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Life Is Beautiful In The 'Cameraperson' Trailer, Which Introduces A Filmmaker's Globe-Trotting Diary

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Kristen Johnson has spent more than two decades behind cameras. As a documentary cinematographer, she has traveled to Darfur, Brooklyn, Afghanistan, Missouri, Texas, Nigeria and Bosnia, capturing life in its varied forms. Over the years, Johnson collected a number of intimate outtakes that now comprise “Cameraperson,” a new documentary that doubles as her life’s memoir. Candid footage from “Fahrenheit 9/11,” “Derrida,” “Darfur Now,” “The Invisible War” and “Citizenfour,” among others, shatters the fourth wall and closes the poetic gap between filmmaker and subject. 


After glowing reviews at Sundance and South by Southwest earlier this year, The Huffington Post is debuting the “Cameraperson” trailer exclusively. It is a two-minute snapshot of the globe’s flora and fauna, its birth and death -- all repurposed to probe standards of narrative and objectivity. The meta documentary opens in limited release on Sept. 9. 




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Bioluminescent Shrimp Are The Gorgeous Natural Wonders You've Been Waiting For

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No, you’re not dreaming and, yes, this glorious expanse of glowing lights is real.


Those lights are actually bioluminescent shrimp, better known as sea fireflies, or, in Japan, as “umibotaru.”



Visible every year from May until the end of October, they live in the sand around very shallow sea water and are often seen floating between the extremes of high and low tides. 



Photographers Trevor Williams and Jonathan Galione took this photo series of the critters, called “The Weeping Stones,” off the coast of Okayama, Japan. 




Williams and Galione caught the creatures using raw bacon and jars, and the pair positioned them accordingly for their series.



The animals were not harmed and returned back to the water shortly thereafter.


Entranced and want more? Check out Williams and Galione’s other series on their website and see more bioluminescence in action here.

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Amber Tamblyn Doesn't Agree With Body Shaming Donald Trump

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Amber Tamblyn may not be a Donald Trump supporter, but that doesn’t mean she thinks it’s OK to body shame the presidential candidate. 


On Sunday night, the actress and artist took to Facebook to share her thoughts on the naked statue of Trump ― complete with small penis and no testicles ― that popped up in New York (and four other American cities) last week. 


“Body shaming is never okay, even when it comes to trump,” she wrote in a note on the social networking site, alongside a photo of the statue covered with a sign that reads, “Shame me for my behavior not my body.”


“These statues aren’t art,” the actress added. “They are a lazy, unoriginal concept, stolen mind you, from Ilma Gore’s painting which already made this exact same point earlier this year. This is wholly unoriginal and uncreative.”





Plenty of Tamblyn’s followers weighed in on the subject by commenting on her post. Some agreed with the actress, while others felt that Trump deserved all the shaming he’s getting. To the latter notion, Tamblyn responded, “Ok so we should stoop to his level then?” 


The sculpture was created by anonymous street art collective Indecline, who previously told The Huffington Post, “We decided to depict Trump without his balls because we refuse to acknowledge that he is a man. He is a small arrogant child and thus, has nothing in the way of testicles.”


As Tamblyn pointed out in her status, the sculpture was not the first piece of art to depict Trump in the nude. Ilma Gore crafted an illustration of the real-estate-mogul-turned-politician, again with a small penis, and was later attacked for the drawing by a Trump supporter


Editor’s note: Donald Trump regularly incites political violence and is a serial liar, rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist and birther who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims — 1.6 billion members of an entire religion — from entering the U.S.

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Watch Helen Mirren Handle Herself Like A Boss In This Sexist 1975 Interview

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A recently unearthed interview proves Helen Mirren has been shutting down sexist BS for decades.


In a video clip from 1975 which was recently posted to Facebook, a 30-year-old Mirren takes on British talk show host Michael Parkinson. The interview began on an awkward note when Parkinson introduced Mirren as a “sex queen,” and it only got worse as 41-year-old Parkinson repeatedly asked her a slew of sexist questions. 


“You are in quotes a serious actress,” Parkinson said, to which Mirren flatly responded: “In quotes? What do you mean in quotes? How dare you.” 


At the time of the interview, Mirren was acting with the Royal Shakespeare Company and appeared on “Parkinson” to discuss her newest role as Lady Macbeth. The full interview ― which has become somewhat notorious for its overt sexism ― was posted to YouTube in 2008 and has received almost 3 million views


Parkinson unfortunately didn’t stop there, asking Mirren if she thought her “equipment” ― i.e. her body and breasts ― hinder her from becoming a successful and serious actress. 


Because serious actresses can’t have big bosoms, is that what you mean?” Mirren asked. “Well, I think that they might sort of detract from the performance,” Parkinson responded with a chuckle. 





Mirren’s retort to Parkinson’s nagging sexism was simply perfection:  



I can’t think that can necessarily be true. I mean what a crummy performance if people are obsessed with the size of your bosoms more than anything else. I would hope that the performance and the play and the living relationship between all the people on the stage and all the people in the audience overcome such boring questions. 



In a 2010 interview with BUST magazine, Mirren described Parkinson as “an extremely creepy interviewer” and said that she was “far more polite than I should have been” during their talk.


Mirren told The Daily Telegraph in 2011 that she was “so young and inexperienced” that she was surprised she held her own so well. 


“That’s the first talk show I’d ever done. I was terrified. I watched it and I actually thought, bloody hell! I did really well. I was so young and inexperienced. And he was such a fucking sexist old fart. He was,” she said. “He denies it to this day that it was sexist, but of course he was.”


In 2006, Mirren appeared on Parkinson’s show again and this time she called him out for his sexist line of questioning: “I thought you were a sexist person for mentioning my breasts, and also you wouldn’t actually say the word ‘breasts,’” Mirren said.


Preach, Helen. 


Watch the second half of the interview below. 




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Want To Remember Something? Easy, Just Draw It

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How many times do you have to scrawl “buy toilet paper” in your phone, on your notebook and/or body parts before you actually remember to get the job done? Next time, instead of using your words, you should probably just sketch an image of a Charmin Ultra Soft roll instead.


