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Celerity
Celerity's Journal
Celerity's Journal
January 31, 2022
Label: What's Your Rupture? – WYR ?0307
Series: Zodiac Series
Format:
Vinyl, 12", 33 ⅓ RPM, Single
Country: US
Released: 2007
Genre: Rock
Style: Hardcore, Punk
Statement from Fucked Up June 13 2007:
Year of the Pig June 22 2007
In 2007, the good become superior and the bad become worse. The enlightened continue on their path to understanding and contentment. Take a stand, speak your mind during this Pig year."
The theme for Year of the Pig is exploitation and violence against women, using prostitution as a main symbol. We recorded this while the Robert Pickton trial is picking up here in Canada - Pickton is a farmer from British Columbia who has been charged with the murder of 26 prostitutes from one of the poorest districts in Canada. We feel that violence against women, represented here by the issue of prostitutes rights in particular, is an issue that is still taboo, and rights for sex workers is an issue that people are still afraid to look at head on, and deal with in a meaningful way. Sexism exists everywhere and as we've seen in the Pickton case, it can far too easily manifest as abuse, rape and murder shut out from the public eye. This violence is more easily accommodated when working prostitutes aren't protected by the full scope of the law in their workplaces, and when their role exists outside of the purview of our collective morality. In this way, we also view violence against prostitutes as symptomatic of our society's tendency to try and launder our collective guilt and shame through a third party, in this case prostitutes. They exist as a special part of our culture where we can lash out at them, of our own shame and guilt with sexual issues of shame and possession, and blame and exploit them, instead of dealing with those issues ourselves. Sexism and violence against women exist, and as long as there are classes of society that we keep beneath our collective moral societal obligations, those classes will bear the full brunt of the hatred and fear we can dish out. We also with to state that "Year of the Pig" is not the attempt to condemn Robert Pickton, or any other individual specifically for any specific crime - the scope of these issues are broader than isolated incidents. The habitual compartmentalization of these sorts of crimes is part of the problem - we wish to state that sexism and violence persist not simply due to the actions of a few deviant criminals, but because as a whole we refuse to properly deal with these issues.
We wrote "Year of the Pig" according to the spatial and spiritual rules laid out in the Chinese Zodiac. We do this once a year – last year was "Year of the God", next year is "Year of the Rat". It is a special process we only bring out for these yearly rousing recording sessions. It is a 60 year cycle, so accordingly there will be 60 of these 12"'s, by us or by the bands we pass it down to. The combination element for this year was gold, so (as usual), we tried to surround ourselves with as much gold as possible in the studio – a few people came up who had fronts in their mouths, and we all had to borrow our parents jewellery. The lights from the studio were cascading off all the pieces in the room. The Heaven element for this year was fire, so we also managed to put up a huge fire in the middle of the floor. We did the drum tracks only with the fire, because we had to move the set-up onto the roof of the building. For us recording is all about balance basically – we usually try now to have certain people come in to lay down the area in a way we don't really understand – we just sit there and eat handfuls of salvia while these dowsers come in and point to what instruments are ready, you've got these geo-sophists pointing us in certain directions, sigils are going up all over the place, it can get pretty real in the year of the fourth trine.
Fucked Up, David, Octavio, Hail Wilsim Publogy June 22 2007 CE
Fucked Up - Year Of The Pig
Progressive hardcore punk, 6/8 - 4/4, filtered piano, Hammond organ, weird percussion, absurd dynamics, almost 19 minutes long...
Label: What's Your Rupture? – WYR ?0307
Series: Zodiac Series
Format:
Vinyl, 12", 33 ⅓ RPM, Single
Country: US
Released: 2007
Genre: Rock
Style: Hardcore, Punk
Statement from Fucked Up June 13 2007:
Year of the Pig June 22 2007
In 2007, the good become superior and the bad become worse. The enlightened continue on their path to understanding and contentment. Take a stand, speak your mind during this Pig year."
