato) (2007)
Rebecca Hall in The Awakening (2011)
Chiara D'Anna and Sidse Babett Knudsen in The Duke of Burgundy (2014)
Mia Wasikowska in Crimson Peak (2015)
The Melodrama Research Group
The Melodrama Research Group is sponsored by the Centre for Film and Media Research within the School of Arts, University of Kent. The MRG is a cross-faculty group of academics who are interested in exploring the ideas surrounding melodrama as a hotly-contested topic. The group meets for regular screenings and debates, maintains a dynamic blog and has hosted research events. The group brings together scholars from various disciplines in order to foster collaborative networks for studying this pervasive but challenging genre.
https://blogs.kent.ac.uk/melodramaresearchgroup/
International Festival of Projections
This is a new, free arts festival taking place at the University of Kent from 18-20 March 2016. Spread across both the Canterbury and Medway campus, and with satellite events within the Canterbury City Centre, the festival celebrates the exciting and varied theme of projections.
http://www.kent.ac.uk/projections/
Posted in Uncategorized	| Tagged Alfred Hitchcock, Aliens (1986), Belen Rueda, Chiara D'Anna, Claudette Colbert, Crimson Peak (2015), Deborah Kerr, Dorothy McGuire, Film Noir, Gaslight (1944), Ingrid Bergman, Joan Bennett, Joan Fontaine, JoBeth Williams, Katharine Ross, Laura Harring, Melodrama, Mia Wasikowska, Michelle Pfeiffer, Mulholland Drive (2001), Naomi Watts, Nicole Kidman, Passages of Gothic, Poltergeist (1982), Rebecca (1940), Rebecca Hall, Shelley Duvall, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Sigourney Weaver, Sleep My Love (1948), The Awakening (2011), The Duke of Burgundy (2014), The Gothic, The Innocents (1961), The International Festival of Projections, The Orphanage (El Orfanato) (2007), The Others (2001), The Secret Beyond the Door (1947), The Shining (1980), The Spiral Staircase (1945), The Stepford Wives (1975), What Lies Beneath (2000)	| Leave a reply
Summary of Discussion on The Stepford Wives
Frances has very kindly provided the following summary of our discussion on The Stepford Wives:
During our discussion on The Stepford Wives it was noted how different the 1975 version is to its 2004 remake, particularly in regards to the latter's 'happy ending'. It was remarked that this remake completely removes the social commentary of the original which, whilst depressing, is absolutely necessary and crucial to understanding the film's political contexts and its relevance to the Gothic. Indeed, it was noted that Forbes's The Stepford Wives continues to be a powerful film precisely because many of issues it raises – especially in respect to society's views on women – are unfortunately still relevant today and visible in contemporary culture.
We also discussed Joanna as a Gothic heroine and, despite her resourcefulness and defiance against the forces of the Men's Association early on in the film, it is strange that she does not attempt to fight against Diz and his murderous plans during the film's climatic, penultimate scene. This may have been, in part, because Joanna runs through the old, dark house unarmed (having lost the fire poker to Diz at the beginning of the sequence), which led to the observation that Joanna – rather unusually – explores this space empty-handed. A common trait we have observed in other Gothic films is how the heroine usually explores the dark and (potentially) dangerous space of the Gothic house with a light source, such as the candelabra in The Innocents (1961) or torch in Secret Beyond the Door (1947). Such scenes are emblematic of the Gothic heroine's exploratory nature, and the extreme use of light and shadow of these moments speak to the larger thematic concerns of the narrative which usually involves the exposing of previously hidden or repressed secrets.
Joanna's interaction with the house is markedly different in this respect and it was suggested that Diz's presence in the scene could be the disruptive factor: the Gothic heroine usually explores the domestic space alone or, at the very least, the threat of a male is normally provided by the story's husband or love interest. The Stepford Wives is different on both these counts and this could represent another way the film adapts and modifies the traditions of the Gothic in order to speak to the film's wider political contexts and concerns. In this reading Diz is not just a substitute for the heroine's suspicious spouse but rather an embodiment of patriarchy itself. This is reinforced by Diz's lead role in the Men's Association which is the dominant organisation controlling the town and ensuring male privilege and advantage. In this way, it is entirely apt that Joanna's interaction with the house – which ultimately leads to her demise – is depicted in this way. If The Stepford Wives functions allegorically as a comment upon the destructive nature of patriarchal control, then any attempt on Joanna's behalf to resist Diz's manipulation is therefore futile: the house, like Stepford and society more broadly, are already shaped and controlled by Diz and what he stands for. This socio-political reading is reinforced again by Joanna's traumatic discovery of her double at the end of the sequence. The sight of Joanna's submissive doppelganger as she sits within a mock bedroom functions as another personification of women's domestic and sexual enslavement.