According to research by Jeffrey Wammes and his team at the University of Waterloo in Canada, drawing may be the most reliable way to enhance memory. And it doesn’t matter how good or truly horrendous your doodles look ― just the very act of sketching them out can help embed them right into your memory bank. Researchers dubbed their findings, published in The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, “the drawing effect.” 


Wammes was initially interested in finding out the most dependable way to remember information, so he enlisted the help of a group of students. He gave them each a list of 40 words that were easy to visualize, like “apple.” The students had 40 seconds to memorize the words. To do so, he told half the group to copy down each word over and over within the allotted time and the other half to use the time illustrating each word. 







Then, all students were made to perform a “filler task” to distract them from the previous exercise. Afterwards, they were asked without warning to recall as many of the 40 words as possible. Those who drew them remembered over twice as many as those who wrote them.


To hammer the results home, Wammes conducted a series of secondary experiments, inviting students to partake in similar memory-related tasks ― like looking at pictures of objects, creating mental images of objects, listing physical characteristics of objects, writing words with visual details. Those who drew pictures of the words still remembered more than those who participated in the secondary strategies. 


“We pitted drawing against a number of other known encoding strategies, but drawing always came out on top,” Wammes said in a statement. “We believe that the benefit arises because drawing helps to create a more cohesive memory trace that better integrates visual, motor and semantic information.”







As previously established in Fergus Craik and Robert Lockhart’s famed 1972 paper “Levels of Processing: A Framework for Memory Research” the more deeply we process information, the more easily we can remember it. The act of drawing is inherently complex. It involves our ability to visualize an image from a word, calling upon our previous understandings and interactions with that word, and then it uses our motor skills to bring the image to the page. The act of drawing, therefore, requires a thorough engagement with the subject matter at hand, even if the whole sketch goes down in 40 seconds or less. 


Thanks in part to Wammes’ research, we can affirm that drawing is not only a fun way to relieve stress and keep healthy, it can also help you memorize, reminisce and avoid having to go yet another day sans toilet paper. 


And, just to reiterate: The method works whether or not you are particularly gifted in the drawing department. Even if your drawings are barely legible to the outside world, to the inner workings of your memory, you’re basically Albrecht Dürer.


H/T The Telegraph

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Vibrant Photos Of 'Masculine' Men Around The World Defy Black Stereotypes

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“I contend that Blackness is not monolithic,” Shantrelle Lewis explained in an email exchange with The Huffington Post.


The New Orleans-born curator has traveled extensively throughout the African Diaspora, experiencing both the similarities and the differences in ways black people live life across the globe. And as much as black culture varies from one place to the next, so does the idea of black masculinity. Neither, Lewis says, are static.


“It’s very fluid and has always been so in traditional African communities,” she said. “It’s time that we as a society begin to delve into the nuances and various stories of Black identity that make for much more interesting, enlightening and possibility-creating storytelling.” 



With The Dandy Lion Project, Lewis hopes to do just that. The collection of photos by various emerging artists highlights the many ways young black men use fashion and personal appearance to explore identity in the 21st century. Featuring mostly men from the U.S., South Africa and Congo, the images project a different kind of black masculinity than the one perpetuated in mainstream culture, in profiles of hip-hop stars and news coverage of gang-related violence. 


“Like many others in my community and throughout the Diaspora, I was exasperated by the repetitive, oversaturated, manufactured image of Black masculinity,” Lewis continued. “An image created to maintain a grotesque and glorified culture of manhood and hyper-masculinity.”



So she sought out the photographers documenting young black men who use style to rebel against stereotypes, ushering in a new image of black masculinity far more varied and complex than mainstream audiences are used to. Donning wide-brimmed hats and peach suits, pocket squares and teal bow ties, the men featured in these photographs show that masculinity ― like femininity ― is more about individuality than conformity. 


The subjects in The Dandy Lion Project are predominantly young black men living in cities around the world (though Lewis has begun to include photographs of female dandies embracing masculinity, as well). They dress in exceptional styles reminiscent of European gentlemen, yet they infuse their looks with what Lewis deems an “African aesthetic and swagger.”



The term “dandy” dates back to the 18th century, used to describe a man who prioritizes personal appearance and style. Lewis defines the black dandy in particular as a manifestation of “the African trickster,” referencing a staple character of folklore capable of outsmarting his or her more powerful adversary, often with the use of a disguise. 


Throughout history, Lewis says, the African Diasporan dandy has exerted his or her individuality by manipulating an attire traditionally associated with white or upper-class culture. Dressing in three-piece suits and wing-tip shoes, these dandies are rebelling against the black stereotypes proliferated in mainstream media. “They perform identity,” Lewis said. “Most importantly, an integral part of this performed rebellion entails posing before a camera.” 



The Dandy Lion Project exists at a time when hashtags like #every28hours endeavor to raise awareness of police brutality and targeted violence in America. “When young Black people are profiled and harassed by police in urban centers throughout the Americas and Western Europe,” Lewis noted. “In the U.K., Black Brits are being told to come back to where they came from [...] African immigrants throughout Europe are met with disdain and problematic conditions as they seek asylum.”


Lewis hopes her project directly confronts the myth that young black men are “thugs,” combating the misrepresentation she’s witnessed in and outside of the U.S.



Like the subjects, Lewis points out, the photographers who contributed to The Dandy Lion Project ― including Sara Shamsavari, Harness Hamese, Hanif Abdur-Rahim, Daniele Tamagni, Laylah Amatullah Barrayn ― span ethnicity and gender. Together, their work will be on view at the Brighton Photo Biennial this fall


“It will be a huge opportunity to acknowledge the beauty and splendor of the UK’s own diverse Black community,” Lewis concluded.


Organized by the Museum of the Contemporary Photography in Chicago, The Dandy Lion Project will travel to the Lowe Museum of Art in Miami next January, and will be published as a book by Aperture next Spring. 
















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Why Kenya's Houses Of Worship Are Getting A Yellow Makeover

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Several mosques and churches across Kenya are getting a fresh coat of paint as part of an interfaith initiative to sow peace in the region.


