The Oblivion Seeker - Isabelle Eberhardt

 

Civilization, that great fraud of our times, has promised man that by complicating his existence it would multiply his pleasures. ... Civilization has promised man freedom, at the cost of giving up everything dear to him, which it arrogantly treated as lies and fantasies. ... Hour by hour needs increase and are nearly always unsatisfied, peopling the earth with discontented rebels. The superfluous has become a necessity and luxuries indispensable. - Isabelle Eberhardt

Actress Juliet Stevenson retraces the journeys of turn-of-the-century traveler and writer Isabelle Eberhardt. BBC, 1994.

Isabelle Wilhelmine Marie Eberhardt (17 February 1877 – 21 October 1904) was a Swiss explorer and author. As a teenager, Eberhardt, educated in Switzerland by her father, published short stories under a male pseudonym. She became interested in North Africa, and was considered a proficient writer on the subject despite learning about the region only through correspondence. After an invitation from photographer Louis David, Eberhardt moved to Algeria in May 1897. She dressed as a man and converted to Islam, eventually adopting the name Si Mahmoud Saadi. Eberhardt's unorthodox behaviour made her an outcast among European settlers in Algeria and the French administration.

Eberhardt's acceptance by the Qadiriyya, an Islamic order, convinced the French administration that she was a spy or an agitator. She survived an assassination attempt shortly thereafter. In 1901, the French administration ordered her to leave Algeria, but she was allowed to return the following year after marrying her partner, the Algerian soldier Slimane Ehnni. Following her return, Eberhardt wrote for a newspaper published by Victor Barrucand and worked for General Hubert Lyautey. In 1904, at the age of 27, she was killed by a flash flood in Aïn Séfra.

Isabelle was a journalist and war correspondent. Her disguise helped her to penetrate the peoples of the Sahara to get to know their customs. In Aïn Sefra she met Lyautey, a general charged with the task of reestablishing order on the border between Algeria and Morocco. With him, Isabelle was able to enter the camps and observe the conflicts first-hand. Not only did she disguise herself as a man, she also observed military discipline and was treated the same way as the other soldiers. In 1904 Isabelle she met up with her husband in Aïn Sefra and in a flash flood their clay house collapsed on top of them. “I know that this way of life is dangerous, but the moment of danger is also the moment of hope,” she wrote. She published many articles during her lifetime, and after her death her diaries and fiction were published.

Yasmina et Autres Nouvelles by Isabelle Eberhardt translated by Ahcene Douas

Isabelle Eberhardt: Portrait of the Artist as a Young Nomad by HEDI ABDEL-JAOUAD

Feminize Your Canon: Isabelle Eberhardt at The Paris Review

The Genius of Beethoven (BBC)

A powerful, moving and accurate docudrama based on the life of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827). Paul Rhys's masterful portrayal of Beethoven is particularly noteworthy, doing well to vividly convey the isolation and despair Beethoven experienced throughout his life, while insightful narration from the popular conductor, composer and presenter Charles Hazlewood does well to add a sophisticated educational dimension to the series.

Our attraction to Beethoven is an attraction to a flawed, and therefore human artist. He failed at almost everything, but never gave up on music, or his ideals. His life was a disaster on so many levels: his rages, alcoholism and unhinged violence, his health, political vision, family, relationships, economically and as a public figure, were all disasters. But the music he produced was on another plane all together. For this we continue the cult of his personality, and we just listen to the music because it is an ethereal temple to the emotions, accessible to all humanity....just beyond brilliant.

Part Two

Part Three

The rainforest hermit who stepped out of the wild | Australian Story

Beetles, worms and lizards — Gregory Smith ate just about anything to stay alive in the forest. From a homeless hermit to a university lecturer, he's proven you can overcome anything in your search for a safe place. He shares his story with ABC’s Australian Story.

ONE OF the country's "Forgotten Australians" has graduated as a Doctor of Philosophy in Lismore, after surviving institutional child abuse in the sixties and a decade of homelessness.

