Monday 30 May, 2005

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 30.05.2005

The Allianz Arena, Munich's new soccer stadium designed by Swiss architects Herzog and de Meuron, officially opens its doors today. Under construction since 2003, the stadium looks like an inflated dinghy and is lit up by striking colours at night. Niklas Maak finds that unlike the city's old Olympic Stadium it is "no revolution in sports architecture", but he is otherwise impressed. "The visual-effects facade is for the 21st century what the lederhose was for the past: a memorable image of 'Bavarian-ness' and 'Munichification'."
Click here for Hanno Rauterberg's poetic description of the stadium, in "In Today's Feuilletons" of 21 April.


Die Welt, 30.05.2005

Some time ago "Metal Storm" conquered the Turkish book market. The best-seller is set in 2007, and tells of Turkish heroism in the face of US occupying troops in Iraq. The book was cheap and nationalistic. Esmahan Aykol fears this might establish itself as a new success formula. "The 304 pages of 'Metal Storm' cost approximately 3 euros. This is the same price of the new edition of 'Mein Kampf' which reached best-seller status as soon as it was published. And hot on the heels of 'Metal Storm' is the next bargain best-seller 'America belongs to us – the moustachioed hurricane'. Also written by a fast-lane duo, Erdogan Ekmekci und Adem Özyol's book plays to nationalists of all stripes. Because this time the Turks conquer the USA. With extraterrestrial intervention a Turkish 'idealist' and supporter of the nationalist movement devises a machine which makes child's play of conquest. The White House is painted to look like the Turkish flag, and the Oval Office is overrun by oriental revelries, Madonna practises belly dancing and the Statue of Liberty is given a moustache."


Saturday 28 May, 2005

Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 28.05.2005

Slovakian writer Irena Brezna tells an engaging story of a trip through Eastern Europe, and how she got a lesson in dealing with the unexpected: "Once we'd crossed the Austrian-Slovakian border, the crumbling houses of Bratislava started to appear. The roadside ditches were full of garbage, bearing witness to the life of the local inhabitants like archaeological finds. From this point on my Western rational superstructure started to cringe. Here the 'Freudian act' is everywhere. Rifts and cracks make a mockery of the facades of the superego, and through them the eternal, uninhibited id breaks forth, forcing its way into the consciousness. The West in me wants to wall it all up, repair it, plaster it over with gloss, to repress the imperfect and keep it at bay."

Today's excellent arts section also has a Focus on China. Urs Schoettli wanders across Beijing's Tienanmen Square, detecting no sign that the pompous buildings overly impress the sightseers: "At least in the everyday tumult, the masses of visitors from all over the Middle Kingdom show no particular patriotic emotion in the presence of the imposing testimonials of state power. On their tours through the Great Hall of the People or the Imperial Palace, the groups make more noise and behave less respectfully than visitors in the Federal Assembly Building in Switzerland, for example."

Michael Ostheimer meets Chinese students, summing up their lifestyle with the words: "The walls of my campus are the boundaries of my world." The reason: "As a rule, China's young academics are insensitive to the charms of urban life, and not just for lack of money. Every now and then they stroll through a shopping centre. They celebrate special occasions like birthdays or passed exams by going to a restaurant or karaoke bar. But seldom do they see the inside of a museum or theatre, to say nothing of bars and discos."


Süddeutsche Zeitung, 28.05.2005

Fritz Göttler reports on the growing advantages of Europe as a film production location in the face of international competition. "The competition between European studios has become huge, and the film world is closing ranks. The flight from Hollywood has long been a cause for concern in the US, the costs there are too high, the unions too inflexible – all criticisms we constantly hear about Germany as a business location. But European cinema is becoming more proactive, more globally oriented – it's no longer possible to have a bird's eye view of all the international co-productions."

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (born 1925), Germany's greatest baritone and the most recorded singer of all time, ended his 45-year career in 1993. He now talks to the Süddeutsche Zeitung about his career. "Young people often have no idea about presence or charisma in a singer. It's something you either have or you don't. There's no one that that can teach them that."