The “Colour in Faith” initiative, spearheaded by artist Yazmany Arboleda, is helping Muslim and Christian congregations paint their houses of worship yellow. It’s a simple act they hope will send a profound message of love and cooperation.


“One of the premises of our art is that by working together ― putting a paintbrush to a wall ― with people who believe differently than one does, one builds bridges of understanding,” Arboleda told The Huffington Post.


Kenya has experienced years of religious tension between its majority Christian and minority Muslim populations. This tension has become increasingly violent due to the rise of Islamic militant group al-Shabab.


The country’s population is roughly 83 percent Christian and 11 percent Muslim, according to the CIA World Factbook.


So far, two churches and one mosque have joined in on the “The Colour in Faith” project, with three other houses of worship in the works. 



“Often times, people have walked away from our workshops and painting sessions with dismantled preconceptions and a new awareness of how and why other communities outside of their own believe in what they do,” Arboleda said in an email to HuffPost.


The artist and his team have named their color of choice “optimistic yellow” to represent “joy, happiness, intellect, and energy,” he said. “Yellow produces a warming effect, arouses cheerfulness, and stimulates mental activity.”


“Colour in Faith” is part of an ongoing collaboration between Arboleda and civic engagement expert Nabila Alibhai. Their work together began in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2013 where they worked with local artists and activists to give pink balloons to 10,000 people in the city. The project drew the wrath of the Taliban, who called it a “war on our religious values.”


Arboleda and Alibhai went on to set up a community arts and civic engagement organization called inCommons, under which the “Colour in Faith” project is now being sponsored.


“The acts of terror the country has experienced, the increasing threat from radicalization, and manipulation of religion for political gains could as we approach the presidential elections in 2017, tip the country into a level of instability that it has not experienced so far,” Alibhai, who is from Kenya and lives there now, told HuffPost.


“Colour in Faith provides regular citizens who have faith in commonality and believe in love to counteract terror perpetrated in their name,” she said.


Arboleda stressed that the project can be replicated anywhere in the world, particularly where people are longing to celebrate diversity and religious difference in a visible way.


“If there are communities interested in painting their house of worship yellow in the name of love,” Arboleda said, “we are happy to support their process!”


Scroll down to see photos of the “Colour in Faith” project:


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These Stunning Photos Take You Deep Inside Vodou Rituals In Haiti

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Photographer Troi Anderson was interested in Vodou before he ever visited Haiti. But attending a ritual in person was nothing short of a transformative experience.


“The absolute immediateness of that place,” he described to The Huffington Post, “the fact that you cannot isolate yourself in that country, that everything happens in a split second and things are occurring all around you like a kaleidoscope of sound and light. There is a power in Haiti, like a supernova. It is pure light there.”


Vodou is often misunderstood by Westerners who come to it through pop culture or folklore, where it is often tinged with racist stereotypes and legends. In reality, there are typically no dolls, no animal sacrifices, no dark magic. Simply speaking, Vodou rituals consist of music, rhythm, theater and dance, performed with such acute intensity that bodily movements access something transcendent and divine. Vodou practitioners frequently aim to experience divine possession, as a spirit flows through their physical form, achieving ecstasy through the tools of everyday life.



As the saying goes, Haiti is “70 percent Catholic, 30 percent Protestant, and 100 percent Vodou.” The spiritual system, in part responsible for the Haitian Revolution and liberation of Haitian people from French colonial rule in the early 1800s, was born within a structure of institutionalized slavery, in which Haitian people were forced into inhuman amounts of labor in the cane plantations, treated virtually as cattle. 


Vodou is the response to that,” Ira Lowenthal, an anthropologist, Vodou arts collector, and former aid worker, explained in an interview with The Guardian. “Vodou says ‘No, I’m not a cow. Cows cannot dance, cows do not sing. Cows cannot become God. Not only am I a human being ― I’m considerably more human than you. Watch me create divinity in this world you have given me that is so ugly and so hard. Watch me become God in front of your eyes.’”



Today, Haitian life remains plagued by pain and injustice. A cholera outbreak has killed over 10,000 Haitians over the past six years, believed to have been imported by United Nations peacekeepers. Women and individuals with disabilities are subjected to horrific violence, while Haitian migrants struggle to find the food and shelter necessary to live. Voudou provides a way to process and transcend the struggles of daily life through music and dance. Vodou practitioners physically create a more beautiful reality. 


“Haiti contains a profoundly religious mind because it exists in a wasteland,” Anderson explained. “This necessitates an inner strength that is unknown in the economically privileged countries. Direct, unfiltered communication with the unconscious, what the vodouisant calls ‘esprit’ or the ‘mysteres’, acts as a source by which suffering can be translated, released through ritual forms.”



Portland, Oregon-based Anderson has returned to Haiti several times over the past few years, documenting the rituals that move him to such an intense degree. “Creating this sort of photography is different than other works I’ve done because it relies on having an instinctual sense of each other,” he explained. “The actor and the photographer have to have complete trust. If my actions are sincere, than that person, the the performer, would allow me to work with them.”


In his series “Defiant Rite,” Anderson, whose other projects have documented solar eclipses and mud baths, specifically captures Vodou through the physical expressions of people’s faces and bodies. His camera depicts, in sharp detail, bulging eyes, enraptured smirks, bodies flailing with a power that can only be described as otherworldly. There are few props, costumes or notable regalia. The primary spectacle on view is the potential of human spirituality and the potential of divine transcendence through movement.


“These are ancestral movements that are without real explanation,” Anderson said, “except that this urge propels them through the nightmare of history.”


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Caila Explains What Really Went Down With Jared On 'Bachelor In Paradise'

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Halfway through Season 3 of “Bachelor In Paradise,” Caila Quinn arrived in Mexico and immediately stole the heart of fan-favorite ― and lady-killer ― Jared Haibon. Before her arrival, Jared, who appeared on Kaitlyn Bristowe’s season of “The Bachelorette” and Season 2 of “Bachelor in Paradise,” had been spending time with Emily Ferguson, who, like Caila, competed for Ben Higgins’ heart on the last season of “The Bachelor.”


