Creative works reframe cultural ideals of character and status

by Ingrid Solheim About Ingrid SolheimOctober 16, 20266 links · ~54 min read · ~1 min for the TL;DR

Marginal Notes by Ingrid Solheim: six links on Culture every week.

TL;DR

Else Went’s new play brings empathy to troubled denizens of the manosphere.
Anne Carson’s body of work spans retellings of classical Greek tragedies and essays on sexual jealousy.
Cicero promoted an ideal of manly virtue in the Roman republic based on self-control and bravery rather than boastful domination.
Joshua Reynolds’ 1776 portrait depicted a Tahitian commoner as a nobleman, mirroring European assumptions about Pacific cultures.
Rosalyn Drexler’s multifaceted career as a painter, novelist, Emmy-winning writer, and professional wrestler is gaining renewed attention across New York.
Ian Rankin relocates his political crime fiction from Edinburgh to London to focus on the super-rich.

From the curator

Artistic and literary works frequently reframe conventional assumptions about status and character. Emily Nussbaum’s 6-minute read article for The New Yorker notes that Else Went’s new play approaches troubled denizens of the manosphere with empathy. Meanwhile, Saar Shahar’s 7-minute read article for The Conversation shows how Joshua Reynolds’ 1776 portrait depicted a Tahitian commoner as a nobleman to reflect European fantasies. Elsewhere, a 16-minute read article on aeon.co points out that Cicero opposed boastful domination in the Roman republic in favor of self-control and bravery. As the Guardian reports, novelist Ian Rankin shifts his setting from Edinburgh to London to examine the super-rich through political crime fiction. Across eras and media, writers and artists interrogate how societies assign prestige, authority, and virtue.

Ingrid Solheim

Curated for this issue

The New Yorker6 min read“Degenerates” Is Funny, Pervy, and Startling
Else Went’s new play dares to display some empathy for the troubled denizens of the manosphere.

Emily Nussbaum · curated 1 time

the Guardian4 min readWhere to start with: Anne Carson
From essays on sexual jealousy to retellings of classical Greek tragedies, here’s a guide to the Nobel prize winning writer’s catalogue of work

aeon.co16 min readThe politics of masculinity at the end of the Roman republic | Aeon Essays
Cicero’s ideal of manly virtue stressed the performance of self-control and bravery, not boastful egotism and domination

The Conversation7 min readAmericans can now see a famous portrait of the Pacific Islander who captivated 18th-century England for the first time
Joshua Reynolds’ 1776 ‘Portrait of Omai’ portrays a commoner from Tahiti as a nobleman, reflecting European fantasies and assumptions about Pacific cultures.

Saar Shahar · curated 1 time

The New Yorker12 min readThe Rosalyn Drexler Renaissance
Rosalyn Drexler was a novelist, a sculptor, a painter, a playwright, an Emmy-winning comedy writer, and a professional wrestler. Her work is taking off, again, across New York’s…

Leslie Camhi · curated 1 time

the Guardian7 min read‘The crime fiction I’m interested in is political’: Ian Rankin on his new novel about the super-rich
The bestselling writer talks about leaving Edinburgh for London in his latest mystery, and what the future holds for Rebus

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From the curator

The New Yorker6 min read“Degenerates” Is Funny, Pervy, and StartlingElse Went’s new play dares to display some empathy for the troubled denizens of the manosphere.

the Guardian4 min readWhere to start with: Anne CarsonFrom essays on sexual jealousy to retellings of classical Greek tragedies, here’s a guide to the Nobel prize winning writer’s catalogue of work

aeon.co16 min readThe politics of masculinity at the end of the Roman republic | Aeon EssaysCicero’s ideal of manly virtue stressed the performance of self-control and bravery, not boastful egotism and domination

The New Yorker12 min readThe Rosalyn Drexler RenaissanceRosalyn Drexler was a novelist, a sculptor, a painter, a playwright, an Emmy-winning comedy writer, and a professional wrestler. Her work is taking off, again, across New York’s…

the Guardian7 min read‘The crime fiction I’m interested in is political’: Ian Rankin on his new novel about the super-richThe bestselling writer talks about leaving Edinburgh for London in his latest mystery, and what the future holds for Rebus

The New Yorker6 min read“Degenerates” Is Funny, Pervy, and Startling
Else Went’s new play dares to display some empathy for the troubled denizens of the manosphere.

the Guardian4 min readWhere to start with: Anne Carson
From essays on sexual jealousy to retellings of classical Greek tragedies, here’s a guide to the Nobel prize winning writer’s catalogue of work

aeon.co16 min readThe politics of masculinity at the end of the Roman republic | Aeon Essays
Cicero’s ideal of manly virtue stressed the performance of self-control and bravery, not boastful egotism and domination

The New Yorker12 min readThe Rosalyn Drexler Renaissance
Rosalyn Drexler was a novelist, a sculptor, a painter, a playwright, an Emmy-winning comedy writer, and a professional wrestler. Her work is taking off, again, across New York’s…

the Guardian7 min read‘The crime fiction I’m interested in is political’: Ian Rankin on his new novel about the super-rich
The bestselling writer talks about leaving Edinburgh for London in his latest mystery, and what the future holds for Rebus