Analysis : The Belly Of Paris

In late 19th century Paris, cafés-concerts (best described as “glorified beer halls” (Clark 206)) were a very popular destination for the people of Paris. Cafés-concerts became an integral part of Parisian social life, as they were visited by hundreds of people each night, regardless of class. A bar at the Folies Bergère became the topic of Edouard Manet’s last painting, as Manet tried to portray the new, “modern” Paris, and the introduction of mass production during this time. A Marxist art historian, T.J. Clark finds this particular painting important because it revealed a lot about the new, modern Paris, and Manet’s intentions with the painting. Clark focuses more on the emergence of the new social class during this time, and how this affected the role of women in Paris. The painting, A bar at Folies Bergère, has historical significance because of how it depicts modernity in the context of the emergence of a new social class (the petite bourgeoisie), the introduction of mass production, and the changing role of women.

Beginning in the mid-1980’s, a number of efforts were initiated to bring awareness and enlightenment to the actual tragedy of AIDS. Two films that evolved out of these awareness campaigns were the documentaries “Paris Is Burning” and “How to Survive a Plague” . Both films, although in significantly diverse ways, provide a window into the alternative lifestyles of LGBT people of the times and the problems and issues they faced. A comparison of these two documentaries demonstrates the initial fears of the public and affected people and the beginnings of acceptance or at least tolerance of these alternative lifestyles.

Two examples that I find especially thought provoking are the Danziger studio and the Goldwyn Library. Built to blend into the local surroundings, the luxury residence was given a humble, rough exterior. Davis' explains that the rough exterior of the architecture reflects the underlying social phenomenon of "repression, surveillance and exclusion"(Davis, 224) that collectively forms the "fragmented, paranoid spatiality"(Davis, 229 ) that LA embodies. Moreover, The house's "camouflage"(Davis, 229 ) exterior creates a stark contrast to its luxurious interior, which places further emphasis on the exclusion and barrier between the "opulent"(Davis, 256) interior and the "rough"(Davis, 224 ) environment. I find Davis' assessment of the Daziger studio particularly agreeable and accurate as I truly believe that an architecture, its purpose and characteristic, sheds light to not only its physical environment but also its social environment, something that might not necessarily be as apparent. On the other hand, I find Davis' assessment of the Goldwyn library rather exaggerated. Judging from photos taken, the fifteen foot security wall is not as grotesque and 'fear-imposing' as Davis puts it. Davis described the library as "baroquely fortified...menacing...bizarre"(Davis, 246) and "paranoid"(Davis, 251). Although security and 'vandal-proof'' maybe, as Davis suggested, the initial goal of the design, I do not believe that it is as exaggerated as Davis

We recently watched the film Paris is Burning, a documentary about black drag queens in Harlem and their culture surrounding balls. Directly related we also read two feminist critiques, Gender is Burning: Questions of Appropriation and Subversion by Judith Butler and Is Paris Burning by bell hooks. Two areas of critique I focus on and question are the critiques regarding the filmmaker, audience and drag queens and how they participate to reinforce a heterosexual racist patriarchy. Furthermore I ask if this line of investigation is the most beneficial way to view and understand the film and its various participants.

Paris 1919 the six months that changed the world, is a novel written by Margaret McMillan that gives the reader an insight into the post war peace conferences that took place in Paris, France. The book is written so that McMillian is giving the reader the details and the reader must follow along with her. McMillan makes it a habit to often pull from sources and provide direct quotes that were spoken during the conference. The book’s main subject is of the peace conferences but it also tells of events that occurred before and after the war. Mcmillan is not stranger to writing as she has written many other historical novels and is highly decorated with awards presented to her for her writings. She serves as a historian as well a professor at

Paris is Burning is a film directed by Jennie Livingston, and Livingston attempts to introduce/popularize the drag & ball culture to the world. In her documentary, she explores underground drag queen bars where individuals go to escape the world and cross-dress down a runway, where they are facing no judgment and receive a round of applause for their courage/act/costume. In Bell Hooks’ commentary on this documentary, she dives into the idea that being transgender is “always constructed in the patriarchal mindset as a loss” (Hooks 146). I think that Bell Hooks is undermining the mindset of the “patriarchal” point of view. The year is currently 2017, and the rights that the LBGTQ community has earned/achieved in the last hundred years is an accomplishment that I feel people like Books neglect.