An instant connection between Caila and Jared blossomed, leading many to hope that the latter would have a more successful time in “Paradise” than he did last season, when he spent the entire stint in an entanglement with Ashley Iaconetti ― whose passion for him was never close to reciprocated.


Just as Caila and Jared (Caired? Jaila?) were getting cozy, though, the inevitable occurred: “Bachelor in Paradise” producers sent in Ashley herself, eager to see if her will-they-won’t-they friendship with Jared could finally be coaxed into a romance. When she learned her man was otherwise occupied ― and with a woman she believed wouldn’t even be in “Paradise” ― Ashley’s trademark tears flowed, not to mention accusations that Caila was a “back-stabbing whore of a friend” for pursuing Jared despite assuring Ashley in the past that he wasn’t her type. (Apparently, um, he is!)


How will the Caila-Jared-Ashley love triangle play out on this week’s installment of “Bachelor in Paradise”? It remains to be seen. But one person we haven’t heard much from about the explosive on-screen drama, Caila, offered The Huffington Post’s “Bachelor” podcast, Here To Make Friends, some exclusive insight into what really happened during (and before) “Paradise.”


You came into Paradise and chose Jared to go on a date with. Why did you pick Jared?


Based on my conversation with all of the guys, [Jared] was just really warm and welcoming and we had the most in common, being from the northeast. And he just seemed like a great guy to get to know.


Were you aware at the time that he had gone on a date with Emily?


I had no clue! Looking back, I’m kind of surprised how deep her feelings were for him, and I kind of feel bad that I took that away from her.


She got a little bit upset after Jared said he was going to go on a date with you. Are you guys cool now?


Yeah. You never know what people say behind your back. So, if she had this tension with me, I appreciate her bringing it out in the open, and we’ve talked about it. We had a girls weekend this last weekend, and we’re all good. I appreciate how vocal and honest [the twins] are with their feelings.


So, your horseback riding date with Jared. How was it?


It was so romantic! My horse’s name was Tequila; his horse’s name was Allison. We rode into the distance in the ocean. It was so much fun.


I kind of wanted to take it slow. I didn’t want to rush [things], but at the same time, it’s “Paradise,” and you’re supposed to. So, on that horse date, I specifically said to Jared, “You know, I wanna take things slow.” And then about three seconds later, he comes in for the kiss. [Laughs]


Jared has been on “BIP” twice, but he’s never really shown all that much emotion or spoken that much about a person. But [last week] was different! 


It was really sweet to see [watching it back]. And he’s just adorable and I think he becomes more vocal when he’s confident and passionate about how he’s feeling, and I think that comes out this episode. 


Does Jared have some sort of pull in person that we can’t see on TV? What makes him so damn appealing to all the women on “BIP”?


There’s just some inner confidence and mysteriousness about Jared. When you see him, he has this smirk and this smile that’s very engaging. I think that’s what enticed Emily and [me] and Ashley. ... He is the most humble human being on earth, and no matter who you are he will make you feel comfortable and make you feel appreciated. And that’s why everyone loves him. 





So, after you make a connection with Jared, Ashley I. ― who has spent the last year being in love with Jared ― arrives. Did you know she was coming?


We had spoken before and she had mentioned she was coming, hence everything that unfolded. But, I think this was healthy for all parties. 


From your perspective, what went down between you and Ashley before you guys went to “Paradise”?


Ashley and I had hung out a couple of times. I still to this day think she’s super sweet and super genuine, and hope one day we can get back to where we were. Before “Paradise,” we had hung out and she said, “Caila, whatever you do, don’t come to Paradise, ‘cause I know Jared will like you.” And I said, “Don’t worry, I’m not coming.”


At the time, I was dating somebody. I had no intention of coming [on “Paradise”] and even after I had broken up with that person, I was like, “I don’t think I’m coming,” and it was a very last-minute decision. I didn’t think I needed to call her and get her approval to come and meet somebody new. But, originally, I had mentioned to her I wouldn’t come. I had made that promise. And apparently I should have called her. 


But I came anyway, and that’s kind of how “Paradise” works. You want to be a surprise. I thought it would be fun to see who was there. And, you know, girls don’t really like surprises. They really want a heads up. 


Were you surprised by the vitriol directed toward you?


It did kind of surprise me how close [the other cast members] were to Ashley and how much they sided with her. But at the same time, I do know that she’s really close with everybody and she has really deep roots. That’s kind of the name of the game ... There’s a reason people love [Ashley], and they wanted to protect her and I totally understand that. And I kind of stepped on that territory.


This interview has been edited and condensed.


For more from Caila on week three of “Bachelor In Paradise,” check out HuffPost’s Here To Make Friends podcast below:







Do people love “The Bachelor,” “The Bachelorette” and “Bachelor in Paradise,” or do they love to hate these shows? It’s unclear. But here at “Here to Make Friends,” we both love and love to hate them — and we love to snarkily dissect each episode in vivid detail. Podcast edited by Nick Offenberg and Christine Conetta.

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Anne Geddes, The Photographer Who Put Babies In Flower Pots, Is Still Making Art

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You probably know the name Anne Geddes. If you Google “famous photographers,” she pops up in suggested names, sandwiched right between Andy Warhol and Weegee.


If, for some reason, you do not know Anne Geddes’ name, you most certainly would recognize her work. She did those photos of babies dressed up as bunnies and cabbages and gingerbread men and other harder-to-distinguish objects. She did those adorable yet slightly unsettling visions of teeny newborns stuffed inside very large pockets and, once, chilling in a faux amniotic sac with Celine Dion. She made the calendar that hung on your kitchen wall in the late ‘90s and the birthday card you hoped would have $20 inside it, but didn’t. 


Like Lisa Frank and Thomas Kinkade, Geddes’ imagery formed the desktop wallpaper to my childhood. I grew to know and love it almost without my consent, like a mediocre song on the radio that keeps playing over and over and over again, until you start to crave it like a warm, fuzzy blanket. More babies, more babies, I would find myself thinking, laughing too hard when it came time to switch the family calendar from March to April. A baby as butterfly! Inspired choice. 



