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English
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Influenced and educated by her parents, Frankenstein’s author, Mary Shelley, grew up in a world of radical artists and writers. Her immortal novel explores various themes of early-19th-century Romanticism. This clip looks at Mary Shelley’s background and major influences on her thinking and writing, giving students of English literature a broader understanding of the nature and significance of this notable work.
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Español
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Sifting through questions surrounding oppression and terrorism, Spanish essayist and philosopher Fernando Savater has often analyzed religious dogma-studying those who promote it and those who oppose it. This program documents Savater's views on the social and intellectual wellsprings of terrorism and militant fundamentalism, as well as the eternal conflict between science and religion. The author of Ethics for Amador and The Task of the Hero examines...
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Español
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The Era of Revolution severed political ties between Latin America and the Old World-but cultural independence was another matter. This program explains how the region's literature began to come into its own, relying on models and themes imported from Spain while establishing a dialogue with other literary traditions and aesthetic movements. Through the work of Jose Joaquin Fernandez de Lizardi, Esteban Echeverria, Bartolome Hidalgo, Mariano Melga,...
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English
Description
The stories of R. K. Narayan embody the indescribable charm of learning about a new country by living among the locals. In this interview, Narayan introduces Malgudi, the fictional setting for his novels. Amid images of Mysore-his beloved hometown and model for Malgudi-he shares the details of his life, his approach to writing, and his friendship with Graham Greene. Readings by actor Madhav Sharma underscore the way in which humor is artfully mingled...
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Unified by the Portuguese language, the literature of Brazil represents the cultural synthesis of three distinct influences: indigenous peoples, European emigres, and Africans brought to the New World as slaves. This program reflects on those influences as it examines the first five centuries of recorded Brazilian writing. With an overview of ancient folklore and verse, the program highlights connections between Brazilian and Baroque traditions; it...
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Español
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In the first decades of the 20th century, Brazilian avant-garde literature came into its own. This program examines the awakening of Modernismo and subsequent movements in Brazilian letters, from Sao Paulo's Week of Modern Art in 1922 to the politically focused milieu of the 1970s. Outlining historical events that helped shape the country's multifaceted culture, the program explores the writings of Graciliano Ramos, Jose Lins do Rego, Augusto Meyer,...
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Español
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To the European imagination, America was a tabula rasa, a virgin territory. As this program describes, narrative art forms were essential to making sense of this exotic Eden and the possibilities it offered. New Spain became a place for re-creating myths and legends of the Western literary canon, for transforming poetry, prose, and epic literature. The diaries of Columbus, Bartolome de las Casas' History of the Indies, Bernal Diaz' True History of...
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English
Description
This special production of the play was produced to celebrate the Stratford Shakespeare Festival’s 40th anniversary. Director Richard Monette has set the play in the time of Mussolini, giving added pathos to the senseless hatred between the Montagues and the Capulets. Megan Porter Follows, known worldwide for her starring role in Anne of Green Gables, gives a stellar performance as Juliet. The production is produced and directed by Emmy Award-winner...
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Español
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When Spain's army mutinied against the Second Republic in 1936, it marked the beginning of a bitter civil war that lasted three years and cost one million Spanish lives. In this program, respected authorities elaborate on the writings and personalities of those who captured this devastating period in poetry and prose. Dramatic readings include excerpts from Rafael Alberti's "Romancero General de la Guerra," Antonio Machado's "Muerte de un Niño Herido,"...
11) Othello
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English
Description
Ian McKellen gives an awe-inspiring portrayal of Iago in this unique production of Shakespeare's Othello. McKellen, opera singer Willard White in the title role, and the rest of the cast have all been cited for their sterling performances. Based on the Royal Shakespeare Company's stage performance in Stratford, the film was presented by the BBC. The quality of this production reveals why director Trevor Nunn, the theatre phenomenon whose resume includes...
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Español
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The protagonist of Don Quixote finds that he has "survived" for centuries after being created by Miguel de Cervantes, and now wants to learn about his origins-how, where, and why his character came into being. In this film Don Quixote and his loyal squire travel throughout Andalusia searching for information about the life of Cervantes, and the personal and historical events that may have influenced his work. Commentary from biographers and historians...
13) Carlos Fuentes
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English
Description
Carlos Fuentes, the celebrated writer from Mexico, has created a role for himself as interpreter of North and South America, explaining each to the other, looking at their conflicts from both sides of the border. Raised in Washington, D.C., where his father was a Mexican diplomat, he is a man of and between two worlds, both a foreign visitor to the U.S. and a native son. In this program with Bill Moyers, Fuentes offers his views on the economic and...
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English
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Mexico City and Washington, D.C., are the backdrops for this portrait of this major figure on the contemporary Latin American and world literary scenes. Fuentes talks about the influence of Latin American writers on his writing, notably Sor Juana, Ruben Dario, and Pablo Neruda, and of his own experiences growing up in the United States and teaching here. He evaluates his own major works and their place in Latin American literary history.
15) Narratives
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English
Description
Bet you thought you’d never find these words in the same sentence: sharks, tuxedoes, and poetry. In this rapid-fire look at narrative poetry, you will. Thankfully, it’s also highly educational! Learn about the ancient origins of narrative poetry, typical elements, and popular forms like ballads, idylls, and epics. Beloved classics including Beowulf, The Man from Snowy River, and Paradise Lost are discussed.
16) Emily Dickinson
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English
Description
The American poet Emily Dickinson decided against publishing her poems, and during her lifetime only seven of her works were ever published. During the Civil War she wrote over 800 poems. At her death she left behind over 2000 poems.
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Español
Description
The literature of Latin America has always defied homogeneity-and the first decades of the 20th century were no exception. This program studies artistic responses to Modernismo that accompanied a deepening appreciation of local cultural currents forming across the region-currents that, however disparate, were flowing into a shared identity. The forces that paved the way for a new avant-garde, replacing traditional means of discourse with a fractured...
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Español
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The history and social structures of Latin America's native peoples were neither simple nor peaceful before the arrival of Europeans. Wars were fought, empires were created and destroyed, and-as this program illustrates-narrative tapestries of fact and fiction were woven in the process. Underscoring the linguistic sophistication that flourished for thousands of years in the region, the program addresses the proliferation of Nahuatl and Quechua literature,...
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Español
Description
The mid-20th century was an era of large-scale and often tragically violent political shifts which completely changed the face of Latin American life-and art. As this program demonstrates, the rise of military dictatorships and authoritarian regimes forced a reassessment of issues that had been problematic since Latin American countries gained their independence. These dilemmas brought intense pressure on social institutions and energized the works...
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Español
Description
By the 1960s, Latin America's avant-garde movements had matured into a range of literary styles that were firmly entrenched in the cultural landscape. At the same time, there emerged a new and distinctive accent to Latin American literature that was no less authentic than its forebears. This program surveys the artistic phenomenon, manifested most notably in magical realism, that came to be known as the Latin American Boom. Examining the role of journalism...