#a statue of a prince is gradually removed of all his jewels to feed the townspeople

[themidnightcircusshow]

Richard's portrait used to be in the dining room, a grand display of his wealth and power. When Henry took the house from him, he made a declaration that he would burn the painting and reject all that it stood for. Except before they could, he ended up stealing the painting away. Now it doesn't matter what he does, how strongly he acts: he knows he's too weak. The painting tells him every night. When he's a teenager, Hal grows his hair a little longer. From a distance, he even tricks himself into believing he's Richard. Up close, he can see every one of his mother's features, more clear than any picture of her in his memory. And the worst thing is that it's the only time Henry looks at Hal with something that resembles love. They've all had death hovering over them since the day they were born. Hal, so sick and feeble, meant to die a baby free from sin. But that day he chose to spite God and keep on breathing-- he's known nothing but sin since. Thomas, named after a murdered man, refuses to die smothered in his bed. He'd rather a hail of bullets than that. A hero's death is better than a martyr's (but it's a fool's death in the end). John, so silent that sometimes he doubts people remember he was born at all. He meets a girl one day claiming to be God's chosen-- he's terrified that she may be right. Humphrey, born when his father was at war, with no head for it himself. He doesn't need it. His brother's will keep him safe. Blanche tries to get out as soon as she can, but finds that the curse followed her, and can only hope her son (too small, growing on the few nutrients she could give) will live long enough to succeed his father. And Philippa, so brave and so wise, unable to ask the one question that her scares her the most: would her family have things the same again, her living and their mother dead, if given the choice? Hal doesn't know how to love, so he thinks he chooses not to love at all. Sex weighs on him, more than it does Thomas or Humphrey or even John. He likes to imagine he doesn't have a body at all, until he learns how pain traps and frees you from a body all at once. So he kisses Courtenay beneath an old willow tree, where three lovebirds had carved their initials only weeks before one was beaten to death by Hal's forefathers. It's funny how sin repeats. When Margaret moves in, she doesn't believe her husband's stories about his house being haunted. All orphans believe such stories. It's not until she's kneeling on the floor next to her husband who sees nothing and hears only what it isn't there, heavily pregnant with a baby she thought she would never have, that she begins to see the emaciated woman herself. The Witch of Lancaster-- one of many-- whispered promises in her ear and listened while Margaret spat curses she had never before dreamed herself capable of. Maybe, she thinks while cutting off a man's head, being a witch isn't such a bad thing. They say it's the Lancasters who damned themselves. And then that the Plantagenets are a cursed family. But even when the plaque on the front gate is turned to 'Tudor', the lady of the house knows better. She knows her little brothers are buried somewhere in the walls. She hopes they will take care of her son.

You make one joke and suddenly you can't stop thinking of a gothic retelling of the Lancasters

[bharatiyamedia-blog]