I wrote my college admissions essay on an Anne Geddes photograph. The prompt was something along the lines of: “Write about a work of art that made a lasting impact on you.” I was 17 years old and most definitely not ready to answer that question. And so I made a joke. If you want to be in an Anne Geddes photograph, I thought, you have to sign up early. Like, before you are even born. And so, in my essay, I praised the ambitious babies of Geddes’ photos, their fearlessness and body positivity, and speculated on their commendable distance from the typical trappings of the modeling world ― sex, drugs and low self-esteem.


I got waitlisted at some very prestigious universities as a result. 


Needless to say, Anne Geddes has been a very serious part of my life as a very serious arbiter of taste. You might even say, had I not written about her work a decade ago, I may never have found myself writing about art professionally. And yet it was only recently that the idea popped into my head that I could actually speak to the woman who, for all these years, had enchanted me with candied visions of babies in every fruit and vegetable variety known to mankind. 


Who is Anne Geddes? Is she self-aware? Sincere? Does she consider herself a fine artist? Is she in fact a bunch of babies stacked atop each other in a large trench coat, like that scene in “The Little Rascals”? 



I called a number. The phone rang. “This is Anne,” said a woman in an Australian accent. Anne Geddes is Australian? My first question: “Tell me about your childhood. Where are you from?” She responds, “Well, I’m Australian, obviously.” Right. Off to a good start. 


In short, Anne Geddes is very serious about her work. Born in 1956, she grew up a self-described country kid on a cattle ranch in North Queensland. Although she felt creative from a young age, Geddes didn’t pick up a camera for the first time until she was in her 20s. Her inspiration wasn’t quite fine art, it was photojournalism à la Life Magazine. “I was mesmerized by images of people, the way they could tell stories, a moment in time frozen forever,” she said with warmth and wholehearted candor. “It still fascinates me to this day. The power of a single image to change lives is incredible.”


Growing up, the possibility that Geddes could one day become a professional photographer never occurred to her. Raised in the 1950s and ‘60s, before photography was an established part of everyday life, Geddes recalls only seeing two or three pictures of herself as a kid. “I grew up in an era where once a year we were taken to the photographic studio in our Sunday best,” she said. “I look at them now and I can’t get across a sense of who I was as a child.”


Geddes, in her own photography, aims to capture the essence of each specific child at that specific moment. “If you’re bringing your 2-year-old, you’re going to look at that image in 20 years and you’ll remember that image when they were 2.” Like a butterfly, I guess, or a vintage can of tomatoes.



When Geddes first started taking pictures, she was 25 years old and living in Hong Kong with her husband, who had taken a job in television. She started off by photographing families in their own environments, but felt that setup didn’t allow her to find her own style. Then something clicked when, a few years later in the 1980s, Geddes saw an ad for a studio photographer in Melbourne. 


“There was very simple lighting, a very simple canvas backdrop,” Geddes said of the studio. “A pin dropped and I thought, that’s what I want to do. I want to dictate the environment and control the lighting.” Geddes volunteered to be the photographer’s unpaid assistant. “The moment I first walked into a photographic studio everything fell into place.” 


This is the amazing thing about Anne Geddes. Those posed portraits in front of khaki-colored backdrops which I imagine most photographers would find dull and monotonous ― if not soul-sucking ― genuinely galvanize Geddes. Her chosen profession is more than just a gimmick or a way to pay the bills: It’s a lifelong passion. A dream come true. 



As a studio photographer, Geddes began with straight-up baby portraits, no frills. And then a greeting card company approached her to make a line, so she began delving into more experimental sets and costumes. “Once you start doing greeting cards, of course, you have to do seasonal images,” she said. And then came the calendars, and thus, more costumes. The more festive the threads, it seemed, the more attention Geddes’ work received. 


And the more Geddes speaks, the clearer it is just how passionate she is about photos, and babies and, mostly, photos of babies. “How wonderful is it going to be for this child to see in such wonderful detail their newborn selves, at the very beginning of their lives?” Geddes muses. “I’ve photographed thousands of babies over my 30-year career and I’ve never lost that fascination and awe at the sight of a newborn. At the very beginning of our lives, there is so much potential, so much purity. All these words sounds so trite but it’s very true.”


In case you were curious, Geddes is still taking photos of babies today. In her most recent series, she transforms babies into symbols of the zodiac ― a baby lion for Leo, a cocoon of twin butterflies for Gemini. She’s also working on a series called “Baby Look at You Now,” where she juxtaposes ‘90s baby photos with pictures of her subjects all grown up. If you posed for Anne Geddes at any point in your life, you’re welcome to submit. 


“When I first started, I said I wanted to be the most successful portrait photographer in Auckland,” she said. “Then I said I wanted to be the most well-known in New Zealand and then, Australia ― and the rest is history.” 


Is Anne Geddes implying she is the most successful portrait photographer in the world? I, for one, would not object to this statement. 



I asked Geddes where she considers herself on the spectrum of fine art to commercial photography. Although her work has been the subject of an exhibition at Qatar Museums, it thrives, for the most part, on calendars sold for around $14.99. “I think [fine art and commercial photographer] are pretty much the same,” Geddes said, shattering my brain into a million baby heart-shaped pieces. “And I know a lot of people would dispute that. I know there is a lot of snobbery in the art world, but you can’t tell me that every fine artist doesn’t want to be successful.”


Maybe not every, but certainly most. “Every fine artist wants to be commercial, and I’ve always found that a bit of a conundrum,” Geddes continued. “Most have an exhibition in a gallery, they sell some work, and then a book is published. I came at it from the other way. There was nobody going down the same road as me. I was just doing what I wanted to do creatively. Forging new paths.”


I try my hardest to hold onto my long-held convictions ― namely that a photographer whose primary output is greeting cards is not working in the same sphere as one whose work hangs on the walls of painstakingly curated gallery spaces. And yet, as someone consistently drawn to powerful images that exist outside the mainstream art institution, a part of me is wooed. 


