For at least 20,000 years, masking has been a mark of cultural evolution and an indication of magical-religious sophistication in society. Ancient cave paintings depict figures with animal masks; early Egyptians left images of humans with animal heads; and Incan burial chambers contained masks of gold to cover the faces of the dead. Ancient peoples wore masks to survive the elements, succeed in combat, confirm their identity, attract spouses, celebrate important events, and venerate their personal and collective gods. Current literature suggests an early association between masking and pietistic practice. These and many other uses of masking are an important part of the record of human existence, shedding light on the origins of belief systems and spiritualism in the earliest human societies. Placing the mask in the broader context of the evolution of humanity, this book argues that the mask itself should not be assessed in the service of any single function. Instead, the chapters integrate all functions to provide a comprehensive understanding of the mask as a powerful cultural phenomenon--a means by which individual communities attempted to communicate their dignity and sense of purpose, as well as to establish a continuum between the natural and supernatural worlds. The book addresses the distinctive environments within which masks flourished, and the mask is analyzed as a manifestation of art, ethnology and anthropology. The discussion is augmented by more than 100 illustrations of masks chosen for what they reveal about fundamental emotional and spiritual perspectives, as well as for their different styles, shapes, and designs.

W. Anthony Sheppard considers a wide-ranging constellation of important musical works in this fascinating exploration of ritualized performance in twentieth-century music. Revealing Masks uncovers the range of political, didactic, and aesthetic intents that inspired the creators of modernist music theater. Sheppard is especially interested in the use of the "exotic" in techniques of masking and stylization, identifying Japanese Noh, medieval Christian drama, and ancient Greek theater as the most prominent exotic models for the creation of "total theater." Drawing on an extraordinarily diverse—and in some instances, little-known—range of music theater pieces, Sheppard cites the work of Igor Stravinsky, Benjamin Britten, Arthur Honegger, Peter Maxwell Davies, Harry Partch, and Leonard Bernstein, as well as Andrew Lloyd Webber and Madonna. Artists in literature, theater, and dance—such as William Butler Yeats, Paul Claudel, Bertolt Brecht, Isadora Duncan, Ida Rubenstein, and Edward Gordon Craig--also play a significant role in this study. Sheppard poses challenging questions that will interest readers beyond those in the field of music scholarship. For example, what is the effect on the audience and the performers of depersonalizing ritual elements? Does borrowing from foreign cultures inevitably amount to a kind of predatory appropriation? Revealing Masks shows that compositional concerns and cultural themes manifested in music theater are central to the history of twentieth-century Euro-American music, drama, and dance.

In the Mexican states of Puebla and Veracruz, old masked dances have survived in isolated mountain regions. These dances include wonderful masks of humans and animals, masks with beautiful, comic, or wicked faces. Created by Indigenous master carvers, mascareros, these masks and puppets appear during religious fiestas. Over 700 vivid color photos reveal these masks and puppets in all their glory. The thoroughly researched text answers the questions about who made these beautiful works of art, who these dance characters are, and the nature of the religion they represent. The Spanish conquerors strove to convert the Indian inhabitants of Mexico to Christianity. However, these converts secretly retained important deities from earlier times to accompany Christian elements, creating a poetic blend of beliefs. Given that these indigenous peoples have suffered many injustices, the masks, puppets, and dance dramas reflect many unresolved societal tensions along with veiled wishes for divine justice.

In this wide-ranging meditation on the meaning of time, Agacinski weaves together discussions of Aristotle, Kant, Hegel, Freud, Heidegger, Baudelaire, Barthes, and especially Walter Benjamin--her model for the modern "passer of time"--as she traces a time-line of the philosophy of time.

Transposed Memory explores the visual culture of national recollection in modern and contemporary East Asia by emphasizing memories that are under the continuous process of construction, reinforcement, alteration, resistance, and contestation. Expanding the discussion of memory into visual culture by exploring various visual sites of recollection, and the diverse ways commemoration is represented in visual, cultural, and material forms, this book produces cross-cultural and interdisciplinary conversations on memory and site by bringing together international scholars from the fields of art history, history, architecture, and theater and dance, examining intercultural relationships in East Asia through geopolitical conditions and visual culture. With contributions of Rika Iezumi Hiro, Ruo Jia, Burglind Jungmann, Hong Kal, Stephen McDowall, Alison J. Miller, Jessica Nakamura, Eunyoung Park, Travis Seifman, and Linh D. Vu.

Vampire Christina Griffith, former criminal trying to escape her former life moved to New York and created a new life as a singer. Promises of stardom, she winds up with sleazy record executive Victor Turner. No sooner is Christina back on the streets then she finds herself in a love triangle with Turner and Tony Perillo. An attempt to outrun her past, this time in New York, a city that's left divided by the 2016 U.S. presidential election, with a whole new brand of playground; with corrupt police, politicians, and the Russian mafia clawing at her past. Tony, who moved to New York to be with her finds himself haunted by a dark malevolent presence whose poison digs into his very soul. Meanwhile there are many deaths surrounding them all of which are somehow connected to serial killers. Within the underworld, there is an ancient evil that pulls the strings on all levels of society, with a leader called: "The Baby', who causes many to shudder in fear when they hear the name of this cult of assassins.

Mother-Daughter Sexual Abuse MDSA The ultimate betrayal of a child's trust. The taboo subject led by society's denial that abuse of this nature even occurs. Wilma survived 16 years of her mother Hellen's brutal, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse-including acts of torture. Manipulated, controlled, and violated from her earliest memories, Wilma despaired from the constant hunger, sexual abuse, violent beatings, and strip searches. She feared suicide was her only option. The stigma and shame of the abuse silenced Wilma for years. As Wilma found the courage to speak her unspeakable secret-she was relieved by the support she received, after years of being convinced no one would believe her. MacLiver wrote her powerful, true story in this inspiring book from a daughter-survivor's point of view. Life Behind the Masks is a must-read to witness her miracle healing from the worst kind of sexual abuse- an unforgettable memoir

In their final adventure, the four Musketeers plot to replace King Louis XIV of France with the mysterious, masked prisoner in the Bastille believed to be Louis' falsely imprisoned twin brother and the true king.