When authors are permitted to ask themselves a question and then also provide the answer, this is often more revealing than a long autobiography. Tobias Wenzel and Carolin Seeliger invited 77 writers to talk to themselves and recorded these soliloquies....
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Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 21.03.2006
In France, May seems to have come early this year. Jürg Altwegg reports from a country in a state of revolutionary fever, where the youth has taken over the position of the protesting proletariat. "The conservative revolt of youth has spread to almost the entire country. The dynamic is strong. Holidays, which could bring an end to this new class conflict between generations, are nowhere near. There is only one way out of this dead end: Chirac's stepping down. He should have taken this step after the 'no' to the European constitution. Like de Gaulle."
Die Tageszeitung, 21.03.2006
Heider Oestreich discusses Claudia Haarmann's book "Untenrum - Die Scham ist nicht vorbei" (Down there - the shame remains) and its take on female sexuality. "It is indeed strange that the true size of the clitoris was first discovered in 1998; a roughly 9 centimetre long spongy body which lies between the vagina and the urethra and is barely visible, as was reported in a very interesting thematic evening on Arte in January 2004. It was then, at the latest, that the whole debate over vaginal or clitoral orgasms was rendered irrelevant. And yet, it has been so little discussed that today, still, many authors are trying to explain why their orgasms don't conform to this binary scheme."
Die Welt, 21.03.2006
Thomas Kielinger reports that in Great Britain, following the publicity surrounding the horribly failed pharmaceutical experiment (six men are in intensive care, two of them in a coma), the number of volunteers for such experiments has increased dramatically! Many read in the reports that one can earn €3000 or more. Kielinger is impressed. "In France, the youth are taking to the streets in the name of 'securite', in England, they'll take money to experiment with uncertainty. Ah, Europe."
Süddeutsche Zeitung, 21.03.2006
The author Thomas Brussig waxes lyrical about the many "incredible scenes" in "Das Leben der Anderen", the debut film by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck about the GDR. Prizes have already rained down on him from Bavaria, he'll hopefully be pelted with more German prizes and maybe even snatch the Oscar for best foreign film. Brussig hopes it might inspire more filmmakers do take another look at the GDR. "Recent German history offers a minefield of material and entertainment cinema should make the most of it. That's what 'Das Leben des Anderen' does .. Cinema isn't just laughter and thigh slapping, it's about emotions, tears and tension. Which is what we get here."
Berliner Zeitung, 21.03.2006
Jens Balzer draws our attention to an historical pop event in Berlin which barely blipped on the radar screens here: the first concert given by the Japanese band Moi dix mois in Germany. "On Sunday a few hundred wonderfully uninhibited girls in ruche dresses and long black coats transformed Huxley's Club into a dangerously simmering nursery. It was the first time Germany caught a glimpse of one of the key Visual Kei groups and its legendary guitarist Mana. The style fits into the pop-music genre and originated in Japan but is increasingly popular amongst young Germans. It combines western gothic rock with eastern Manga aesthetic and cross-dressing with child-like lolita clothing."
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