Geddes is the ultimate antidote to art world snobbery. Your life may not be changed by a schmaltzy image of a baby propped up in a sunflower pot, or slumped atop a giant egg, but you’ll probably crack a smile. It’s bizarre yet oddly inspiring to know that, despite being one of the most commercially successful photographers in the game, Geddes has followed her own vision every single step of the way. 



When I professed my teenage love for Anne Geddes, I did so under a veil of sarcasm. I was young and insecure ― paralyzed by the prospect of writing about something I genuinely loved and respected and too wobbly in both my tastes and ability to defend them to even begin to think about a work of art that had shaped me.


Although I did all I could to evade the question posed by that pesky common application, and any significant mental breakdowns it may have induced, my response illuminated what I’ve now come to recognize as a deep appreciation of bad taste. Stripped of pretension and ambition, schemes and strategies, “bad” art often lays bare the insides of both artist and viewer. In the case of Anne Geddes, it also lays bare those adorable baby bodies. 


I hung up with Anne Geddes in something of a daze. She had given not a single knowing wink, not even the subtlest of hints that some part of her baby-tastic career was just the teensiest bit silly. Instead I got lines like, “Babies transform lives, they transform families, they bring so much hope.” And you know what? They do! 


This is a story about an artist who changed my life, who inspired me, albeit in a roundabout way, to embark upon the first piece of art writing I’d ever created. I was ashamed to say it then, but 10 years later, I’m ready. I love Anne Geddes and all her weirdly dressed babies. I love them. I love them. Oh my god, they’re so cute and weird, I love them so much. 







Hit Backspace for a regular dose of pop culture nostalgia. 

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This Obscenely Fancy Mega Yacht Is Almost Too Gorgeous To Look At

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We’re always looking for affordable ways to take a break, even on the high seas. But hey, it never hurts to dream about life on a 590-foot mega-yacht, too.


Behold the 108M mega-yacht concept from Hareide Design Norway. This massive ship is designed with its own elevated dining and viewing platforms, tranquil gardens and even a private beach of sorts. Don’t feel like dipping in the blue Caribbean waters? The boat’s 65-foot pool will handle that quite nicely:



For now, the 108M mega yacht is just a concept, a spokesperson for Hareide Design Norway told HuffPost. If a potential buyer shows interest, then the design firm will work with them to make the ship a reality.


Meanwhile, we’ll be enjoying a good old-fashioned ocean cruise

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A Sergei Polunin Documentary Is Coming To Take Us To Church

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You may know Sergei Polunin as the glorious, tattooed prince who writhed, leaped and twirled his way into your heart to the sounds of Hozier’s “Take Me To Church” in that one video that went viral in 2015. But friends, he is so much more. 


This September, a documentary called “The Dancer” will chronicle the epic rise, fall and rebirth of the youngest ever principal dancer with the British Royal Ballet, dubbed the ballet world’s James Dean. Not to be gross, but I’m already tingling. 





Coverage of Polunin’s career casts him in the role of ballet’s bad boy, a painfully gifted dancer who, at the height of his fame, became embroiled in a whirlwind of scandals involving drugs, partying and, most unforgivably, missing ballet class.


When he was just 22 years old, Polunin quit the Royal Ballet Company, leaving many to fear his career was over for good. 


The film, directed by Steven Cantor, will delve into Polunin’s personal life and childhood, showing how dance morphed from a passion into a prison. 


At the age of 13, Polunin was sent to London to pursue dance, a path his mother had selected for him. 


“When I was little I had such a passion,” Polunin says in the trailer. “My family moved around the world for me. That’s, when, I guess, fun was over. I would do ballet twice more than normal because I knew that was my chance to get my family back together ... I wasn’t able to make everything good.” 





Don’t worry, Polunin is dancing again, now with the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Academic Music Theatre and the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theatre. But he’s committed to becoming more than just a spectacular dancer. As he put it: “I just want a normal life now.”


“Dancer” is slated to hit theaters Sept. 9, and will be available via VOD platforms Sept. 16. You can check out the trailer above.


Sergei, you beautiful beast, take us to church! 




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The Black Pageant Queens Of The '70s Paved The Way For New Beauty Standards

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On the sheeny face of it, the entire beauty pageant industry could be categorized as “bad for women.”


Participants’ success is determined by how well each woman fits a specific (read: male-centric) idea of what’s appealing. Even the talent portions rest on skills that prove women to be pretty or servile. You won’t find many weightlifting competitors on the Miss USA stage, for example.


Ultimately, pageantry offers a look at what “beauty” can mean when the word is applied to individuals rather than, say, art. And, too often, that type of beauty ― the type associated with attraction ― is determined by standards set by elite, white men. (That Donald Trump was the owner of the Miss USA pageant for decades is a smarmy fact that bears repeating.)


In an exhibition that works against these limited standards of beauty, curator Renée Mussai collected photos taken by a late photographer named Raphael Albert. Albert took candid shots of black beauty pageant competitors in Britain in the ‘70s and eventually went on to establish the Miss Teenager and Miss West Indies contests in Great Britain. His photos are now on view in London under the title “Miss Black and Beautiful.”



“Albert established dedicated black pageantry in order to create a distinct space where black women were able to both occupy and own the idea of ‘beauty’ for themselves,” Mussai said in an email to The Huffington Post, “without the need of conforming to Eurocentric ideals.”


Albert’s photos were taken over a decade before Vanessa Williams became the first black woman to win the Miss America title in 1984. Williams’ win, while hugely inspiring, came at an emotional cost; racist comments about her win abounded, and she was sent hate mail ― the precursor to Twitter trolling ― before she eventually resigned.


One would hope that, in the decades since, beauty pageant viewers have begun to see the many forms “beauty” can take. But, lamentably, even when the first Indian-American Miss America was crowned in 2013, people on Twitter were fired up with thoughtless hate.


“It is of course important to see or read [Albert’s] photographs within a 1970s British context, a time and place where black women were largely invisible within mainstream arenas of ‘beauty,’” Mussai said. But, conversations about “black women, beauty and visibility are still potent 40 years on, in popular culture, the art world and mainstream fashion arenas alike.”