Interestingly, the film explores these themes of oppression and objectification on an aesthetic level too. Joanna's job as a photographer complements her role as the inquisitive Gothic heroine although the agency Joanna enjoys through her control of the lens (along with her investigative abilities) is always compromised. Significantly, Joanna is not a successful photographer and the only pictures which garner critical interest are of domestic, family scenes. Instead The Stepford Wives emphasises how Joanna fails to look both in her capacity as a photographer, and metaphorically in her ability to see the truth about Stepford's community. The point-of-view shots used to depict Joanna's picture taking become ironic: Joanna's control over these images (and, by extension, over what the viewer sees) is illusionary and transitory, and Joanna herself will quite literally be replaced by a body that has been made to fulfil an image which adheres to the standards set by the men's desires. The moment Joanna discovers her automaton replacement reflects this usurpation of Joanna's agency and her ability to look. When Joanna first enters the mock bedroom, her gaze is represented by a point-of-view shot which pans from left to right, scanning the room. Notably, this is the last time we see events strictly from Joanna's perspective. Joanna's discovery of the robot is depicted first through a close-up on Joanna's face for a reaction shot, and then another pan (with accompanying aural cues) reveal the source of her horrified response. Joanna loses agency of the image at the moment when she comprehends Stepford's sinister secret and will ultimately lose her life. Indeed, subsequent edits in the shot-reverse shots between Joanna and the android emphasise this connection between the film's larger themes and its stylistic choices further: an edit frames a close-up on the double's synthetic breasts, visible beneath the see-through negligee it wears. The camera's voyeurism aptly reflects the triumph of the Men's Association in objectifying the women of Stepford and controlling their bodies. This point is underlined by the haunting image of synthetic Joanna's lifeless gaze, isolated in an extreme close-up, which looks out at the audience in the film's final shot.
Thanks for such a great summary, Frances!
Posted in Summary of Discussion	| Tagged Summary of Discussion, The Innocents (1961), The Secret Beyond the Door (1947), The Stepford Wives (1975), The Stepford Wives 2004	| Leave a reply
Summary of Discussion on The Spiral Staircase
Posted on December 2, 2015 by melodramaresearchgroup
Comments on Robert Siodmak's The Spiral Staircase (1946) included the film's temporal and geographical settings; its use of early cinema entertainment; the film's plot; its heroine; the source novel; feminism and the film's characters; the couple; the melodrama genre and more specifically gothic tropes such as the staircase.
Our discussion began with appreciation for the film's opening. This occurs just after the shadowy shot of a woman descending a spiral staircase over which the credits roll. After establishing a suitably creepy atmosphere, the film proceeds to communicate the film's time and place. Small town America is conveyed by wide streets and the date narrowed to sometime in the 1910s judging by the dirt road, horses and carts, and characters' costumes. The date is further pinned down by the screening of a modern attraction – a short silent motion picture, The Kiss. (This might be an extract from Ulysses Davis' 1914 version starring William Desmond Taylor, although several shorts with the same name were produced in the 1910s.)
The heroine of the film, young mute Helen (Dorothy McGuire), is attending the screening and this aligns us with her as film goers. It also creates a certain expectation of romance within the film – once more for both us and Helen. We especially liked this depiction of film history within a film text, and were impressed by the inclusion of a woman playing live piano accompaniment. Soon the murder of a disabled young woman is committed in her rooms above the theatre. The masterly fluid use of space between the lower and higher levels contrasts to the disjuncture inherent in our viewing of those enjoying an entertainment and the serious crime taking place upstairs. Even the dramatic nature of the short overtaken by 'real' events.
While the alignment of us with Helen, and the other film goers, draws us into the action the dissonance between audience experiences (silent vs sound) separates us. This led us to ponder some key differences between the source material (Ethel Lina White's Some Must Watch 1933) and the film. The action has moved from rural UK to small-town America (despite the inclusion of recognisable British actors Elsa Lanchester and Sara Allgood). The heroine is now a mute which places her in the path of the serial killer murdering disabled women. These women begin 10 years earlier with a woman with learning difficulties, and more recently one with a scarred face (a strong comment on the linking of women and beauty), another woman with learning difficulties, a woman with mobility issues, one who refused to love the murderer (presumably this is seen to show a lack of judgement, though of course we know differently), and lastly possibly Helen, who is mute. More significantly the film is placed around twenty years earlier than the novel. Instances of feminism in the film are therefore displaced onto earlier times and the fact that the heroine literally, and not just metaphorically, has no voice is also connected to the time of women's suffrage. We also noted that conduct literature of the time advocated all women being quiet – raising her hat to get attention rather than shouting.
We discussed the instances of feminism in the film at some length. The heroine is not saved by a man, but a woman. Specifically Helen's saviour is her elderly, seemingly bed-ridden and cranky employer Mrs Warren (Ethel Barrymore). Not only does Mrs Warren urge Helen to leave the house for her own safety but she shoots her stepson, Professor Warren (George O'Brien), when she realises he has committed these heinous crimes. Although this action might seem surprising – especially in terms of the character's limited mobility – several important factors have been established earlier. We see Mrs Warren with a gun which she then manages to somehow hide and her hunting past is evidenced by the various animal trophies in her room which include several stuffed birds, tusks and a prominently placed tiger rug. The latter is focuses on when Helen almost trips over it. Mrs Warren explicitly claims it as her 'kill' and notes that her husband said she was 'not as beautiful' as his first wife but that she was a much better 'shot' – a strength he greatly admired. As well as establishing Mrs Warren's strong character the various stuffed animals add to the creepy setting by adding more watching pairs of eyes – death pervades not just the town, but the house too.
Mrs Warren also provides a vital insight into the motivations of the killer when she comments, early on, that her husband thought men could only be men if they were toting guns. This places the blame firmly at the feet of her dead husband and this is later confirmed by Professor Warren's 'justification' to Helen. He specially states that his father would be proud he is ridding the world of the 'afflicted'. (Notably not weak people – there are no male victims only those doubly 'afflicted' by disfigurement or disability and the being of the female gender.)
Professor Warren's half-brother Steve's behaviour is also critiqued. His attentions are seen to bother his brother's secretary, Blanche, with their final meeting including him telling her that he enjoys watching her cry. He considers this sadistic behaviour common to all men since women's expressions of their emotions make the male gender feel 'superior'. Specifically he cautions Blanche not to be 'melodramatic'.