The theme for Year of the Pig is exploitation and violence against women, using prostitution as a main symbol. We recorded this while the Robert Pickton trial is picking up here in Canada - Pickton is a farmer from British Columbia who has been charged with the murder of 26 prostitutes from one of the poorest districts in Canada. We feel that violence against women, represented here by the issue of prostitutes rights in particular, is an issue that is still taboo, and rights for sex workers is an issue that people are still afraid to look at head on, and deal with in a meaningful way. Sexism exists everywhere and as we've seen in the Pickton case, it can far too easily manifest as abuse, rape and murder shut out from the public eye. This violence is more easily accommodated when working prostitutes aren't protected by the full scope of the law in their workplaces, and when their role exists outside of the purview of our collective morality. In this way, we also view violence against prostitutes as symptomatic of our society's tendency to try and launder our collective guilt and shame through a third party, in this case prostitutes. They exist as a special part of our culture where we can lash out at them, of our own shame and guilt with sexual issues of shame and possession, and blame and exploit them, instead of dealing with those issues ourselves. Sexism and violence against women exist, and as long as there are classes of society that we keep beneath our collective moral societal obligations, those classes will bear the full brunt of the hatred and fear we can dish out. We also with to state that "Year of the Pig" is not the attempt to condemn Robert Pickton, or any other individual specifically for any specific crime - the scope of these issues are broader than isolated incidents. The habitual compartmentalization of these sorts of crimes is part of the problem - we wish to state that sexism and violence persist not simply due to the actions of a few deviant criminals, but because as a whole we refuse to properly deal with these issues.
We wrote "Year of the Pig" according to the spatial and spiritual rules laid out in the Chinese Zodiac. We do this once a year – last year was "Year of the God", next year is "Year of the Rat". It is a special process we only bring out for these yearly rousing recording sessions. It is a 60 year cycle, so accordingly there will be 60 of these 12"'s, by us or by the bands we pass it down to. The combination element for this year was gold, so (as usual), we tried to surround ourselves with as much gold as possible in the studio – a few people came up who had fronts in their mouths, and we all had to borrow our parents jewellery. The lights from the studio were cascading off all the pieces in the room. The Heaven element for this year was fire, so we also managed to put up a huge fire in the middle of the floor. We did the drum tracks only with the fire, because we had to move the set-up onto the roof of the building. For us recording is all about balance basically – we usually try now to have certain people come in to lay down the area in a way we don't really understand – we just sit there and eat handfuls of salvia while these dowsers come in and point to what instruments are ready, you've got these geo-sophists pointing us in certain directions, sigils are going up all over the place, it can get pretty real in the year of the fourth trine.
Fucked Up, David, Octavio, Hail Wilsim Publogy June 22 2007 CE
January 31, 2022
Robots Robots
To those not in the know: He's actually playing live with a modular synthesizer. To fully appreciate the technicality of this set, you should know that all those wires are connecting different sound generating modules. Most of them would make squeaky, unpredictable noise. Getting them to do WHAT YOU WANT requires not only complete mastery of each separate module connected with the wire, but full understanding how that mesh of cables should connect between different sound sources to create something melodic, instead of "cat being tortured" screams. So, doing that live - you HAVE to know exactly what each does and what sound you're after - otherwise you'll get unpredictable noise (or nothing). Millions of possibilities, most of which would result in chaos. He keeps them in order.
29°58'33.8"N 31°07'39.6"E
Video credits:
Artists: Sébastien Léger
Venue: The Great Pyramids of Giza, Egypt
Produced by Cercle
Executive producers: Philippe Tuchmann & Derek Barbolla
Film directed by: Pol Souchier & Derek Barbolla
Directors of photography: Mathieu Glissant & Mickaël Fidjili
Drone pilots: Ifly
Sound mastering: Antoine Guest
Post-production: Mathieu Glissant (Saison Unique Production)
Technical Manager: Aurélien Moisan
Stage design: Karim Yousry
--
Special thanks to:
Bas Enab, Mahmoud Zidan & Misty Moustafa Sheta from Playground.
Donal Mccarthy, Cian Toner & James Pidgeon from Sébastien Léger's management.