She continued, “These photographs are as necessary today as they were then, as visual maps and tokens of visibility, and of celebration.”



“Miss Black and Beautiful” is on view at Autograph ABP in London until Sept. 24, 2016.


 

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Back Hair Shaved Into James Corden's Image Is A Masterpiece

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Your summer is now complete. To celebrate the return of “The Late Late Show” from a short break, the staff posted a time-lapse video of host James Corden’s portrait being shaved into a man’s back hair.


The musical notes are a nice touch.


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'Anne Of Green Gables' Reboot Is Bringing The Most Bosom Friendship To Netflix

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Are you ready to Netflix and chill with your oldest bosom friend, Anne Shirley? 


This week, The Hollywood Reporter announced that the upcoming screen adaptation of the beloved Canadian children’s book Anne of Green Gables would be coming to the streaming service. First reported on in January, the miniseries was picked up by Netflix, which is working with the CBC to produce the eight-part series, titled simply “Anne.”


Though fans have long been deeply attached to the 1985 CBC adaptation of “Anne of Green Gables,” which solidified Gilbert Blythe’s dream-boyfriend status and Anne’s personification of every romantic, misfit girl’s best self, there’s no good reason not to get excited about this new adaptation.







It boasts a talented all-woman team: writer Moira Walley-Beckett, known for her award-winning work on “Breaking Bad”; producer Miranda de Pencier (”Beginners”); and, to guide the premiere episode, director Niki Caro (”Whale Rider”). 


And while Gilbert is forever our fictional boyfriend, a kick-ass lady team might put some much-needed attention back on the first and most crucial love story of “Anne of Green Gables”: Anne and her bosom friend, Diana Barry.


When orphaned Anne shows up at Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert’s farm, she’s not the sturdy farmboy the aging siblings intended to adopt. Though they decide to keep her and become beloved parent figures to Anne, her first experience at Green Gables is one of rejection. When she first meets Gilbert, he taunts her with the moniker “Carrots” (get it? because of her red hair?), and they remain enemies for years. 


It’s sweet, loyal Diana who first gives Anne the unconditional love and affection the quirky redhead has been starved of for years, and Anne repays her in endless, melodramatic adoration. “Diana and I are thinking seriously of promising each other that we will never marry but be nice old maids and live together forever,” she earnestly tells Marilla one day, well into her teenage years.


In January, when the CBC announced the initial order of the miniseries, the production team emphasized the contemporary themes that would be explored in the adaptation. “Anne’s issues are contemporary issues: feminism, prejudice, bullying and a desire to belong,” writer Walley-Beckett said in a statement at the time.


If there’s one contemporary issue we can’t wait to see brought to the screen in a 2017 adaptation of “Anne,” as female friendship is purportedly having its pop cultural moment, it must be the girl power of Anne + Diana forever. It’s the awesomeness of a love like this: 



“Your solo was perfectly elegant, Diana. I felt prouder than you did when it was encored. I just said to myself, ‘It is my dear bosom friend who is so honored.’”


“Well, your recitations just brought down the house, Anne. That sad one was simply splendid.”



Um, hi, talk about #goals.  






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Dad Creates Epic Disney Mural For Daughter's Bedroom

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One girl’s room has been transformed into an enchanting Disney wonderland, no pixie dust required.


Adam Hargreaves, the artist behind Bespoke Art, posted a time-lapse video on Facebook on Aug. 12 that shows him giving his daughter, Bobbie, a magical new room by painting beloved Disney characters on the walls. Hargreaves brought “A Whole New World” to the room with characters old and new, including Peter Pan, Lilo and Stitch and Simba from “The Little King.” The dad also took inspiration from “Under the Sea” and included Ariel and her aquatic friends from “The Little Mermaid.”





As of Tuesday morning, the video has been viewed more than 11 million times. Hargreaves shared a similar video on YouTube that included his daughter’s reaction. Needless to say, she was shocked.


“I created a Disney Dream room for my daughter and she loves it,” the video’s description reads.


Hargreaves also posted photos of the room on Instagram for Disney fanatics to get a closer look at his work.



#disney #disneyart #disneyclassics #lionking #junglebook #littlemermaid #disneydreams

A photo posted by Adam Hargreaves (@artbespoke) on





#disneymagic #disneydream #luckylady #art #wallmural #beautyandthebeast #ladyandthetramp #disneyclassics

A photo posted by Adam Hargreaves (@artbespoke) on




Oh, and the mural glows at night. Just when we thought it couldn’t get more magical.

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A Woman Diagnosed With MS Is Turning Her Own Brain Scans Into Art

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Shortly after Elizabeth Jameson was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 1991, she became obsessed with the inside of her mind.


Jameson would undergo brain scan after brain scan to track the progress of her disease, a process that unlocked what she calls “a deep fascination with the architecture of the brain.” Confronted with a slew of magnetic resonance images, or MRIs, she was able to see exactly what her “imperfect” brain looked like. “Frightening, yet mesmerizing,” the colorless images helped her to come to terms with an otherwise perplexing chronic illness, which would eventually render her quadriplegic. 


Still, there was something missing in those scans.



Her scans originally appeared as stark black-and-white visualizations, reflective of the clinical environment from whence they came. With little other color or dimension to illustrate her complicated experience with MS (though some MRIs do reflect the pigmentation of contrast agents), these “portraits” of her brain seemed incomplete. So Jameson, based in San Francisco, set out to change that.


With no background in art, she began using her brain scans to celebrate her mind, reinterpreting the images that represented her ever-changing understanding of living with a progressive disease. In the process, she became an artist. “In many ways, art has become my voice,” she explained in an email interview with The Huffington Post.



Jameson’s art includes silk paintings and copper etching prints, most of which use brain scans as their jumping off point. Washed in rainbow hues, her work functions as a kind of self-portraiture. Instead of carefully sketched brows or laugh lines, her self-portraits feature axial views of the cerebellum and coronal views of the brain stem. Based on her actual MRIs, the new images are meant to inspire and motivate doctors, patients and loved ones impacted by disease. They are meant to provide visualizations that are “interesting and fascinating, not repulsive or frightening.”


