Editorial
No gentle breeze moves the development of our societies. Gusts and tragic storms have been caused by global warming. They are incredibly violent and leave us with an artificial, ‘unnatural’ sadness. They signal an irreversible process. We are feeling tangibly that there will not be a second chance for our ecosystem. It seems that we are melancholically watching this environmental catastrophe like a media-representation (Trempler), whereas a stronger normative approach of global economic and political strategies would be necessary (Menges). The spontaneous globalization is producing fatal consequences for human beings (Coutinho), animals and natural resources.
TCR’s authors have been inspired by the term ‘gust’, adding several unusual meanings to its meteorological one. They jumped into metaphoric connotations by analyzing phenomena of the past – like the history of iconoclasm in the 7th century (Rotman) – and the present – the interconnections among cultural identities, their coexistence and their conflicts which are constantly and rapidly changing like impalpable airstreams. The cultural differences demand the understanding of completely new paradigms. Both a simplified criticism against Euro-centrism and an ingenuous generalized multiculturalism are inadequate to solve the cultural conflicts in this era of globalization (Cosme, Brancato).
The twisting impetus of huge bulks of information and closer links all over the world is transforming the media. Our curiosity has been directed towards Korean and Chinese cinema (Choi, Ng Sheung-Yuen).
Fascinating is then the cultural enrichment of literature brought by political changes – we follow the trends of Maori’s literature (Moura-Kocoglu) and of South African writers of the post-apartheid time, no longer centered exclusively on the black and white divide (Ibinga).
‘Disgust’ is the last contribution to the issue. This is a short story of an apparently friendly and calm family reunion in Singapore where tensions of the past poison the air (Yeo).
This Century’s Review closes its first year looking at a series of furious gusts that are blowing on our planet. Our hope is to counter them without losing the warm enchanting zephyr!