Eric Caucheteur from Paris Webcube.
Galerie Joseph.
Also, special thanks to Freedom Music.
And finally, special thanks to Ahmed Youssef, chairman of Egypt's Tourism Promotion Authority from the Ministry of Tourism.
______
This artistic performance has been recorded live.
Biography Sébastien Léger
One of the most outstanding artists in the recent electronic music business, an exceptionally gifted producer who is operating far beyond all the French filter house clichés.
Being born as the son of two professional musicians Sébastien attended the academy of music from the age of five to 15, integrating technique and musical theory on piano and drums. But soon Sébastien Léger began visiting record stores, being impressed by the likes of Ian Pooley, Daft Punk and Sneak, diving into a complete new world. Consequently Sébastien stepped behind the turntables. Training his DJ-skills was not that difficult for the talented percussionist he was. In 1998 he started creating his own house productions, or even techno, still completed with syncopations and funk sounds. In 1998 Sébastien published his first EPs under the alias Deaf'n'Dumb Crew.
Over the following years Sébastien was releasing more than 30 records on many international labels, building his worldwide reputation and contributing an essential element to its musical evolution. Working for Black Jack gave Sébastien the chance to meet many prestigious artists of Chicago House. He learned a lot from them but his aim was to innovate and not imitate. As always in his long musical career he kept the faith to pushing the boundaries ahead. In 1999 Sébastien and his partner Jimmy van de Velde established the house and tech-house labels Cyclik, Subkroniq and recently BITS music for more Electro/Floating House. That year saw Sébastien Léger´s first album "Atomic Pop" coming out including a great appearance of Junior Sanchez. Parallel to building his international DJ career Sébastien Léger is becoming of the world´s most demanded remixers, working for artists like Armand Van Helden, Kevin saunderson, Ron Carroll, Jakatta feat Seal or Paul Johnson, or labels like Defected or Intec just to name a few!
Consequent progression in his production work, the great variety of house music colours in his tracks, the construction and arrangement of its electro and funky rhythms, all these ingredients helped to establish his position at the forefront of reconstructing contemporary electronic music. As a result of this you can find Sébastien Léger´s releases on world famous imprints such as Carl Cox´ Intec, Defected or Josh Wink´s Ovum just to give a brief summary. After gaining a lot of success and appreciation in Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan, the US and the Netherlands Sébastien Léger is only at the beginning of conquering the electronic music world, giving his audience the great chance to dive into the electro bath.
Sebastien Leger live at the Great Pyramids of Giza, in Egypt for Cercle
Robots Robots
To those not in the know: He's actually playing live with a modular synthesizer. To fully appreciate the technicality of this set, you should know that all those wires are connecting different sound generating modules. Most of them would make squeaky, unpredictable noise. Getting them to do WHAT YOU WANT requires not only complete mastery of each separate module connected with the wire, but full understanding how that mesh of cables should connect between different sound sources to create something melodic, instead of "cat being tortured" screams. So, doing that live - you HAVE to know exactly what each does and what sound you're after - otherwise you'll get unpredictable noise (or nothing). Millions of possibilities, most of which would result in chaos. He keeps them in order.
29°58'33.8"N 31°07'39.6"E
Video credits:
Artists: Sébastien Léger
Venue: The Great Pyramids of Giza, Egypt
Produced by Cercle
Executive producers: Philippe Tuchmann & Derek Barbolla
Film directed by: Pol Souchier & Derek Barbolla
Directors of photography: Mathieu Glissant & Mickaël Fidjili
Drone pilots: Ifly
Sound mastering: Antoine Guest
Post-production: Mathieu Glissant (Saison Unique Production)
Technical Manager: Aurélien Moisan
Stage design: Karim Yousry
--
Special thanks to:
Bas Enab, Mahmoud Zidan & Misty Moustafa Sheta from Playground.
Donal Mccarthy, Cian Toner & James Pidgeon from Sébastien Léger's management.
Eric Caucheteur from Paris Webcube.
Galerie Joseph.
