I thought people might be interested in this message that appeared on the PERFORM-L list. --Robert ----------------------------Original message---------------------------- I notice that quite a number of films that are *about* performance have recently been released, and I've been wondering why this might be so. I'm thinking of "The Piano," "M. Butterfly," and "Farewell, My Concubine," among others. Another such film, "L'Accompangnatrice," is about to come out (Will Crutchfield has an article about this new film, comparing it to "The Piano," in today's NY Times). As a friend of mine pointed out, films about performers aren't anything new. But it seems to me that this new run of films are rather different in what they're up to. They all use performance as a broader metaphor, as a way to explore the mutability of things like gender and the very construction of desire. I'd be curious to know what some of you think is going on. Is this the trickle-down effect of reflexive impulses coming out of postmodernism? Or what? Deborah Wong U of Pennsylvania [log in to unmask]