“Inspired by the brain’s ability to change and adapt, my work exists in the spaces between science and art, between society and disease,” Jameson said. “I aim to expand the conventional definition of portraiture by challenging viewers to question what it means to be flawed ― to be human.”



Before she became an artist, before she was diagnosed with MS, Jameson was a Stanford-and-Berkeley-educated civil rights lawyer who represented vulnerable populations in their efforts to gain access to medically necessary healthcare. After a lesion in her brain left her temporarily unable to speak and quadriplegia prevented her from practicing law, she transformed into what she calls a “public interest artist.” 


Since she began making her unconventional self-portraits, Jameson says that she has felt driven by a strong desire to to find beauty in medical images. “Utilizing color and new forms of technology, I transform these images to challenge how researchers and clinicians see their work and to reshape how patients can come to terms with disease,” she reiterated.



Jameson’s stunning artworks, made with the help of assistants, are not purely educational, nor are they purely aesthetic. As she emphasizes, they “invite” viewers to ask questions about illness from a place of curiosity and intrigue, rather than aversion or alarm.


“I do not work for profit but to advance conversations about what it means to have and to celebrate imperfection of the body,” she added. “Over the years, as I have seen positive responses from various communities, including patients, healthcare providers, scientists, and the general public, I have been inspired by the power artwork can have to [...] deepen the narrative around chronic illness. This is my core of mission, to create artwork that invites social engagement and encourages conversations.”



In our email conversation, Jameson described chronic disease as an ongoing natural disaster of the body, similar to a tsunami. She detailed, openly, how this kind of disaster leaves in its wake a real sense of fear and isolation. While she sees many illnesses depicted in mainstream media as belonging to a narrative that has a beginning, middle and end ― having “a flowing arc to the story” ― most illnesses lack a narrative that makes sense to outsiders. Jameson creates art, she says, in order to foster understanding and in order to connect the patients feeling overwhelmed, lonely or diminished to a greater community.


In the end, though, Jameson believes her art ― now included in the permanent art collections at places like the National Institutes of Health, Stanford University, Yale University, and the Center for Brain Science at Harvard University ― has the potential to speak to everyone.


“At some point in our lives, we all become patients and are challenged with accepting illness as a part of being human,” she said.








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Here's What The MTV VMAs Looked Like In 2006

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Talk about a blast from the past. 


While the 2006 MTV VMAs were just 10 years ago and (with a few notable exceptions) almost everyone in attendance is still fairly relevant today, the show still feels extremely dated.


With the 2016 VMAs just a few days away, lets remember the year that Jack Black hosted, Panic! at the Disco nabbed the award for Video of the Year, Avenged Sevenfold were named Best New Artist, and Fall Out Boy brought a Capuchin monkey. 




Hit Backspace for a regular dose of pop culture nostalgia.

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The Pay Gap Gets A Hilarious Musical Twist In 'My Unfairly Paid Lady'

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Who knew a musical number about the pay gap could be so catchy? 


In honor of Women’s Equality Day on Aug. 26, Make It Work released a parody called “My Unfairly Paid Lady” to highlight that women are often paid less than men for the same job and that this pay gap disproportionately affects women of color. The parody is a twist on “A Hymn to Him” from the musical “My Fair Lady” and stars Jeff Perry from “Scandal,” who offers a woman named Lisa a job. When Lisa points out she’s being offered 40 percent less than eight other white men with the same job, Perry’s character says discussing wages is “impolite.” Luckily, Lisa had a spot-on response. 



Her simple question sparks Perry’s character to burst into song (a requirement for every musical, of course) as he points out the importance of being transparent and sings, “Why can’t a woman be paid like a man?” 



Excellent question.

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Hulu's 'The Handmaid's Tale' Adds Joseph Fiennes, Will Be B-A-N-A-N-A-S

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Picture it: It’s 2017, and you’re settling down for a quiet evening at home with a bottle of red. All you need is the perfect miniseries to immerse yourself in, something with topical themes, gripping narratives, and top-of-the-line acting.


Fortunately, the streaming service Hulu will have just the thing: A spanking-new, 10-episode adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s seminal dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale. 


Today, Hulu announced that the upcoming show will feature Joseph Fiennes (you may remember him as freaking William Shakespeare) as Commander Fred Waterford. Fiennes will be a baddy foil to the luminous Elisabeth Moss (Peggy from “Mad Men”), who, it was reported in April, will portray the novel’s heroine, Offred. Samira Wiley, known for her role as Poussey on “Orange Is the New Black,” has signed on to play Moira, Offred’s friend and fellow handmaiden.


For those who somehow skipped Atwood’s feminist classic in high school English class, as well as in any college survey courses covering contemporary fiction, dystopian fiction, science fiction, feminist literature and/or novels by women, here’s a little rundown of what to expect:


The Handmaid’s Tale takes place in a future society set in North America. A theocratic Christian group has staged a takeover and formed a dictatorship, called the Republic of Gilead, where the United States once existed. The government systematically and gradually strips away the rights of women, ultimately seeking to return the society to an Old-Testament-based social order in which women are entirely subjugated to men. Some women serve as domestic drudges, others as prostitutes, and others as wives ― the highest status available, but still a very limiting one.


Offred, the protagonist, is separated from her husband and placed with a high-ranking member of the Gilead leadership, the Commander, as a handmaid. This class of women are offered to men whose wives are unable to bear them children; while the Commander’s wife is still very much present in the household, Offred is forced to act as a sexual and reproductive surrogate for her so that the Commander can produce heirs. 


But Offred’s spunk and her memory of the joy found in a freely chosen, loving partnership urge her to keep resisting, and to keep seeking true connection and freedom.


No spoilers here, but the book is a wild ride, and the series promises to be as well.


We can’t wait to see how “The Handmaid’s Tale” adaptation turns out, especially since Atwood herself is a consulting producer. Plus, who wants to see these two butt heads? We do.












Something tells us Peggy Offred isn’t going down without a fight. 

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