Also, special thanks to Freedom Music.
And finally, special thanks to Ahmed Youssef, chairman of Egypt's Tourism Promotion Authority from the Ministry of Tourism.
______
This artistic performance has been recorded live.
Biography Sébastien Léger
One of the most outstanding artists in the recent electronic music business, an exceptionally gifted producer who is operating far beyond all the French filter house clichés.
Being born as the son of two professional musicians Sébastien attended the academy of music from the age of five to 15, integrating technique and musical theory on piano and drums. But soon Sébastien Léger began visiting record stores, being impressed by the likes of Ian Pooley, Daft Punk and Sneak, diving into a complete new world. Consequently Sébastien stepped behind the turntables. Training his DJ-skills was not that difficult for the talented percussionist he was. In 1998 he started creating his own house productions, or even techno, still completed with syncopations and funk sounds. In 1998 Sébastien published his first EPs under the alias Deaf'n'Dumb Crew.
Over the following years Sébastien was releasing more than 30 records on many international labels, building his worldwide reputation and contributing an essential element to its musical evolution. Working for Black Jack gave Sébastien the chance to meet many prestigious artists of Chicago House. He learned a lot from them but his aim was to innovate and not imitate. As always in his long musical career he kept the faith to pushing the boundaries ahead. In 1999 Sébastien and his partner Jimmy van de Velde established the house and tech-house labels Cyclik, Subkroniq and recently BITS music for more Electro/Floating House. That year saw Sébastien Léger´s first album "Atomic Pop" coming out including a great appearance of Junior Sanchez. Parallel to building his international DJ career Sébastien Léger is becoming of the world´s most demanded remixers, working for artists like Armand Van Helden, Kevin saunderson, Ron Carroll, Jakatta feat Seal or Paul Johnson, or labels like Defected or Intec just to name a few!
Consequent progression in his production work, the great variety of house music colours in his tracks, the construction and arrangement of its electro and funky rhythms, all these ingredients helped to establish his position at the forefront of reconstructing contemporary electronic music. As a result of this you can find Sébastien Léger´s releases on world famous imprints such as Carl Cox´ Intec, Defected or Josh Wink´s Ovum just to give a brief summary. After gaining a lot of success and appreciation in Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan, the US and the Netherlands Sébastien Léger is only at the beginning of conquering the electronic music world, giving his audience the great chance to dive into the electro bath.
January 31, 2022
Label: Merge Records – none, Farewell Transmission PR – none
Format:
CDr, Single, Promo
Country: UK
Released: 2018
Genre: Rock
Style: Punk, Hardcore, Indie Rock
Fucked Up - Normal People (Official Music Video)
Label: Merge Records – none, Farewell Transmission PR – none
Format:
CDr, Single, Promo
Country: UK
Released: 2018
Genre: Rock
Style: Punk, Hardcore, Indie Rock
January 30, 2022
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/mason-greenwood-arrested-suspicion-rape-26090350
A man has been arrested on suspicion of rape and GBH after Manchester United footballer Mason Greenwood was suspended from playing or training with the club, following allegations he was violent towards a woman.
Greater Manchester Police said they had been made aware on Sunday of "online social media images and videos posted by a woman reporting incidents of physical violence".
The force said: "An investigation was launched and following inquiries we can confirm a man in his 20s has since been arrested on suspicion of rape and assault. "He remains in custody for questioning. "Inquiries are ongoing."
Manchester United have announced that Greenwood will not train or play for the Premier League club until further notice. A statement from United on Sunday afternoon read: "Mason Greenwood will not return to training or play matches until further notice." The images and allegations were reportedly visible on the woman's Instagram on Sunday morning. The posts have since been deleted from the social media page.
Mason Greenwood arrested on suspicion of rape and GBH after claims Man United player was violent
The images and allegations were reportedly visible on the woman's Instagram on Sunday morning.https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/mason-greenwood-arrested-suspicion-rape-26090350
A man has been arrested on suspicion of rape and GBH after Manchester United footballer Mason Greenwood was suspended from playing or training with the club, following allegations he was violent towards a woman.