The film cannot be viewed as a straightforward criticism of patriarchy, however, as it switches between approaches. The romantic subplot with Doctor Parry expresses this most strongly. Helen and Doctor Parry's status as a romantic couple is far more straightforward than either Rebecca or Sorry, Wrong Number. While Maxim de Winter and Lenore's husband are killers (and significantly wife-killers) Doctor Parry is a decent man of conviction. He does not express his love for Helen other than a brief kiss, but it is commented on by Mrs Warren in front of the pair. Mrs Warren attempts to displace the responsibility for taking Helen away onto Doctor Parry, though this is unsuccessful. This view of traditional gender roles is also held by Helen. Her fantasy is of her wedding to Doctor Parry. She pictures this taking place at the house but this turns into a nightmare when she is unable to utter 'I do'. It is also notable that Doctor Parry takes it upon himself to 'cure' Helen of her lack of speech becoming, albeit briefly, another threatening man in the narrative as she shouts at her. In fact Helen only regains her voice after the shock of Mrs Warren shooting her stepson.
We also spoke about the film's effective creation and dissipation of suspense. As Helen walks home after the murder at the theatre she hears something. Arming herself with a heft tree branch she is relieved to discover the source of the sound was merely a rabbit. As Helen approaches the house she drops her door key and as she stoops to collect it we are afforded a glimpse of a man Helen does not see. Thankfully she reaches the front door and gains access to the house. This is not without a sense of foreboding though as Helen is being watched by various statutes and 'faces' in the furniture. Our concerns are made more concrete as it is soon revealed that someone has deliberately opened one of the windows whish the housekeeper Mrs Oates insists was earlier shut. Another moment of suspense is created as off-camera we hear Mrs Oates cry out as she walks out. The culprit – a bulldog- is soon revealed. Such switches (and those critiquing and supporting patriarchy) are part of the 'rhythm' of the film's melodrama.
More specifically gothic tropes such as a woman carrying a candlestick exploring the space of the house also appear. While three women (Mrs Oates, Blanche and Helen) perform this action, only the heroine is actively investigating. Mrs Oates is seeking brandy in the cellar (which it is later revealed her employer Professor Warren has deliberately let her steal so that she will be incapacitated and unable to interfere in his crimes) and Blanche is simply retrieving her suitcase so she can leave. Helen alone is investigating by going looking for the missing Blanche. Shortly after Helen finds Blanche murdered, Steven appears on the scene and Helen is proactive in taking action – she utilises Mrs Oates' candle trick to trick him into the cellar and lock the door. Interestingly other aspects of the heroine wearing a nightgown (see The Innocents 1961) is fulfilled by Blanche and later Mrs Warren who has places her house coat over her bedclothes when she shoots her stepson.
Staircases also play an important role. We noted the striking high angle shot which details Mrs Warren at the top of the staircase shooting her stepson several times. Her powerful position cats her as judge and executioner. More generally, character are often ascending and descending them. It is useful to bear in mind Mary Ann Doane's comment on the staircase's significance as a space of 'transition' (1987, pp. 135-6: https://melodramaresearchgroupextra.wordpress.com/2015/12/02/melodrama-reading-doanes-paranoia-and-the-specular/) We particularly noted the difference between the use of the huge front formal staircase (more usually used by the family) and the shadowy back stairs (for the servants). While the former were ascended a lot the back stairs were mostly descended. The fact the prominently placed mirror occupied liminal space by appearing half way up the formal staircase was also discussed. We found the killer POV shots occurring here especially tense, reminding us of Michael Powell's Peeping Tom (1960) and Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960).
You can find more information on Some Must Watch here: https://melodramaresearchgroupextra.wordpress.com/?s=some+must+watch)
As ever, do log in to comment or email me on sp458@kent.ac.uk to add your thoughts.
Posted in Uncategorized	| Tagged Alfred Hitchcock, Dorothy McGuire, Elsa Lanchester, Ethel Barrymore, George Abbot, Gothic, Mary Ann Doane, Melodrama, Michael Powell, Peeping Tom (1960), Psycho (1960), Rebecca (1940), Robert Siodmak, Sara Allgood, Some Must Watch, Sorry Wrong Number (1948), Staircase, The Innocents (1961), The Spiral Staircase (1945)	| Leave a reply
Autumn Term Screening and Discussion Timetable UPDATED
Posted on September 14, 2015 by melodramaresearchgroup
I hope you've all enjoyed the Summer break.
Please pay attention to the amended timetable below-we now start in week 4 (21st of October) and not week 2 (7th of October).
All are very welcome to join us for this term's screening and discussion sessions. These will take place on alternate Wednesdays from 4.30-7pm. We will meet in Jarman 7. We have themed this term's films around The Gothic:
Week 4, 21st of October: Rebecca (1940, Alfred Hitchcock, 130 mins)
Week 6, 4th of November: Uncle Silas (1947, Charles Frank, 98 mins)
Week 8, 18th of November: The Spiral Staircase (1945, Robert Siomak, 83 mins)
Week 10, 2nd of December: The Innocents (1961, Jack Clayton, 100 mins)
Week 12, 16th of December: The Secret Beyond the Door (1947, Fritz Lang, 99 mins)
More information on each of these films will be posted in advance of the screenings.
Do log in to comment, or email me on sp458@kent.ac.uk to add your thoughts.