Between the end of the First World War and Hitler's seizure of power a cultural explosion occurred in Paris that altered our notions of art and reality and shaped our way of viewing the world ever since. In the 1920's, Paris became the undisputed international capital of pleasure and was regarded as the cultural and artistic center of Europe with a reputation for staging one of its most glamorous eras, as well as some of the most spectacular revues in the world. Imagine for a moment, that it really is 1920's Paris. You are leisurely strolling through the gas lit promenades. World War I is over and the exuberance of jazz musicians, symbolist painters, and American expatriates

In the modern Paris, society is divided into different classes of people, different jobs, and different features of modern life. The Belly of Paris, written by, Émile Zola is about a man named Florent who was wrongly put in prison from Louis-Napoleon’s coup-d’etat. He escapes from prison and returns from the countryside to find an unrecognizable Paris. The Belly of Paris describes the class differences in the 1870s - there is the bourgeoisie, which is defined as the middle class, typically with reference to its perceived materialistic values or conventional attitudes; the capitalist class who own most of society's wealth and means of production contrasted with the lower working class. By portraying and describing characters as the food

The depiction of Barcelona given in Temma Kaplan’s Red City, Blue Period: Social Movements in Picasso’s Barcelona is similar to today’s Barcelona, but Barcelona does look physically different than it did because of all the new architecture and culture that has emerged. Kaplan described the scene of the Rambla as an “oasis of plane trees within the tumult of the industrial city [that] was often crowded with people strolling” (Kaplan 2). This could not be more similar to what it is today. I witnessed people strolling down the Rambla, and I thought the Rambla served as an organic contrast to the bustling, concrete city. However, it is no longer so much of a place where people go to be “shielded from the pollution…of the factories” (Kaplan 2), but it has become more a tourist zone, from what I have experienced. Tourists are everywhere, and local ‘salesmen’ and ‘saleswomen’ try to capture your attention by wielding cheap souvenirs.

exhibition of his longing for the familiarity of Paris and the sanctity of his past, a

In Charles Rearick’s book, Paris Dreams, Paris Memories, he describes the various ways in which Paris is “represented” through various images he identifies as the City of Light, Old Paris, the Capital of Pleasures, and Paname. Rearick further writes how and why these images of Paris came of importance and how they shaped the geographical layout of the city we know today. All of these images together have likewise produced the city of Paris while also providing the framework of Parisian events and experiences.

Just imagine you are standing 300 meters that is 984 ft above the ground, looking down at the beautiful city of Paris. The wind is blowing at your face and it is messing up your hair, but you do not care. You are on the top of the highest building in the center of culture, the magnificent Paris and that is all that matters. Yes, you are standing on top of Eiffel Tower. This is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about Paris, the tall, lean tower. But have you ever wonder what would a symbol of Paris be if Eiffel Tower were never built? When you think about Eiffel Tower you seem to automatically associate it with Paris but that was not always the case.

Paris today is known as a center of arts and rich culture both acclaimed and original. Famous moments pop up through the history of France’s art, such as the impressionistic artworks by Monet, the École des Beaux-Arts teachings of classicism, and the iconic Eiffel Tower by Stephen Sauvestre. Paris augments itself with numerous museums to catalog countless masterpieces and sculptures throughout France’s enduring, yet sometimes gritty, history. As a whole, Paris comprises of a mixture between historic architectural themes like rusticated brick clad, mansard roofs, striated columns, and a modern day architectural themes like engineered metalwork, and external program support machinery. The notion of classic French architecture, juxtaposed

Charles Dickens wrote A Tale of Two Cities in order to enlighten the average Briton about the events of the French Revolution. The novel compares and contrasts cities of London and Paris, which represent French and British society, through the eyes of Dickens’ human characters. The two cities play such a large part in the novel that they become characters themselves, and the contrasting societies of the two cities become a conflict. In Charles Dickens’ classic, A Tale of Two Cities, the individualistic society of London champions the first feudalistic and later socialistic society of Paris.

Paris is like no other place on earth, its beauty is indescribable, the amount of famous structures is astounding, and is attraction draws many tourists there every year. My experience touring Paris will always be on of my favorite memories. Everywhere I looked, it was as if I was in a dream. There was so much elegance in such simple structures it seemed unrealistic. Wherever I went, it seemed as if the magnificence only grew with each passing step.