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The Infernal Desire Machines Of Doctor Hoffman
''The Infernal Desire Machines of Doctor Hoffman'', published in the United States as ''The War of Dreams'', is a 1972 novel by Angela Carter. This picaresque novel is heavily influenced by surrealism, Romanticism, critical theory, and other branches of Continental philosophy. Its style is an amalgam of magical realism and postmodern pastiche. The novel has been called a theoretical fiction, as it clearly engages in some of the theoretical issues of its time, notably feminism, mass media and the counterculture. Plot introduction Set in an unspecified Latin American country, the novel features Desiderio, a government minister in the main city, currently under attack by Doctor Hoffman's reality-distorting machines. Desiderio embarks on a journey to find Hoffman's former physics teacher, eventually bringing him to Hoffman's castle. Plot summary The novel presents the story from the perspective of Desiderio, a bureau member in the main city currently under the attack of Doctor Hoff ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Angela Carter
Angela Olive Pearce (formerly Carter, Stalker; 7 May 1940 – 16 February 1992), who published under the name Angela Carter, was an English novelist, short story writer, poet, and journalist, known for her feminist, magical realism, and picaresque works. She is best known for her book'' The Bloody Chamber'', which was published in 1979. In 2008, ''The Times'' ranked Carter tenth in their list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945". In 2012, ''Nights at the Circus'' was selected as the best ever winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. Biography Born Angela Olive Stalker in Eastbourne, in 1940, to Sophia Olive (née Farthing; 1905–1969), a cashier at Selfridge's, and journalist Hugh Alexander Stalker (1896–1988), Carter was evacuated as a child to live in Yorkshire with her maternal grandmother. After attending Streatham and Clapham High School, in south London, she began work as a journalist on ''The Croydon Advertiser'', following in her father's footsteps ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Centaurs
A centaur ( ; grc, κένταυρος, kéntauros; ), or occasionally hippocentaur, is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse. Centaurs are thought of in many Greek myths as being as wild as untamed horses, and were said to have inhabited the region of Magnesia and Mount Pelion in Thessaly, the Foloi oak forest in Elis, and the Malean peninsula in southern Laconia. Centaurs are subsequently featured in Roman mythology, and were familiar figures in the medieval bestiary. They remain a staple of modern fantastic literature. Etymology The Greek word ''kentauros'' is generally regarded as being of obscure origin. The etymology from ''ken'' + ''tauros'', 'piercing bull', was a euhemerist suggestion in Palaephatus' rationalizing text on Greek mythology, ''On Incredible Tales'' (Περὶ ἀπίστων), which included mounted archers from a village called ''Nephele'' eliminating a herd of bulls that were the scourge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abstraction
Abstraction in its main sense is a conceptual process wherein general rules and concepts are derived from the usage and classification of specific examples, literal ("real" or "concrete") signifiers, first principles, or other methods. "An abstraction" is the outcome of this process—a concept that acts as a common noun for all subordinate concepts and connects any related concepts as a ''group'', ''field'', or ''category''. Suzanne K. Langer (1953), ''Feeling and Form: a theory of art developed from Philosophy in a New Key'' p. 90: " Sculptural form is a powerful abstraction from actual objects and the three-dimensional space which we construe ... through touch and sight." Conceptual abstractions may be formed by filtering the information content of a concept or an observable phenomenon, selecting only those aspects which are relevant for a particular purpose. For example, abstracting a leather soccer ball to the more general idea of a ball selects only the information on gen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wordiness
Verbosity or verboseness is speech or writing that uses more words than necessary. The opposite of verbosity is plain language. Some teachers, including the author of ''The Elements of Style'', warn against verbosity; similarly Mark Twain and Ernest Hemingway, among others, famously avoid it. Synonyms include wordiness, verbiage, prolixity, grandiloquence, garrulousness, expatiation, logorrhea, sesquipedalianism, and overwriting. Etymology and synonyms The word ''verbosity'' comes from Latin ''verbosus'', "wordy". There are many other English words that also refer to the use of excessive words. ''Prolixity'' comes from Latin ''prolixus'', "extended". ''Prolixity'' can also be used to refer to the length of a monologue or speech, especially a formal address such as a lawyer's oral argument. ''Grandiloquence'' is complex speech or writing judged to be pompous or bombastic diction. It is a combination of the Latin words ''grandis'' ("great") and ''loqui'' ("to speak"). ''Logorrhe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Hjortsberg
William Reinhold "Gatz" Hjortsberg (February 23, 1941 – April 22, 2017) was an American novelist and screenwriter, known for his originality and for writing the screenplay of the film ''Legend''. His novel ''Falling Angel'' was the basis for the film ''Angel Heart'' (1987). The novel was adapted into an opera in 2015, composed by J. Mark Scearce with a libretto by Lucy Thurber. His 2015 novel ''Mañana'' is a thriller set in Mexico. Hjortsberg the only child of a Swedish restaurateur father and a Swiss mother. He attended Dartmouth College, the Yale School of Drama (where he met Thomas McGuane), and was a Stegner Fellow at Stanford University. He was married three times, and had a son and a daughter. He died of pancreatic cancer. Novels *''Alp'' (1969) *'' Gray Matters'' (1971) *''Symbiography'' (1973) *''Toro! Toro! Toro!'' (1974) *''Falling Angel'' (1978) *''Tales & Fables'' (1985), published by Sylvester & Orphanos *''Nevermore'' (1994) *''Mañana'' (2015) *''Angel's In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jeff VanderMeer