Posted in Screening and Discussion	| Tagged Rebecca (1940), Screening and Discussion, The Gothic, The Innocents (1961), The Secret Beyond the Door (1947), The Spiral Staircase (1945), Timetable, Uncle Silas (1947)	| Leave a reply
Second Free Digitizing The War Illustrated Workshop 24th of July, 10am-4pm, in Jarman Studio 7 July 8, 2019
FREE History Events at the University of Kent in Canterbury during Summer 2019 June 13, 2019
Tamar Jeffers McDonald and Frances Kamm's edited book 'Gothic Heroines On Screen: Representation, Interpretation, and Feminist Enquiry' released May 17, 2019
Gothic Feminism 2019 Registration OPEN April 10, 2019
Summary of Discussion on Doctor in the House April 9, 2019
Melodrama Screening and Discussion, Wednesday 3rd of April, 5-7pm, Jarman 6 March 26, 2019
Melodrama Screening and Discussion, Wednesday 20th of March, 5-7pm, Jarman 6 March 16, 2019
Melodrama Screening and Discussion, Wednesday 6th of March, 5-7pm, Jarman 6 March 3, 2019
Summary of Discussion on A Tale of Two Cities March 3, 2019
Melodrama Screening and Discussion, Wednesday 20th of February, 5-7pm, Jarman 6 February 14, 2019
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text:
Reformation & Modern Christianity
Lessons from the Life of John Calvin
Johnathan Arnold
I recently asked a small group what they knew about John Calvin. A young man piped up: "We don't like him." It is unfortunate that some hold a dismissive and bitter attitude towards Calvin. Arminius dissented from Calvin's theology at key points, but he celebrated Calvin's commentaries and maintained a charitable attitude. John Wesley repudiated some of Calvin's theology, but he recognized his contributions to Christian thought. Wesley famously wrote, "I think on justification just as I have done any time these seven and twenty years, and just as Mr. Calvin does. In this respect I do not differ from him a hair's breadth."
Without compromising our doctrines or distinctives, we can learn much from Calvin and his role in Reformation history. By many accounts, Calvin was an extraordinary brother in the Lord.
The Early Years: Discovering The Faith of the Reformation
On July 10, 1509, Jean (John) Calvin was born in Roman Catholic France to a staunch Catholic family. His father was a secretary for the local bishop and wanted John to be a priest. John was sent to Paris to study to enter the priesthood but, due to a lack of finances, was urged to pursue law instead. Although Calvin disliked law, he excelled in all of his studies, including Latin and philosophy, because of his sharp mind and sober, studious personality.
It was at university in Paris that John was first exposed to reform-minded people. The teachings of Luther were trickling throughout the educated world and Calvin, a disciplined scholar, was curious about theology and eager to learn more. Convinced by the evangelical faith, he risked his life and future to consort with objectors to the Catholic church. Calvin was forced to flee Paris. Several of his friends were later executed.
At some point during this period, likely in 1532 or 1533, Calvin was converted. He describes the experience in the foreword to his commentary on the Psalms: "God subdued my heart to docility, which had become hardened against the truth of the gospel." The doctrine of justification by faith preached by Martin Luther had reached a young man in Catholic France.
1533-1535: Making His Mark as a Reformer
At odds with the Catholic church, Calvin went into hiding. For the next three years, he lived outside of France under various names. He continued studying, writing, and teaching. While staying in Basel, Switzerland, a German-speaking Reformation town, Calvin wrote the first edition of his most important work, Institutes of the Christian Religion. He was 27 years old.
Referring to The Institutes, Calvin commented, "I labored at the task especially for our Frenchmen, for I saw that many were hungering and thirsting after Christ and yet that only a few had any real knowledge of him." "If you want to change the world," Martin Luther once said, "pick up your pen and write" — this was certainly true of Calvin.
The Institutes was written as an introduction for those interested in the evangelical faith; it aimed to outline "the whole sum of godliness and whatever it is necessary to know about saving doctrine." This seminal work sold out in nine months and put Calvin on the map. Calvin's work resonated with Reformation supporters all over the world, including a man named William Farel in the town of Geneva, Switzerland.
1536-38: Fleeing France, Finding Geneva
Having cut his ties with Catholicism, Calvin decided to leave France permanently. He set out for Strasbourg, Germany where he could work in peace and obscurity as a scholar. Due to a military roadblock, Calvin was forced to make an unscheduled stop in Geneva. He never expected this one-night detour to be the beginning of a long and difficult relationship with the city in Switzerland.
William Farel, the man leading the Reformation in Geneva, was desperate for assistance. He heard that Calvin had stopped in town and threatened the wrath of God upon Calvin if he did not stay. Farel promised that God would curse Calvin's quiet, scholarly life if he ignored the need for a pastor in Geneva. Calvin later reflected, "I felt as if God from heaven had laid his mighty hand upon me to stop me in my course—and I was so terror stricken that I did not continue my journey." After 18 miserable months he and Farel were forced out of the city due to opposition from civilian mobs and the Council of Geneva. Calvin went on to Strasbourg as he had originally intended.
The next few years were some of the happiest of Calvin's life. He put the burdensome months at Geneva behind him, was married to a faithful woman, and carried out a fulfilling ministry. He had no intentions of ever going back.
1541-1564: The Return to Geneva
In 1541, the Council of Geneva asked Calvin to return. In one letter, Calvin said that he would rather die once on a cross than again suffer daily in Geneva. Reflecting on his first two years there, Calvin wrote: "This I can truly testify, that not a day passed in which I did not long for death ten times over…There is no place under heaven that I am more afraid of."
But when I remember that I am not my own, I offer up my heart and present it as a sacrifice to the Lord.
Despite all of this, Calvin felt God calling him. He wrote, "But when I remember that I am not my own, I offer up my heart and present it as a sacrifice to the Lord." Submissive to the will of the Lord, Calvin retuned to pastor there until his death on May 27, 1564.