Greater Manchester Police said they had been made aware on Sunday of "online social media images and videos posted by a woman reporting incidents of physical violence".
The force said: "An investigation was launched and following inquiries we can confirm a man in his 20s has since been arrested on suspicion of rape and assault. "He remains in custody for questioning. "Inquiries are ongoing."
Manchester United have announced that Greenwood will not train or play for the Premier League club until further notice. A statement from United on Sunday afternoon read: "Mason Greenwood will not return to training or play matches until further notice." The images and allegations were reportedly visible on the woman's Instagram on Sunday morning. The posts have since been deleted from the social media page.
January 30, 2022
What the hell is it w/ Manc footballers? Now Mason Greenwood looks to have beaten the absolute shite
out of his GF. Mendy of Citeh has had even more counts of rape added.
Plus ex Citeh player Robinho's nine-year rape conviction was upheld by Italy's top court
https://twitter.com/lauriewhitwell/status/1487703958290407425
https://twitter.com/DieForManUnited/status/1487694892113534980
Warning: Graphic
Mason Greenwood: Manchester United striker embroiled in controversy after girlfriend releases shocking video on Instagram
https://thepeoplesperson.com/2022/01/30/mason-greenwood-manchester-united-striker-embroiled-in-controversy-after-girlfriend-releases-shocking-video-on-instagram-244689/
also this (audio from her Instagram)
January 30, 2022
l: Reprise Records – 7599-39975-3
Format:
Blu-ray, Blu-ray Audio, Album
Country: Europe
Released: 2010
Genre: Rock
Style: Folk Rock, Alternative Rock
Neil Young - Le Noise - The Film (2010)
l: Reprise Records – 7599-39975-3
Format:
Blu-ray, Blu-ray Audio, Album
Country: Europe
Released: 2010
Genre: Rock
Style: Folk Rock, Alternative Rock
January 30, 2022
Or are y'all really dumb enough to think that the only folks best qualified were white men?
https://twitter.com/franklinleonard/status/1486832572428521474
Every single SCOTUS justice until Marshall was selected on the basis of race and sex and until
O'Connor on the basis of sex.Or are y'all really dumb enough to think that the only folks best qualified were white men?
https://twitter.com/franklinleonard/status/1486832572428521474
January 30, 2022
https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/best-chinese-lunar-new-year-celebrations
Lunar New Year is a sacred time for many Asian cultures. February 1st marks the beginning of the Year of the Tiger, a time that promises radical change in all areas of our lives as we feel driven to take risks, be adventurous, act bold, and uplift one another. From joyful gifts of red envelopes to energetic traditional dances and meals symbolizing good luck—pork dishes, dumplings, heaving bowls of sticky rice—there's no one way to celebrate the Lunar New Year. If you want to get in on the fun, here's a smattering of domestic celebrations to help you usher in a year of goodwill and fortune.
(Heads up: Due to the ongoing pandemic, some cities have significantly pared down their Lunar New Year events compared to years past. Before you head out, always be sure to familiarize yourself with local Covid-19 restrictions and check event websites for updates and scheduling changes.)
Seattle
Seattle’s diverse and rapidly growing Asian-American population means an embarrassment of cultural riches this time of year. Each year, Seattle's Chinatown hosts a (free!) Lunar New Year Celebration, with vendors, music, and dancing; that same day, the annual Food Walk will get you all the dumplings and sticky rice snacks you crave from participating local restaurants. Due to the ongoing pandemic, this year's event will be postponed until Saturday, April 30th. In the meantime, you can hit the Wing Luke Museum's outdoor Lunar New Year Fair, which takes place on January 29th with themed storytimes, Lion Dance Talks, crafts, a scavenger hunt, and more.