Jeff VanderMeer (born July 7, 1968) is an American author, editor, and literary critic. Initially associated with the New Weird literary genre, VanderMeer crossed over into mainstream success with his bestselling Southern Reach Trilogy. The trilogy's first novel, ''Annihilation'', won the Nebula and Shirley Jackson Awards, and was adapted into a Hollywood film by director Alex Garland. Among VanderMeer's other novels are '' Shriek: An Afterword'' and '' Borne''. He has also edited with his wife Ann VanderMeer such influential and award-winning anthologies as ''The New Weird'', ''The Weird'', and ''The Big Book of Science Fiction''.2017 Locus Awards Winners ," Locus Magazine, June 24, 2017. VanderMeer has been called "one of the most remarkable practitioners of the literary fantastic in A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Representations
''Representations'' is an interdisciplinary journal in the humanities published quarterly by the University of California Press. The journal was established in 1983 and is the founding publication of the New Historicism movement of the 1980s. It covers topics including literary, historical, and cultural studies. The founding editorial board was chaired by Stephen Greenblatt and Svetlana Alpers. ''Representations'' frequently publishes thematic special issues, for example, the 2007 issue on the legacies of American Orientalism, the 2006 issue on cross-cultural mimesis Mimesis (; grc, μίμησις, ''mīmēsis'') is a term used in literary criticism and philosophy that carries a wide range of meanings, including ''imitatio'', imitation, nonsensuous similarity, receptivity, representation, mimicry, the act ..., and the 2005 issue on political and intellectual redress. Topics covered * The Body, Gender, and Sexuality * Culture and Law * Empire, Imperialism, and The New Worl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cabinet Of Dr
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing cabinet, a piece of office furniture used to file folders * Arcade cabinet, a type of furniture which houses arcade games Government * Cabinet (government), a council of high-ranking members of government * Cabinet, term used for government entities that report directly to the governor's office in the state of Kentucky, US * England local government executive arrangements: "leader and cabinet" and "mayor and cabinet" models * War cabinet, typically set up in wartime Equipment * Loudspeaker enclosure * Computer case * A slotted screwdriver blade type * Serving area interface or telecoms cabinet Media * ''The Cabinet'' (TV series), an Australian political program * Cabinet (file format), a computer compressed file extension * ''C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metropolis (1927 Film)
''Metropolis'' is a 1927 German expressionist science-fiction drama film directed by Fritz Lang and written by Thea von Harbou in collaboration with Lang from von Harbou's 1925 novel of the same name. Intentionally written as a treatment, it stars Gustav Fröhlich, Alfred Abel, Rudolf Klein-Rogge, and Brigitte Helm. Erich Pommer produced it in the Babelsberg Studios for Universum Film A.G. (UFA). The silent film is regarded as a pioneering science-fiction movie, being among the first feature-length movies of that genre. Filming took place over 17 months in 1925–26 at a cost of more than five million Reichsmarks, or the equivalent of about € million. Made in Germany during the Weimar period, ''Metropolis'' is set in a futuristic urban dystopia and follows the attempts of Freder, the wealthy son of the city master, and Maria, a saintly figure to the workers, to overcome the vast gulf separating the classes in their city and bring the workers together with Joh Fredersen, th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rotwang
C. A. Rotwang is a fictional character in Fritz Lang's 1927 science fiction film ''Metropolis'', as well as screenwriter Thea von Harbou's original novel ''Metropolis''. In the film, Rotwang was played by Rudolf Klein-Rogge. Character overview Rotwang is a brilliant scientist and inventor, whose greatest achievement is the creation of a robot made in the form of a woman (the ''Maschinenmensch'', or Machine-Person). Originally, he intends to make a replacement for his lost love, Hel. Hel was a beautiful woman who eventually chose Joh Fredersen, master of the city and Rotwang's rival, instead of him. She later died while giving birth to Fredersen's son, Freder. Rotwang uses the robot to get revenge against Fredersen and Freder, while pretending that he is using the robot for Fredersen's benefit, and under Fredersen's instructions. Rotwang lives in a strange old house in the middle of Metropolis; its rough exterior design contrasts sharply with the futuristic elegance of the city. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. The Faust legend has been the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical works that have reinterpreted it through the ages. "Faust" and the adjective "Faustian" imply sacrificing spiritual values for power, knowledge, or material gain. The Faust of early books—as well as the ballads, dramas, movies, and puppet-plays which grew out of them—is irrevocably damned because he prefers human knowledge over divine knowledge: "he laid the Holy Scriptures behind the door and under the bench, refused to be called doctor of theology, but preferred to be styled doctor of medicine". Plays and comic puppet theatre loosely based on this legend were popular throughout ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