Netflix's First Unique Arabic Sequence Faces Backlash

http://tinyurl.com/y4uxly8p On a highschool journey to Jordan’s historic metropolis of Petra, a gaggle of youngsters sneak out at night time to drink beer, smoke weed and gossip round a bonfire. A woman asks her frisky boyfriend to take issues gradual. By international Netflix requirements, its first unique Arabic sequence Jinn hardly pushes the envelope. However when the present debuted final week, many Jordanians had been shocked and appalled by a program that had been billed as some extent of nationwide delight. Some Twitter customers blasted the sequence as pornographic. Authorities ministers vowed to censor it. Jordan’s grand mufti denounced it as “an ethical degradation.” Lawmakers known as an emergency session. The lawyer common demanded the cyber-crimes unit “take speedy, needed motion” to tug it from Netflix. Whereas the federal government has not made good on its threats, the outrage nonetheless has shaken Jordan’s self-image as a bastion of tolerance in a turbulent area. It displays a cultural hole between the status of the nation’s Western-allied ruling elite and conservative Muslim public, lots of whom contemplate it “haram”—forbidden—to drink alcohol, smoke marijuana, and even kiss earlier than marriage, and look to tv to ship morality. “Jordan likes to consider itself as miles forward of different Arab nations,” mentioned Jordanian media analyst Saed Hattar. “However the actuality is, though social media is flooding millennials with extra fashionable content material, our conventional values and morals haven’t modified.” The five-episode thriller facilities on a non-public college within the capital of Amman, a bubble of liberalism and privilege within the nation. College buses cart the youngsters off to a wide-open desert haunted by historic demons that make unusual and terrifying issues occur. Previous to the discharge, the web was buzzing with delight within the first Netflix unique from the Center East. Directed by Lebanese filmmaker Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya and regionally produced by Elan and Rajeev Dassani, the sequence, that includes an all-Jordanian solid and backdrop, sought to painting Arab youth exterior Hollywood stereotypes and shine a long-awaited highlight on Jordan’s nascent TV business. In a Netflix assertion, Bassel Ghandour of Jordan’s first Oscar-nominated movie Theeb, hailed the sequence as a “actual turning level” for Jordanian illustration. Leisure bloggers praised Jinn as an antidote to the grim information from the unstable area. Jordan rolled out the pink carpet for the sequence premiere at an upscale Amman golf course flocked by paparazzi. The present appeared in keeping with the liberal, tolerant picture that the Western-educated King Abdullah II and his glamorous spouse Queen Rania have promoted for Jordan despite the nation’s widespread poverty, largely tribal society and authoritarian laws. Because the U.S.’s closest Arab ally, Jordan is likely one of the largest recipients of American assist. However the royal household’s cosmopolitan status doesn’t completely mirror Jordanian society. Nearly instantly following its debut, excerpts from the pilot episode spurred scathing posts on social media. Complaints had been varied. For starters, the actors curse in Jordanian dialect. “It will encourage youngsters to make use of indecent language within the streets, with their households,” mentioned Laith al-Tantawi, a 31-year-old Amman resident. Of all locations, these transgressions happen within the historic web site of Petra, the nation’s crown jewel of tourism. However what appeared to hassle viewers most was the kiss. “I’ll by no means permit my youngsters to look at it. That is not possible,” mentioned Khetam al-Kiswani, 42, a mom from Amman. “It contradicts our morals, society and our faith, it contradicts every little thing.” Hattar, the media analyst, mentioned that whereas way more scandalous American exhibits flood the nation’s screens, he had by no means earlier than seen Jordanian actors kiss on TV. “A lot of the nation lives in camps and rural areas and follows the orders of patriarchal society. They don’t condone such public shows, even when these items occur privately,” he mentioned. Jordan’s Royal Movie Fee, which had granted Jinn producers approval to shoot, sidestepped accountability, saying in an announcement that it neither “condones or approves or encourages the content material of a movie or sequence.” It tried to minimize the controversy as the end result of “divergent opinions that mirror the range of Jordanian society.” The Tourism Ministry, which had preemptively welcomed the present as a promo for Petra, additionally tried to deflect blame, berating its “lewd scenes” as “a contradiction of nationwide ideas… and Islamic values.” Jinn’s progressive defenders dove into the net fight. In an op-ed, journalist Daoud Kuttab argued that as a result of a mere 1% of Jordan subscribes to Netflix, “to say that it corrupts society is an exaggeration.” Jordanian TV critic Maia Malas wrote that the present’s brazen exploration of younger love defies Jordan’s lengthy legacy of self-censorship. In response to a request for remark, Netflix mentioned the sequence “seeks to painting the problems younger Arabs face as they arrive of age, together with love, bullying, and extra.” It added: “We perceive that some viewers might discover it provocative however we consider it would resonate with teenagers throughout the Center East and world wide.” To date, assaults on Jinn have been rhetorical. Though Jordan’s lawyer common and data ministry threatened to dam native entry, it’s nonetheless unclear if and the way the federal government will take motion. “It’s extremely unlikely they’ll find yourself censoring it,” mentioned Hattar. “It’s a well-recognized technique. The loudest voices are calling for harsh punishment, and the federal government must seem like it’s responding.” Netflix mentioned content material removals are uncommon however that it complies with take-down requests from authorities. The streaming web site drew international condemnation earlier this 12 months when it obeyed Saudi Arabia’s order to tug an episode of its present Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj, which criticized the crown prince, from the dominion’s Netflix feed. Regardless of the firestorm, Netflix is accelerating its push to the area, saying that its second Center Jap unique, Al-Rawabi College for Women, would launch later this 12 months. Its Jordanian director, Tima Shomali, says the sequence, with its concentrate on the travails of younger Arab girls, strives to push cultural boundaries and spark conversations in her nation. Extra must-read tales from Fortune: —Past the lineup: Bonnaroo’s elevated campground experiences —Radiohead acquired hacked—and made the most of it —Unique: Quibi taps Mellody Hobson, Roger Lynch for board of administrators —Salesforce’s Tableau buy made a Toy Story Oscar winner a billionaire —Hearken to our new audio briefing, Fortune 500 Daily Follow Fortune on Flipboard to remain up-to-date on the newest information and evaluation.   Source link