Panopticon gaze

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The panopticon gaze (from panopticon) is an ideological phrase, a metaphor. The panopticon gaze is the idea of a silent, unknown overseer in the society such as the government that subconsciously controlled all aspects of life. It symbolizes extreme transparency within the society where the rulers or leaders can look down and know, being able to see exactly what is going on, influencing the actions of every individual. Milan Kundera used this idea in his fictional novel about the Soviet Invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, The Unbearable Lightness of Being .

Panopticon prison

The panopticon is a type of institutional building and a system of control designed by the English philosopher and social theorist Jeremy Bentham in the late 18th century. The scheme of the design is to allow all (pan-) inmates of an institution to be observed (-opticon) by a single watchman without the inmates being able to tell whether or not they are being watched. Although it is physically impossible for the single watchman to observe all the inmates' cells at once, the fact that the inmates cannot know when they are being watched means that they are motivated to act as though they are being watched at all times. Thus, they are effectively compelled to regulate their own behaviour.

Metaphor Figure of speech

A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide clarity or identify hidden similarities between two ideas. Antithesis, hyperbole, metonymy and simile are all types of metaphor. One of the most commonly cited examples of a metaphor in English literature is the "All the world's a stage" monologue from As You Like It:

Milan Kundera Czech author of Czech and French literature

Milan Kundera is a Czech-born French writer who went into exile in France in 1975, and became a naturalised French citizen in 1981. He "sees himself as a French writer and insists his work should be studied as French literature and classified as such in book stores".

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<i>The Unbearable Lightness of Being</i> 1984 Czech novel by Milan Kundera

The Unbearable Lightness of Being is a 1984 novel by Milan Kundera, about two women, two men, a dog and their lives in the 1968 Prague Spring period of Czechoslovak history. Although written in 1982, the novel was not published until two years later, in a French translation. The original Czech text was published the following year.

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Han Shaogong is a Chinese novelist and fiction writer.

Lightness is a philosophical concept most closely associated with continental philosophy and existentialism, which is used in ontology. The term "lightness" varies in usage but is differentiated from physical weight, such as "the lightness of balsa wood". In other words, "light like a bird," as Paul Valéry wrote, "and not like a feather". Lightness is also considered as a noun.

The 9th Boston Society of Film Critics Awards honored the best filmmaking of 1988. The awards were given in 1989.

<i>The Unbearable Lightness of Being</i> (film) 1988 film by Philip Kaufman

The Unbearable Lightness of Being is a 1988 American film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Milan Kundera, published in 1984. Director Philip Kaufman and screenwriter Jean-Claude Carrière portray the effect on Czechoslovak artistic and intellectual life during the 1968 Prague Spring of socialist liberalization preceding the invasion by the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact that ushered in a period of communist repression. It portrays the moral, political, and psycho-sexual consequences for three bohemian friends: a surgeon, and two female artists with whom he has a sexual relationship.

Petřín mountain

Petřín is a hill in the center of Prague, Czech Republic. It rises 327 m above sea level and some 130 m above the left bank of the Vltava River. The hill, almost entirely covered with parks, is a favorite recreational area for the inhabitants of Prague. The hill is featured prominently in Franz Kafka's early short story "Description of a Struggle" and briefly in Milan Kundera's novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being.

68 Publishers, also called Sixty-Eight Publishers, Sixtyeight Publishers, or even Nakladatelství 68, was a publishing house formed in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in 1971 by Czech expatriate Josef Škvorecký and his wife Zdena Salivarová. The purpose of 68 Publishers was to publish books by exiled Czech and Slovak writers whose works were banned in communist Czechoslovakia. The name '68 Publishers' is in commemoration of the Prague Spring of 1968.

Unbearable Lightness may refer to:

Century is the first single to be taken from The Long Blondes second album "Couples". It was released on March 24, 2008, as a limited edition 7" single and digital download.

<i>Immortality</i> (novel) novel by Milan Kundera

Immortality is a novel in seven parts, written by Milan Kundera in 1988 in Czech. First published 1990 in French. English edition 345 p., translation by Peter Kussi. This novel springs from a casual gesture of a woman, seemingly to her swimming instructor. Immortality is the last of a trilogy that includes The Book Of Laughter And Forgetting, and The Unbearable Lightness Of Being.

Einmal ist keinmal is a German phrase which translates roughly as "once is never" in English, essentially meaning that a single event is not statistically significant. It is the title of an East German film, released in 1955. The phrase was also significant in the novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being, by Milan Kundera.

The 23rd National Society of Film Critics Awards, given on 9 January 1989, honored the best filmmaking of 1988.

1984 in philosophy

London Cheesecake

The London Cheesecake is a pastry confection that contains no cheese. It was described by Will Self in The Unbearable Lightness of Being a Prawn Cracker as "...not cake at all but rather a square of puff pastry...while so far as I could tell there wasn't any cheese incorporated into this sweetmeat, which instead was garnished with some coconut or mallow shavings."

<i>The Unbearable Lightness of Being a Prawn Cracker</i> book by Will Self

The Unbearable Lightness of Being a Prawn Cracker is a collection of Will Self's Real Meals column for the New Statesman. Covering such things as London Cheesecake, Pizza Express, ready meals and fast food cuisine. The title is a play on Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being.

<i>Hunting Ghosts</i> (& Other Collected Shorts) 2008 EP by Library Voices

Hunting Ghosts is the debut release from Regina, Saskatchewan indie pop collective Library Voices. The six-song studio extended play (EP) was released on August 15, 2008 on Young Soul Records. Recorded with up to as many as ten musicians, Hunting Ghosts is described as musically similar to styles of eighties synth pop containing varied influence from pop/punk, indie rock, new age and jazz. Lyrically, the album contains many references to twentieth century authors, situations, and quotations. Hunting Ghosts was nominated for Independent Album of the Year for 2009's Western Canada Music Awards.

<i>The Festival of Insignificance</i> book by Milan Kundera

The Festival of Insignificance is a novel by Milan Kundera. This is his eleventh fictional work. It is about a man named Alain, who has not seen his mother since his childhood; Ramon, an intellectual who has retired; D’Ardelo, a man who has a narcissistic personality; Charles and “Caliban” are two people who operate a catering firm; and Quaquelique is an old man who remains attracted to women. Quaquelique manages to seduce women using his skill at non-stop talking. The novel is set in Paris. The themes include "the erotic potential; the link between mother and child; the procreative role of sex; angels...[,] navel gazing...and insignificance. The novels' characters discuss the philosophical ideas of Hegel, Kant and Schopenhauer. The novel is made up of seven parts. The theme of insignificance was also used in The Unbearable Lightness of Being.

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