In total, Calvin preached over 2,000 sermons in Geneva. In addition to his many other pastoral labors, he wrote incessantly, publishing treatises and commentaries on almost every book of the Bible. In 1559, Calvin's final edition of The Institutes of the Christian Religion was published. Originally six chapters, it was now nearly 80 chapters in four books.
Despite excruciating pain from bladder stones, gout, lung hemorrhages, and migraines, Calvin labored rigorously to the very end. One year after Calvin's death, a biographer wrote "…he forced himself to go out sometimes…chiefly to lecture and even to preach, having himself carried to church in a chair…he continued to do all he could of his public office, always dragging his poor body along…" T. H. L. Parker writes, "he drove his body beyond its limits…To those who would urge him to rest, he had the wondering question, 'What! Would you have the Lord find me idle when he comes?'"
Lessons From His Life
Think little of yourself and much of God. Calvin was consumed by a deep sense of fragility in the presence of an infinitely big God. He was painfully aware of his own weaknesses, especially of his impatience and anger. At the end of his life, he wrote to the ministers at Geneva:
I have had many infirmities which you have been obliged to bear with, and what is more, all I have done has been worth nothing…But certainly I can say this that I have willed what is good, that my vices have always displeased me, and that the root of the fear of God has been in my heart…I pray you, that the evil be forgiven me, and if there was any good, that you conform yourselves to it and make it an example.
Live for the glory of God. For Calvin, "we are consecrated and dedicated to God in order that we may thereafter think, speak, meditate, and do, nothing except to his glory." Anticipating the day when he would stand before God, he said: "The thing [O God] at which I chiefly aimed, and for which I most diligently labored, was, that the glory of thy goodness and justice…might shine forth conspicuous, that the virtue and blessings of thy Christ…might be fully displayed."
Guard the sacred. When several unworthy individuals approached the communion table, Calvin flung himself upon the sacrament and said "these hands you may crush, these arms you may lop off, my life you may take, my blood is yours, you may shed it, but you shall never force me to give holy things to the profane and dishonor the table of my God."
Moreover, Calvin was serious about church discipline, something that is unheard of today despite its Biblical moorings. While he may have been too severe at times, he regularly admonished people for offenses like violating the Sabbath.
Preach the Word. When Calvin returned the second time to Geneva in 1541, he entered the same pulpit that he had left in 1538. Without a word of greeting, he turned to the Bible text where he had left off three years earlier. Calvin did not jump from topic-to-topic, text to text. He approached whole books or sections of books of the Bible, passage-by-passage, in their context. He did not use clever, alliterated outlines. He rigorously studied the Word and did his best to share exactly what it meant. Nothing more, nothing less. He preached 200 sermons on Deuteronomy and 342 sermons on Isaiah alone.
Without a word of greeting, he turned to the Bible text where he had left off three years earlier.
In Calvin on the Christian Life, Michael Horton writes that Calvin's "real genius is to be found in his remarkable ability to synthesize the best thought of the whole Christian tradition and sift it with rigorous exegetical skill and evangelical instincts. His rhetorical rule was 'brevity and simplicity.'"
Quotes from Calvin that Wesleyans Echo
On self-denial:
The sum of the Christian life: the denial of ourselves… We are not our own: let not our reason nor our will, therefore, sway our plans and deeds. We are not our own: let us therefore not set it as our goal to seek what is expedient for us according to the flesh. We are not our own: in so far as we can, let us therefore forget ourselves and all that is ours. Conversely, we are God's: let us therefore live for him and die for him. We are God's: let his wisdom and will therefore rule all our actions. We are God's: let all the parts of our life accordingly strive toward him as our only lawful goal.
On heart religion: "The gospel is not a doctrine of the tongue, but of life. It cannot be grasped by reason and memory only, but it is fully understood when it possesses the whole soul and penetrates to the inner recesses of the heart."
On repentance: "It is the true turning of our life to God, a turning that arises from a pure and earnest fear of Him; and it consists in the mortification of our flesh and of the old man, and in the vivification of the Spirit."
On consecration: "But when I remember that I am not my own, I offer up my heart and present it as a sacrifice to the Lord."
The sum of the Christian life is the denial of ourselves. We are not our own.
On Christ as the whole of salvation:
We see that our whole salvation and all its parts are comprehended in Christ. We should therefore take care not to derive the least portion of it from anywhere else. If we seek salvation, we are taught by the very name of Jesus that it is "of him." If we seek any other gifts of the Spirit, they will be found in his anointing. If we seek strength, it lies in his dominion; if purity, in his conception; if gentleness, it appears in his birth. For by his birth he was made like us in all respects that he might learn to feel our pain. If we seek redemption, it lies in his passion; if acquittal, in his condemnation; if remission of the curse, in his cross; if satisfaction, in his sacrifice; if purification, in his blood; if reconciliation, in his descent into hell; if mortification of the flesh, in his tomb; if newness of life, in his resurrection; if immortality, in the same; if inheritance of all blessings, in his Kingdom; if untroubled expectation of judgment, in the power given to him to judge. In short, since rich store of every kind of good abounds in him, let us drink our fill from this fountain, and from no other.
John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, Christian Classics Ethereal Library.
Joe Carter, "9 Things You Should Know about John Calvin," The Gospel Coalition.
Kevin DeYoung, "All Men Are Like Grass: The Life of John Calvin," The Gospel Coalition.
Ian Hamilton, "John Calvin's Conversion," Ligonier Ministries.
"John Calvin: Father of the Reformation Faith," Christianity Today.
Karin Maag, "John Calvin: The Man Behind the Name," Calvin College.
