Author: ArtsJournal2

Lee Mendelson, Producer Of The Charlie Brown Christmas Special, Has Died At 86

Of course he did many other things in a long life of TV producing – many of them Peanuts-focused – but “A Charlie Brown Christmas” was one of the first and biggest and certainly, along with his lyrics for “Christmas Time Is Here,” Mendelson’s most enduring contribution to Christmas in the United States. He died on Christmas Day. – Washington Post

How Oxford – And JRR Tolkien, And CS Lewis – Turned English Curriculum To The Past And Kept English Fantasy There As Well

While Cambridge cut out its medieval requirement, Oxford – under the influence of Lewis and Tolkien – doubled down. That weirdly influenced the fantasy all over the English-speaking world. “At the moment that the British Empire is waning, you see this rise of children’s fantasy literature, which is set in these kinds of precolonial worlds, but also imagining these new vistas for exploration and the pleasures of exploration and colonization, encounters with indigenous peoples—but cloaked in a different story, where the people you’re encountering are ‘magical creatures,’ so you’re free of political resonances.” (Narrator: You’re actually not.) – Slate

What’s Disney’s Plan For ‘Star Wars’? Don’t Look To The Movies To Find Out

Look to streaming, of course, to lead the way. “Lucasfilm and Disney are now in a perfect spot: The Mandalorian is a success, Star Wars is ripe for more experimentation, and Disney+ is a new sandbox that will allow for similar experiments. The future of Star Wars won’t only live and die by big event films like The Rise of Skywalker; it’ll succeed with a consistent run of weird and fun Star Wars shows.” (And don’t forget the books, comics, games, ad infinitum.) – The Verge

Sorry, Journalists, But Some Kinds Of Media Aren’t Worth Saving

In Nieman Lab’s 2020 predictions, the founder of a collaborative journalism initiative says that some news organizations aren’t doing enough to make the case that they’re worth saving, but that will have to shift. “The question of how we save journalism (meaning newsrooms) will begin to shift to how do we save journalism (meaning the process). How we answer that question will have a profound impact on the management of newsrooms, the business models we develop, the processes we adapt, and the service we provide.” – Nieman Lab

How Many ‘Goya’ Paintings Were By His Studio, Not His Own Hand?

And, of course, in a larger sense, does it matter? Well, it matters for the money, of course. “Juliet Wilson-Bareau, a Goya scholar, told the Observer that museums must re-examine their Goya holdings because there are so many ‘problematic’ pictures. She regularly sees auction houses and dealers selling works under Goya’s name when she is convinced that they are by lesser hands.” – The Observer (UK)

The Year Amy March Finally Got Her Due

Yes, Amy March was a spoiled brat who burned Jo’s manuscript, and thus earned the ire of every creative person ever, and the films and series have reflected that. But Amy … was also a creative, complex person. “Siblings naturally compare themselves to one another—Jo, for instance, takes pride in not being as ladylike as Amy, while Amy judges Jo for her lack of elegance—and neither sister ‘wins’ the dispute.” This makes the newest movie richer and more realistic than the others. – The Atlantic

Will No One Think Of Mrs. Cratchit?

What is Martha Cratchit thinking at the end of A Muppet Christmas Carol (and why hasn’t this ever been written about before)? “Your employer has brought an uncooked fourteen pound turkey to my house on Christmas day, and I am asking you, Bob, with my eyes because incomprehensibly the entire city, including some people we’ve never met, are now in our home, and are all expecting to be fed.” – Sentimental Garbage