Paul Fleishman
Cannibal in the Mirror
Hardcover
(21st Century Aug. 16, 2000)
, First Printing edition
Editorial Review - Cahners Business Information (c) 2000 Gr 5 Up-This thought-provoking book explores the parallels between modern American culture and "uncivilized" societies from the past. Fleischman has selected 27 quotations from various printed works, most of which describe the writers' impressions of what might be considered barbarous behaviors. The quotes are paired with full-page color photographs depicting contemporary scenes from the United States, grouped into thematic categories such as "youth," "appearance," and "old age." A passage about a "heathen boy's education" describes various preparations for war; the opposite photo shows a boy aiming a toy gun at a video-arcade mall. Some of the parallels are dead on. Chinese ancestral tablets relate neatly to the mantelpiece of family photographs in the matching picture. Others are less direct. It's a bit of a jump to equate baseball players slapping palms with "laying-on of hands" and then to cannibalism. Several of the combinations are quite powerful. A collage of advertisements for cosmetic surgery takes on new meaning when aligned with a description of a practice among some North American Indians of shaping an infant's head with planks and boards. Other times the connection is more ironic, as in the comment by Marco Polo about astrologers accompanied by a photo of various modern newsstand tabloids. The author and photographer show restraint in their selections, avoiding obvious choices that might trivialize the parallels. Most of the excerpts are straight descriptions, without judgments, but in some cases the writer's views are clearly not objective. After spending time with this title, most readers will emerge with plenty of food for thought, discussion, and reflection.-Steven Engelfried, Deschutes County Library, Bend, OR
- Pages
- 64
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