The Death of Stalin

"It's just fucking word play"

- Nikita Khrushchev

Armando Iannucci has spent much of his career predicting the political future: whether it's pre-empting overly bombastic news graphics with "The Day Today"; foretelling leadership changes within UK politics in "Time Trumpet"; and acting as a think-tank for any recent UK government with "The Thick of It". But probably bored of inadvertently directing the course of the UK, he now turns his art to the past. The Soviet past.

As you may know, popular Georgian Joseph Stalin died in the mid-Twentieth Century. Frenchmen Fabien Nury and Thierry Robin made a graphic novel about said event. Then a group of British writers turned it into a film script. We all know the routine. Finding the piss-soaked body the next morning, his supporting cast, made-up of names you've already forgotten from GCSE history confusedly debate what to do about the situation, choosing to work as a collective.

Malenkov (Jeffrey Tambor) is appointed Acting General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, but real power is hidden behind him, as a power struggle emerges between Beria (Simon Russell Beale) and Khrushchev (Steve Buscemi), as each try to manipulate the situation and get the support of the rest of the collective.

This leads to lots of typical Iannucci fast dialogue and improvised banter in the workplace, as each actor brings a unique personality to their historical figure, such as Paul Whitehouse's cockney Mikoyan, Rupert Friend's pissed public schoolboy Vasily Stalin and Adrian McLoughlin's dirty old man Stalin himself. As with the likes of "Blackadder" before it, comedy is a good way of re-teaching history, placing historical fact in an accessible format.

Buscemi's line as Khrushchev denotes the quick wit of the writers and cast, but also the very nature of politics and how it is all about what is said, and what is not said. Joking aside, the tricks become more underhanded and plotting more deceitful. To succeed, each must eliminate his opposition as quickly as possible; the more ruthless the better. Every act has a distinct purpose to it: to gain the upper hand. Though this being Soviet Russia, getting bumped-up the order on the news is not enough.

The end takes a sinister twist as each is exposed for their previous and present crimes, with the victor the one able to vilify the other fastest. This is handled by the cast in a day-at-the-office manner; a stoic nature born when making decisions affecting the lives and deaths of others.

While without the sinister undertones of endless death, today's political playground of every man for himself and acting before the next man still holds true. An observation on the basic human nature of power struggle and that all political hierarchies are doomed from the outset.

GCSE History: B

Walkman Shuffle Function Drops I

'The only thing that makes us truly happy is the shuffle function on a CD player.'

-Armando Iannucci

...or a Sony Walkman mp3 player (the future) in my case.

End of the Line...

Beastie Boys - The Lisa Lisa / Full Force Routine...



to Quasimoto - Discipline 99, Pt. 1

Every 14 Days...(6)

Kappa (Akutagawa Ryunosuke)

On reading alone, ‘Kappa’ would seem like a book written by a man at the point of madness. A man is thrown into the ‘kappa world’ to live among these strange, mythical creatures from Japanese folklore, gradually learning their idiosyncrasies and customs.

Akutagawa Ryunosuke was at the point of madness when writing one of his longer works; finished not long before his suicide. On writing about the kappa world, he looks at all aspects of life: politics, religion, love, war, law, entertainment, health, etc., serving as a critique from an outsider’s perspective. Obviously doubling as a critique of the Japan in which he lived and how customs often get in the way of logic and sense to an onlooker.

Akutagawa himself was marginalised at this stage, being in and out of psychiatric hospitals, and so chose to look at society for what it was from a distance; and saw madness in the method.

Days to read: 12

Days per book: 15.3

The Japanization of Modernity: Murakami Haruki between Japan and the United States (Rebecca Suter)

This is a book written in English by an American about a Japanese author that I bought in Hong Kong. Read coincidentally to coincide with the UK release of his new work ‘1Q84’, Suter’s work is essentially a PhD look at his work across cultures in both Japan and the US.

Mainly looking into his shorts (ho ho), the differing reception of his work in the US and Japan is compared, with more traditional critics in Japan believing his works are not Japanese in style or content. Western critics, however, are more praising of his work and his look into identity from a global perspective.

Indeed, Suter believes that Murakami’s use of Western reference points in a Japanese setting give him a global appeal that is both normal and exotic at the same time. A timely conclusion with his latest offering creating midnight openings on its release.

Days to read: 39

Days per book: 16.5

I, Partridge: We Need to Talk About Alan (Alan Partridge*)

‘A real corker!’ (Toby Anstis)

With every Tom, Dick and Harry feeling the need to tell us about their – quite frankly pitiful – lives, I thought it best that I, Alan Partridge, set the world to rights with my follow up to the Loddon Eye Best Seller, ‘Bouncing Back’.

Think of the book as thus: An all-out, balls-to-the-wall account of my life, career and the bits in between. Shooting from the hip and taking absolutely no prisoners, much of what was written was deemed ‘too hot’ by my original publishers, Penguin. ‘Goolies to that!’ was my uncompromising response. Harper Collins being a much more thorough company, I decided to take my work to them instead.

So, sit back, relax, grab a mug of Nestle’s Milo Nutritious Energy Drink, prepare a dictionary and thesaurus (it gets a little tricky in parts) and do not p-p-p-p-pick up a Penguin. Pick up a fantastic Harper Collins. But don’t take it from me, take it from mambo soul crooner, Lou Bega…

‘This is my mambo number 1!’ (Lou Bega)

*I would like to make it categorically clear that, contrary to controversial e-rumours on the world wide website, Steve Coogan, Armando Iannucci, Rob Gibbons and Neil Gibbons (whoever they are!) wrote not a jot of this mini-masterpiece. Every ruddy word was written by me, Alan Partridge.

Days to read: 11

Days per book: 16.2