T. H. L. Parker, "The Life and Times of John Calvin," Christian History Institute.
John Piper, "The Divine Majesty of the Word: John Calvin: The Man and His Preaching," Desiring God.
Fred Sanders, "Our Whole Salvation & All Its Parts: Calvin on Union With Christ," The Scriptorium Daily.
Johnathan Arnold is a husband, father, and aspiring pastor-theologian, as well as the founder and president of holyjoys.org. You can connect with him on Twitter @jsarnold7.
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Quotes from "The Freedom of the Christian" by Martin Luther

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Stem cells are already being used in organ transplants, and to help cure diseases such as leukaemia and lymphoma to testicular cancer. And further trials are in place to investigate their use in other diseases including multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy and autism.
Looking to the future, stem cells are considered to be an exciting cornerstone of a new field in health known as regenerative medicine. In basic terms, regenerative medicine looks to restore structure to damaged tissues and organs if they are broken beyond repair. Medical experts believe that 1 in 3 children will benefit from a regenerative medicine treatment in their lifetime.
Ultimately, it is expected that many currently untreatable conditions will be cured using stem cells from cord blood.
So, what do you need to know about blood cord banking for the future health of your unborn child?
Cord blood is the blood found in the placenta and umbilical cord after birth.
After your baby's delivery, whether it's vaginal or caesarean, the placenta and umbilical cord are taken away and a trained phlebotomist collects both the remaining cord blood and cord tissue from the placenta and umbilical cord in a separate room. These are then frozen and stored in liquid nitrogen for years to come.
The whole process is quick, simple, non-invasive and completely safe. Patients don't need to change their birth plan, but just make a phone call to the provider when labour starts.
Is cord blood collection always possible?
It's extremely important to ensure cord blood is collected by an accredited Health Tissue Authority (HTA) regulated public or private body. Samples need to be traceable from collection to treatment, in order to ensure legality and safety for everyone involved.
It is important to consider that two key factors influence stem cell therapy, the availability of the right number of viable cells and the right type of cell. Cord blood stem cells are probably the most powerful we will ever have, but the number that can be harvested from the umbilical cord is limited by the amount of blood available.
This is why it is crucial that processing retains as many of your baby's precious stem cells as possible.
Choosing a blood processing method that can recover more cells is the difference between only having enough cells to treat a child, and being able to treat an adult, and could even enable multiple treatments.
Finally, disasters can happen, so some companies split your child's blood between two storage locations. So, if one facility is affected, the remainder of the samples are safely preserved in the other.
Something I would consider on the next one, but ultimately something I might find too much hassle to go through with. Maybe I'll think about it more when the time comes.


Listen to Geraldo In Cleveland, weekdays 9-10am on Newsradio WTAM 1100, now available on 106.9 FM, and on the iheartradio app.
Tonight, the President will fulfill one of his Constitutional requirements and deliver the State Of The Union address. Anyone who has been following the recent events in Washington knows that this will be one of most important speech of Donald Trump's Presidency.
When the President walks into the House Chamber, it will be less than two weeks after the longest Government Shutdown in history was resolved, and in many ways the country is still just as divided.
The shutdown was a symptom to a much larger problem, and the President will have to recognize that to bridge the divide between both sides of the isle .
In order to bring both sides together, President Trump has to highlight the positive things that have happened during this administration. Job growth, especially among minorities has been at a record level since he took office in January of 2017.
But to bridge the divide, The President will have to convince the Democrats that border security, specifically a wall, is imperative.
Listen To Geraldo's Roadkill podcast on the iheartradio app or on wtam.com .


After building the lid for my utility sink to create more countertop space, I also wanted to make the space look "pretty".
The lid helped to make the utility sink more utilitarian.
The skirt helped make the sink more enjoyable to look at (and to hide things behind).
I used a tension rod between the wall and the washing machine.
I sewed a simple pocket across the top of the fabric and slid the rod through the hole. Easy!
Now I can hide all my painting supplies under the sink. It works great because after washing my paint brushes in the sink, I can just toss them under the sink to store.
Built in Corner Shelves - a basement "pantry"
Bringing it all together - artwork and details - The Final Reveal!


text:
Art Speaks...
Amazing Grace....
'Amazing Grace'
I started painting this piece in Beaufort, South Carolina in the courtyard of the Beaufort Arsenal Museum and Visitor's Center.
Located on Craven Street in downtown Beaufort, the brick and tabby museum once represented a headquarters of secession activity in Beaufort before the Civil War.
The Revolutionary-era arsenal was seized by Union soldiers in 1861, nine years after it had been rebuilt.
As I was painting on this old steel drum top, this woman emerged out of it.
I then was inspired to paint this piece with many symbolisms at this historical site. The woman in the painting began to tell me her story.
It was New Year's Eve of the Emancipation Proclamation,'Watch Night'' in Beaufort, South Carolina.
December 31, 1862, was a very special evening for the enslaved Africans. It was the night before the Emancipation Proclamation took effect, freeing all the slaves in the Confederate states. I then realized she was carrying her child, wrapped in a quilt, to the Praise House; small places of worship built on plantations during slavery.
On the quilt I was inspired to paint many patterns. Patterns and symbols associated with the Underground Railroad Secret Quilt Code such as;
North Star: A signal with two messages--one to prepare to escape and the other to follow the North Star to freedom in Canada. North was the direction of traffic on the Underground Railroad. This signal was often used in conjunction with the song, "Follow the Drinking Gourd", which contains a reference to the Big Dipper constellation. Two of the Big Dipper's points lead to the North Star.
