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Articles by Bernard Schweizer
Bad Reads - Inquisitive
Large swaths of the publishing industry have been captured by an ideological paradigm that prioritizes limitations and restrictions over quality. Instead of approaching manuscripts with a mindset that asks, “Does it have literary and intellectual merit?”—in other words, is it innovative, brilliant, daring, fresh, and beautiful?—the publishing gatekeepers, including agents, editors, and publishers, tend to pass new works through a filter of limiting rules.
Richard Walter’s Deadpan And The Subversive Power Of Jewish Humor
“Against the assault of laughter, nothing can stand.” — Mark Twain One year ago, the longtime director of UCLA’s screenwriting program, Richard Walter, submitted his novel Deadpan for consideration to Heresy Press. Soon after I started reading, I came across these statements: “Hitler Was Right.” “Deport Jewish Scum.” There were more phrases along those lines. Did I express outrage and write a harsh rejection letter?
Heresy Press Newsletter #4
Guest Essay Fear and Publishing By Jonah Winter Franklin Roosevelt once famously said, “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself” –which begs the question, what about Siberian Tigers? Or nuclear weapons? Or drunk drivers?But after one gets such sarcastic rejoinders out of one’s system, one has to acknowledge the point he was making. Fear is itself a dangerous thing. And when fear takes over a person, a community, a country, or a publishing world, bad things can happen.
Why Heresy Press? Why Now?
Welcome to our weekly column offering perspectives on lit mag publishing, with contributions from readers, writers and editors around the world.
The Keys to Irreverent Comedy
After a lifetime spent reading great works of literature, I could not help finally facing the question of why religious topics were so frequently made the butt of jokes. Whether it was the works of Aristophanes or Homer, Ovid or Lucian, Boccaccio or Chaucer, Voltaire or Mark Twain, again and again I encountered great writers’ compelling desire to poke fun at people of faith, to skewer credos, to mock scriptures and gods, and to laugh at religion at large.
Netflix’s gay Jesus upsetting Christians has a centuries-old history
There is a strong déjà-vu quality to the protests that have recently erupted around the Brazilian comedy troupe Porta dos Fundos’s presentation of Christ as a gay man. In Netflix’s Christmas special The First Temptation of Christ Porta dos Fundos depict Jesus as a gay man who introduces his cross-dressing boyfriend, Orlando, to his family. Incongruities abound when Orlando, who wears massive amounts of makeup and a blonde wig, performs ‘Jingle Bells’ on a digital keyboard in Judea ca.
Updated: Netflix’s Gay Jesus Upsetting Brazilian Christians Has a Centuries-Old History
See below for video clips of religious satire mentioned in the article – eds UPDATE 1/10/20: Apparently the gift preceding the celebrated “partridge in a pear tree” is a gasoline bomb, which was given to (or more accurately thrown at) the office of the comedy troupe behind The First Temptation of Christ this past Christmas Eve. The good news—pun intended—is that not only was nobody hurt, but today Brazil’s Supreme Court ruled that Netflix will be allowed to continue streaming it in Brazil.
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