New York City
Lunar New Year in New York City and its five boroughs has the distinct honor of boasting not just one Chinatown, but several. Travelers and tourists can easily access Manhattan’s Chinatown, where the Firecracker Ceremony and Cultural Festival lights up the night on February 1, followed by the Lunar New Year Parade and Festival later in the month on February 20. Over in buzzing Flushing, Queens, celebrate with a Lunar New Year Chinese Documentary Film Festival (February 5-6) or Reconcile: Begin Anew, an exhibition featuring eight immigrant artists, each coping with and confronting recent aggression toward the Asian community with their art. And at Brooklyn's Conservatory of Music, an outdoor festival on January 29th will feature traditional music, dancing and more.
snip
The 12 Best Places to Celebrate the Lunar New Year in the U.S.
Usher in the Year of the Tiger in style.https://www.thrillist.com/travel/nation/best-chinese-lunar-new-year-celebrations
Lunar New Year is a sacred time for many Asian cultures. February 1st marks the beginning of the Year of the Tiger, a time that promises radical change in all areas of our lives as we feel driven to take risks, be adventurous, act bold, and uplift one another. From joyful gifts of red envelopes to energetic traditional dances and meals symbolizing good luck—pork dishes, dumplings, heaving bowls of sticky rice—there's no one way to celebrate the Lunar New Year. If you want to get in on the fun, here's a smattering of domestic celebrations to help you usher in a year of goodwill and fortune.
(Heads up: Due to the ongoing pandemic, some cities have significantly pared down their Lunar New Year events compared to years past. Before you head out, always be sure to familiarize yourself with local Covid-19 restrictions and check event websites for updates and scheduling changes.)
Seattle
Seattle’s diverse and rapidly growing Asian-American population means an embarrassment of cultural riches this time of year. Each year, Seattle's Chinatown hosts a (free!) Lunar New Year Celebration, with vendors, music, and dancing; that same day, the annual Food Walk will get you all the dumplings and sticky rice snacks you crave from participating local restaurants. Due to the ongoing pandemic, this year's event will be postponed until Saturday, April 30th. In the meantime, you can hit the Wing Luke Museum's outdoor Lunar New Year Fair, which takes place on January 29th with themed storytimes, Lion Dance Talks, crafts, a scavenger hunt, and more.
New York City
Lunar New Year in New York City and its five boroughs has the distinct honor of boasting not just one Chinatown, but several. Travelers and tourists can easily access Manhattan’s Chinatown, where the Firecracker Ceremony and Cultural Festival lights up the night on February 1, followed by the Lunar New Year Parade and Festival later in the month on February 20. Over in buzzing Flushing, Queens, celebrate with a Lunar New Year Chinese Documentary Film Festival (February 5-6) or Reconcile: Begin Anew, an exhibition featuring eight immigrant artists, each coping with and confronting recent aggression toward the Asian community with their art. And at Brooklyn's Conservatory of Music, an outdoor festival on January 29th will feature traditional music, dancing and more.
snip
January 29, 2022
https://www.guernicamag.com/ruth-franklin-the-madness-of-mid-century-womanhood/
Hangsaman, Shirley Jackson’s murky and disquieting 1951 novel, is a frantic read. It careens down unlit dormitory corridors and bounds around the psyche of its seventeen-year-old protagonist, Natalie Waite, as she arrives at college and plummets into psychological collapse. “Suppose, actually, she were not Natalie Waite, college girl, daughter to Arnold Waite, a creature of deep lovely destiny,” Natalie wonders, her mental splintering already underway, “suppose she were someone else?” Soon, she develops an intimate friendship with a girl in her dorm named Tony — who, it turns out, Natalie has invented.
Jackson’s novel is hazy, filtered as it is through Natalie, and uneven in places. Tony slips in slowly, like toxic gas, only to disappear abruptly, leaving questions about Natalie’s mental state unanswered. But about the gendered nature of Natalie’s unravelling, Hangsaman is unambiguous: Natalie is at least partially undone by a sexual assault that occurs early in the novel, at her childhood home; more broadly, she is the product of an upper-middle-class 1950s America that does not care about resolving or supporting her personhood. The other women in her world include a faculty wife who, feeling her selfhood subsumed by her marriage, lives in alcoholic misery, and Natalie’s own mother, who throws elaborate garden parties in the suburbs and divulges, “it isn’t any single thing…it’s just that…this is the only life I’ve got…this is all.”