Log Cabin: A symbol in a quilt or that could be drawn on the ground indicating it was necessary to seek shelter or that a person is safe to speak with. Some sources say it indicated a safe house along the Underground Railroad.
Flying Geese: A signal to follow the direction of the flying geese as they migrated north in the spring. Most slaves escaped during the spring; along the way, the flying geese could be used as a guide to find water, food and places to rest. The quilt maker had flexibility with this pattern as it could be used in any quilt. It could also be used as a compass where several patterns are used together.
Also sewn in the quilt is a piece of the Confederate Flag, representing her soon to be past and the blood, sweat and tears shed; which she and others endured during slavery and oppression. Also, spilling over the edge of the old steel drum top is the United States Flag representing freedom for all. One Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The quilt futher represents her hopes, dreams and prayers, not only for her child and herself, but for generations to come.
The look in her eyes is one of hopefulness yet sorrow, joy and pain. Most of all, her eyes reflect her desires to be free and for the freedom of all of her future generations.
I remember the overwhelming emotions that filled my eyes as the Confederate Flag was removed after the murder of nine innocent African Americans in a church in Charleston, South Carolina in 2015. Although not nearly as emotionally moving as it may have been for her on New Year's Eve in 1862, after being enslaved most of her life and witnessing and experiencing the suffering, torture and killing of so many, I understood and experienced just a glimpse of her emotions.
Suddenly it dawned on me, that this New Year's Eve will be the first time in my generation that, that same flag; which represented slavery and oppression to her, will not be flown over the Capitol of South Carolina. It was put up 54 years ago to protest the Civil Rights Movement and was never removed until 2015. Her prayers of FREEDOM were answered. So, I named this piece, 'Amazing Grace.'
"South Carolina taking down the confederate flag - a signal of good will and healing, and a meaningful step towards a better future." - President Barack Obama
'Each Piece is Predestined for Someone.'
I'm a strong believer that every piece of art that God inspires me to create, He already has someone predestined for it. It's just a matter of the person finding their piece. I created this piece entitled, 'Rejoicing' on an old piece of tin I found here in South Carolina. As I was leaving for Washington D.C., this piece of tin spoke to me and was ready to reveal the story which was within it. She emerged after my visit to Georgetown in D.C. She was rejoicing because she made it North to freedom! In the late 18th century and 19th century African Americans comprised a substantial portion of Georgetown's population. She was now a testament of freedom along with the African-American history that remains today at the Mount Zion United Methodist Church in Georgetown, which is the oldest African-American congregation in Washington.
Months later a lady saw an ad in a newspaper in Columbia showcasing my art exhibit. She and a friend came to my exhibit a few days before it opened and I just happened to be there delivering my work. She came in with striking red hair and green eyes; the same charateristics as another painting in the exhibit, which I call 'Cotton'. So, immediately that became her nickname. In hand was the image she had clipped out of the paper. She said when she saw it in the paper, she had to find me. She and her friend started observing my art. Then suddenly she saw 'Praising' and right away she said, "She speaks to me and I want her." Her friend also found a piece that spoke to her as well.
It was not until recently that Chris, whom I call Cotton, discovered and read more about the piece'Praising' finding her way to freedom. Chris then wrote these words to me.
"I found Praising , never knew that it also meant she made it North. Maybe I felt such a connection because I also made it back to freedom without getting killed during World War II and free from German occupation where we were treated like slaves or worse." - Chris
She not only felt the connection to this piece spiritually, but also the understanding of her struggle. 'Rejoicing' found her home with Chris and everyday she is a reminder of gratefulness and joy in her home. She symbolizes what they both understand, 'Freedom.'
Artist Sonja Griffin Evans
"Art Speaks." Travel Blog


I finally finished the second documentary with my good friend and writer Marcela Hervia about the homeless issue in Manchester. (About 3 weeks a go but haven't got time to blog!) When me and Marcela finished the first video it wasn't any news about any good shelter for them but now there are news that empty buildings will be open for them so hopefully the promises are genuine and we won't see anyone sleeping rough in this cold winter.
The main thing for me that kept me thinking A LOT is seeing young people on the streets that is not good for the future of a city because those young people are the future. In any situation they need help and direction and I hope they will be taken seriously to be out of the streets and get their lives back.
I don't know why being homeless became a badge and the forever dark at the end of the tunnel when as a human we know life has ups and downs and everybody deserve help and chances to live as long as they are breathing.
I will write about it soon but … yeah … it just broke my heart watching people living in the streets in the Manchester and as it gets worst from more than 5 years a go till now.
I also made a short comedy animation from one of my short pieces at Commonword Identity writing workshop.
It will be screened at CAN's "Community Spirit" event at Mad lab and in Filmonik at old corner house (MMU) and I will upload in youtube soon.
I just invite everyone to watch my documentary just below and let's not think about the BUSY schedule before Christmas and … yeah I'm fine and I will write about it soon.
It was 3 weeks a go that an image the same as this image at the top hit me badly. It was early in the morning and as usual I was sitting at the second floor of the bus, listening to music, looking at outside.
The junction where it goes to Portland Street a tall man was sleeping beside the wall and the people were passing by with their coffee in hands looking great to go to work and like they are not seeing anything. It hurt … It hurt my heart … As bad as I wanted to scream.
That image did not leave me and it gets worst when the more asked me if I have any cash. I had rough times in my life too and I knew sometimes you caught in a position that you need help.


Its dark garnet robe offers a pure and radiant nose with smoky notes of liquorice, black fruit and incense. On the palate, this wine is balanced, strong, delicate, heady, round and lively, with a finish of nice strong, round and silky tannins. Beautiful tension, vibrant wine.
