Last week’s official celebrations of the February 1979 uprising that brought down the shah’s regime in Iran stood in total contrast to the events of 31 years ago.

The famous Russian film director Andrei Tarkovsky once described the experience of exile for a Russian as “nostalghia” – he insisted that the word not be translated into proper English, but rather retain the Italian translation of the Russian word "??????????." For Tarkovsky, who evinced a peculiar brand of medievalist Russian nationalism throughout his work, a Russian leaving their homeland would experience a form of spiritual and physical death; and, indeed, the central character, the semi-autobiographical poet, Andrei Gorchakov, does actually die at the end of his film Nostalghia.

Perhaps a bit of fancy footwork and a catchy show tune is the key to introducing a new generation to Karl Marx’s Das Kapital. At least that’s what He Nian, director of the upcoming musical, is anticipating for the Shanghai theatregoers. The play which is on schedule to open next year, is meant to serve as a kind of ‘edutainment’ providing the audience with amusement but also an intellectually sound interpretation of Marx’s work. Shanghaiist and The Guardian report more extensively:

The Enigma of Capital

http://davidharvey.org/2008/11/the-enigma-of-capital/

A lecture by Professor David Harvey
City University of New York Graduate Center
November 14, 2008

David Harvey talks about Neoliberalism, class power and how capitalism is sustained.