Hangsaman is, in this respect, an early effort at what would become a career endeavour for Jackson: to explore the fragmentary internal landscape of her generation of women, often through themes of madness, fracturing, and disorientation. Jackson herself was a mother of four, and married to literary critic Stanley Hyman; while her love for her children and her Bennington home life permeates her writing (including in the autobiographical Life Among the Savages), she struggled to balance the demands of mid-century womanhood with her desire to produce serious literary works. Natalie is one manifestation of this tension.
“Her body of work constitutes nothing less than the secret history of American women of her era,” writes biographer Ruth Franklin in Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life. “The stories she tells form a powerful counternarrative to the ‘feminine mystique,’ revealing the unhappiness and instability beneath the housewife’s sleek veneer of competence.” (In fact, Natalie Waite’s unravelling predated Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique by a dozen years.) Seventy years after its initial publication, Hangsaman’s prescience makes it worth revisiting. It also provides a sketchy roadmap of where Jackson would head later — the unsettling, female-cantered psychological novels that were her late masterpieces.
snip
Ruth Franklin: Shirley Jackson and the Madness of Mid-Century Womanhood
Jackson’s biographer on the author’s fragmented female characters — and her critical renaissancehttps://www.guernicamag.com/ruth-franklin-the-madness-of-mid-century-womanhood/
Hangsaman, Shirley Jackson’s murky and disquieting 1951 novel, is a frantic read. It careens down unlit dormitory corridors and bounds around the psyche of its seventeen-year-old protagonist, Natalie Waite, as she arrives at college and plummets into psychological collapse. “Suppose, actually, she were not Natalie Waite, college girl, daughter to Arnold Waite, a creature of deep lovely destiny,” Natalie wonders, her mental splintering already underway, “suppose she were someone else?” Soon, she develops an intimate friendship with a girl in her dorm named Tony — who, it turns out, Natalie has invented.
Jackson’s novel is hazy, filtered as it is through Natalie, and uneven in places. Tony slips in slowly, like toxic gas, only to disappear abruptly, leaving questions about Natalie’s mental state unanswered. But about the gendered nature of Natalie’s unravelling, Hangsaman is unambiguous: Natalie is at least partially undone by a sexual assault that occurs early in the novel, at her childhood home; more broadly, she is the product of an upper-middle-class 1950s America that does not care about resolving or supporting her personhood. The other women in her world include a faculty wife who, feeling her selfhood subsumed by her marriage, lives in alcoholic misery, and Natalie’s own mother, who throws elaborate garden parties in the suburbs and divulges, “it isn’t any single thing…it’s just that…this is the only life I’ve got…this is all.”
Hangsaman is, in this respect, an early effort at what would become a career endeavour for Jackson: to explore the fragmentary internal landscape of her generation of women, often through themes of madness, fracturing, and disorientation. Jackson herself was a mother of four, and married to literary critic Stanley Hyman; while her love for her children and her Bennington home life permeates her writing (including in the autobiographical Life Among the Savages), she struggled to balance the demands of mid-century womanhood with her desire to produce serious literary works. Natalie is one manifestation of this tension.
“Her body of work constitutes nothing less than the secret history of American women of her era,” writes biographer Ruth Franklin in Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life. “The stories she tells form a powerful counternarrative to the ‘feminine mystique,’ revealing the unhappiness and instability beneath the housewife’s sleek veneer of competence.” (In fact, Natalie Waite’s unravelling predated Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique by a dozen years.) Seventy years after its initial publication, Hangsaman’s prescience makes it worth revisiting. It also provides a sketchy roadmap of where Jackson would head later — the unsettling, female-cantered psychological novels that were her late masterpieces.
snip
Profile Information
Gender: FemaleHometown: London
Home country: US/UK/Sweden
Current location: Stockholm, Sweden
Member since: Sun Jul 1, 2018, 07:25 PM
Number of posts: 43,358