Participants in the annual Jane Austen Regency Costumed Parade walk through the centre of Bath in England on September 9, 2017 [File: Matt Cardy/Getty Images]
There are more than a few universally acknowledged truths when it comes to writing romance: the course of true love should not run smooth, lovers should be beautiful and readers generally prefer a Happily Ever After (‘HEA’ as it’s known in the romance community).
While love stories are still routinely sidelined by some academics and critics, the politics of love, sex and desire, and the stories we tell about them, cannot be overestimated. There is absolutely nothing apolitical about love stories because our popular ideas of romance are a colonial hangover, steeped in the reactionary values of the imperial 19th century. At this point isn’t it worth asking: what’s universal about our modern idea of love?
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Get Inside: Nine Things to Do This Week Stuck at Home Attend the first-ever South By Southwest without lines, drink whisky from the oldest distillery in Ireland on St. Patrick s Day and experience a “witchual glitchual ritual. Stacey Abrams will speak at the virtual SXSW. IMAGE: Marla Aufmuth / TED Updated March 16 at 9:59 PM Watch: “In Bruges” This year, celebrate St. Patrick s Day with some acclaimed Irish cinema, like this pitch-black gangster comedy from acclaimed playwright-filmmaker Martin McDonagh. Irish heartthrob Colin Farrell stars as Ray, a guilt-ridden hitman who s forced to go into hiding in Bruges, Belgium, after a contract killing goes tragically wrong. Fellow Irishman Brendan Gleeson co-stars as Ray s mentor, and Ralph Fiennes steals the show as their wrathful boss.
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Grief and Adolescence Collide in Locally Filmed “Sophie Jones,” an Authentic Portrait of Mourning While Coming of Age Director Jessie Barr collaborated on the script with her younger cousin, Jessica Barr, who also stars as the titular heroine. GROWING PAINS: Jessica Barr (right) plays Sophie Jones, a teenager coping with the death of her mother. (Roger Ebert) Updated March 16 at 7:15 PM I always take from my life in some way, explains Sophie Jones director Jessie Barr, and that philosophy extends from the themes of her projects to co-creators.