The emblematic cuvee from Château de l'Engarran, it all started with this wine. First in 1960, during the brand's creation, and in 1978 with the first bottling at the domain.
Listed as a historical building this splendid château of the eighteenth century has been owned by the family for 5 generations.
Terroir: Located near Saint-Georges-d'Orques, this area 52 hectares is based on a soil composed of limestone gravel, marl, flint and iron oxide.
Viticulture: In the vineyard, sustainable agriculture is privileged and the harvest is manual.
Vinification: The different grape varieties are vinified separately, parcel by parcel. The wine is then matured in oak casks and barrels for 12 to 16 months.


My next proposal regarding the prohibition and abolition of nuclear weapons is that Japan, recognizing its historical responsibility and mission as the only country in the world to have experienced a nuclear attack in wartime, should work assiduously to achieve the broadest possible participation in the upcoming negotiations, including that of states that possess or rely on nuclear weapons.
In recent years, the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have contributed to keeping the nuclear weapons issue in the public eye by hosting a series of diplomatic meetings and welcoming the visits of foreign dignitaries.
Japan should encourage the states that have participated in these discussions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and as many others as possible to take part in the upcoming multilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations.
It can be anticipated that the negotiations will face the kind of obstacles encountered by the 2015 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) where failure to bridge the divide between the nuclear-weapon and non-nuclear-weapon states made the adoption of a consensus outcome document impossible.
However, all states certainly share a fundamental appreciation of the importance of the NPT and concern about the catastrophic consequences of nuclear weapons. This provides the basis on which states can find common ground and reframe the nuclear weapons debate.
related article Abolishing Nuclear Weapons: Moving Past Deterrence The threat posed by nuclear weapons is growing and the logic of nuclear deterrence only increases the likelihood of war. A US-Russia summit, including dialogue on removing weapons from high alert, would reinvigorate the nuclear disarmament process. In this connection, there are important lessons to be learned from the negotiations leading up to the Paris Agreement, which marked a turning point in the effort to combat climate change. The breakthrough that made the agreement possible was the result of focusing on the shared goal of a low-carbon future, a desirable outcome for all states, rather than on the question of responsibility for having caused climate change or for responding to it.
A similar approach could be taken for nuclear weapons. The work of establishing a treaty prohibiting the production, transfer, threat of use or use of these weapons should be viewed as a global enterprise with the goal of preventing the horrors of nuclear war from ever again being experienced by any country. Earnest efforts must be made to find a way to reach a consensus based on this vision.
The fundamental stance of the upcoming conferences is thus fully congruent with the NPT. A treaty prohibiting nuclear weapons would not supplant the NPT, but rather reinforce it as an implementation of Article VI, which requires the pursuit of good faith negotiations leading to complete nuclear disarmament.
What is crucial here is to ensure the participation of as many states as possible in order to identify points of confluence between national security and defense concerns and the quest for a world without nuclear weapons.
The first Preparatory Committee for the 2020 NPT Review Conference is scheduled to meet in Vienna in May. Along with a focus on the obligation to realize nuclear disarmament stipulated in Article VI, there should be an effort to mutually acknowledge the security concerns of all states and to exchange views on the steps required by all parties to address those concerns. If these deliberations were to feed into the negotiations on a treaty to prohibit nuclear weapons to be convened in June in New York, this would be beneficial to all states. Ensuring linkages with the NPT Review Conference deliberations and bridging the gap between different perspectives will help make the negotiations truly constructive.
The issue of nuclear weapons is a crucial one that has confronted the UN since its founding more than seventy years ago. The complexities surrounding the upcoming negotiations on their prohibition should not be underestimated. However, I am confident that if states continue to earnestly pursue dialogue, it will be possible to build irreversible momentum toward a world without nuclear weapons.
A high-level UN conference on disarmament is slated to be held no later than 2018. The adoption of a treaty outlawing nuclear weapons would enhance conditions for initiating a process of major reductions in current nuclear stockpiles, leading to their eventual elimination.
55. NPDI, "Joint Statement," 7.
56. MOFA, "G7 Foreign Ministers' Hiroshima Declaration," 2.
58. UN General Assembly, "Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons," 5.


My latest super-detailed digital portrait of the 10th Doctor, David Tennant. I'm a stickler for detail, so I get too much in and everyone thinks it's a photograph.
David Tennant	Gallery: Digital Illustration Portfolio	Description: My latest super-detailed digital portrait of the 10th Doctor, David Tennant. I'm a stickler for detail, so I get too much in and everyone thinks it's a photograph.
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Audiobook. The former NPR reporter explores her research for the science of spirituality. She lets us know right away that she grew up in a Christian Science home and her grandmother was a widely known practitioner. It was when she was miserable with a cold that she abandoned Christian Science for Tylenol, but her faith is always in evidence in this book.
Clearly she was looking for evidence of God in scientific studies; ultimately it doesn't happen. Her bias was there; she refers to some scientists as "materialists." My understanding is that science is fundamentally materialist, and that is its great strength. If you believe that might not take in all the possibilities, that is its shortcoming.


From absolute beginners to seasoned veterans indoor climbing walls give climbers the opportunity to climb regardless of the weather. Regular route-setting maintains a constant flow of new challenges for climbers of all levels. Many walls offer instruction and coaching to climbers of all abilities who wish to brush up on their skills or improve their personal performance.
This list below give details of some of the the climbing walls in Ireland which are open to the public.
If you would like a wall you own/manage included in the list please contact Mountaineering Ireland.
Mountaineering Ireland has produced a number of short videos to refresh some key indoor climbing skills.