Dr Gregory Smith, who has testified for the ongoing Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, spent 10 years as a hermit in the bush before realising the benefits of a decent education.

"I didn't understand the dream when I was a boy, I was too busy surviving," he said in his gown and mortarboard as he held his newly awarded doctorate degree outside the Whitebrook Theatre at the Southern Cross University in Lismore.

The Clash - BBC Documentary

A long time ago there were Pirates...

Salvador Dali and Disney Destino (1945) with Pink Floyd's Time (1973)

Destino is an animated short film released in 2003 by Walt Disney Feature Animation1. Destino is unique in that its production originally began in 1945, 58 years before its eventual completion in 2003. The project was originally a collaboration between Walt Disney and Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dalí, and features music written by Mexican songwriter Armando Domínguez and performed by Mexican singer Dora Luz. It was included in the Animation Show of Shows in 2003.

"Time" is a song by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd. It is included as the fourth track on The Dark Side of the Moon (1973) and was released as a single in the United States. Bassist Roger Waters wrote the lyrics and the music is credited to all four band members. Keyboardist Richard Wright shares lead vocals (his last until "Wearing the Inside Out" on The Division Bell) alongside guitarist David Gilmour.

Revolution - the documentary (2012)

Revolution is a 2012 documentary film by Rob Stewart. It follows the filmmaker as he follows up on his earlier film, Sharkwater, and examines both looming environmental collapse and what people, especially young people, are doing to avert it.

Lost in Space - The Time Merchant (1968)

Lost in Space was a American television series that ran between 1956 and 1968. It is loosely based on the 1812 novel The Swiss Family Robinson, and on a comic book published by Gold Key Comics titled The Space Family Robinson. The series follows the adventures of the Robinsons, a pioneering family of space colonists who struggle to survive in the depths of space. The show ran for 83 episodes over three seasons, the first of which was filmed in black and white.The journey for the Robinson family began on October 16, 1997 when their ship, the Jupiter 2 lifted off.

The Time Merchant episode first aired on January 17, 1968. It is interesting for a few reasons. The concept of magnetic tape holding information is exploited in the plot of the episode. The time a person has in their life is kept on magnetic tape. These are the property of the time merchant of the title. Secondly, The subtext of family over business, love over capital is strong within the narrative. Finally, there is a strong reference to Salvador Dali's painting The Persistence of Memory (1931) in the visual presentation:

Early computing is frequently invoked in Lost in Space. Interestingly the computer on the Jupiter was a non-working Burroughs B205 computer.The Time Merchant also has the added dimension of frequent visual references to Surrealism. Reflective surfaces, a collapsing time continuums and the bizarre character of the time merchant himself make this episode one of the most psychedelic in the entire Lost in Space story. With lots of purple in the set.

The Psychedelic Computer keeping time in check.

Native People and the Environment

Mike Wilken-Robertson, Founder and Director Native Cultures Institute of Baja California (CUNA) explores the native people of Baja California and their use of natural materials.

The Wrong Empire

Simon Schama traces the steps of the empire-makers to tell the extraordinary story of how a small set of islands off the coast of Europe came to rule an empire that stretched around the globe.

Cultures Of Resistance (2010)

Does each gesture really make a difference?
Can music and dance be weapons of peace?

 In 2003, on the eve of the Iraq war, director Iara Lee embarked on a journey to better understand a world increasingly embroiled in conflict and, as she saw it, heading for self-destruction. After several years, travelling over five continents, Iara encountered growing numbers of people who committed their lives to promoting change. This is their story.

Featuring: Medellín poets for peace, Capoeira masters from Brazil, Niger Delta militants, Iranian graffiti artists, women movement leaders in Rwanda, Lebanons refugee filmmakers, U.S. political pranksters, indigenous Kayapó activists from the Xingu River, Israeli dissidents, hip-hop artists from Palestine, and many more...